TN: Grand Sichuan (May 4, 2011)

J

Jeff Grossman

Jeff Grossman
A few of us got together at Grand Sichuan to welcome Matt Latuchie to town. Alas, he was not feeling well so he left after about half an hour. (There is no way to know for sure but, really, was it wise to eat crab cakes from the Amtrak club car?)

Starting out with pork soup dumplings and pan fried pork pot-stickers:

Marquis d'Angerville 2002 Volnay 1er "Champans" - drinking very well right out of the bottle and opens us more with air; pretty floral perfume and a fine-grained texture; more-ish

Dom. Chevillon-Chezeaux 2008 Nuits St. Georges 1er "Les Saint Georges" - an initial whiff of butter and funk blows off to reveal very substantial wine; very fresh and pure

F. Rinaldi 2006 Barolo "Cannubbio" - I opened this because, if you act fast, it drinks nicely; and so it is: all red fruits, gravelly earth and faint floral elements for the first 30 minutes and then an impenetrable wall of tannins shuts it down

Weingut Keller 2008 Westhofen Brunnenhäuschen Abtserde Riesling Grosses Gewächs - you can tell that this is weighty, important wine but it's no pleasure to drink it; Salil says this is a poster-child for why riesling needs a little rs

First round of spice - shredded beef with green peppers, cold asparagus, lamb with cumin and twice cooked pork belly:

Radikon 2003 IGT "Jakot" - the nose is the usual kaleidoscope of fragrances but this bottle is tight and much less interesting on the palate

Kirchmayr 1971 Neuburger Solist - corked

Peter Lauer 2009 Ayler Kupp Stirn Riesling feinherb Fass 15 - eh (others like this better than I do)

Egon Müller 2003 Scharzhofberger Riesling Spätlese Auction - 21 04; finally here's a really good one: luscious, dense, vivid, floral, creamy; more-ish

Dönnhoff 2001 Niederhäuser Hermannshöhle Riesling Spätlese - disappointing; scent and flavor are the normal lemon/lime I always get from Donnhoff but the acidity is blunted and very soft, which makes the whole thing lifeless

Dönnhoff 2001 Oberhäuser Brücke Riesling Spätlese - basically ditto, though this is a little better

Weingut 2001 Robert Weil Riesling Kabinett - ridiculously sweet; yellow pit fruit flavors mingled with a hint of smoke and petrol; nice enough

The really hot spice - gui zhou chicken and the searingly hot chong qing chicken, and two seafood dishes, one with squid and the other with fried shrimps and scallops:

Kerpen 2001 Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese - ripe and sweet enough but also going soft

J. J. Christoffel 2001 Erben Erdener Treppchen Riesling Auslese** - a good one: ripe, but not overly so, slatey, spicy, medium-weight but just enough acidity to keep it all on track; more-ish

Thanks to Salil for tracking the foods and the names tonight.
 
It was a nice-looking lineup but, honestly, it wasn't a really great night for white wine. The Muller and the Weill were good but, even among the sweeties, the hit rate was only 50%.

The Monkey appears to be right about aging Donnhoff.
 
These were my umpteenth sucky 2001 Donnhoffs this year, and these actually showed better than the same wines did for me last time. The difference is this time *everyone* found them to be duds whereas last time I think I was the only person at the table not raving about them, but I still think palate variation is a far more likely explanation than bottle variation for this continuing debate.

I thought the Muller, Lauer, and Christoffel were positively stellar so even with the duds factored in this'll probably be one of my more memorable dinners of the year.
 
F. Rinaldi 2006 Barolo "Cannubbio" - I opened this because, if you act fast, it drinks nicely; and so it is: all red fruits, gravelly earth and faint floral elements for the first 30 minutes and then an impenetrable wall of tannins shuts it down
Click to expand...

So how long 'till the tannins melt? With a vintage like '06, might have to wait longer than usual...not like it's a bad thing.
 
originally posted by MarkS:
F. Rinaldi 2006 Barolo "Cannubbio" - I opened this because, if you act fast, it drinks nicely; and so it is: all red fruits, gravelly earth and faint floral elements for the first 30 minutes and then an impenetrable wall of tannins shuts it down
Click to expand...

So how long 'till the tannins melt? With a vintage like '06, might have to wait longer than usual...not like it's a bad thing.
Click to expand...

A geek in his mid-30's should still buy them.
 
Jeff,
Not a lot of experience with the Radikon, but in both instances, decanter time (4 plus hours) was very successful.
Best, Jim
 
originally posted by Florida Jim:
Jeff,
Not a lot of experience with the Radikon, but in both instances, decanter time (4 plus hours) was very successful.
Best, Jim
Click to expand...

I find the Jakot to be the most difficult to drink young.
 
Thanks, Jim and Bryan. I re-corked the bottle and drank it two nights later. It was a little more like I remember it, though perhaps more beery-cidery.
 
originally posted by Jeff Grossman:

Weingut Keller 2008 Westhofen Brunnenhäuschen Abtserde Riesling Grosses Gewächs - you can tell that this is weighty, important wine but it's no pleasure to drink it
Click to expand...

if I agreed with you, it would cost me a number of close friendships

but we could discuss in the cellar next time; the walls are thick
 
crab cakes = poor decision

i'm looking forward to sitting down with everyone again soon...should be back up in the city before the end of the month!
 
I was gifted a btl of Rinaldi, but have no experience with this producer. When would you consider the '04 Cannubi in it's prime time. AG suggests 2012-2024 which seems a bit on the early side.
 
2012-2024 is a ridiculous drinking window. Next year? Really?! The back end of that range is more like it - I absolutely loved the 1985 circa 2005.
 
originally posted by Gregg G:
I was gifted a btl of Rinaldi, but have no experience with this producer. When would you consider the '04 Cannubi in it's prime time. AG suggests 2012-2024 which seems a bit on the early side.
Click to expand...

Which Rinaldi, Gregg? Both Francesco and Giuseppi make a Cannubi (not that it makes that much difference to the answer).

Mark Lipton
 
originally posted by MLipton:
originally posted by Gregg G:
I was gifted a btl of Rinaldi, but have no experience with this producer. When would you consider the '04 Cannubi in it's prime time. AG suggests 2012-2024 which seems a bit on the early side.
Click to expand...

Which Rinaldi, Gregg? Both Francesco and Giuseppi make a Cannubi (not that it makes that much difference to the answer).

Mark Lipton
Click to expand...

Guiseppi. How do the cantinas differ in style?
 
Oh, big difference. The Giuseppe isn't Cannubi but Cannubi San Lorenzo-Ravera. Two-vineyard blend and I've heard conflicting accounts of whether Cannubi San Lorenzo should properly be considered part of the Cannubi cru. In terms of when to drink, though, the answer's the same, not before age 20.
 
My experience has been that the wines from Francesco Rinaldi are pleasant to drink much sooner than those from Giuseppe Rinaldi - when comparing equivalent vintages.
 
originally posted by mlawton:
My experience has been that the wines from Francesco Rinaldi are pleasant to drink much sooner than those from Giuseppe Rinaldi - when comparing equivalent vintages.
Click to expand...

There are a lot of variables there.

I would cite G. Rinaldi Barolo vintages such as 2000, 2006, and 2007 as approachable given the age involved.

Also, there would be the format question in regard to G. Rinaldi: 750ml or magnum? The wines in each case would seem to be different.

Anyway, it could be a pretty nuanced answer to Gregg's original question, or it could be quite simple: hold onto it awhile before drinking.
 
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