Jeff Grossman
Jeff Grossman
attendees: Trung N, Charles W, Dr. Dan, Mike M, The One and Only Pmac, Philip C, Bill V, Jeff G
China King, in Boston's Chinatown, is a tiny corner restaurant with a skillful kitchen and a smiling hostess, Doris. The local winos are known here. Pmac gives Doris a double bouquet of flowers, sketches an order, and Doris fills in the details:
- scallion pancakes (hot, thick slabs)
- shrimp dumplings (in a jiggly delicate rice wrapper)
- pot stickers
- pork dumplings (the 'hash in a little cup' type)
- roast duck (three of them, Peking style)
- sauteed noodles (smoky good, second use of the ducks)
- sauteed vegetables (lots of bean sprouts)
...and quarts of duck soup to take home with us.
Table talk is varied: a lot of good-natured ribbing, discussion of the wines, various families and vacations, and, of course, Joe Dougherty.
Arlaux NV Champagne 1er Cru Brut, Grande Cuvee - disgorged 27 juin 2013, lot 153-OA, fine mousse, not particularly chalky nor leesy, acidity is OK but the wine is pure, dry, flinty
Prevost NV Champagne Brut Nature "La Closerie" "Les Beguines" - LC09, pinot meunier, earthy, barnyardy, rich like a good white burgundy
Jermann in Dolegna del Collio 2009 Vintage Tunina - brought in honor of SFJoe; luxurious texture, stony palate, lingering fragrance, wow
"The recent push toward premium blended whites was spearheaded by Silvio Jermann, who in 1973 created a blend of Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Ribolla Gialla, Malvasia Istriana, and Picolit that would radically alter the course of the region’s wine industry. Called Vintage Tunina beginning with the 1975 version, this wine was a total departure from the fresh, brisk whites that had made Friuli popular. It’s a powerful, intensely concentrated cuvée that has earned the right to be called a vino di meditazione — a category generally reserved for full-throttle reds like Amarone or dessert wines such as Vin Santo." - Sommelier Journal 2010
Schaefer 2012 Graacher Himmelreich Riesling Kabinett - lightweight, ripeness nicely judged, bright and perky, a good drop
Schaefer 2002 Graacher Himmelreich Riesling Spatlese - much richer, much more viscous, flavor profile is heading towards apricot nectar (which I like)
Cowan 2012 Ribolla Gialla - good acidity, very long, but medicine-y for a few minutes then shuts down; do not disturb
Pepiere 2009 Muscadet "Clisson" - oyster shells but a little on the fat side
Texier 1999 Cote-Rotie VV - brought in honor of SFJoe; corked
Cerequio 1982 Barolo - given to Trung by Zul to give to SFJoe; musty at first, grows sweeter with air but too tired (and we don't have 6 hours to wait for it)
Lapierre 2008 Morgon - surprisingly bland; "It's so cute to have a Beaujolais with a wax capsule." -Pmac
Ogier 2000 Cote-Rotie - someone calls it 'declassified Belle Helene', leathery, lots of dark red-fruit flavors, pretty
Les Cailloux 1990 Chateauneuf-du-Pape "Cuvee Centenaire" - wow, extremely pretty red-fruit, so delicate, and a whiff of herbes de provence, did I say wow yet?
Otheguy 2006 Cote-Rotie "Les Massales" - I think this is woody and boring but other people say I'm wrong, that it's deep-dark serine
Chante Perdrix 1989 Chateauneuf-du-Pape - tannic, tart, secondary flavors, nicely-made for all that
Antonelli 2004 Sagrantino di Montefalco "Chiusa di Pannone" - even more tannic, somewhere under all that razor-wire there's some fruit
Cantina del Pino 2001 Barbaresco - yup
Gonon 2011 Saint-Joseph - gentle tannins, plums and red fruit, nice but a little simple
Bonneau 1995 Chateauneuf-du-Pape "Cuvee Marie Beurrier" - gorgeous nose, old tin can in the mouth, bleh
Rieussec 2001 Sauternes - OMG nose is a swirl of flowers and sugar and citrus, but the palate comes on really strong, hold (is great and will be great)
Muller-Catoir 2005 Haardter Mandelring Scheurebe Auslese - here is a powerful and herbal nose while the palate is discreet and gentle
Huet 1989 Vouvray Moelleux "Le Mont" 1ere Trie - brought in honor of SFJoe; honeycomb, nose is lizardy (I swear that is what the note says) but each sip is an explosion of fruit, fragrance, acids; utterly amazing
Somehow, I made it home. Yay for the Green line. And I have duck soup and a half a bottle of '89 Huet. Hot damn.
- scallion pancakes (hot, thick slabs)
- shrimp dumplings (in a jiggly delicate rice wrapper)
- pot stickers
- pork dumplings (the 'hash in a little cup' type)
- roast duck (three of them, Peking style)
- sauteed noodles (smoky good, second use of the ducks)
- sauteed vegetables (lots of bean sprouts)
...and quarts of duck soup to take home with us.
Table talk is varied: a lot of good-natured ribbing, discussion of the wines, various families and vacations, and, of course, Joe Dougherty.
Arlaux NV Champagne 1er Cru Brut, Grande Cuvee - disgorged 27 juin 2013, lot 153-OA, fine mousse, not particularly chalky nor leesy, acidity is OK but the wine is pure, dry, flinty
Prevost NV Champagne Brut Nature "La Closerie" "Les Beguines" - LC09, pinot meunier, earthy, barnyardy, rich like a good white burgundy
Jermann in Dolegna del Collio 2009 Vintage Tunina - brought in honor of SFJoe; luxurious texture, stony palate, lingering fragrance, wow
"The recent push toward premium blended whites was spearheaded by Silvio Jermann, who in 1973 created a blend of Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Ribolla Gialla, Malvasia Istriana, and Picolit that would radically alter the course of the region’s wine industry. Called Vintage Tunina beginning with the 1975 version, this wine was a total departure from the fresh, brisk whites that had made Friuli popular. It’s a powerful, intensely concentrated cuvée that has earned the right to be called a vino di meditazione — a category generally reserved for full-throttle reds like Amarone or dessert wines such as Vin Santo." - Sommelier Journal 2010
Schaefer 2012 Graacher Himmelreich Riesling Kabinett - lightweight, ripeness nicely judged, bright and perky, a good drop
Schaefer 2002 Graacher Himmelreich Riesling Spatlese - much richer, much more viscous, flavor profile is heading towards apricot nectar (which I like)
Cowan 2012 Ribolla Gialla - good acidity, very long, but medicine-y for a few minutes then shuts down; do not disturb
Pepiere 2009 Muscadet "Clisson" - oyster shells but a little on the fat side
Texier 1999 Cote-Rotie VV - brought in honor of SFJoe; corked
Cerequio 1982 Barolo - given to Trung by Zul to give to SFJoe; musty at first, grows sweeter with air but too tired (and we don't have 6 hours to wait for it)
Lapierre 2008 Morgon - surprisingly bland; "It's so cute to have a Beaujolais with a wax capsule." -Pmac
Ogier 2000 Cote-Rotie - someone calls it 'declassified Belle Helene', leathery, lots of dark red-fruit flavors, pretty
Les Cailloux 1990 Chateauneuf-du-Pape "Cuvee Centenaire" - wow, extremely pretty red-fruit, so delicate, and a whiff of herbes de provence, did I say wow yet?
Otheguy 2006 Cote-Rotie "Les Massales" - I think this is woody and boring but other people say I'm wrong, that it's deep-dark serine
Chante Perdrix 1989 Chateauneuf-du-Pape - tannic, tart, secondary flavors, nicely-made for all that
Antonelli 2004 Sagrantino di Montefalco "Chiusa di Pannone" - even more tannic, somewhere under all that razor-wire there's some fruit
Cantina del Pino 2001 Barbaresco - yup
Gonon 2011 Saint-Joseph - gentle tannins, plums and red fruit, nice but a little simple
Bonneau 1995 Chateauneuf-du-Pape "Cuvee Marie Beurrier" - gorgeous nose, old tin can in the mouth, bleh
Rieussec 2001 Sauternes - OMG nose is a swirl of flowers and sugar and citrus, but the palate comes on really strong, hold (is great and will be great)
Muller-Catoir 2005 Haardter Mandelring Scheurebe Auslese - here is a powerful and herbal nose while the palate is discreet and gentle
Huet 1989 Vouvray Moelleux "Le Mont" 1ere Trie - brought in honor of SFJoe; honeycomb, nose is lizardy (I swear that is what the note says) but each sip is an explosion of fruit, fragrance, acids; utterly amazing
Somehow, I made it home. Yay for the Green line. And I have duck soup and a half a bottle of '89 Huet. Hot damn.
