Jeff Grossman
Jeff Grossman
attendees: Don & Melissa, Suzanne & Kenny, Jim & Jeff, Brad, Jay
some pix
Lucullus never had it so good. We arrive to find the salumi (crespone, culatello, bresaola) already on the board and awaiting our pleasure. We each acquire a stem from our place-setting and imbibe:
Huet 2002 Vouvray Petillant Reserve - good but not great acidity, maybe a touch too sweet, too, but these are quibbles; excellent fizz, waxy apricotty perfection
Laherte Freres NV Champagne Extra-Brut "Les Clos" - chalk and citrus and zing, just excellent; I like this every time I have it
Those who enjoy such things help Jay deliver plates to the table. First up is a soup course: a delicate bisque of celery root served over shredded duck confit and topped with cream and duck skin cracklings. The bisque provides a calm backdrop for the various fatty/roasty trims to contrast with. The wines for this course were perhaps the best matches of the evening:
Ch. Simone 1995 Palette Blanc - a jumble of flavors, some oxy and some not; the nutty note is a perfect lead-in to the relatively rich soup
Dauvissat 2007 Chablis 1er "La Forest" - several people call out an interesting herbal or licorice root note; cream soda with lemon and sea shells; a great bottle
Moreau 2009 Chablis GC "Les Clos" - noticeably riper than the 2007 and duller acidity, too; not showing well today
The fish course comes courtesy of the sous-vide machine: impossibly tender salmon and a crisp rasher of salmon skin. The grain of the salmon has completely surrendered to the unctuous fatty aspect and the flesh melt in your mouth like ice cream. The wines go 2 for 3:
Chevillon 2008 Nuits-St-Georges 1er "Les Cailles" - young Burgundy, quite potent and rich and in-your-face ...and likable
Clos des Lambrays 1996 Morey-St-Denis GC - wow, this is a focused beautiful wine, all red fruits and earth
Castello di Ama 1988 Chianti Classico "Vigneto La Casuccia" - corked
The meat course also comes, in part, from the sous-vide: oxtail, stewed long, low, and slow, spooned over slightly-chunky mashed potatoes. Simple fare (...if you ignore the extra-fancy crock pot). The wines again go 2 for 3:
Mayacamas 1980 Cabernet Sauvignon - pretty robust though not suave or gentle
Laurel Glen 1986 Cabernet Sauvignon - here's what we want from old Cal Cab: resolved tannins that provide a gentle lattice upon which ripe and pretty fruit shows a mix of its (few) primary and (many) secondary flavors
Ch. Montrose 1964 St-Estephe - it's not corked but something is wrong
Lastly there is a cheese plate, including a slightly-strong Vacherin Mont d'Or and some good wines:
Trimbach 2001 Riesling "Cuvee Frederic Emile" - a lovely ethereal texture but the wine seems a little quiet/closed to me
Foreau 1995 Vouvray Moelleux - ooh, this is just perfectly ripe, open for business, got the slash of good acidity and lingering palate, "Twangy" -Don
Vigneau-Chevreau 1990 Vouvray, Tries de Grains Nobles "Cuvee Clos Baglin" - may never see one again but, if I do, I hope it's like this bottle is tonight: wow, kinda reddish-brown but still tastes fresh, ripeness nicely judged, airy and light, did I say wow yet?
Of course, it isn't a NYC jeebus without armagnac and calvados at the very end.
Many thanks, and kudos, to Jay for a lovely evening, and to everyone for their contributions of wine and conversation.
some pix
Lucullus never had it so good. We arrive to find the salumi (crespone, culatello, bresaola) already on the board and awaiting our pleasure. We each acquire a stem from our place-setting and imbibe:
Huet 2002 Vouvray Petillant Reserve - good but not great acidity, maybe a touch too sweet, too, but these are quibbles; excellent fizz, waxy apricotty perfection
Laherte Freres NV Champagne Extra-Brut "Les Clos" - chalk and citrus and zing, just excellent; I like this every time I have it
Those who enjoy such things help Jay deliver plates to the table. First up is a soup course: a delicate bisque of celery root served over shredded duck confit and topped with cream and duck skin cracklings. The bisque provides a calm backdrop for the various fatty/roasty trims to contrast with. The wines for this course were perhaps the best matches of the evening:
Ch. Simone 1995 Palette Blanc - a jumble of flavors, some oxy and some not; the nutty note is a perfect lead-in to the relatively rich soup
Dauvissat 2007 Chablis 1er "La Forest" - several people call out an interesting herbal or licorice root note; cream soda with lemon and sea shells; a great bottle
Moreau 2009 Chablis GC "Les Clos" - noticeably riper than the 2007 and duller acidity, too; not showing well today
The fish course comes courtesy of the sous-vide machine: impossibly tender salmon and a crisp rasher of salmon skin. The grain of the salmon has completely surrendered to the unctuous fatty aspect and the flesh melt in your mouth like ice cream. The wines go 2 for 3:
Chevillon 2008 Nuits-St-Georges 1er "Les Cailles" - young Burgundy, quite potent and rich and in-your-face ...and likable
Clos des Lambrays 1996 Morey-St-Denis GC - wow, this is a focused beautiful wine, all red fruits and earth
Castello di Ama 1988 Chianti Classico "Vigneto La Casuccia" - corked
The meat course also comes, in part, from the sous-vide: oxtail, stewed long, low, and slow, spooned over slightly-chunky mashed potatoes. Simple fare (...if you ignore the extra-fancy crock pot). The wines again go 2 for 3:
Mayacamas 1980 Cabernet Sauvignon - pretty robust though not suave or gentle
Laurel Glen 1986 Cabernet Sauvignon - here's what we want from old Cal Cab: resolved tannins that provide a gentle lattice upon which ripe and pretty fruit shows a mix of its (few) primary and (many) secondary flavors
Ch. Montrose 1964 St-Estephe - it's not corked but something is wrong
Lastly there is a cheese plate, including a slightly-strong Vacherin Mont d'Or and some good wines:
Trimbach 2001 Riesling "Cuvee Frederic Emile" - a lovely ethereal texture but the wine seems a little quiet/closed to me
Foreau 1995 Vouvray Moelleux - ooh, this is just perfectly ripe, open for business, got the slash of good acidity and lingering palate, "Twangy" -Don
Vigneau-Chevreau 1990 Vouvray, Tries de Grains Nobles "Cuvee Clos Baglin" - may never see one again but, if I do, I hope it's like this bottle is tonight: wow, kinda reddish-brown but still tastes fresh, ripeness nicely judged, airy and light, did I say wow yet?
Of course, it isn't a NYC jeebus without armagnac and calvados at the very end.
Many thanks, and kudos, to Jay for a lovely evening, and to everyone for their contributions of wine and conversation.