Jeff Grossman
Jeff Grossman
attendees: Ira, Zak, Marc, Salil, Jeff, Mike, Jay, Dale, Ricky
...seven years in the making. That's how long ago it was that Jay speculated selling his magnum of Verset but instead listened to Ira, who had a magnum of Allemand, that they should open them together someday.
The tasting is a Who's Who of N. Rhone syrah. 1999 was a great year and so everybody (of a certain age) has a few.
We agree to all double-decant earlier in the day.
Noreetuh is an extraordinary place. The people are just wonderful and, as the management is wine-friendly, many wineaux are regulars. Secondly, the kitchen rolls out excellent food. Not just plain-but-serviceable stuff, really good stuff... tender and juicy fried chicken, miso pork ribs with some bite left in them, aged steak thinly sliced and achingly rare, and a glossy lacquered duck with calamansi that also slices up thin with hints of sweet and umami. And I'm leaving out several more, all excellent.
The meteorological persons predict fowl, I mean, foul weather so the attendees arrive in dribs and drabs. I'm nearly a half hour early and I'm third to sit down....
And when everyone is present, we begin with a little fizz and Noreetuh's amazingly delicate fried chicken (with picnic sides):
Augustin NV Champagne Brut "Feu" - 12%, disg 8/21, clearly Blanc de Noirs, Ira likes to bring things that nobody's ever heard of... and here we go; prominently leesy in the nose and mouth, there is good acidity but there is basically no finish, a slurp followed by nothing, "Pedestrian" -Marc
Taittinger 2000 Champagne Brut BdB "Comte de Champagne" - Mike puts his nose in the glass and says that he recognizes CdC by its "cereal notes": to him, it's like Cheerios or oats more generally; this is a great bottle of champagne... so much fruit and so varied, there is a shell of chalk too but it's silky (creamy?) and fruit-forward
Taittinger 2007 Champagne Brut BdB "Comte de Champagne" - this is a really good bottle of champagne... vigorous acidity compared to the 2000, even lemony or gingery, and I can definitely smell the "cereal notes" here; still shows those vivid acids when revisited later in the evening
As the plates march along, we keep doing flights of three until we run out:
Gonon 2007 St-Joseph - so much thyme! very typique of N Rhone syrah, lots of blue fruit, rich texture, more powerful than sophisticated
Gonon 2009 St-Joseph - much more red-fruited than the '07, there's a whiff of Mr. Clean that has me worried but nobody else mentions it, still a bit tight so I'd guess years to go yet
Chave 2000 Hermitage Blanc - there's always one wise-acre in the room... I don't think this is popular at the table; it's viscous and resinous and there is still sound acidity but meh
Cote-Rotie: leaning modern
Gangloff 1998 Cote-Rotie "La Sereine Noire" - 13%, lots of red fruits compared to the St-Joseph wines, some VA, rather delicate texture but full of flavor, robust and elegant!; revisited later in the evening and it is more open
Rostaing 1999 Cote-Rotie "Cote Blonde" - 13%, a little shoe polish brett is not strong but kinda buzz-kill, this has a warm blueberry/zinny compote flavor, comes across as kinda sweet
Chapoutier 1999 Cote-Rotie "La Mordoree" - cleanly made but very little fragrance, thick, a little black tea, char, oak; I haven't had this for many years but it's just as dull and feckless today as it was then; why is it that Chapoutier owns so many good properties and yet the wine is lifeless?
Cote-Rotie: leaning trad
Jasmin 1999 Cote-Rotie - beautiful, all red fruit, there is a little sting of alcohol which surprises me: perhaps the palate is not so strong as I'd like to believe; there is a trace of wintergreen or basil that is a nice complicating note; others at the table think it lacks delicacy, which is Jasmin's calling card; a somewhat enigmatic bottle
Barge 1999 Cote-Rotie "Cuvee du Plessy" - (alas, a Barge "Brune" was corked upon opening so Zak brought this one); this is a good one; much more substance than the Jasmin, and so much more bouquet; great bottle (and remains so all evening)
Gallet 1999 Cote-Rotie - OMG, this is simply perfect, 26 years old and what color! what vigor! everything that C-R is supposed to be; still a sturdy wine, very cranberry palate, blood and iron, wow
Cornas: the magnums
Verset 1999 Cornas - Jay magnum; another OMG wine: this is the juicy, stony, black plums of Cornas fruit with a little citrus and black pepper on top and an orchestra section of double basses and tubas playing beneath it
Allemand 1999 Cornas "Reynard" - Ira magnum; no momentous movie music here, instead there is lavender and lilac dancing in the breeze, a bit sweeter than the Verset and more noticeable texture; again, a hint of something minty (perhaps like camphor)
Allemand 1999 Cornas "Chaillots" - here, again, a slight stinging sensation on entry; shows the traditional blue fruit at first but modulates to dried cherries as the finish goes on and on...
Cornas: flight 2
Clape 1999 Cornas - dense, deep, alcoholic, severe, smoky, minerally to the max, iron and rocks and earth, virtually no fruit (and what there is, is blue plums), very pure so yum but so strict, does this wine ever ease up? (Dale describes it as the Henri Gouges of Cornas); only days later do I remember a conversation at the Reboule from 2018, "I mentioned to Olivier Clape that I still have '96 and '99 laying down. He said that 1996 was a bit of a tough year but that it is time to open it. Of the 1999 he said, 'forget about it for another 10 years.'"
Sorrel 1999 Cornas "Le Greal" - corked
Jin wants us to have a taste of riesling, no matter the rest of the event, so we do:
Becker 2002 Wallufer Walkenberg Riesling Spatlese - 37030 006 003, more unctuous than I expect of a spatlese; if you set aside the plush then this is a good, regular spatlese... lime and slate flavors served with a bit of zing and a goodly cushion of sugar
Last sips on Tuesday:
Gallet - still great
Clape - a teeny-tiny bit more open but, overall, do not disturb for another 5 or 10 years
I think the magnums and the Gallet stole the show, with the Barge taking Honorable Mention. All the wines have years of life left in them, but these showed the most interest and vivacity to me.
An amazing, epic event. Everyone was in good form, Noreetuh was firing on all cylinders, and I am grateful to Jay and Ira for the invitation to attend.
Thanks to Mike for the pix.
...seven years in the making. That's how long ago it was that Jay speculated selling his magnum of Verset but instead listened to Ira, who had a magnum of Allemand, that they should open them together someday.
The tasting is a Who's Who of N. Rhone syrah. 1999 was a great year and so everybody (of a certain age) has a few.
We agree to all double-decant earlier in the day.
Noreetuh is an extraordinary place. The people are just wonderful and, as the management is wine-friendly, many wineaux are regulars. Secondly, the kitchen rolls out excellent food. Not just plain-but-serviceable stuff, really good stuff... tender and juicy fried chicken, miso pork ribs with some bite left in them, aged steak thinly sliced and achingly rare, and a glossy lacquered duck with calamansi that also slices up thin with hints of sweet and umami. And I'm leaving out several more, all excellent.
The meteorological persons predict fowl, I mean, foul weather so the attendees arrive in dribs and drabs. I'm nearly a half hour early and I'm third to sit down....
And when everyone is present, we begin with a little fizz and Noreetuh's amazingly delicate fried chicken (with picnic sides):
Augustin NV Champagne Brut "Feu" - 12%, disg 8/21, clearly Blanc de Noirs, Ira likes to bring things that nobody's ever heard of... and here we go; prominently leesy in the nose and mouth, there is good acidity but there is basically no finish, a slurp followed by nothing, "Pedestrian" -Marc
Taittinger 2000 Champagne Brut BdB "Comte de Champagne" - Mike puts his nose in the glass and says that he recognizes CdC by its "cereal notes": to him, it's like Cheerios or oats more generally; this is a great bottle of champagne... so much fruit and so varied, there is a shell of chalk too but it's silky (creamy?) and fruit-forward
Taittinger 2007 Champagne Brut BdB "Comte de Champagne" - this is a really good bottle of champagne... vigorous acidity compared to the 2000, even lemony or gingery, and I can definitely smell the "cereal notes" here; still shows those vivid acids when revisited later in the evening
As the plates march along, we keep doing flights of three until we run out:
Gonon 2007 St-Joseph - so much thyme! very typique of N Rhone syrah, lots of blue fruit, rich texture, more powerful than sophisticated
Gonon 2009 St-Joseph - much more red-fruited than the '07, there's a whiff of Mr. Clean that has me worried but nobody else mentions it, still a bit tight so I'd guess years to go yet
Chave 2000 Hermitage Blanc - there's always one wise-acre in the room... I don't think this is popular at the table; it's viscous and resinous and there is still sound acidity but meh
Cote-Rotie: leaning modern
Gangloff 1998 Cote-Rotie "La Sereine Noire" - 13%, lots of red fruits compared to the St-Joseph wines, some VA, rather delicate texture but full of flavor, robust and elegant!; revisited later in the evening and it is more open
Rostaing 1999 Cote-Rotie "Cote Blonde" - 13%, a little shoe polish brett is not strong but kinda buzz-kill, this has a warm blueberry/zinny compote flavor, comes across as kinda sweet
Chapoutier 1999 Cote-Rotie "La Mordoree" - cleanly made but very little fragrance, thick, a little black tea, char, oak; I haven't had this for many years but it's just as dull and feckless today as it was then; why is it that Chapoutier owns so many good properties and yet the wine is lifeless?
Cote-Rotie: leaning trad
Jasmin 1999 Cote-Rotie - beautiful, all red fruit, there is a little sting of alcohol which surprises me: perhaps the palate is not so strong as I'd like to believe; there is a trace of wintergreen or basil that is a nice complicating note; others at the table think it lacks delicacy, which is Jasmin's calling card; a somewhat enigmatic bottle
Barge 1999 Cote-Rotie "Cuvee du Plessy" - (alas, a Barge "Brune" was corked upon opening so Zak brought this one); this is a good one; much more substance than the Jasmin, and so much more bouquet; great bottle (and remains so all evening)
Gallet 1999 Cote-Rotie - OMG, this is simply perfect, 26 years old and what color! what vigor! everything that C-R is supposed to be; still a sturdy wine, very cranberry palate, blood and iron, wow
Cornas: the magnums
Verset 1999 Cornas - Jay magnum; another OMG wine: this is the juicy, stony, black plums of Cornas fruit with a little citrus and black pepper on top and an orchestra section of double basses and tubas playing beneath it
Allemand 1999 Cornas "Reynard" - Ira magnum; no momentous movie music here, instead there is lavender and lilac dancing in the breeze, a bit sweeter than the Verset and more noticeable texture; again, a hint of something minty (perhaps like camphor)
Allemand 1999 Cornas "Chaillots" - here, again, a slight stinging sensation on entry; shows the traditional blue fruit at first but modulates to dried cherries as the finish goes on and on...
Cornas: flight 2
Clape 1999 Cornas - dense, deep, alcoholic, severe, smoky, minerally to the max, iron and rocks and earth, virtually no fruit (and what there is, is blue plums), very pure so yum but so strict, does this wine ever ease up? (Dale describes it as the Henri Gouges of Cornas); only days later do I remember a conversation at the Reboule from 2018, "I mentioned to Olivier Clape that I still have '96 and '99 laying down. He said that 1996 was a bit of a tough year but that it is time to open it. Of the 1999 he said, 'forget about it for another 10 years.'"
Sorrel 1999 Cornas "Le Greal" - corked
Jin wants us to have a taste of riesling, no matter the rest of the event, so we do:
Becker 2002 Wallufer Walkenberg Riesling Spatlese - 37030 006 003, more unctuous than I expect of a spatlese; if you set aside the plush then this is a good, regular spatlese... lime and slate flavors served with a bit of zing and a goodly cushion of sugar
Last sips on Tuesday:
Gallet - still great
Clape - a teeny-tiny bit more open but, overall, do not disturb for another 5 or 10 years
I think the magnums and the Gallet stole the show, with the Barge taking Honorable Mention. All the wines have years of life left in them, but these showed the most interest and vivacity to me.
An amazing, epic event. Everyone was in good form, Noreetuh was firing on all cylinders, and I am grateful to Jay and Ira for the invitation to attend.
Thanks to Mike for the pix.
