TN: Jay Miller's Housewarming (for some house or other)

J

Jeff Grossman

Jeff Grossman
8/14/08
Don Rice, Paul Jaouen & Sandy, Jeff Grossman & Jim, Joe Dressner & Denyse, Cliff Rosenberg, Tony Fletcher, Brad Kane, Michel Abood, Chris Coad

Midst the putting green and the groaning board we gathered to welcome Jay back to the 'hood (Jersey City) and to congratulate both Chris Coad and Joe Dressner on having completed another trip around the sun.

Jay produced a standing rib of beef, sauteed cherry tomatoes, baked potatoes, spinach salad with mushrooms and duck confit, a zingy chickpea and onion salad, and everyone's favorite hot cheesey poufs (gougeres). The table also had fresh breads and three kinds of hummus.

Happenings:
- looking out Jay's window, he has perfect position on the 30-yard line of the school's football field
- he also gets good sunset reflections off the Manhattan skyline
- the Krug caused an anticipatory hush in the room
- as promised, Don brought a 1996 Taluau and also a wine from his home state
- Jeff & Jim were wowed by numerous coincidences: Don and Jim seem to have lived in the same neighborhoods at the same time for many years now... separated at birth?... and Tony's upstate hideaway just happens to be a 5 minute hike from another of our friends
- Joe's hair!
- for all that I've read about the possibility, I've never seen a baked potato explode before

The wines:

Vilmart 1993 Champagne, Brut, 1er Cru "Coeur de Cuvee" - magnum; wow; not overly bready/yeasty, only a faint trickle of bubbles left, butterscotch and a whiff of lanolin, old yellow fruits, just yum

Lassaigne 2000 Champagne, Brut Nature, Blancs de Blancs - light lemon, chalky minerals, frothy and light-bright after the older wine

Baumard MV Coteaux du Layon "Cuvee Ancienne" - deep gold color; glyceral feel but rather tight; I'll let the rest of these sleep

Prairie Berry NV "Red Ass" - 90% rhubarb, 10% raspberry; from South Dakota; sticky sweet, tastes mostly like raspberries, no spoof (I guess)

M. Ollivier 2000 Muscadet SMSL "Clos des Briords" - river stones, crisp acidity, whiff of talc, just love it

Alesia 2004 Pinot Noir "Kanzler Vineyard" - so young, so tannic, whiff of cola, another slightly-overblown CA pinot, not sure what all the fuss is about

Muller-Catoir 1998 Haardter Burgergarten Riesling Spatlese - 51740791999 (is Trombley here?), just barely ripe (e.g., more lime than peach), tingly, the barest touch of sweetness, really nice

Juillot 2005 Mercurey - a nice little burg, that's it

Dard et Ribo 2006 VdP de l'Ardeche "Lard, des Choix" - old vines gamay from the Ardeches, cloudy, slight VA, fruity, woodsy, funky, just love it

Guttarolo Gioia 2006 Primitivo IGT - done in amphora; plum and cinnamon, a bit oxidized, interesting

Capercaille 2000 Shiraz "The Ghillie" - open for a couple of days, still crisp and clean, but almost no one else in the room likes it, a chacun

Roagna 1998 Barbaresco "Paje" - a very different animal than any of the preceding wines: anise, camphor, black raspberry, fig

Charles Krug 1974 Cabernet Sauvignon, Lot F1 - too maderized for me

Taluau 1996 St-Nicolas de Bourgueil VV - nice enough, old enough in the fruit, a little light texture, but it's still clenched... will it ever open?

Dom. de la Chevalerie 1996 Bourgueil "Busardieres" - spirity, flavor faint

Seven Hills 1999 Cabernet Sauvignon - dilly nose, if you can get past that there is nice clean fruit in there

Prado Enea 1995 Rioja GR "Muga" - pretty, good balance, a bit of leather and VA and lots of red berries, yum

Alion 2001 Ribera del Duero - too oaky, OK otherwise

Ridge 2005 "Montebello" - tannic, zingy, very coconutty, "Coppertone!" - Chris

Chidaine 2005 Montlouis "Les Tuffeaux" - flabby, ripe, I hope some sleep will improve this

Kunstler 2005 Riesling "Stielweg" - very pretty, only a slight minerality, using the same scale as on the M-C, this is riper than lime but still not so ripe as peach, must be a Jay thing

Smith-Woodhouse 1976 Colheita - very old color, brown sugar, still kinda alive, I hear that Jay isn't pleased

Vergano Chinato "Americano" - base of grignolino, smells like Campari but drinks sweeter and richer, I like it

Gouges 1996 Nuits-St-Georges "Les Perrieres" (blanc) - from mutant pinot noir grapes; a whiff of chlorine blows off, then very viscous and still primary, a good bottle
 
Is that it?!?!? What was it, a school night?

No, seriously, was anyone able to walk after all that!
Thanks for the notes.
 
You guys left early, you missed some of the stuff we opened later.

No one besides you liked the shiraz? Really? NO ONE? Are you sure? Think back, now....
 
originally posted by Rahsaan:
Prairie Berry NV "Red Ass" - 90% rhubarb, 10% raspberry; from South Dakota; sticky sweet, tastes mostly like raspberries, no spoof (I guess)
Click to expand...

Wow! Who brought that.
Click to expand...

Apparently someone who doesn't like Jay. Or the rest of us. But, of course, being the stubborn contrarian, Kane loved it and practically named it SWOTN (Somewhat Wine Of The Night).

The Vilmart was glorious, but then again I prefer my Champagne aged, unlike my women. The Lassaigne was ungiving and practically spanked my palate for having tried it so young. Almost all the other wines were nice, except for the Montebello (I was wondering what that smell was and didn't have the heart to tell Jay his apartment smelled like coconuts and vanilla) and the Capercaille (being half French, my palate promptly went on strike after tasting that and wouldn't come back to work until I dallied with the Vilmart again). I liked both Spaniards, especially that Muga. The Charles Krug was good but was gasping for breath after a while in the glass, drink NOW. I thought the Gouges was so-so, I had been hoping for more from previous tastings.

Oh, and that Chinato was glorious.
Cheers!
 
(I was wondering what that smell was and didn't have the heart to tell Jay his apartment smelled like coconuts and vanilla)
Click to expand...
Now that's funny right there. I'm picturing Jay in Guantanamo in a cell with vanilla scented candles and coconut sachets everywhere screaming "I'll talk, I'll talk!"
 
Loved the Vilmart, I may even splurge on another mag once my finances recover from moving and remodeling the bathroom.

The Lassaigne was very nice, but very tight. Needs time.

The Baumard didn't show much

The Red Ass showed too much, almost all of it raspberry.

The Ollivier was really nice.

The Alesia Kanzler remains my favorite of the '04 releases. Unmistakably Californian with a lovely wash of fruit but sufficient acidity to keep it from being flabby. Nice wine.

The Muller Catoir smelled glorious, unfortunately it was gone before I had a chance to taste it.

The Mercurey was a very nice little burg. Enjoyed this a lot.

The 'Lard, des Choix' (choice of fats?) was really good. Top notch. Much argument over the animal on the label, none on the wine.

The Primitivo was okay.

The Ghillie gave me the willies. When Tony commented that he hadn't had a bad wine all evening I handed him this.

The Roagna was a real beauty. Loved this wine. Beguiling and complex.

The Krug was very nice. Needed about 15-30 minutes of air to shine, then declined after that. But a very enjoyable old Cabernet.

The Taluau needs more time. Still.

The Domaine de la Chevalerie Bourguiel was dull.

The Seven Hills Cabernet was good, unexciting cabernet.

The 1995 Muga was super, great match with the Prime Rib (as Brad informed me. over and over.)

The Alion was okay. I'm not a real fan of this bottling.

The Montebello was vilely overoaked. Feh.

Chidaine "Les Tuffeaux" was an enjoyable sweetie.

Kunstler is probably my favorite dry German producer these days. This is a bit more shut down from previous bottles but still pretty darn good.

Smith-Woodhouse 1976 Colheita - pretty much over the hill. Uninteresting.

Vergano Chinato "Americano" - There was a Chinato? Why didn't anyone tell me?

Gouges 1996 Nuits-St-Georges "Les Perrieres" (blanc) - pretty dull but I was glad to finally have the chance to try a bottle.
 
originally posted by Michel Abood:
originally posted by Rahsaan:
Prairie Berry NV "Red Ass" - 90% rhubarb, 10% raspberry; from South Dakota; sticky sweet, tastes mostly like raspberries, no spoof (I guess)
Click to expand...

Wow! Who brought that.
Click to expand...

Apparently someone who doesn't like Jay. Or the rest of us. But, of course, being the stubborn contrarian, Kane loved it and practically named it SWOTN (Somewhat Wine Of The Night).
Click to expand...

I think it was revenge for breaking 3 of Don's corkscrews.
 
Ribo 2006 VdP de l'Ardeche "Lard, des Choix" - old vines gamay from the Ardeches, cloudy, slight VA, fruity, woodsy, funky, just love it
Click to expand...

Is this Dardless? Or a coincidental name?

Mark Lipton
 
The very same; I'll edit to match.

It is a goofball bottling. The name is a homophone for l'Ardechois, and it also refers to their familial food preferences.
 
... but I would have liked it better if it had been less so (that is, the South Dakota Rhubarb)... Thankfully tho, it was cleanly made and frooty rather than the other way.

I had forgotten about the corkscrews.

I loved the Lard des Choix.

Thanks Jay for doing the heavy lifting. Nice place you've got!

originally posted by Jay Miller:

I think it was revenge for breaking 3 of Don's corkscrews.
Click to expand...
 
This was the 5th Jay Miller housewarming party that my schedule has, unfortunately, placed me elsewhere.

I very much look forward to bowing regretfully out of number 6.
 
'96 Caslot is a remarkable wine, as Joe, Denyse and SFJoe will confirm, from an encounter earlier this year. You either had a damaged bottle or seriously shook it up (it's got quite a bit of sediment). SFJoe and I also had this wine in Tours last November, where it made a great flight with '96 Clos Rougeard.
 
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