Zachary Ross
Zachary Ross
Four of us had dinner at Seäsonal in midtown last night, with a five-course chef's menu. Dinner was truly outstanding, and the graciousness and good cheer of chef Wolfgang really made the evening special. The wines, too, were incredible -- one of the best groups of wines I've had the pleasure to drink.
Assorted whites:
2007 Hirtzberger Grüner Veltliner Axpoint Smaragd -- stony, flinty, floral, white fruits, white pepper, very long. Delicious when opened, truly great with an hour of air.
2000 Raveneau Chablis Montée de Tonnerre -- just incredible as these are wont to be, piercingly fresh and mineral, with air it fans out with notes of tropical fruits and almonds. Pretty sure we drained this.
1969 Huët Vouvray Le Mont Demi-Sec -- decanted. Another miracle from Huet. Older than everyone at the table and it's fresh as a daisy. Whatever sweetness there once was has been subsumed into its overall bitingly acidic profile. Chalky and insistent on the finish.
2008 Movia Lunar -- when in doubt, open the orange wine. We were, and so we did. I love Lunar, and I loved this Lunar. Superb texture and gentle flavors, stunning richness.
1990 Willi Schäfer Graacher Domprobst Riesling Spatlese #3 -- we opened this later in the meal, so my memory is a bit fuzzy. This was an outright blade of acidity that rivaled the Huet in severity. Terrific precision.
On to the reds:
1994 Rayas Chateauneuf-du-Pape Réserve -- well all right then! Hauntingly smoky (hint of spare tire), so elegant and silky, just falls across the palate like a feather. Drop-dead gorgeous wine, probably my favorite of the evening.
1993 Chevillon Nuits-Saint-Georges Les Cailles -- outrageously good and still young seeming. The core of dark, Nuits fruit has started to come out of its tannic shell. This could easily be a "wine of the night" on any given night.
Northern Rhone flight:
1995 Clape Cornas -- decanted. What a great Clape. Deep and meaty, briny olives etc. with cherry-red fruit. In perfect drinking form.
1993 Gilles Barge Côte-Rôtie Côte Brune -- just a classic old-school Cote-Rotie nose. Lifted and quite acidic, lots of warm brown non-fruit complexity. I really grooved on this.
1999 Domaine de Gachon Saint-Joseph -- formidably powerful and still quite young, it seems just to be turning the corner into its mid-life. Dark fruit, anise, smoke, pepper. Really a superb Saint-Joseph.
1983 Grippat Saint-Joseph -- the only sloucher of the night. Nothing wrong with it other than being too old.
I really enjoyed this flight. The Clape, Barge, and Gachon were a pretty great trio that expressed three distinct variations on Northern Rhone character.
Dessert wines/momentum drinking:
1990 Willi Schäfer Graacher Domprobst Riesling Beerenauslese -- I regret to say that I have almost no distinct impression of this wine in my mind other than "pow."
NV Valdespino VORS Amontillado Coliseo Sherry -- somehow this happened. Salt.
Fabulous time - thanks gents!
Dinner menu:
ZWIEBELSUPPE - Chicken Onion Consomme, Pearl Onion, Pastrami
KALBSBRIES - Veal Sweetbread, Broccoli, Sherry, Daikon, Orange
SCHWEINEBAUCH - Pork belly, Kale, Grapefruit, Sweet Potato
KAISERGULASCH - Veal Cheeks, Paprika, Peppers, Spätzle
KAISERSCHMARRN - Crumbled Caramelized Pancakes, Apple Compote
Assorted whites:
2007 Hirtzberger Grüner Veltliner Axpoint Smaragd -- stony, flinty, floral, white fruits, white pepper, very long. Delicious when opened, truly great with an hour of air.
2000 Raveneau Chablis Montée de Tonnerre -- just incredible as these are wont to be, piercingly fresh and mineral, with air it fans out with notes of tropical fruits and almonds. Pretty sure we drained this.
1969 Huët Vouvray Le Mont Demi-Sec -- decanted. Another miracle from Huet. Older than everyone at the table and it's fresh as a daisy. Whatever sweetness there once was has been subsumed into its overall bitingly acidic profile. Chalky and insistent on the finish.
2008 Movia Lunar -- when in doubt, open the orange wine. We were, and so we did. I love Lunar, and I loved this Lunar. Superb texture and gentle flavors, stunning richness.
1990 Willi Schäfer Graacher Domprobst Riesling Spatlese #3 -- we opened this later in the meal, so my memory is a bit fuzzy. This was an outright blade of acidity that rivaled the Huet in severity. Terrific precision.
On to the reds:
1994 Rayas Chateauneuf-du-Pape Réserve -- well all right then! Hauntingly smoky (hint of spare tire), so elegant and silky, just falls across the palate like a feather. Drop-dead gorgeous wine, probably my favorite of the evening.
1993 Chevillon Nuits-Saint-Georges Les Cailles -- outrageously good and still young seeming. The core of dark, Nuits fruit has started to come out of its tannic shell. This could easily be a "wine of the night" on any given night.
Northern Rhone flight:
1995 Clape Cornas -- decanted. What a great Clape. Deep and meaty, briny olives etc. with cherry-red fruit. In perfect drinking form.
1993 Gilles Barge Côte-Rôtie Côte Brune -- just a classic old-school Cote-Rotie nose. Lifted and quite acidic, lots of warm brown non-fruit complexity. I really grooved on this.
1999 Domaine de Gachon Saint-Joseph -- formidably powerful and still quite young, it seems just to be turning the corner into its mid-life. Dark fruit, anise, smoke, pepper. Really a superb Saint-Joseph.
1983 Grippat Saint-Joseph -- the only sloucher of the night. Nothing wrong with it other than being too old.
I really enjoyed this flight. The Clape, Barge, and Gachon were a pretty great trio that expressed three distinct variations on Northern Rhone character.
Dessert wines/momentum drinking:
1990 Willi Schäfer Graacher Domprobst Riesling Beerenauslese -- I regret to say that I have almost no distinct impression of this wine in my mind other than "pow."
NV Valdespino VORS Amontillado Coliseo Sherry -- somehow this happened. Salt.
Fabulous time - thanks gents!
Dinner menu:
ZWIEBELSUPPE - Chicken Onion Consomme, Pearl Onion, Pastrami
KALBSBRIES - Veal Sweetbread, Broccoli, Sherry, Daikon, Orange
SCHWEINEBAUCH - Pork belly, Kale, Grapefruit, Sweet Potato
KAISERGULASCH - Veal Cheeks, Paprika, Peppers, Spätzle
KAISERSCHMARRN - Crumbled Caramelized Pancakes, Apple Compote
