Jeff Grossman
Jeff Grossman
((These notes are from April 13, 2003.))
The Spring that never Sprung was still going on, chilly and damp as November. Thus inspired, and finding myself with six vintages of Clape Cornas on hand, I summoned some veterans of the New York City Wino Squadron to pull some comparative Cornas corks.
The troops: Mike Bassman, Brad Kane, Jay Miller, Yaacov Barselah, Marty Lebwohl, Greg dal Piaz, Asher Rubinstein, Joe Dougherty, and Jeff Grossman.
The venue: Cafe Loup. They did not hide us in the back of the restaurant this time, but gave us a long Minetta-style table in the middle of the room. We were boisterous, but they love us anyway. :^)
Many of the wines were decanted ahead of time: the '94 Clape had thrown lots of sediment in the 1.5 hrs, the '91 Voge was decanted for an hour, several others were decanted at the table.
I am going to forgo rating these wines, even on my minimalist scale, because everything was excellent. (But have no fear: if something really didn't suit me, I'll mention it.)
Whites
Muller-Catoir 2001 Haardter Burgergarten Riesling Kabinett Halbtrocken - taut, sharp lime flavors mingled with flowers
Marcel Deiss 1997 Altenberg de Bergheim Riesling Grand Cru - sweet and ripe, viscous
Willi Haag 2001 Brauneberger Juffer Riesling Kabinett - AP# 2 577 049 2 02, someone said this was declassified auslese, very muted today, getting chalky with aeration, this did not suit me
Mystery Wine - a little funk on the nose, then rocks, lots of rocks, and a really long tart (quince?) finish, and it turns out to be: Jamek 2001 Ried Achleiten Gruner Veltliner Smaragd
Reds
We began with an intention to taste all the non-Clape wines first, but when we got to the first Cornas, we changed our minds and decided to do all the Cornas together.
Of course, the usual nonsense erupted over whether to drink them oldest-to-youngest or youngest-to-oldest. The issue was resolved, of course, by a combination of those who cared the most, those who shouted the loudest, and those who sat nearest the bottles. :^)
Lafoy et Gasse 1990 Cote-Rotie - beautiful, bacon and raspberries, exquisite, where can I find some?
Chave 1994 Hermitage - peppery and earthy, somehow cleaner than the previous wine, showing more spicy complexity and less funk
Verset 1990 Cornas - whiff of sulfur blows off, black fruits and olives remain, a little jammy
Clape 1999 Cornas - hasn't shut down yet, so still very expressive nose of cinnamon and blackberry, palate is tight, however, and the wine is shutting down in the glass
Allemand 1999 Cornas (unsulfured) - hand-carried by Marty from France, it starts with a slight spritz, but is very open, like a berry soda: rich in flavor buy light in texture
Clape 1997 Cornas - plush nose, big and warm, floral and smoky, not as dense as the '99
Clape 1994 Cornas - very menthol, very bright/tart cherry and plum, seems out-of-whack today
Clape 1991 Cornas - aah! this is what we came for, rich and meaty, secondary aromas of tar, violets, balsam, and an incredibly long finish
Voge 1991 Cornas - playing the role of "Merlot" to the Clape's "Cabernet", this wine was thicker, with redder fruit flavors, and a looser weave
Clape 1990 Cornas - a bit of tar, tremendous complexity, a solid core of black fruit and minerality
Clape 1989 Cornas - tannins have melted away, leaving a pretty and fruity wine with a long finish, not much funk at all, some say this is lightly corked (and maybe the lack of excitement supports that observation)
Clape 1988 Cornas - amazingly youthful, lean, with a strong mineral streak
Clape 1985 Cornas - everything is resolved, but everything is also musty, Brad is certain this is corked
Clape 1983 Cornas - roasted fruit flavors, a bit of face powder, definitely 'the old man' of the group (even by my tastes)
Burgaud 1999 Cote-Rotie - held till the end at the insistence of its owner, all my notes say is "pretty" (...a lot of alcohol in these wines...)
Dessert
J-P Brun 2000 "Labeur d'Octobre" - this is late-harvest chardonnay from Beaujolais, all the comments at the table were similar: waffles with caramel, the most interesting sticky on the table (and rumor has it that Dressner says it won't sell so he won't bring it in :^(
Lafaurie-Peyraguey 1990 Sauternes - better acidity than the Brun but also more noticeable alcohol
Deruet-Bezard 1989 Vouvray Moelleux - the table was divided as to whether the bouquet was more like armpits or baby throw-up... there was good acidity, but many folks disliked this (for example, Joe: "dirty barrels... that's really disgusting"); this didn't suit me, either
I was quite satisfied with the wines. I am still a fan of Cornas; it's not the value it used to be, but its flavors are distinctive and appealing.
Jeff
The Spring that never Sprung was still going on, chilly and damp as November. Thus inspired, and finding myself with six vintages of Clape Cornas on hand, I summoned some veterans of the New York City Wino Squadron to pull some comparative Cornas corks.
The troops: Mike Bassman, Brad Kane, Jay Miller, Yaacov Barselah, Marty Lebwohl, Greg dal Piaz, Asher Rubinstein, Joe Dougherty, and Jeff Grossman.
The venue: Cafe Loup. They did not hide us in the back of the restaurant this time, but gave us a long Minetta-style table in the middle of the room. We were boisterous, but they love us anyway. :^)
Many of the wines were decanted ahead of time: the '94 Clape had thrown lots of sediment in the 1.5 hrs, the '91 Voge was decanted for an hour, several others were decanted at the table.
I am going to forgo rating these wines, even on my minimalist scale, because everything was excellent. (But have no fear: if something really didn't suit me, I'll mention it.)
Whites
Muller-Catoir 2001 Haardter Burgergarten Riesling Kabinett Halbtrocken - taut, sharp lime flavors mingled with flowers
Marcel Deiss 1997 Altenberg de Bergheim Riesling Grand Cru - sweet and ripe, viscous
Willi Haag 2001 Brauneberger Juffer Riesling Kabinett - AP# 2 577 049 2 02, someone said this was declassified auslese, very muted today, getting chalky with aeration, this did not suit me
Mystery Wine - a little funk on the nose, then rocks, lots of rocks, and a really long tart (quince?) finish, and it turns out to be: Jamek 2001 Ried Achleiten Gruner Veltliner Smaragd
Reds
We began with an intention to taste all the non-Clape wines first, but when we got to the first Cornas, we changed our minds and decided to do all the Cornas together.
Of course, the usual nonsense erupted over whether to drink them oldest-to-youngest or youngest-to-oldest. The issue was resolved, of course, by a combination of those who cared the most, those who shouted the loudest, and those who sat nearest the bottles. :^)
Lafoy et Gasse 1990 Cote-Rotie - beautiful, bacon and raspberries, exquisite, where can I find some?
Chave 1994 Hermitage - peppery and earthy, somehow cleaner than the previous wine, showing more spicy complexity and less funk
Verset 1990 Cornas - whiff of sulfur blows off, black fruits and olives remain, a little jammy
Clape 1999 Cornas - hasn't shut down yet, so still very expressive nose of cinnamon and blackberry, palate is tight, however, and the wine is shutting down in the glass
Allemand 1999 Cornas (unsulfured) - hand-carried by Marty from France, it starts with a slight spritz, but is very open, like a berry soda: rich in flavor buy light in texture
Clape 1997 Cornas - plush nose, big and warm, floral and smoky, not as dense as the '99
Clape 1994 Cornas - very menthol, very bright/tart cherry and plum, seems out-of-whack today
Clape 1991 Cornas - aah! this is what we came for, rich and meaty, secondary aromas of tar, violets, balsam, and an incredibly long finish
Voge 1991 Cornas - playing the role of "Merlot" to the Clape's "Cabernet", this wine was thicker, with redder fruit flavors, and a looser weave
Clape 1990 Cornas - a bit of tar, tremendous complexity, a solid core of black fruit and minerality
Clape 1989 Cornas - tannins have melted away, leaving a pretty and fruity wine with a long finish, not much funk at all, some say this is lightly corked (and maybe the lack of excitement supports that observation)
Clape 1988 Cornas - amazingly youthful, lean, with a strong mineral streak
Clape 1985 Cornas - everything is resolved, but everything is also musty, Brad is certain this is corked
Clape 1983 Cornas - roasted fruit flavors, a bit of face powder, definitely 'the old man' of the group (even by my tastes)
Burgaud 1999 Cote-Rotie - held till the end at the insistence of its owner, all my notes say is "pretty" (...a lot of alcohol in these wines...)
Dessert
J-P Brun 2000 "Labeur d'Octobre" - this is late-harvest chardonnay from Beaujolais, all the comments at the table were similar: waffles with caramel, the most interesting sticky on the table (and rumor has it that Dressner says it won't sell so he won't bring it in :^(
Lafaurie-Peyraguey 1990 Sauternes - better acidity than the Brun but also more noticeable alcohol
Deruet-Bezard 1989 Vouvray Moelleux - the table was divided as to whether the bouquet was more like armpits or baby throw-up... there was good acidity, but many folks disliked this (for example, Joe: "dirty barrels... that's really disgusting"); this didn't suit me, either
I was quite satisfied with the wines. I am still a fan of Cornas; it's not the value it used to be, but its flavors are distinctive and appealing.
Jeff