Jeff Grossman
Jeff Grossman
attendees: Mike Malinoski, Dan McQ, Trung Nguyen, Bill Vanderweil, Seth Hill, Tom Hawley, Charles Weiss, Steve Edmunds, Matteo Mollo, Georg Lauer, Jeff Grossman
Steve Edmunds is in town so a jeebus is called. I happen to be in town, too, so I join the merry Massachusites for a glass or two.
Peach Farm is an excellent restaurant in Boston's Chinatown. The local winos meet here often enough that their table is ready when we arrive, the wait-staff quickly brings dump buckets (and pah jun!), and the head waiter knows that Trung does all the ordering. The plates arrive by ones and twos, so we have time to pass them around and nibble each dish with the wines. Standout dishes for me were the lobster with ginger, the manila clams in black bean sauce, the crispy duck (which was banging but not peking), and whatever that last dish was with the house-made tofu.
Bacchus was in a quirky mood. We had 3 or 4 broken corks so much rescuing with Ah Sos and Durands. We also had a couple of outright failures, noted below. But, the God of Grapes also gave us some very good cups.
Vatan 2005 Sancerre "Clos la Neore" - round and rich, only slightly chalky, I think the fruit is overwhelming the structure still, hold
Vollenweider 2006 Riesling Spatlese - 2 576 801 09 07, ooh, gently tingly, luxurious mouthfeel, on the sweet side with a long finish, moreish
Maison Vevey Albert 2006 Blanc de Morgex et de la Salle - immediate smell of ears of fresh corn!, tactile, "Mountain wildflowers" -Steve, a somewhat quiet and contemplative wine, I like it but it's really noisy at this table
Nigl 1999 Senftenberger Hochacker Riesling - cork bad, wine dead
Lamoresca NV IGT Bianco - 2012 Sicilian wine, from vermentino grown in limestone, lemon-orange essence dissolved in spring water, interesting
Zind-Humbrecht 1998 Pinot Gris "Clos St Urbain - Rangen de Thann" VT - gewurz-ish nose, viscous, maybe a hint of rot somewhere way in the back?, very long, "Smells like Z-H" -Matteo, turns kinda JuicyFruit eventually
La Grande Colline NV VdF "Le Canon en Petillant" Rose - cloudy, peach-colored, pet nat but hardly any flavor; later, Matteo gave it the Mollydooker shake but not sure what he accomplished (other than driving some fizz out of solution)
Haart 2001 Piesporter Goldtropfchen Riesling Spatlese - 09 02, a kindly 8.5% alc, gentle wine, another all-by-myself-in-the-corner drink
Peter Lauer NV? Riesling Sekt Brut - 0511, brightly acid, OK I guess
The Eyrie Vineyards 2008 Melon de Bourgogne - served blind: pronounced legs in the glass but a very mild fragrance and muted palate
Weiser-Kunstler 2012 Riesling - 2 601 562 04 13, yup
Mellot 2011 Sancerre "La Chatellenie" - light, faint (maybe the food is shouting down these whites? or did I just hit the good ones first?)
Clos Rougeard 2004 Saumur-Champigny - wow wine, fresh and youthful, mineral dust sprinkled over a berry basket
Knauss 2012 Trollinger - 13 13, trollinger = schiava, typical light color, pleasingly lightweight texture although dark-hued flavors (imagine an ehtereal sort of Robitussin)
Ridge 1996 Petite Sirah, York Creek - today's object lesson that tannins are a preservative, brutal, unevolved, presumably very similar to itself 15+ years ago which prompts Steve to ask, "Is there any reason to give this grape a second look?"
Yves Leccia 2011 IGP "Ile de Beaute" - I think IGP is the new VdP, anyway, a blend of grenache and a sangiovese clone, nice wine, red fruited, earthy
La Grande Colline NV VdF "Le Canon" Rouge - high-toned (that's all the note says))
Belliviere 2002 Coteaux du Loir "Le Rouge-Gorge" - holy moly! what a great nose, "Like a barolo" -Matteo, drinks equally nicely
Cavalotto 1997 Barolo - cork bad, wine corked
Clos de Mont-Olivet 2000 Chateauneuf-du-Pape "La Cuvee du Papet" - despite the fancy cuvee, this is another "yup" wine
Usseglio 1999 Chateauneuf-du-Pape "Cuvee de Mon Aieul" - here's something much more suave, rather like a Burgundy that's carrying around an extra 50 pounds (um, I know that doesn't read like much of a compliment but it is)
Lazy Creek Vineyards 2006 Gewurztraminer - I prefer not to.
Ch. Suduiraut 1988 Sauternes - a bit flabby but charming otherwise, "I can smell that a block away" -Steve
Dom. des Baumard 1995 Coteaux du Layon - much better acidity than the Sauternes, ripeness is well-judged, very enjoyable
It was a pleasure meeting everyone and hobbying together. When can we do it again?
Steve Edmunds is in town so a jeebus is called. I happen to be in town, too, so I join the merry Massachusites for a glass or two.
Peach Farm is an excellent restaurant in Boston's Chinatown. The local winos meet here often enough that their table is ready when we arrive, the wait-staff quickly brings dump buckets (and pah jun!), and the head waiter knows that Trung does all the ordering. The plates arrive by ones and twos, so we have time to pass them around and nibble each dish with the wines. Standout dishes for me were the lobster with ginger, the manila clams in black bean sauce, the crispy duck (which was banging but not peking), and whatever that last dish was with the house-made tofu.
Bacchus was in a quirky mood. We had 3 or 4 broken corks so much rescuing with Ah Sos and Durands. We also had a couple of outright failures, noted below. But, the God of Grapes also gave us some very good cups.
Vatan 2005 Sancerre "Clos la Neore" - round and rich, only slightly chalky, I think the fruit is overwhelming the structure still, hold
Vollenweider 2006 Riesling Spatlese - 2 576 801 09 07, ooh, gently tingly, luxurious mouthfeel, on the sweet side with a long finish, moreish
Maison Vevey Albert 2006 Blanc de Morgex et de la Salle - immediate smell of ears of fresh corn!, tactile, "Mountain wildflowers" -Steve, a somewhat quiet and contemplative wine, I like it but it's really noisy at this table
Nigl 1999 Senftenberger Hochacker Riesling - cork bad, wine dead
Lamoresca NV IGT Bianco - 2012 Sicilian wine, from vermentino grown in limestone, lemon-orange essence dissolved in spring water, interesting
Zind-Humbrecht 1998 Pinot Gris "Clos St Urbain - Rangen de Thann" VT - gewurz-ish nose, viscous, maybe a hint of rot somewhere way in the back?, very long, "Smells like Z-H" -Matteo, turns kinda JuicyFruit eventually
La Grande Colline NV VdF "Le Canon en Petillant" Rose - cloudy, peach-colored, pet nat but hardly any flavor; later, Matteo gave it the Mollydooker shake but not sure what he accomplished (other than driving some fizz out of solution)
Haart 2001 Piesporter Goldtropfchen Riesling Spatlese - 09 02, a kindly 8.5% alc, gentle wine, another all-by-myself-in-the-corner drink
Peter Lauer NV? Riesling Sekt Brut - 0511, brightly acid, OK I guess
The Eyrie Vineyards 2008 Melon de Bourgogne - served blind: pronounced legs in the glass but a very mild fragrance and muted palate
Weiser-Kunstler 2012 Riesling - 2 601 562 04 13, yup
Mellot 2011 Sancerre "La Chatellenie" - light, faint (maybe the food is shouting down these whites? or did I just hit the good ones first?)
Clos Rougeard 2004 Saumur-Champigny - wow wine, fresh and youthful, mineral dust sprinkled over a berry basket
Knauss 2012 Trollinger - 13 13, trollinger = schiava, typical light color, pleasingly lightweight texture although dark-hued flavors (imagine an ehtereal sort of Robitussin)
Ridge 1996 Petite Sirah, York Creek - today's object lesson that tannins are a preservative, brutal, unevolved, presumably very similar to itself 15+ years ago which prompts Steve to ask, "Is there any reason to give this grape a second look?"
Yves Leccia 2011 IGP "Ile de Beaute" - I think IGP is the new VdP, anyway, a blend of grenache and a sangiovese clone, nice wine, red fruited, earthy
La Grande Colline NV VdF "Le Canon" Rouge - high-toned (that's all the note says))
Belliviere 2002 Coteaux du Loir "Le Rouge-Gorge" - holy moly! what a great nose, "Like a barolo" -Matteo, drinks equally nicely
Cavalotto 1997 Barolo - cork bad, wine corked
Clos de Mont-Olivet 2000 Chateauneuf-du-Pape "La Cuvee du Papet" - despite the fancy cuvee, this is another "yup" wine
Usseglio 1999 Chateauneuf-du-Pape "Cuvee de Mon Aieul" - here's something much more suave, rather like a Burgundy that's carrying around an extra 50 pounds (um, I know that doesn't read like much of a compliment but it is)
Lazy Creek Vineyards 2006 Gewurztraminer - I prefer not to.
Ch. Suduiraut 1988 Sauternes - a bit flabby but charming otherwise, "I can smell that a block away" -Steve
Dom. des Baumard 1995 Coteaux du Layon - much better acidity than the Sauternes, ripeness is well-judged, very enjoyable
It was a pleasure meeting everyone and hobbying together. When can we do it again?