TN: The 15th Annual Birthday Jeebus (June 8, 2013)

J

Jeff Grossman

Jeff Grossman
attendees: Brad, Greg, SFJoe, Denyse, Jeff C, Francois Morisette, Chris + Lisa + her mom (Lorraine), Jay + Arnold, Jayson, Mahmoud + Athuala(sp?), .sasha, Don + Melissa, Eden + Scott, Matt, Christy, Jeff G

Oh, sure, there really are a few birthdays near to this date -- Brad, SFJoe, .sasha's daughter, a few others -- but this has become a general gathering of the tribe.

While SFJoe works assiduously on chileajo de puerco, the rest of us make do with Chris' and Jeff C's wonderful breads, a huge and varied cheese board, four kinds of sliced meats, plus roast chickens, roast baby potatoes, roast pumpkin seeds (made with the very best 'secret' ingredient... lard), and on and on.

And on and on:

Chidaine NV(2005) Vouvray Petillant Brut - classic profile of chalk and white peach, yum

Dom. de la Pepiere 2005 Muscadet "Clos des Briords" - tingly and minerally

Thomas-Labaille 2002 Sancerre Blanc "Les Monts Damnes" - not Buster and, therefore, actually LMD; nice on entry but ends with stinky feet or caramel or something not right; SFJoe says it's been open for an hour and was better earlier

Donnhoff 2010 Norheimer Kirschheck Riesling Spatlese - 7753010 07 11, magnum, very pretty, green grapes and perfumey limes

Willi Schaefer 2011 Graacher Himmelreich Riesling Spatlese - 2583154 08 12, somewhat closed or muddled, indistinct

Trimbach 1983 Riesling "Cuvee Frederic Emile" - wow, "Creamy"-Don, the nose is saffron and fusel, the mid-palate is rich and lively, and the finish goes on and on

Cazin 2010 Cour-Cheverney Moelleux "Cuvee Renaissance" - tangy, maybe a bit skimpy in the finish, I'll take it anyway

Fourrier 2010 Bourgogne Blanc - yup

Ogier 1998 Cote-Rotie - OK but slightly sour-mash-y or goat cheese-y

Amiot-Servelle 1990 Chambolle-Musigny - a nice bottle: lots of cherry, good acidity, just a bit of distracting funk on the nose

C & P Breton 1976 Chinon "Beaumont" - OMG, insanely potent and fragrant and stop-in-your-tracks gorgeous

Clos Rougeard 2001 Saumur Blanc "Breze" - great zing, more cream and lanolin, a whiff of old barrels, though

Ch. Giscours 1967 Margaux - another wine slightly sour-mash-y but the earth and leather balance it; others tell me this fell apart later

L. Calissano 1966 Barolo Riserva Speciale - a whiff of madeira blows off and it's excellent: minerals, black cherry, cigar, leather, wow

Ch. Giscours 1971 Margaux - good but should have shown its face on another night

Belle Pente 2011 Pinot Noir - a little VA but overall I'm really impressed with how juicy and light and flavorful this is

Pearl Morisette 2010 Cabernet Franc "Cuvee Madeline" - Niagara, perfectly chosen ripeness, classic franc, bravo

Dom. Jean Deydier 1999 Chateauneuf-du-Pape "Les Clefs d'Or" - old-school so not goopy/chunky but silky and floral, drinks almost like the Chinon

C & P Breton 2000 Chinon "Les Picasses" - magnum, also suave and pretty

Clos Roche Blanche 1997 Touraine Rouge Cot - dark brooding nose but weightless on the palate

Prod. del Barbaresco 2007 Barbaresco "Rabaja" - sharply acidic, needs food to soften the blow

Montevertine 2008 IGT "Le Pergole Torte" - mid-weight and clean, if not interesting

Radikon 2003 IGT "Jakot" - liter, face-powder and Tang, like drinking a sachet

F. Cotat 1996 Sancerre Blanc "Cuvee Speciale" - rather sweet

Chandon de Briailles 2006 Pernand-Vergelesses Blanc 1er "Iles des Vergelesses" - all my note says is, "exciting"

Allemand 2006 Cornas "Les Chaillots" - spicy and blue-fruited, yummy

Chamonard 1998 Morgon "Clos de Lys" - a good bottle of this, winey

There was another Pearl Morisette wine opened but I didn't see it until it was already empty.
 
And before that, there were a couple bottles open at the cellar:

Arnot-Roberts 2010 Trousseau - pretty good, does not show the earthy character that it has in the Jura but bright and fun, reminds me a bit of what CA sunshine does to grignolino in the Heitz version

Sebastian Bobinet 2011 Saumur-Champigny "Amateus Bobi" - I've omitted some number of umlauts and accents; a Garagiste wine, OK but already kinda bretty
 
So, everyone waited for me to leave before opening the Allemand, eh?

You and Brad both give short shrift to the lovely, weightlessly floral 1967 Giscours. The 1971 while perfectly good, showed a bit four square and simple tonight.

I thought the Cot was still too young.

I also liked the Fourrier more than you.
 
can someone please review the bloody sherry?
Not qualified myself, but I was mighty impressed.
 
Looks like I was converting all my tags when you posted. Had to add "mucho vino" to differentiate from yours. ;-)

Looks like I missed a bunch of bottles. Unless the sash got ripped off by the time I tried it, I believe the Trimbach was not the VT. Also, I wouldn't exactly call the Cotat sweet. It has a touch of residual, but to me it comes across more as very ripe fruit. QBAs show more sweetness to me than that wine did.

The '02 Labaille was rather oxidative from the get go. Joe popped it when I got there.
 
originally posted by .sasha:
Brad, was the 98 Donnhoff a Kirschheck or a Hermannshohle?
Click to expand...

Whoops. I have Hermannshole written. Looks like I clicked the wrong field in cellartracker. Will fix after dinner.
 
originally posted by Jay Miller:
So, everyone waited for me to leave before opening the Allemand, eh?

You and Brad both give short shrift to the lovely, weightlessly floral 1967 Giscours. The 1971 while perfectly good, showed a bit four square and simple tonight.

I thought the Cot was still too young.

I also liked the Fourrier more than you.
Click to expand...
I report wines in the order I get to them. I found the remnants of the Allemand sitting in a corner and was grateful it wasn't all gone.

All my notes are short in the shrift. I liked the '67 better than the '71, too, but other people said the '67 cracked up later.

Oh, the Fourrier was just what it said on the label: Bourgogne Blanc. How much torque can you really put on your panties over Bourgogne Blanc?
 
originally posted by Brad Kane:
Unless the sash got ripped off by the time I tried it, I believe the Trimbach was not the VT. Also, I wouldn't exactly call the Cotat sweet. It has a touch of residual, but to me it comes across more as very ripe fruit. QBAs show more sweetness to me than that wine did.

The '02 Labaille was rather oxidative from the get go. Joe popped it when I got there.
Click to expand...
I'm happy to remove the "VT" designation if it ain't so. SFJoe should chime in.

I found the Cotat a shock. Maybe it's just what it came after.

I wrote what I did about the T-L because SFJoe said it was better earlier. In any case, there's no mistaking that the finish was way off from anything I'd voluntarily pick up.
 
originally posted by Jeff Grossman:
originally posted by Brad Kane:
Unless the sash got ripped off by the time I tried it, I believe the Trimbach was not the VT. Also, I wouldn't exactly call the Cotat sweet. It has a touch of residual, but to me it comes across more as very ripe fruit. QBAs show more sweetness to me than that wine did.

The '02 Labaille was rather oxidative from the get go. Joe popped it when I got there.
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
I'm happy to remove the "VT" designation if it ain't so. SFJoe should chime in.

Not VT
I found the Cotat a shock.
Click to expand...

Well, that's fair, without notice.
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
originally posted by Jeff Grossman:
And before that, there were a couple bottles open at the cellar:

Arnot-Roberts 2010 Trousseau - pretty good, does not show the earthy character that it has in the Jura but bright and fun, reminds me a bit of what CA sunshine does to grignolino in the Heitz version

Sebastian Bobinet 2011 Saumur-Champigny "Amateus Bobi" - I've omitted some number of umlauts and accents; a Garagiste wine, OK but already kinda bretty
Click to expand...

there was also an insane 1999 Ganevat Savagnin opened in the cellar, that you had missed. Don't know the exact cuvee (perhaps les vignes de mon pere?) but it had spent 130 months in barrel. And when i say insane, I employ multiple usages.
 
originally posted by Jay Miller:


You and Brad both give short shrift to the lovely, weightlessly floral 1967 Giscours. The 1971 while perfectly good, showed a bit four square and simple tonight.
Click to expand...

That '67 was my favorite wine of the evening. Just blithe and subtle and superb.
 
originally posted by Chris Coad:
originally posted by Jay Miller:


You and Brad both give short shrift to the lovely, weightlessly floral 1967 Giscours. The 1971 while perfectly good, showed a bit four square and simple tonight.
Click to expand...

That '67 was my favorite wine of the evening. Just blithe and subtle and superb.
Click to expand...

Must've collapsed in the 20-30 minutes it had been opened before I tried it, or, like Jay, you enjoy dying wine.
 
originally posted by Chris Coad:
originally posted by Jay Miller:


You and Brad both give short shrift to the lovely, weightlessly floral 1967 Giscours. The 1971 while perfectly good, showed a bit four square and simple tonight.
Click to expand...

That '67 was my favorite wine of the evening. Just blithe and subtle and superb.
Click to expand...

Tied with the '83 Trimbach and '76 Chinon for me. Of course it seems I missed a lot that was opened after we left. Greg and I commiserated over the current state of Bordeaux.
 
If I change my birthday legally to the month of June is there a chance I'd get invited to this annual shindig? I didn't get invited to the senior prom this year either. I'm really developing a poor self image.
 
I've got a birthday in June and I've yet to receive an invitation to this event, Lou. I chalk it up to geographical bias, pure and simple.

Mark Lipton
 
originally posted by MLipton:
Don't hold your breath, LouI've got a birthday in June and I've yet to receive an invitation to this event, Lou. I chalk it up to geographical bias, pure and simple.

Mark Lipton
Click to expand...
You're probably correct, I understand that anyone living west of the Hudson River is barred from these functions. They did add a codicil to the groups by-laws a few years back to bring Jay into the fold. I think that by accepting a member from Joisy does diminish the social standing of the group as a whole. This may sound like sour grapes and that very well may be so, but I'm honest.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top