Keith Levenberg
Keith Levenberg
To get one of those little private alcoves with sofas and pillows and drapery in the basement of Spice Market, you either have to be (a) a Long Island bachelorette party, (b) a group of European runway models, (c) a group of stockbrokers fondling the bachelorette party and/or the runway models, or (d) Brad Kane. But among that group, only Brad Kane gets BYOB privileges and free seconds of the pork skewers. So we drank:
Trimbach 1995 Riesling Cuvee Frederic Emile - bone-dry riesling in an austere, masochistic style, just mouthsuckingly dry. At first I wanted more freshness but it brightened up. OK, but there are probably a few hundred other dry rieslings I'd rather drink and I think CFE gets more love than it deserves on account of the Clos Ste. Hune association.
Zind-Humbrecht 1994 Riesling Turckheim - I couldn't muster up anything to say about this other than that it was pretty damn similar to the CFE.
Zind-Humbrecht 1994 Rotenberg Pinot Gris V.T. - good, but probably would have been better with cheese or dessert. I needed the sugar to battle the spice on the wings, but the alcohol was battling the sugar. Pretty tropical and cranberryish fruit.
Zind-Humbrecht 1990 Heimbourg Pinot Gris V.T. - much darker complexioned than the Rotenberg, red-fruited cassis-like profile but not as bright or friendly.
Dr. Fischer 1976 Ockfener Bockstein Riesling Beerenauslese - almost like a liquid pastry, creamy vanilla-scented/flavored fruit.
Domaine Tempier 1987 Bandol La Tourtine - superb aromatics when I decanted it at home but more generic by the time we drank it, when it seemed an anonymous middle-aged red wine.
Schloss-Schonborn 1990 Riesling Spatlese - no vineyard designation, on its deathbed.
Jamet 1998 Cote-Rotie - picture-perfect Cote-Rotie, density without sacrificing precision and that unmistakable flavor.
Texier 1999 Hermitage - had this once before and this bottle showed the same way, at least after it sat for awhile, like drinking liquid mesquite smoke. What I did not know when I had it before is that it's declassified Chave Hermitage, so of course that made it even better!
Foreau 1996 Vouvray Demisec - something went chemically wrong here, smells like hairspray and the weirdness intrudes on the flavors.
Monimpex 1961 Tokaji 3 puttonyos - a commie wine. "Interesting but not pleasurable, kind of like communism," remarked Michel. But actually not even interesting, more like a communist college professor. Boy, would I have been steamed if I waited 14 months on a bread line only to get this. Tastes kind of like a cross between wine and poison. As the greatest president in the history of the United States said to Gorbachev at Reykjavic, "Nyet."
Trimbach 1995 Riesling Cuvee Frederic Emile - bone-dry riesling in an austere, masochistic style, just mouthsuckingly dry. At first I wanted more freshness but it brightened up. OK, but there are probably a few hundred other dry rieslings I'd rather drink and I think CFE gets more love than it deserves on account of the Clos Ste. Hune association.
Zind-Humbrecht 1994 Riesling Turckheim - I couldn't muster up anything to say about this other than that it was pretty damn similar to the CFE.
Zind-Humbrecht 1994 Rotenberg Pinot Gris V.T. - good, but probably would have been better with cheese or dessert. I needed the sugar to battle the spice on the wings, but the alcohol was battling the sugar. Pretty tropical and cranberryish fruit.
Zind-Humbrecht 1990 Heimbourg Pinot Gris V.T. - much darker complexioned than the Rotenberg, red-fruited cassis-like profile but not as bright or friendly.
Dr. Fischer 1976 Ockfener Bockstein Riesling Beerenauslese - almost like a liquid pastry, creamy vanilla-scented/flavored fruit.
Domaine Tempier 1987 Bandol La Tourtine - superb aromatics when I decanted it at home but more generic by the time we drank it, when it seemed an anonymous middle-aged red wine.
Schloss-Schonborn 1990 Riesling Spatlese - no vineyard designation, on its deathbed.
Jamet 1998 Cote-Rotie - picture-perfect Cote-Rotie, density without sacrificing precision and that unmistakable flavor.
Texier 1999 Hermitage - had this once before and this bottle showed the same way, at least after it sat for awhile, like drinking liquid mesquite smoke. What I did not know when I had it before is that it's declassified Chave Hermitage, so of course that made it even better!
Foreau 1996 Vouvray Demisec - something went chemically wrong here, smells like hairspray and the weirdness intrudes on the flavors.
Monimpex 1961 Tokaji 3 puttonyos - a commie wine. "Interesting but not pleasurable, kind of like communism," remarked Michel. But actually not even interesting, more like a communist college professor. Boy, would I have been steamed if I waited 14 months on a bread line only to get this. Tastes kind of like a cross between wine and poison. As the greatest president in the history of the United States said to Gorbachev at Reykjavic, "Nyet."