Jeff Grossman
Jeff Grossman
attendees: Don+Melissa, Eden+Scott, Jay, Jayson, Jeff, Lisa
Don and Lisa pouring.
Lisa's work is being work-like so we begin with Don's wines.
Don begins with a story: Once Upon A Recent Time he bought a couple bottles of '47 Huet from an oddball shop that does their own importing. The bottles arrived in due course. One of them, with an intact foil, nevertheless had the cork merrily afloat in the wine. A few internet moments go by, the store admits that not all is well and gives Don... store credit.
Store credit at an oddball store demands to be used so Don asks them to pick a case of "interesting" wines and send them along, and, oh, by the way, I drink a lot of Loire. The oddball store, being an oddball store, did indeed send along a case of wine almost none of which were Loire.
The first five wines are from that case.
Don #1 - "gets really interesting around the mid-palate" -Jay; we rapidly guess that it is a chard blend but give up trying to get its partners; we first guess it is a US wine because it is a big and fruity mouthful (but Don tells us it is French); seems young and fresh so we guess '21 or '22; our guessing skills are OK...
Karine Prelat 2022 Coteaux Champenois Blanc "3 Cepages Blanc" - 12%, even blend of petit meslier, chardonnay, pinot blanc that spends 10 months in a stoneware egg; Karine started bottling wine in 2019 (when she married a Champenoise, Julien Prelat); she also makes a Rose des Riceys
Day 3... nose still fresh, maybe herbal; mouth is light texture, hint of licorice root, good acidity, nice wine
Don #2 - funky nose and a weird finish... but lots of it; "smells like an old-fashioned perm" -Eden, "lemon and sweat" -Don, "...and something leguminous" -Jeff, "Nair depilatory cream" -Jayson, "burned popcorn" -Melissa; not very encouraging is it?
Clement Lavallee 2020 Chablis "45°" - Clement only started bottling wine in 2019 (his father runs Dom. Grand Roche in St-Bris Le Vineux); he adds SO2 at bottling but hews pretty 'natural' otherwise (no SO2 in the tanks, ambient yeasts, no filtration)
Day 3... nose definitely green/underripe/asparagus, palate same, not bad served against rich/creamy food (I tried cold shrimp salad)
Don #3 - "good amount of wood" -Jayson, "...and it's American" -Eden, we quickly start guessing Jura and then Burgundy
Verget 2023 Macon-Vergisson "Sur la Roche" - grown on the north-facing side of Vergisson
Day 3... a white burg, not too viscous and with good cut
Don #4 - tannic, dusty, "Sucrets (or hard-candy)" -Eden, finish is not long or persuasive, some citrus, lighter weight than Don #5, we guess pinot noir (and Don assents until we later google the terroir!)
Dom. Guillot-Broux 2019 Macon-Cruzille Rouge "Beaumont" -
Day 3... that's kinda nice! tastes more obviously like gamay but crisp, pure, kinda blue-fruity, glou-glou
Don #5 - "Also pinot" -Jayson, a lot more oomph here than in the previous wine, heartier, plusher, maybe more alcohol? (no), and then Jayson remembers having had this wine before and names it
Didier Fornerol 2022 Cote de Nuits-Villages Rouge - this is beautiful and well-made; some online folks compare Didier's talent to de Montille and Dujac
Day 3... I don't know that I'd pick it out as pinot noir, it's lightweight, tangy, and a little pine-y but very long; happy to drink, whatever it is
The last wine is from Don's holdings.
Don #6 - it's Bordeaux but several of us are undecided whether it's corked or just a little musty; "a lot of 'there' there in this wine" -Jayson; I think it's structured and stiff and, although Lisa and I are still hesitating, the strictness, the flowers-without-fruit, and tannins make me guess St-Estephe (yes)
Ch. Cos d’Estournel 1990 St-Estephe - I think Jay does not care for the '90 generally so is surprised at this one
Day 3... still flirting with corkiness but, giving it grace: tannic core all the way down the throat, youthful red/magenta color to the rim, blend of cab and merlot flavors (as befits its cepage), cigar box and wet earth, kinda stern actually so better drunk with a plate of rich food so it can stand in contrast
By now, Lisa is online and so we jump in.
sunrise - a hint of sweet raspberry in the nose but tin can in the mouth; Lisa says these are both old nebbiolo so I put the cap back on and wait
Nervi 1967 Gattinara - yes, from Chambers St
Day 3... muddy brick color, but it smells like wine!, there's sweetness on the palate, nearly no fruit or acid or tannin but some generic old red flavor still
checkerboard - OTH and DNPIM
Travaglini 1964 Gattinara - story: this bottle comes from Lisa's long-ago waitressing days... whenever customers wanted an interesting wine that wasn't too pricy this was her choice; the wacky bottle never fails to impress
Day 3... dead (and, alas, not quite finished decomposing)
letter D - good color, "syrah!" -Jay (he says there is so much garrigue here it can't be anything else); I get garrigue but also red candy and wintergreen; Jay guesses N. Rhone (yes) and then Jayson just crashes on through... Cote-Rotie, Ogier, '95
Michel & Stephane Ogier 1995 Cote-Rotie "La Belle Helene" - where is Stuart now?
Day 3... good color still, but falling apart after 3 days: cinnamon and cucumber and plaster of paris on the nose, some warm red-fruit flavors and a little acidity, maybe it was syrah once or maybe not
four dots - "has a cranberry port vibe" -Eden; I think this is incredibly oaky and high alcohol (yes: 16.4%); opulent and roasted and way OTT
Turley 1997 Zinfandel, Hayne Vineyard - a cliche but justifiably so
Day 3... good red color, nose full of blueberry, tongue parched with tannin, it isn't subtle but it is alive (...and yet, you can have my pour)
swirls - this has the pretty orange-gold of a dessert wine; oh, this is sauternes with its oak, botrytis, and luxurious mouthfeel; the bouquet is slightly better than the palate; marmalade (but not too sugary), citrus, even a little cinnamon; alcohol is high but does not show (14.5%)
Ch. Rieussec 1988 Sauternes - often said to be a lesser year than '89 or '90 and yet '88s are aging beautifully
Day 2... still yumz
Don and Lisa pouring.
Lisa's work is being work-like so we begin with Don's wines.
Don begins with a story: Once Upon A Recent Time he bought a couple bottles of '47 Huet from an oddball shop that does their own importing. The bottles arrived in due course. One of them, with an intact foil, nevertheless had the cork merrily afloat in the wine. A few internet moments go by, the store admits that not all is well and gives Don... store credit.
Store credit at an oddball store demands to be used so Don asks them to pick a case of "interesting" wines and send them along, and, oh, by the way, I drink a lot of Loire. The oddball store, being an oddball store, did indeed send along a case of wine almost none of which were Loire.
The first five wines are from that case.
Don #1 - "gets really interesting around the mid-palate" -Jay; we rapidly guess that it is a chard blend but give up trying to get its partners; we first guess it is a US wine because it is a big and fruity mouthful (but Don tells us it is French); seems young and fresh so we guess '21 or '22; our guessing skills are OK...
Karine Prelat 2022 Coteaux Champenois Blanc "3 Cepages Blanc" - 12%, even blend of petit meslier, chardonnay, pinot blanc that spends 10 months in a stoneware egg; Karine started bottling wine in 2019 (when she married a Champenoise, Julien Prelat); she also makes a Rose des Riceys
Day 3... nose still fresh, maybe herbal; mouth is light texture, hint of licorice root, good acidity, nice wine
Don #2 - funky nose and a weird finish... but lots of it; "smells like an old-fashioned perm" -Eden, "lemon and sweat" -Don, "...and something leguminous" -Jeff, "Nair depilatory cream" -Jayson, "burned popcorn" -Melissa; not very encouraging is it?
Clement Lavallee 2020 Chablis "45°" - Clement only started bottling wine in 2019 (his father runs Dom. Grand Roche in St-Bris Le Vineux); he adds SO2 at bottling but hews pretty 'natural' otherwise (no SO2 in the tanks, ambient yeasts, no filtration)
Day 3... nose definitely green/underripe/asparagus, palate same, not bad served against rich/creamy food (I tried cold shrimp salad)
Don #3 - "good amount of wood" -Jayson, "...and it's American" -Eden, we quickly start guessing Jura and then Burgundy
Verget 2023 Macon-Vergisson "Sur la Roche" - grown on the north-facing side of Vergisson
Day 3... a white burg, not too viscous and with good cut
Don #4 - tannic, dusty, "Sucrets (or hard-candy)" -Eden, finish is not long or persuasive, some citrus, lighter weight than Don #5, we guess pinot noir (and Don assents until we later google the terroir!)
Dom. Guillot-Broux 2019 Macon-Cruzille Rouge "Beaumont" -
Day 3... that's kinda nice! tastes more obviously like gamay but crisp, pure, kinda blue-fruity, glou-glou
Don #5 - "Also pinot" -Jayson, a lot more oomph here than in the previous wine, heartier, plusher, maybe more alcohol? (no), and then Jayson remembers having had this wine before and names it
Didier Fornerol 2022 Cote de Nuits-Villages Rouge - this is beautiful and well-made; some online folks compare Didier's talent to de Montille and Dujac
Day 3... I don't know that I'd pick it out as pinot noir, it's lightweight, tangy, and a little pine-y but very long; happy to drink, whatever it is
The last wine is from Don's holdings.
Don #6 - it's Bordeaux but several of us are undecided whether it's corked or just a little musty; "a lot of 'there' there in this wine" -Jayson; I think it's structured and stiff and, although Lisa and I are still hesitating, the strictness, the flowers-without-fruit, and tannins make me guess St-Estephe (yes)
Ch. Cos d’Estournel 1990 St-Estephe - I think Jay does not care for the '90 generally so is surprised at this one
Day 3... still flirting with corkiness but, giving it grace: tannic core all the way down the throat, youthful red/magenta color to the rim, blend of cab and merlot flavors (as befits its cepage), cigar box and wet earth, kinda stern actually so better drunk with a plate of rich food so it can stand in contrast
By now, Lisa is online and so we jump in.
sunrise - a hint of sweet raspberry in the nose but tin can in the mouth; Lisa says these are both old nebbiolo so I put the cap back on and wait
Nervi 1967 Gattinara - yes, from Chambers St
Day 3... muddy brick color, but it smells like wine!, there's sweetness on the palate, nearly no fruit or acid or tannin but some generic old red flavor still
checkerboard - OTH and DNPIM
Travaglini 1964 Gattinara - story: this bottle comes from Lisa's long-ago waitressing days... whenever customers wanted an interesting wine that wasn't too pricy this was her choice; the wacky bottle never fails to impress
Day 3... dead (and, alas, not quite finished decomposing)
letter D - good color, "syrah!" -Jay (he says there is so much garrigue here it can't be anything else); I get garrigue but also red candy and wintergreen; Jay guesses N. Rhone (yes) and then Jayson just crashes on through... Cote-Rotie, Ogier, '95
Michel & Stephane Ogier 1995 Cote-Rotie "La Belle Helene" - where is Stuart now?
Day 3... good color still, but falling apart after 3 days: cinnamon and cucumber and plaster of paris on the nose, some warm red-fruit flavors and a little acidity, maybe it was syrah once or maybe not
four dots - "has a cranberry port vibe" -Eden; I think this is incredibly oaky and high alcohol (yes: 16.4%); opulent and roasted and way OTT
Turley 1997 Zinfandel, Hayne Vineyard - a cliche but justifiably so
Day 3... good red color, nose full of blueberry, tongue parched with tannin, it isn't subtle but it is alive (...and yet, you can have my pour)
swirls - this has the pretty orange-gold of a dessert wine; oh, this is sauternes with its oak, botrytis, and luxurious mouthfeel; the bouquet is slightly better than the palate; marmalade (but not too sugary), citrus, even a little cinnamon; alcohol is high but does not show (14.5%)
Ch. Rieussec 1988 Sauternes - often said to be a lesser year than '89 or '90 and yet '88s are aging beautifully
Day 2... still yumz