Jeff Grossman
Jeff Grossman
attendees: Don+Melissa, Eden+Scott, Jay, Jeff, Lisa, Victor
"Are you tasting because you want to or because you need to?"
Jay and Eden pouring. Pierce, son of Eden and aka 'Young Master Biochem', made the labels for her bottles.
A well-balanced meal tonight: 3 whites, 6 reds, and 2 sweets.
JAY #1 -
The pour is slightly gold but still fresh fruit and acids, singing along harmoniously. Tastes about like a sec tendre.
"watermelon rind and rainwater, lots of fruit there" -Eden; "mouthwatering acidity" -several folks; "chalky" -Don; "tropical" -Melissa
Jay forbids me to guess(!), which doesn't slow the group down one bit: Eden guesses chenin (yes) and we soon enough have guessed Vouvray and Pinon.
The wine tastes very young, and our guesses start in 2020... and we go back a long time till we find it:
Pinon 1988 Vouvray Demi-Sec
you've got to be kidding: there is no way this is 30 years old!!!
Re-taste Saturday: very Pinon (meaning: the finish goes all honeyed), very sec tendre (meaning: just barely sweeter than "dry" but enough to tame the tartness), and there is still no way this is 30 years and two days old
EDEN "MALIC" -
The pour is a medium-dark gold color, so some age shown. Still, it has good acids, though not good enough to be riesling or chenin.
We guess all over the place till we come back home to the Loire. Finally, someone gets a whiff of grapefruit so we guess romorantin!
People start mentioning various recent vintages but the color leads me to guess 2008, and I'm close.
Cazin 2004 Cour-Cheverny "Vendange Manuelle"
Re-taste Saturday: still hard to identify; really, the sturdy acidity is the only hallmark (meaning: it's not real aromatic, it's not real silky, though it is long)
EDEN "LACTIC" -
The pour is a lot like the previous wine only with the knobs turned up some... more tactile, more penetrating bouquet, more retro-nasal fragrance.
Jay does not need to be prompted twice and very quickly names the wine:
Cazin 2004 Cour-Cheverny "Vendange Manuelle" "Cuvee Renaissance"
Interestingly, both wines are 13% alc. Recent vintages of Cazin have been 14.5% or higher.
Re-taste Saturday: now this smells of sweat and funk (I'm being nice here, I leave that sort of language to Manuel); the palate however is wonderful: sultanas, maybe not quite a silky texture but how about a smooth poplin?, long, a little oldie-goldie (meaning: a touch of oxy), let me mention again how long the finish is; way better than its sib
JAY #2 -
"It's a flight for Jeff."
The pour has light fruit, kinda stemmy. "I like #2 a lot more than #3; #3 is inky." -Victor.
With a little effort we identify the wine as poulsard, but we don't guess the maker.
Frederic Puffeney 2020 Poulsard
Re-taste Saturday: light and bright and tweaky and terrific!
JAY #3 -
The pour has a similar nose to #2 but this is weightier, maybe earthier or maybe just a little unfocused. Rather darker than #2.
Once we know the grape in #2, however, it is easy to guess the grape here:
Frederic Puffeney 2017 Trousseau
Re-taste Saturday: produces amazing legs in the glass; alas, this is not so good as its sib: it fights in a higher weight-class but it is neither so clear or so distinctive as its sib
JAY #4 -
Ah, perhaps this is a Bordeaux flight; at the least, there's some kind of cabernet going on. Not especially strong wine but definitely a Bordeaux blend of some kind.
Every experienced wino knows this ordered set of questions... France? (yes), Bordeaux? (yes), Graves? (no), skip ahead a little, Margaux? (yes).
Unfortunately, while engaged in 'Stump the Band', the cork taint starts to manifest.
Ch. Giscours 1979 Margaux
Re-taste Saturday: corkiness is now about the same level of strength as the bouquet, I can't bring myself to continue
JAY #5 -
This wine is much more aromatic, and there is some fur or velveteen in the texture. We soon place the wine in Pomerol.
Victor guesses VCC "because it has the bite of cabernet sauvignon and only VCC has any noticeable amount of cab".
Still pretty vigorous so we guess 1990s... then 1980s... then, ah, the same year.
Vieux Chateau Certan 1979 Pomerol
Re-taste Saturday: it's really fabulous franc, slightly reddened and slightly mellowed by the merlot (must be some darned good merlot!), the tartness is no longer distinctly 'orange peel' it's just generally citrussy; there's a little black earth and still some fairly grippy tannins; not earth-shaking wine but there is a little tremble afoot
EDEN "ETHANOL" -
Eden suggests popping the caps on these two wines early on so they can get some air. I did so but it did not amount to even an hour.
Crazy bouquet: paprika and smoke, maybe some cinnamon. "Smells like carrots just pulled out of the ground" -Melissa.
We guess that it's syrah but we only fall into Cornas by accident and no one knows this maker.
Louis Sozet 2014 Cornas -
Well, not "no one". None of us has heard of Sozet, but I have some scribbles from Josh Raynolds about old-school Cornas: "The unique thing about Cornas was always the overwhelming number of small land-holders and part-time winemakers. Plus, the vineyards are insanely difficult to work, much less work with care. As the value of vineyards and wine started going up most owners either jumped into it full-time, more or less, or sold out. If you want a glimpse of the, ahem, good old days, get ahold of a bottle from Louis Sozet or Elie Bancel. Every so often something magical has happened but there's a reason that their wines sell for about 20 euros at the cellar door. But! Traditional Cornas! Step right up! There's also a reason that the younger generation is circling them, with hungry eyes, and it isn't for their wine-making prowess or their farming expertise."
Re-taste Saturday: nose is way more forward now: smoke, ash, the grape-flavored Robitussin, prune plum, whole-grain bread, tangy, how great is this!
EDEN "TANNIN" -
Another dark, wet soil, dark-berries wine. "Very deep and earthy" -Melissa; "Syrah? N. Rhone? Cornas?" -Jay (yes); "A different producer?" -Don (yes).
Eden fesses up that she grabbed the wrong bottle so this is not the intended vintage but so it goes.
Nicolas Serrette 2012 Cornas "Patou" -
Re-taste Saturday: tastes like higher alc, tiny bit of school paste brett (not objectionable), more redfruit than the Sozet, kinda less interesting than the Sozet (meaning: I get an impression of careful crafting of the whole rather than simply putting spin on the ball as it goes by); in a way, kinda Burgundian
EDEN "FRUCTOSE" -
This wine is totally gorgeous! The fragrance and palate are both exciting, well-balanced, "rich but light" -Jay. Good linger. There is, however, "a little touch of butter, like a butter cookie" -Victor. "Or popcorn" -Eden.
"Riesling, and Mosel, at that; it's the high-wire tension" -Victor.
"Auslese" -Jay.
Given the track record tonight we start our guessing in the 1980s but it's a little younger.
And, again, a house nobody present has heard of.
Licht-Bergweiler 1994 Brauneberger Juffer Riesling Auslese
Google sez this is a defunct house and internet notes are hit-or-miss. This is a hit.
Re-taste Saturday: still lovely, still limey riesling with a dot of butter, yum
JAY #6 -
Jay says this one is a rarity.
Let's pour it... golden brown in the glass, syrupy, bit of maple maybe?, this is the flavor of toffee! or perhaps creme caramel.
After a lot of guessing around, we identify it as an old Colheita port. (In truth, we're idiots because the weight of the wine alone should have immediately suggested port!)
Dalva 1971 Golden White Porto Colheita
Over 40 years in cask, Dalva has only made two other wines like it... in '52 and '63. I gather it's only been recently bottled.
Re-taste Saturday: the nose is a little past it, the palate is still vigorous, it's old port: sweet like brown sugar (that's the age showing), strong proofage, by now it could be any of a number of old sweet wines
And when I'm all done retasting, I set aside the Pinon and the Auslese for tomorrow, but I drink now the Renaissance and the Sozet.
Wow, folks. Some really excellent wines here! I don't know how the poor slobs serving next time (Don, me) are supposed to keep up.
"Are you tasting because you want to or because you need to?"
Jay and Eden pouring. Pierce, son of Eden and aka 'Young Master Biochem', made the labels for her bottles.
A well-balanced meal tonight: 3 whites, 6 reds, and 2 sweets.
JAY #1 -
The pour is slightly gold but still fresh fruit and acids, singing along harmoniously. Tastes about like a sec tendre.
"watermelon rind and rainwater, lots of fruit there" -Eden; "mouthwatering acidity" -several folks; "chalky" -Don; "tropical" -Melissa
Jay forbids me to guess(!), which doesn't slow the group down one bit: Eden guesses chenin (yes) and we soon enough have guessed Vouvray and Pinon.
The wine tastes very young, and our guesses start in 2020... and we go back a long time till we find it:
Pinon 1988 Vouvray Demi-Sec
you've got to be kidding: there is no way this is 30 years old!!!
Re-taste Saturday: very Pinon (meaning: the finish goes all honeyed), very sec tendre (meaning: just barely sweeter than "dry" but enough to tame the tartness), and there is still no way this is 30 years and two days old
EDEN "MALIC" -
The pour is a medium-dark gold color, so some age shown. Still, it has good acids, though not good enough to be riesling or chenin.
We guess all over the place till we come back home to the Loire. Finally, someone gets a whiff of grapefruit so we guess romorantin!
People start mentioning various recent vintages but the color leads me to guess 2008, and I'm close.
Cazin 2004 Cour-Cheverny "Vendange Manuelle"
Re-taste Saturday: still hard to identify; really, the sturdy acidity is the only hallmark (meaning: it's not real aromatic, it's not real silky, though it is long)
EDEN "LACTIC" -
The pour is a lot like the previous wine only with the knobs turned up some... more tactile, more penetrating bouquet, more retro-nasal fragrance.
Jay does not need to be prompted twice and very quickly names the wine:
Cazin 2004 Cour-Cheverny "Vendange Manuelle" "Cuvee Renaissance"
Interestingly, both wines are 13% alc. Recent vintages of Cazin have been 14.5% or higher.
Re-taste Saturday: now this smells of sweat and funk (I'm being nice here, I leave that sort of language to Manuel); the palate however is wonderful: sultanas, maybe not quite a silky texture but how about a smooth poplin?, long, a little oldie-goldie (meaning: a touch of oxy), let me mention again how long the finish is; way better than its sib
JAY #2 -
"It's a flight for Jeff."
The pour has light fruit, kinda stemmy. "I like #2 a lot more than #3; #3 is inky." -Victor.
With a little effort we identify the wine as poulsard, but we don't guess the maker.
Frederic Puffeney 2020 Poulsard
Re-taste Saturday: light and bright and tweaky and terrific!
JAY #3 -
The pour has a similar nose to #2 but this is weightier, maybe earthier or maybe just a little unfocused. Rather darker than #2.
Once we know the grape in #2, however, it is easy to guess the grape here:
Frederic Puffeney 2017 Trousseau
Re-taste Saturday: produces amazing legs in the glass; alas, this is not so good as its sib: it fights in a higher weight-class but it is neither so clear or so distinctive as its sib
JAY #4 -
Ah, perhaps this is a Bordeaux flight; at the least, there's some kind of cabernet going on. Not especially strong wine but definitely a Bordeaux blend of some kind.
Every experienced wino knows this ordered set of questions... France? (yes), Bordeaux? (yes), Graves? (no), skip ahead a little, Margaux? (yes).
Unfortunately, while engaged in 'Stump the Band', the cork taint starts to manifest.
Ch. Giscours 1979 Margaux
Re-taste Saturday: corkiness is now about the same level of strength as the bouquet, I can't bring myself to continue
JAY #5 -
This wine is much more aromatic, and there is some fur or velveteen in the texture. We soon place the wine in Pomerol.
Victor guesses VCC "because it has the bite of cabernet sauvignon and only VCC has any noticeable amount of cab".
Still pretty vigorous so we guess 1990s... then 1980s... then, ah, the same year.
Vieux Chateau Certan 1979 Pomerol
Re-taste Saturday: it's really fabulous franc, slightly reddened and slightly mellowed by the merlot (must be some darned good merlot!), the tartness is no longer distinctly 'orange peel' it's just generally citrussy; there's a little black earth and still some fairly grippy tannins; not earth-shaking wine but there is a little tremble afoot
EDEN "ETHANOL" -
Eden suggests popping the caps on these two wines early on so they can get some air. I did so but it did not amount to even an hour.
Crazy bouquet: paprika and smoke, maybe some cinnamon. "Smells like carrots just pulled out of the ground" -Melissa.
We guess that it's syrah but we only fall into Cornas by accident and no one knows this maker.
Louis Sozet 2014 Cornas -
Well, not "no one". None of us has heard of Sozet, but I have some scribbles from Josh Raynolds about old-school Cornas: "The unique thing about Cornas was always the overwhelming number of small land-holders and part-time winemakers. Plus, the vineyards are insanely difficult to work, much less work with care. As the value of vineyards and wine started going up most owners either jumped into it full-time, more or less, or sold out. If you want a glimpse of the, ahem, good old days, get ahold of a bottle from Louis Sozet or Elie Bancel. Every so often something magical has happened but there's a reason that their wines sell for about 20 euros at the cellar door. But! Traditional Cornas! Step right up! There's also a reason that the younger generation is circling them, with hungry eyes, and it isn't for their wine-making prowess or their farming expertise."
Re-taste Saturday: nose is way more forward now: smoke, ash, the grape-flavored Robitussin, prune plum, whole-grain bread, tangy, how great is this!
EDEN "TANNIN" -
Another dark, wet soil, dark-berries wine. "Very deep and earthy" -Melissa; "Syrah? N. Rhone? Cornas?" -Jay (yes); "A different producer?" -Don (yes).
Eden fesses up that she grabbed the wrong bottle so this is not the intended vintage but so it goes.
Nicolas Serrette 2012 Cornas "Patou" -
Re-taste Saturday: tastes like higher alc, tiny bit of school paste brett (not objectionable), more redfruit than the Sozet, kinda less interesting than the Sozet (meaning: I get an impression of careful crafting of the whole rather than simply putting spin on the ball as it goes by); in a way, kinda Burgundian
EDEN "FRUCTOSE" -
This wine is totally gorgeous! The fragrance and palate are both exciting, well-balanced, "rich but light" -Jay. Good linger. There is, however, "a little touch of butter, like a butter cookie" -Victor. "Or popcorn" -Eden.
"Riesling, and Mosel, at that; it's the high-wire tension" -Victor.
"Auslese" -Jay.
Given the track record tonight we start our guessing in the 1980s but it's a little younger.
And, again, a house nobody present has heard of.
Licht-Bergweiler 1994 Brauneberger Juffer Riesling Auslese
Google sez this is a defunct house and internet notes are hit-or-miss. This is a hit.
Re-taste Saturday: still lovely, still limey riesling with a dot of butter, yum
JAY #6 -
Jay says this one is a rarity.
Let's pour it... golden brown in the glass, syrupy, bit of maple maybe?, this is the flavor of toffee! or perhaps creme caramel.
After a lot of guessing around, we identify it as an old Colheita port. (In truth, we're idiots because the weight of the wine alone should have immediately suggested port!)
Dalva 1971 Golden White Porto Colheita
Over 40 years in cask, Dalva has only made two other wines like it... in '52 and '63. I gather it's only been recently bottled.
Re-taste Saturday: the nose is a little past it, the palate is still vigorous, it's old port: sweet like brown sugar (that's the age showing), strong proofage, by now it could be any of a number of old sweet wines
And when I'm all done retasting, I set aside the Pinon and the Auslese for tomorrow, but I drink now the Renaissance and the Sozet.
Wow, folks. Some really excellent wines here! I don't know how the poor slobs serving next time (Don, me) are supposed to keep up.
