This past Tuesday marked yet another gathering of the Tuesday Supper Club and wouldn’t you know it? Christine Huang was cooking again! Wilfred van Gorp, Bill Lawrence , Sarah Kirschbaum and I happily gathered at what’s become one of our favorite eating establishments in the city. Paul and Sandy Jaouen were the lucky couple to fill in for absent Supper Club member, Gregory dal Piaz.
What the wine gods giveth, they taketh away. Whereas the last dinner at Christine’s (last week) was a terrific night for wine, many of the wines this night showed poorly. However, with Christine’s usual stellar efforts in the kitchen and with such an august group, a great time was still had by all.
2002 Marquis d’Angerville- Meursault Santenots
There’s some sulfur and smoky/vanilla oak on the nose with a little bit of citrus and pear. The oak is more integrated on the palate, but there’s really not much to embrace here. More mineral than fruit, though the wine is fairly empty in the mid-palate. Fine, but a rather uninteresting wine. B+/B-.
2007 Ramonet- Chassagne-Montrachet “Boudriotte”
This showed nicely. Richer and more complete on the nose and palate than the d’Angerville, with lemon cream, pear, white flowers, smoke and mineral. There’s some oak present, but it’s not overdone and there’s enough fruit here to stand up to it and it should integrate with time. At present, though, it does come back and give a bitter bite on the finish. A-/B+.
2004 Domaine de Montille- Puligny-Montrachet “Les Caillerets”
Completely overwhelmed by sulfur on the nose and palate. With air it got marginally better so that you could see some mammoth structure underneath, but this bottle was just awful. Sarah mentioned this normally shows beautifully, so judgment reserved. NR.
2008 Foreau- Vouvray Demi-Sec
It’s been a year since I tried this at the domaine and my case just arrived, so I was eager to see how it was doing. The answer is wonderfully! Just a beautiful wine. It’s showing a lot more quince than it did in the cellar, with the kumquat and orange citrus a little more in the background. As always, terrific minerality and structure. There’s a neat little gingery spiciness on the finish. For those wondering how it compares to say the ’08 Huet Le Mont Demi-Sec, I’d say the Huet has a more acidic punch and liveliness to it and lacks the citrus character. In the Foreau there’s a certain creaminess to the mouthfeel. Both are terrific. A/A-.
1999 Vincent Girardin- Clos de La Roche “Vieilles Vignes”
Whoah! What’s going on here? Loaded with dill on the nose. Reduced, oaky with runaway acidity. There’s a strange, almost confected red cherry note that’s barely audible above the oak and acid cacophony. Hollow and just not pleasant at all. C-/D+.
1989 Prunotto- Barolo “Bussia”
Corked.
1998 Bartolo Mascarello- Barolo
Showed surprisingly open and was tied with the Foreau for my wine of the night. Showy on the nose with plenty of sweet fruit, roses, spice and beef blood. Sumptious and rich across the palate with black and red fruit, roses, spice and a touch of cocoa. Tannins are chewy, but the fruit is so upfront that they’re really no trouble at all. Wonderful with the beef cheeks. A/A-.
1998 Paolo Scavino- Barolo “Bric dël Fiasc”
Welcome to Spoofville! Agressively oaky, with hints of cherry fruit, but oak overwhelms everything in this wine. Shallow and aggressive on the palate. Nothing here. My experience with mid-late ‘90’s Bric dël Fiasc has all been like this. They just have not held up well and should’ve been consumed in their immediate youth while there was still fruit to stand up to the wood. C-.
1990 Bricco Rocche (Ceretto)- Barolo Prapò
I immediately got beef broth on the nose and it showed more drying than it should and a bit clipped on the finish, so clearly the bottle had seen some heat. That said, some people liked it a lot more than I did, but if it’s damaged, it’s damaged. It’s not fair to rate it if it’s got a flaw unrelated to the winemaking. NR.
1987 Laurel Glen- Cabernet Sauvignon, Sonoma Mountain
A recent Winebid purchase, I’d been looking forward to trying it as it was always one of my favorite Laurel Glens and was one of the wines I cut my teeth on when I was just getting into wine. Despite a perfect fill, this bottle showed poorly. The wine was largely devoid of fruit, save for a flickering of cherry, and dominated by herbs and dill, though, surprisingly, it did not come off as oaky. Thin with really not much going on. A really disappointing showing. C-.
2001 Doisy-Védrines- Sauternes (from 375ml)
Pleasant, though a bit one note. Not overtly sweet, with oak, butterscotch, apricot and pineapple flavors. The alcohol sticks out a bit on the finish and it could use a little more acidity, but not a bad match with the apricot soufflé. Solid B+.
Some pics from the evening:
The wines.
Pickled salmon with potatoes.
Roasted asparagus and enoki mushrooms with poached egg and miso butter. We loved this so much last time she made it again, though added the enoki mushrooms. That really added an extra dimension and terrific umami to the dish.
Braised beef cheek and roasted potatoes. Tough to make the beef cheek look good in the pic, but it was delicious.
Christine works on the apricot soufflé.
Coming out of the oven.
Look at the height!
With Crème Anglaise.
What the wine gods giveth, they taketh away. Whereas the last dinner at Christine’s (last week) was a terrific night for wine, many of the wines this night showed poorly. However, with Christine’s usual stellar efforts in the kitchen and with such an august group, a great time was still had by all.
2002 Marquis d’Angerville- Meursault Santenots
There’s some sulfur and smoky/vanilla oak on the nose with a little bit of citrus and pear. The oak is more integrated on the palate, but there’s really not much to embrace here. More mineral than fruit, though the wine is fairly empty in the mid-palate. Fine, but a rather uninteresting wine. B+/B-.
2007 Ramonet- Chassagne-Montrachet “Boudriotte”
This showed nicely. Richer and more complete on the nose and palate than the d’Angerville, with lemon cream, pear, white flowers, smoke and mineral. There’s some oak present, but it’s not overdone and there’s enough fruit here to stand up to it and it should integrate with time. At present, though, it does come back and give a bitter bite on the finish. A-/B+.
2004 Domaine de Montille- Puligny-Montrachet “Les Caillerets”
Completely overwhelmed by sulfur on the nose and palate. With air it got marginally better so that you could see some mammoth structure underneath, but this bottle was just awful. Sarah mentioned this normally shows beautifully, so judgment reserved. NR.
2008 Foreau- Vouvray Demi-Sec
It’s been a year since I tried this at the domaine and my case just arrived, so I was eager to see how it was doing. The answer is wonderfully! Just a beautiful wine. It’s showing a lot more quince than it did in the cellar, with the kumquat and orange citrus a little more in the background. As always, terrific minerality and structure. There’s a neat little gingery spiciness on the finish. For those wondering how it compares to say the ’08 Huet Le Mont Demi-Sec, I’d say the Huet has a more acidic punch and liveliness to it and lacks the citrus character. In the Foreau there’s a certain creaminess to the mouthfeel. Both are terrific. A/A-.
1999 Vincent Girardin- Clos de La Roche “Vieilles Vignes”
Whoah! What’s going on here? Loaded with dill on the nose. Reduced, oaky with runaway acidity. There’s a strange, almost confected red cherry note that’s barely audible above the oak and acid cacophony. Hollow and just not pleasant at all. C-/D+.
1989 Prunotto- Barolo “Bussia”
Corked.
1998 Bartolo Mascarello- Barolo
Showed surprisingly open and was tied with the Foreau for my wine of the night. Showy on the nose with plenty of sweet fruit, roses, spice and beef blood. Sumptious and rich across the palate with black and red fruit, roses, spice and a touch of cocoa. Tannins are chewy, but the fruit is so upfront that they’re really no trouble at all. Wonderful with the beef cheeks. A/A-.
1998 Paolo Scavino- Barolo “Bric dël Fiasc”
Welcome to Spoofville! Agressively oaky, with hints of cherry fruit, but oak overwhelms everything in this wine. Shallow and aggressive on the palate. Nothing here. My experience with mid-late ‘90’s Bric dël Fiasc has all been like this. They just have not held up well and should’ve been consumed in their immediate youth while there was still fruit to stand up to the wood. C-.
1990 Bricco Rocche (Ceretto)- Barolo Prapò
I immediately got beef broth on the nose and it showed more drying than it should and a bit clipped on the finish, so clearly the bottle had seen some heat. That said, some people liked it a lot more than I did, but if it’s damaged, it’s damaged. It’s not fair to rate it if it’s got a flaw unrelated to the winemaking. NR.
1987 Laurel Glen- Cabernet Sauvignon, Sonoma Mountain
A recent Winebid purchase, I’d been looking forward to trying it as it was always one of my favorite Laurel Glens and was one of the wines I cut my teeth on when I was just getting into wine. Despite a perfect fill, this bottle showed poorly. The wine was largely devoid of fruit, save for a flickering of cherry, and dominated by herbs and dill, though, surprisingly, it did not come off as oaky. Thin with really not much going on. A really disappointing showing. C-.
2001 Doisy-Védrines- Sauternes (from 375ml)
Pleasant, though a bit one note. Not overtly sweet, with oak, butterscotch, apricot and pineapple flavors. The alcohol sticks out a bit on the finish and it could use a little more acidity, but not a bad match with the apricot soufflé. Solid B+.
Some pics from the evening:
The wines.
