Jeff Grossman
Jeff Grossman
It is a holiday in the US, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, so a few of us met in the storage cellar in NYC to pull a few corks in honor of the life of the martyred hero. We had no anima n-word nor did any cute little servants pour Cote du Frontonnais for us. We had a good time, anyway.
Well.
We had a good time if you're really rather Disorderly:
Sitting alone, The Famously Prompt and Unoaked Jay Miller spread out two cheeses (Dorset, Landaff) and a whole cooked lobster and a few bottles:
Dom. Collier 2005 Saumur Blanc - made by the nephew of the fellow who runs Clos Rougeard; it's chenin with the taste of old wood and a slight oxidation; not a bad match with the lobster but it's not my sort of thing
Muller-Catoir 1998 Haardter Burgergarten Riesling Spatlese Halbtrocken - 5 174 079 14 99, ah, Number 1 on Gunter's Greatest Geek Wines Parade, the zip has faded a little but it still has copious apricots on entry, the texture is weighty but not viscous, and a long finish that isn't quite sweet and isn't quite dry
Dom. Fourrier 1998 Gevrey-Chambertin 1er "Combes Aux Moines" - hm, something smells not quite right, not obvious TCA, still minerally but the wine is skinny, we'll wait a bit and see what happens with more time in the decanter
After some time tapping his toes and drumming his fingers -- it was cold where he was sitting -- Jay ate much of the lobster.
Soon, he was joined by Your Able Reporter and then Jayson Cohen, whose mysterious ailment is being treated by medicines that cause him to spit out wine he doesn't like too much.
The spread continued to, um, spread with the addition of an olive bread, slices of rare roast beef, and of lamb pastrami.
But with only one workable wine on the table, we all dash to open more wine:
Edmunds St John 1995 Syrah "Durrell Vineyard" - awwwf, what a stink, and not much better when tasted, another one to sit in the decanter for a while (and hope that Dressner and/or Bueker are praying for it)
Dom. Dujac 1998 Morey-St-Denis GC "Clos de la Roche" - a whiff of perfumey spoof, of course, but there's a lot of lovely wine here; so young still!; better leave it sit for a while to breathe
Bother. Still not much to drink. Another wine is needed:
Thomas-Labaille 2005 Sancerre "Les Aristides" - I was a little iffy about this wine immediately after the pop but it opens up beautifully, all stones and peaches and a whisper of lime
Joe, the cellar-master for Chambers Street, saunters by the table and we pounceinvite him to join us. He said he was in a hurry so he only stayed a half-hour. And he opened an additional bottle:
Dom. Closel (Ch. des Vaults) 2005 Savennieres "Clos Papillon" - Joe is a big booster for Savennieres so, despite three shaking heads and a threatening susurrus of "that will be closed down hard", here we go: crisp and clean on entry, then a rush of lanolin and wax, and then... it fizzles out; rather anti-climactic; he stuffs a cork back in it and is going to let it sit for two or three days
Soon the Dotster arrives and he is eager to talk physics with Jayson. We only hear bits and pieces: "I understand gravity." "There must be another force pushing it in that direction."
Once he gets that out of his system, Sasha pours:
Dom. de la Chevalerie (P. Caslot) 1996 Bourgueil "Busardieres" - the real deal, pitch-perfect cab franc... earth, tobacco, a bit of currants and a bit of green pepper, great wine
SF Joe makes a brief appearance, as do the Ambient Stockists of the cellar, and the geekery is so thick you can cut it with a knife.
As it turns out, that's a good thing because we start making the rounds of the wines in the decanters and things have changed for the better:
Edmunds St John 1995 Syrah "Durrell Vineyard" - still not as good a bottle as Jay reported a few weeks ago but the nose is much less offensive, the wine now tastes like syrah, warm and redfruited, the finish is silky and suddenly full of violets
Dom. Dujac 1998 Morey-St-Denis GC "Clos de la Roche" - this is starting to open up and is lovely but, per the Geek Handbook, we all talk about why Clos St Denis might be better; the nose and finish both reek of old lady handkerchief but the wine is weightless and fruity
Dom. Fourrier 1998 Gevrey-Chambertin 1er "Combes Aux Moines" - this is rocks and animal glands and a few smashed bitter cherries, not your grandmere's idea of wine but it's really interesting; Sasha suggests that this is how this vineyard should be; I wish Jay had opened a magnum of this so there'd still be some to follow in the next few hours
Sasha and Jayson nip upstairs because the table needs refreshing. They return with two more breads, more roast beef, and a pig liver, bacon, and onion pate that is just wonderful with the riesling (which has also continued to blossom while we were struggling with the red wines).
Soon enough, those ambient stockists want to go home -- we are still here nearly an hour after closing time -- so we pack up what little remains of the victuals and stride out into the cold. Sasha and I cannot bear street elevation for long and find the nearest subway while Jay makes a beeline for a nearby bakery. He isn't finished yet?
Well.
We had a good time if you're really rather Disorderly:
Sitting alone, The Famously Prompt and Unoaked Jay Miller spread out two cheeses (Dorset, Landaff) and a whole cooked lobster and a few bottles:
Dom. Collier 2005 Saumur Blanc - made by the nephew of the fellow who runs Clos Rougeard; it's chenin with the taste of old wood and a slight oxidation; not a bad match with the lobster but it's not my sort of thing
Muller-Catoir 1998 Haardter Burgergarten Riesling Spatlese Halbtrocken - 5 174 079 14 99, ah, Number 1 on Gunter's Greatest Geek Wines Parade, the zip has faded a little but it still has copious apricots on entry, the texture is weighty but not viscous, and a long finish that isn't quite sweet and isn't quite dry
Dom. Fourrier 1998 Gevrey-Chambertin 1er "Combes Aux Moines" - hm, something smells not quite right, not obvious TCA, still minerally but the wine is skinny, we'll wait a bit and see what happens with more time in the decanter
After some time tapping his toes and drumming his fingers -- it was cold where he was sitting -- Jay ate much of the lobster.
Soon, he was joined by Your Able Reporter and then Jayson Cohen, whose mysterious ailment is being treated by medicines that cause him to spit out wine he doesn't like too much.
The spread continued to, um, spread with the addition of an olive bread, slices of rare roast beef, and of lamb pastrami.
But with only one workable wine on the table, we all dash to open more wine:
Edmunds St John 1995 Syrah "Durrell Vineyard" - awwwf, what a stink, and not much better when tasted, another one to sit in the decanter for a while (and hope that Dressner and/or Bueker are praying for it)
Dom. Dujac 1998 Morey-St-Denis GC "Clos de la Roche" - a whiff of perfumey spoof, of course, but there's a lot of lovely wine here; so young still!; better leave it sit for a while to breathe
Bother. Still not much to drink. Another wine is needed:
Thomas-Labaille 2005 Sancerre "Les Aristides" - I was a little iffy about this wine immediately after the pop but it opens up beautifully, all stones and peaches and a whisper of lime
Joe, the cellar-master for Chambers Street, saunters by the table and we pounceinvite him to join us. He said he was in a hurry so he only stayed a half-hour. And he opened an additional bottle:
Dom. Closel (Ch. des Vaults) 2005 Savennieres "Clos Papillon" - Joe is a big booster for Savennieres so, despite three shaking heads and a threatening susurrus of "that will be closed down hard", here we go: crisp and clean on entry, then a rush of lanolin and wax, and then... it fizzles out; rather anti-climactic; he stuffs a cork back in it and is going to let it sit for two or three days
Soon the Dotster arrives and he is eager to talk physics with Jayson. We only hear bits and pieces: "I understand gravity." "There must be another force pushing it in that direction."
Once he gets that out of his system, Sasha pours:
Dom. de la Chevalerie (P. Caslot) 1996 Bourgueil "Busardieres" - the real deal, pitch-perfect cab franc... earth, tobacco, a bit of currants and a bit of green pepper, great wine
SF Joe makes a brief appearance, as do the Ambient Stockists of the cellar, and the geekery is so thick you can cut it with a knife.
As it turns out, that's a good thing because we start making the rounds of the wines in the decanters and things have changed for the better:
Edmunds St John 1995 Syrah "Durrell Vineyard" - still not as good a bottle as Jay reported a few weeks ago but the nose is much less offensive, the wine now tastes like syrah, warm and redfruited, the finish is silky and suddenly full of violets
Dom. Dujac 1998 Morey-St-Denis GC "Clos de la Roche" - this is starting to open up and is lovely but, per the Geek Handbook, we all talk about why Clos St Denis might be better; the nose and finish both reek of old lady handkerchief but the wine is weightless and fruity
Dom. Fourrier 1998 Gevrey-Chambertin 1er "Combes Aux Moines" - this is rocks and animal glands and a few smashed bitter cherries, not your grandmere's idea of wine but it's really interesting; Sasha suggests that this is how this vineyard should be; I wish Jay had opened a magnum of this so there'd still be some to follow in the next few hours
Sasha and Jayson nip upstairs because the table needs refreshing. They return with two more breads, more roast beef, and a pig liver, bacon, and onion pate that is just wonderful with the riesling (which has also continued to blossom while we were struggling with the red wines).
Soon enough, those ambient stockists want to go home -- we are still here nearly an hour after closing time -- so we pack up what little remains of the victuals and stride out into the cold. Sasha and I cannot bear street elevation for long and find the nearest subway while Jay makes a beeline for a nearby bakery. He isn't finished yet?
