Jeff Grossman
Jeff Grossman
attendees: Brad, Craig, Dale, Greg, Ira, Jay, Jayson, Jeff, Sasha, Victor
A long skinny table in a dark noisy room with alcohol and raw fish. That's the ticket.
It is Sasha's birthday again. He seems to revive this prank about once a year. This time he put a zero in the last position so much whoop-de-doo is called for.
We're at Noreetuh, much beloved by wineaux for its wonderful host and staff, and for its brilliant work as the local shrine to musubi, poke, dumplings, duck, tongue, and other specialties of the Pacific Rim.
We settle into our places, no need to look at the menu as Greg and Jayson have placed the order in advance.
1. And the Birthday Boy asked for champagne.
Ulysse Collin NV Champagne BdN Extra-Brut "Les Maillons" - disg. 2019, firm grip, white rocks, juicy fruit, late-arriving acidity and savoriness. dru. chalky, light and bright, more than excellent
A flight of Taittinger Champagne Brut BdB "Comtes de Champagne":
2007 - fresh, delicate mousse, Sasha still gets some sulfur, youthful, vigorous, and a big happy puppy; hold for a while yet
2006 - good mousse but seems very tame or quiet, but others disagree: Sasha thinks it is en pointe and opening with air, Dale got chalk and pear and citrus zest and brioche
2004 - controversial all night: I get some ripeness (tangerine) but it's also a bit tired and a little oxy; but Sasha and Brad say it's corked, Ira says it's sherried, Dale calls it reduced and leathery; and so it goes all night long with this bottle
Philipponnat 2008 Champagne Grand Blanc Extra-Brut - rather light and airy and dry; finish takes a long time to arrive; there's a lack of presence or almost any impact; reminds me of weak lemonade - a little tanginess, a little sweetness, a little minerality - but more obviously just wet.
2. The whites followed immediately.
Schloss Gobelsburg 2019 GV Ried Lamm Kamptal Erste Lage - unctuous, white pepper, green grapes, asparagus, very long but you really want to come back in 10 years
Prager 2007 GV Weissenkircher Stockkultur Achleiten - stony, earthy, OMG wine; Dale is better-spoken than I am: "Very old vines. The warmth of vintage shows in the rich tropical (passionfruit, mango and pineapple) fruit, but some really electric acidity giving tons of structure. There’s a tiny bit of RS, but the acids keep the finish snappy. I loved [it]"; Jay auto-correctedly said, "that 07 prayer acetone was up there for me"
Chidaine 2014 Bournais Montlouis-sur-Loire - I missed this one!
a blind white burg - not my cuppa and this was no exception, I don't think anybody named it wotn... Carillon 2014 Puligny-Montrachet
Egon Muller 2013 Scharzhofberger Riesling Kabinett - tangy, sweet-sour, so 'loud' compared to the chardonnay!
Trimbach 1983 Riesling "Cuvee Frederic Emile" - wow, glyceral, apples and heavy citrus, maybe petrol, "almost a coffee note" -Brad
A.J. Adam 2007 Dhron Hofberg Riesling Trocken - 0308, in this vintage this is an unlabeled GG; tarragon!, rather gentle zing (but others thought it was too snappy!)
3. With the arrival of calmansi roasted duck, crab fried rice, and braised tongue served "Peking" style, we move on to the reds.
a blind estate sale red burg - Jay picked this up for $10 at an estate sale, it had been in a Eurocave... which was turned off several months ago... but Bacchus smiled: sound, delicate even, in beautiful shape, acids are reduced but plenty of spice and underbrush; funny repartee: someone guessed Vosne, Jay first said yes, then he said no, and the person responded that therefore it must be Echezeaux!...Mongeard-Mugneret 1991 Echezeau VV
a blind red burg - this is well-balanced, silky and elegant (and upon the reveal, no wonder)... Drouhin 2008 Chambolle-Musigny "Les Amoureuses"
a blind red burg - I missed this one! ...Drouhin 1999 Griotte-Chambertin
the first foil bottle - said to be a red burg, this is really very sweet (too sweet) and also incredibly grippy, even roasted, someone said 2005 and that makes sense... Bize 2005 Latricieres-Chambertin GC
the second foil bottle - said to be a red burg and when the bottle slipped out of the foil we knew this to be true!: Drouhin 1988 Volnay 1er "Clos des Chenes" - nice enough but over-shadowed by the schoolyard monkeyshines of some of the attendees around me, I'll try sitting with the grown-ups next time... sigh
Gouge 1985 NSG 1er "Clos des Porrets" - mature, earthy, truffley, better suited to a quieter table but nice anyway
Clape 1999 Cornas - sturdy, blue fruit, and brett-tacular (of the school paste variety), meh
Clusel-Roch 2009 Cote-Rotie "Les Grandes Places" - I have never found this cuvee to be really interesting and this is the same: clearly good material, some pepper and olives, but it's tired from it's oaken burdens
Clusel-Roch 2012 Cote-Rotie "Les Grandes Places" - lighter weight yet darker fruit, still good but not wow
Ch. l'Evangile 1989 - magnum; my notes, such as they are by now, just say "OMG" so here are what Dale and Sasha said: Dale/"Young, sturdy and a little feral, dark fruits and truffle. Really good, but seems more powerful than a lovely elegant 750 last year"; Sasha/"Loved the L'Evangile but just like in 1985, there are clearly "two wines." Don't mean that in the 85 Chave sense of the word (hey, there are 3 or those, not 2 I think), but one (in both 85 and 89) is predominantly red-fruity, bordering on plum/licorice, with incredibly fresh Cheval-like floral topnote while the other is dark stony earthy, ever so rustic in a good way."
Ch. Calon-Segur 1964 - magnum; By popular acclaim this is wotn: Dale/"My last 64 claret I think. Lovely and elegant, red berries, cigar ash, violets. Refined and filgreed, if this had been blind I would have guessed Margaux or Graves rather than St Estephe"; Victor/"I was stunned by the beauty of that 64 Calon Segur!"; Sasha/"Calon was bonkers."
4. A Little Dessert
Huet 1988 Vouvray Demi-Sec "Le Haut Lieu" - (I remember it was good but did not take any specific notes, sorry)
Pinon 1988 Vouvray Demi-Sec - "very pineappley" -Jayson, so much honey flavor (as there always is with Pinon)
--
Great to see everyone.
Tip of the scribe's quill to Dale, whose notes helped substantiate a lot of my scribbles.
And Happy Birthday, Sasha!
A long skinny table in a dark noisy room with alcohol and raw fish. That's the ticket.
It is Sasha's birthday again. He seems to revive this prank about once a year. This time he put a zero in the last position so much whoop-de-doo is called for.
We're at Noreetuh, much beloved by wineaux for its wonderful host and staff, and for its brilliant work as the local shrine to musubi, poke, dumplings, duck, tongue, and other specialties of the Pacific Rim.
We settle into our places, no need to look at the menu as Greg and Jayson have placed the order in advance.
1. And the Birthday Boy asked for champagne.
Ulysse Collin NV Champagne BdN Extra-Brut "Les Maillons" - disg. 2019, firm grip, white rocks, juicy fruit, late-arriving acidity and savoriness. dru. chalky, light and bright, more than excellent
A flight of Taittinger Champagne Brut BdB "Comtes de Champagne":
2007 - fresh, delicate mousse, Sasha still gets some sulfur, youthful, vigorous, and a big happy puppy; hold for a while yet
2006 - good mousse but seems very tame or quiet, but others disagree: Sasha thinks it is en pointe and opening with air, Dale got chalk and pear and citrus zest and brioche
2004 - controversial all night: I get some ripeness (tangerine) but it's also a bit tired and a little oxy; but Sasha and Brad say it's corked, Ira says it's sherried, Dale calls it reduced and leathery; and so it goes all night long with this bottle
Philipponnat 2008 Champagne Grand Blanc Extra-Brut - rather light and airy and dry; finish takes a long time to arrive; there's a lack of presence or almost any impact; reminds me of weak lemonade - a little tanginess, a little sweetness, a little minerality - but more obviously just wet.
2. The whites followed immediately.
Schloss Gobelsburg 2019 GV Ried Lamm Kamptal Erste Lage - unctuous, white pepper, green grapes, asparagus, very long but you really want to come back in 10 years
Prager 2007 GV Weissenkircher Stockkultur Achleiten - stony, earthy, OMG wine; Dale is better-spoken than I am: "Very old vines. The warmth of vintage shows in the rich tropical (passionfruit, mango and pineapple) fruit, but some really electric acidity giving tons of structure. There’s a tiny bit of RS, but the acids keep the finish snappy. I loved [it]"; Jay auto-correctedly said, "that 07 prayer acetone was up there for me"
Chidaine 2014 Bournais Montlouis-sur-Loire - I missed this one!
a blind white burg - not my cuppa and this was no exception, I don't think anybody named it wotn... Carillon 2014 Puligny-Montrachet
Egon Muller 2013 Scharzhofberger Riesling Kabinett - tangy, sweet-sour, so 'loud' compared to the chardonnay!
Trimbach 1983 Riesling "Cuvee Frederic Emile" - wow, glyceral, apples and heavy citrus, maybe petrol, "almost a coffee note" -Brad
A.J. Adam 2007 Dhron Hofberg Riesling Trocken - 0308, in this vintage this is an unlabeled GG; tarragon!, rather gentle zing (but others thought it was too snappy!)
3. With the arrival of calmansi roasted duck, crab fried rice, and braised tongue served "Peking" style, we move on to the reds.
a blind estate sale red burg - Jay picked this up for $10 at an estate sale, it had been in a Eurocave... which was turned off several months ago... but Bacchus smiled: sound, delicate even, in beautiful shape, acids are reduced but plenty of spice and underbrush; funny repartee: someone guessed Vosne, Jay first said yes, then he said no, and the person responded that therefore it must be Echezeaux!...Mongeard-Mugneret 1991 Echezeau VV
a blind red burg - this is well-balanced, silky and elegant (and upon the reveal, no wonder)... Drouhin 2008 Chambolle-Musigny "Les Amoureuses"
a blind red burg - I missed this one! ...Drouhin 1999 Griotte-Chambertin
the first foil bottle - said to be a red burg, this is really very sweet (too sweet) and also incredibly grippy, even roasted, someone said 2005 and that makes sense... Bize 2005 Latricieres-Chambertin GC
the second foil bottle - said to be a red burg and when the bottle slipped out of the foil we knew this to be true!: Drouhin 1988 Volnay 1er "Clos des Chenes" - nice enough but over-shadowed by the schoolyard monkeyshines of some of the attendees around me, I'll try sitting with the grown-ups next time... sigh
Gouge 1985 NSG 1er "Clos des Porrets" - mature, earthy, truffley, better suited to a quieter table but nice anyway
Clape 1999 Cornas - sturdy, blue fruit, and brett-tacular (of the school paste variety), meh
Clusel-Roch 2009 Cote-Rotie "Les Grandes Places" - I have never found this cuvee to be really interesting and this is the same: clearly good material, some pepper and olives, but it's tired from it's oaken burdens
Clusel-Roch 2012 Cote-Rotie "Les Grandes Places" - lighter weight yet darker fruit, still good but not wow
Ch. l'Evangile 1989 - magnum; my notes, such as they are by now, just say "OMG" so here are what Dale and Sasha said: Dale/"Young, sturdy and a little feral, dark fruits and truffle. Really good, but seems more powerful than a lovely elegant 750 last year"; Sasha/"Loved the L'Evangile but just like in 1985, there are clearly "two wines." Don't mean that in the 85 Chave sense of the word (hey, there are 3 or those, not 2 I think), but one (in both 85 and 89) is predominantly red-fruity, bordering on plum/licorice, with incredibly fresh Cheval-like floral topnote while the other is dark stony earthy, ever so rustic in a good way."
Ch. Calon-Segur 1964 - magnum; By popular acclaim this is wotn: Dale/"My last 64 claret I think. Lovely and elegant, red berries, cigar ash, violets. Refined and filgreed, if this had been blind I would have guessed Margaux or Graves rather than St Estephe"; Victor/"I was stunned by the beauty of that 64 Calon Segur!"; Sasha/"Calon was bonkers."
4. A Little Dessert
Huet 1988 Vouvray Demi-Sec "Le Haut Lieu" - (I remember it was good but did not take any specific notes, sorry)
Pinon 1988 Vouvray Demi-Sec - "very pineappley" -Jayson, so much honey flavor (as there always is with Pinon)
--
Great to see everyone.
Tip of the scribe's quill to Dale, whose notes helped substantiate a lot of my scribbles.
And Happy Birthday, Sasha!
