Redondo Beach denizens Marshall and Diana Gelb were back in town again and that’s reason enough to party. Thanks to the MTA taking over my building’s storage room for who knows how long as they futz around with the 2nd Avenue Subway project, I have some unwanted trunks in my tiny apartment, making hosting dinner parties a little difficult at the moment. Thankfully, Christine Huang stepped in and graciously agreed to host. I made osso buco and schlepped it down to her hipster Lower East Side pad and she made everything else. Good deal if you can get it, eh? It was a feast really, with stuffed shrimp, tomato tarte tartin, roasted vegetable torta, osso buco with risotto Milanese and a jam crostada for dessert. Joining in the fun were Suzanne Camhi, Kenny Shusterman, Chris Kravitz and Jay Miller. Needless to say, good friends, good wine and good food makes for a great evening!
2009 Bruno Giacaso- Roero Arneis
Aromatically exuberant. Lush flavors and aromas of white flowers, citrus and peaches. There’s a pleasant lushness to the mouthfeel, but the wine is by no means fat. There’s some bitter citrus pith on the finish. I thought this would be a great match with the pesto stuffed shrimp dish, but the bitterness on the finish didn’t really work with the sweetness of the shrimp and the basil. Still, a good wine on its own. A-/B+.
1988 Müller-Catoir- Gewürztraminer Auslese, Häardter Bürgergarten
I love Gewürztraminer from Müller-Catoir and, unfortunately, it’s not that often I get to have them. In fact, I think the last time I had this ’88 was in ’99. Age has been very kind to this wine as it’s just lovely. It’s softened, rich, sweet with honeysuckle, lychee and tropical fruit syrup with enough acidity to not only prevent the wine from being cloying, but to give it grace and a seamless quality. This actually worked well with the shrimp dish. There really needed to be more of this in the bottle. Solid A-.
1993 Domaine Lejeune- Pommard “Les Argilliéres”
Very tart with no real fruit. Seems oxidized. NR.
2008 Fourrier- Morey St. Denis “Clos Sorbés”
Raspberry and cherry aromas that turn cranberry on the palate. Quite acidic with bright fruit, a bit of spice and earth. There’s a bit too much of a stemmy note on the finish. B.
2008 Rhys- Syrah, Skyline Vineyard, Santa Cruz Mountains
Blackberry and brambly fruit with a lot of spice and a little bit of olive. Way too much oak here which lends an unpleasant bitterness to the wine and I’m not convinced there’s enough fruit to absorb it all with time. A bit one-dimensional and linear. B-.
It should be noted that Jay tried the ‘ol switch-a-roo, placing the Rhys wine in the Fourrier bottle and the Fourrier in the Rhys bottle, but I can’t say anyone was really convinced given the talk about the purple color of the “Fourrier” and wondering if they had a stylistic change. The fact that Jay had fits of unprovoked and uncontrolled laughter didn’t help his cause, either.
1997 Isole e Olena- Cepparello, Toscana
This is showing quite nicely despite the fact that it had just been pulled from a rack for the dinner with no time to let it stand so the sediment could settle a bit. As a result, the wine was a touch muddled. That said, the wine showed a nice core of red fruit with baked earth, dried roses and spice. The solid structure clearly suggests this can still sit in the cellar some more. Nice length and a wonderful match with the osso buco. A-.
2004 Montevertine- Le Pergole Torte, Toscana
This is simply one of the most shut down wines I’ve ever had. It’s even tighter than a bottle tried in January of 2010 at a Montevertine dinner. Really, not much more than structure showing, so judgment reserved.
1998 Casse Base (Soldera)- Brunello di Montalcino
This was my red wine of the night. It’s bursting with delicious strawberry and cherry fruit, earth and spice, but there’s wonderful refinement and class to this wine. There’s richness, yet elegance and it’s something I always get with Soldera. Drinking well now, though no harm in holding. Solid A-.
2001 Prunotto- Barbaresco “Bric Turot”
Nice black fruit here with a bit of tar and spice. It’s well-made, though a bit polished and I wish it showed a little more personality. Seems to be just entering its drinking window. Low A-.
2009 Bruno Giacaso- Roero Arneis
Aromatically exuberant. Lush flavors and aromas of white flowers, citrus and peaches. There’s a pleasant lushness to the mouthfeel, but the wine is by no means fat. There’s some bitter citrus pith on the finish. I thought this would be a great match with the pesto stuffed shrimp dish, but the bitterness on the finish didn’t really work with the sweetness of the shrimp and the basil. Still, a good wine on its own. A-/B+.
1988 Müller-Catoir- Gewürztraminer Auslese, Häardter Bürgergarten
I love Gewürztraminer from Müller-Catoir and, unfortunately, it’s not that often I get to have them. In fact, I think the last time I had this ’88 was in ’99. Age has been very kind to this wine as it’s just lovely. It’s softened, rich, sweet with honeysuckle, lychee and tropical fruit syrup with enough acidity to not only prevent the wine from being cloying, but to give it grace and a seamless quality. This actually worked well with the shrimp dish. There really needed to be more of this in the bottle. Solid A-.
1993 Domaine Lejeune- Pommard “Les Argilliéres”
Very tart with no real fruit. Seems oxidized. NR.
2008 Fourrier- Morey St. Denis “Clos Sorbés”
Raspberry and cherry aromas that turn cranberry on the palate. Quite acidic with bright fruit, a bit of spice and earth. There’s a bit too much of a stemmy note on the finish. B.
2008 Rhys- Syrah, Skyline Vineyard, Santa Cruz Mountains
Blackberry and brambly fruit with a lot of spice and a little bit of olive. Way too much oak here which lends an unpleasant bitterness to the wine and I’m not convinced there’s enough fruit to absorb it all with time. A bit one-dimensional and linear. B-.
It should be noted that Jay tried the ‘ol switch-a-roo, placing the Rhys wine in the Fourrier bottle and the Fourrier in the Rhys bottle, but I can’t say anyone was really convinced given the talk about the purple color of the “Fourrier” and wondering if they had a stylistic change. The fact that Jay had fits of unprovoked and uncontrolled laughter didn’t help his cause, either.
1997 Isole e Olena- Cepparello, Toscana
This is showing quite nicely despite the fact that it had just been pulled from a rack for the dinner with no time to let it stand so the sediment could settle a bit. As a result, the wine was a touch muddled. That said, the wine showed a nice core of red fruit with baked earth, dried roses and spice. The solid structure clearly suggests this can still sit in the cellar some more. Nice length and a wonderful match with the osso buco. A-.
2004 Montevertine- Le Pergole Torte, Toscana
This is simply one of the most shut down wines I’ve ever had. It’s even tighter than a bottle tried in January of 2010 at a Montevertine dinner. Really, not much more than structure showing, so judgment reserved.
1998 Casse Base (Soldera)- Brunello di Montalcino
This was my red wine of the night. It’s bursting with delicious strawberry and cherry fruit, earth and spice, but there’s wonderful refinement and class to this wine. There’s richness, yet elegance and it’s something I always get with Soldera. Drinking well now, though no harm in holding. Solid A-.
2001 Prunotto- Barbaresco “Bric Turot”
Nice black fruit here with a bit of tar and spice. It’s well-made, though a bit polished and I wish it showed a little more personality. Seems to be just entering its drinking window. Low A-.
