TN: Grand Sichuan again (Dec 13, 2012)

J

Jeff Grossman

Jeff Grossman
attendees: Salil, Zack, Tom, Suzanne + Perry, Seth, Jay, Jeff

Basically, an excuse for riesling and rhone but there were other goodies:

Leflaive 2010 Puligny-Montrachet 1er "Clavoillon" - "delicious" -Suzanne, "delicious" -Seth, "delicious" -Zack, "so primary I'm having trouble with it" -Tom, crisp, older wood?, fennel; later, hard edges relax a bit

Rhys 2009 Syrah "Horseshoe Vineyard" - double-decanted about 3 hours ago, crisp on entry but ponderous in the mid-palate, sullen and not-floral in the finish

Gaec-Gallet 1998 Cote Rotie - rustic, leathery, tastes a little like Hermitage with its core of sweet fruit but the texture is all Cote-Rotie silk

Jamet 2001 Cote Rotie - pretty, refined, a genteel afternoon in the parlor; later, much more vigorous, bacon and berry jam

Gangloff 2000 Cote Rotie "La Sereine Noire" - wild, dark, crazy good... and needs 15 years

Guigal 1988 Cote Rotie "Brune et Blonde" - old plums and a dose of school paste but also a tingly middle of strawberry jam, yum (and drink up)

De Montille 1993 Pommard "Les Pezerolles" - corked

Scherrer 2007 Syrah "Sasha" - double-decanted about 3 hours ago, a bit piney and assertive, let's see what Day 2 brings...

Hitzberger 2001 Singerriedel Riesling Smaragd - rich and lush, nice but kinda heavy

Leitz 2001 Rudesheimer Berg Roseneck Riesling Spatlese - 08 02, wow, lovely, all green grapes and flowers and a touch sweet

Willi Schaefer 2011 Graacher Domprobst Riesling Spatlese #5 - 05 12, peachy!, thirst-quenching, a soprano to the scheurebe's alto

Muller-Catoir 1998 Haardter Mandelring Scheurebe Spatlese - 21 99, declassified BA?, sweet and full of life and lush but not heavy

Muller-Catoir 1996 Haardter Burgergarten Rieslaner Auslese - 375 ml, dark gold, soft palate, very noticeable vegetable nose (winter squash, I think)

Muller-Catoir 1998 Gimmeldinger Mandelgarten Riesling Auslese - 375 ml, peach compote and cooked pear, quite robust (which is to say, maybe even a tad aggressive)

Chidaine 2007 Montlouis "Clos Habert" - minerally, dry, somewhat fat compared to the German wines
 
originally posted by Jeff Grossman: TN: Grand Sichuan again (Dec 13, 2012)Jamet 2001 Cote Rotie - pretty, refined, a genteel afternoon in the parlor; later, much more vigorous, bacon and berry jam
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Jeff, We had this the other evening with dinner and found it to be terrific, if not phenomenal. It was marginally better than the wonderful Ogier Cote Rotie '00 which we had at the same time.

. . . . . . Pete
 
That was a very fun night. The food was fantastic as always, and there were so many wonderful wines.

The Singerriedel was certainly a big wine, but it had such impeccable balance and depth, and by the end of the night showed an amazingly vivid mineral expression.

The Gallet C-R was so amazingly fragrant and thrilling. What a treat to enjoy that and the Jamet side by side.

Re. the Catoir halves, I believe the '96 was a Rieslaner, and the '98 was the Gimmeldinger Mandelgarten Riesling Auslese. Those were all so good (and I could still taste that Scheurebe on the train back.)
 
originally posted by Salil Benegal:

Re. the Catoir halves, I believe the '96 was a Rieslaner, and the '98 was the Gimmeldinger Mandelgarten Riesling Auslese. Those were all so good (and I could still taste that Scheurebe on the train back.)
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Salil is correct.
 
Great time, and with an especially good showing by the restaurant. The kitchen was on. Great embarrassment of riches with all four Cote-Roties showing very well, and hoo-boy! all those magnificent Catoirs.
 
originally posted by Peter Creasey:
Jeff, We had this the other evening with dinner and found it to be terrific, if not phenomenal. It was marginally better than the wonderful Ogier Cote Rotie '00 which we had at the same time.
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All my older Ogier are long gone. I have only two bottles of Ogier wine remaining, both the "Lancement" designate.

The Jamet had a lot of competition from other good wines last night. I was really impressed by the Gangloff. I read that the grapes come from Combard- Mollard and Côte Rozier, and the flavor reminds me of a Cote Rozier wine that I tasted at Ogier's cave. That stuff was like coffee grounds, roadkill, and mashed berries - bitter, potent, interesting but kinda hard to take as-is. The Gangloff has a whiff of that and it definitely sings the bass line compared to the Jamet's baritone.

And we haven't even touched on the whites! The Leitz punched above its grade and then there was all that Schwarz-era Muller-Catoir.
 
originally posted by Jay Miller:
originally posted by Salil Benegal:

Re. the Catoir halves, I believe the '96 was a Rieslaner, and the '98 was the Gimmeldinger Mandelgarten Riesling Auslese. Those were all so good (and I could still taste that Scheurebe on the train back.)
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Salil is correct.
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My paper notes agree with him. I should transcribe more carefully. Fixed.
 
98 Gallet? Jealous.
How come no Gallet ever gets poured in the cellar?
 
Gallet just doesn't seem that widely distributed here. I got this bottle at auction. It was my first Gallet, and I was very impressed.
 
the red burgs ran 100% corked. fun night. loved the Gangloff, Jamet, Gallet, Leitz and MC-ers. I hope to age as gracefully as the Guigal CR Cote Blonde.
 
Chidaine 2007 Montlouis "Clos Habert" - minerally, dry, somewhat fat compared to the German wines
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Uhh, yeah?

So the Grand Sichuan seems to be the Chinese restaurant to go to in the City?
 
To Suzanne... The white burg was not corked.

To .sasha... I own none.

To Mark... Believe me, I wish it had made more of an impression.
 
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