Salil Benegal
Salil Benegal
With Oswaldo Costa visiting NY, Dale Williams, Jay Miller, Jeff Grossman, Cliff Rosenberg and I got together to welcome him at the St. Mark's Grand Sichuan with an array of wines. A very fun evening with wonderful food and wine, and even better company. Didn't take complete notes on all the wines (there was also a lovely Thebaud Muscadet, a rather tannic Barbaresco and a corked rosé, hopefully others can fill in missing details where appropriate) as there was a lot to drink, and much of it very, very good.
1996 François Chidaine Montlouis-sur-Loire Brut Almendra 12.5%
A nice way to start the evening; fresh citrus, pear and apple fruit accented with yeasty and savoury elements and turning more stony and minerally on the back end. Very youthful and lively with gentle effervescence but bright acidity and good length.
2001 Albert Boxler Riesling Sommerberg L31E 13.0%
Really good stuff. There's a vivid minerally character here; a base of stone and saline elements beneath fresh Riesling fruit and light floral and herbal accents. Plenty of richness with barely any perceptible sweetness, nicely balanced with good acids - very nice, though I'm not sure I'm a buyer at the current pricing.
2010 Cowan Cellars Sauvignon Blanc Isa 13.1%
Outside my frame of reference for Sauvignon Blanc; there's some of the grapefruit and tart citrus I expect but it's quite rich and savoury with a lot of extract and persistence. Didn't spend a lot of time with this though, as I thought it struggled with the food.
2006 Domaine de L'Arlot Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru Clos des Forêts St. Georges 13.0%
Really wonderful; delicate, layered and understated with fresh red fruits, exotic spicy and floral elements and more savoury earthy elements combining seamlessly on a polished, medium weight frame. There's a remarkable finesse and purity to the flavours and good persistence, must explore this producer further.
1955 Ch“teau Giscours 12.5%
From half bottle. Tired and rather faded at first, but came around surprisingly well with some time in the decanter. The fruit's rather gentle and light, and it's all about developed savoury, sous bois, tobacco and dried floral elements in a lightweight, fragrant whole. Lovely.
1997 Montevertine Il Sodaccio 12.5%
Lightly corked.
1974 Charles Krug Winery Cabernet Sauvignon 12.0%
Fully mature with the structure resolved and a lovely fragrance of old Cabernet flavours - cedary, tobacco and savoury earthy elements combining into a wonderful scent. It's a little soft without much acidity and no real tannin left, but it's lovely to sit and just drink without much contemplation.
2008 Digioia-Royer Chambolle-Musigny Les Fremières Vieilles Vignes 13.5%
Rather awkward, showing tightly wound red fruit and not much else with the acidity feeling rather spritzy and sharp initially. Others said it got better and smoothed out with air, but I didn't revisit.
2010 Catherine et Pierre Breton Bourgueil Franc de Pied 12.0%
Another lovely showing. I'm drinking through these far too quickly, but they're hard to resist now - incredibly pure, fresh dark fruited flavours tinged with pepper, savoury earth and green herbal notes. Remarkably finessed and seamless in the mouth, and a great accompaniment to the shredded beef with green pepper.
1999 Luneau-Papin Muscadet de Sèvre-et-Maine Le L D'Or
Pleasant though not compelling; fresh citrus and pear fruit over a saline mineral base with barely any signs of development. No rush here (and there's a surprising amount of sulfur that lingered in the aromatics for a while).
1997 Carl Schmitt-Wagner Longuicher Maximiner Herrenberg Riesling Spätlese 7.5%
Light stone fruit and apple flavours underneath a thin veil of TCA (some debate about this, but I thought corked.)
2001 Müller-Catoir Haardter Mandelring Scheurebe Spätlese 10.5%
A Hans-Günter Schwarz special. A glorious fragrance combining a kaleidoscopic array of fruits ranging from tarter citrus flavours to riper tropical ones, wilder herbal and floral notes and just a thrill to sit down and smell. There's superb balance, a sense of incredible energy and vibrancy to the flavours and remarkable persistence.
2001 Carl Schmitt-Wagner Longuicher Maximiner Herrenberg Riesling Auslese 8.0%
Very enjoyable, a classical Auslese - ripe but not overly so, beautifully balanced with more savoury developing flavours and the acidity balancing the moderate sweetness, and very enjoyable with the food.
A great evening, thanks all!
1996 François Chidaine Montlouis-sur-Loire Brut Almendra 12.5%
A nice way to start the evening; fresh citrus, pear and apple fruit accented with yeasty and savoury elements and turning more stony and minerally on the back end. Very youthful and lively with gentle effervescence but bright acidity and good length.
2001 Albert Boxler Riesling Sommerberg L31E 13.0%
Really good stuff. There's a vivid minerally character here; a base of stone and saline elements beneath fresh Riesling fruit and light floral and herbal accents. Plenty of richness with barely any perceptible sweetness, nicely balanced with good acids - very nice, though I'm not sure I'm a buyer at the current pricing.
2010 Cowan Cellars Sauvignon Blanc Isa 13.1%
Outside my frame of reference for Sauvignon Blanc; there's some of the grapefruit and tart citrus I expect but it's quite rich and savoury with a lot of extract and persistence. Didn't spend a lot of time with this though, as I thought it struggled with the food.
2006 Domaine de L'Arlot Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru Clos des Forêts St. Georges 13.0%
Really wonderful; delicate, layered and understated with fresh red fruits, exotic spicy and floral elements and more savoury earthy elements combining seamlessly on a polished, medium weight frame. There's a remarkable finesse and purity to the flavours and good persistence, must explore this producer further.
1955 Ch“teau Giscours 12.5%
From half bottle. Tired and rather faded at first, but came around surprisingly well with some time in the decanter. The fruit's rather gentle and light, and it's all about developed savoury, sous bois, tobacco and dried floral elements in a lightweight, fragrant whole. Lovely.
1997 Montevertine Il Sodaccio 12.5%
Lightly corked.
1974 Charles Krug Winery Cabernet Sauvignon 12.0%
Fully mature with the structure resolved and a lovely fragrance of old Cabernet flavours - cedary, tobacco and savoury earthy elements combining into a wonderful scent. It's a little soft without much acidity and no real tannin left, but it's lovely to sit and just drink without much contemplation.
2008 Digioia-Royer Chambolle-Musigny Les Fremières Vieilles Vignes 13.5%
Rather awkward, showing tightly wound red fruit and not much else with the acidity feeling rather spritzy and sharp initially. Others said it got better and smoothed out with air, but I didn't revisit.
2010 Catherine et Pierre Breton Bourgueil Franc de Pied 12.0%
Another lovely showing. I'm drinking through these far too quickly, but they're hard to resist now - incredibly pure, fresh dark fruited flavours tinged with pepper, savoury earth and green herbal notes. Remarkably finessed and seamless in the mouth, and a great accompaniment to the shredded beef with green pepper.
1999 Luneau-Papin Muscadet de Sèvre-et-Maine Le L D'Or
Pleasant though not compelling; fresh citrus and pear fruit over a saline mineral base with barely any signs of development. No rush here (and there's a surprising amount of sulfur that lingered in the aromatics for a while).
1997 Carl Schmitt-Wagner Longuicher Maximiner Herrenberg Riesling Spätlese 7.5%
Light stone fruit and apple flavours underneath a thin veil of TCA (some debate about this, but I thought corked.)
2001 Müller-Catoir Haardter Mandelring Scheurebe Spätlese 10.5%
A Hans-Günter Schwarz special. A glorious fragrance combining a kaleidoscopic array of fruits ranging from tarter citrus flavours to riper tropical ones, wilder herbal and floral notes and just a thrill to sit down and smell. There's superb balance, a sense of incredible energy and vibrancy to the flavours and remarkable persistence.
2001 Carl Schmitt-Wagner Longuicher Maximiner Herrenberg Riesling Auslese 8.0%
Very enjoyable, a classical Auslese - ripe but not overly so, beautifully balanced with more savoury developing flavours and the acidity balancing the moderate sweetness, and very enjoyable with the food.
A great evening, thanks all!
