TN: A Manhattan Jeebus (Oct 25, 2014)

J

Jeff Grossman

Jeff Grossman
attendees: Don + Melissa, Chris + Lisa, Lou + BettyLu, Sharon, Jayson, Jay, Brad, Jeff, Asher

That famous Manhattan (Beach) couple, Lou and BettyLu, are in town for a week of fun and frolic but they spare a moment for the serious business of a potluck jeeb at Brad's. The world-famous chopped salad sweeps into the room with two bedraggled servants, impressed from a nearby island, to bear its litter and do all the other menial chores demanded by a kaulana mea'ai. A sheet-pan of baked chicken thighs, a couple pounds of pastrami, and many other dishes arrange themselves on the table.

Inexplicably, the stereo is playing a collection of tunes by The Doors.

And the winos swoop in:

Chapoutier 1990 Hermitage Blanc - I brought this and I have low expectations but we are all surprised that this is quite good, honeyed, supple, very long and glyceral, kinda wow

Terue (Brooks) 2011 Dry Muscat - piney and acrid, feh

Lopez de Heredia 1985 Rioja GR "Vina Tondonia" - I haven't seen one of these for a while. It's pretty and delicate, with tangy and bright cherry flavors, yum

Eminence Road 2013 "Cuvee Acidalia", Elizabeth's Vineyard - a 'Bordeaux blend' from the home team and it is a delightful mix of cranberry and saddle leather and good zip

Dom. de l'Hyverniere (Marcel Sautejeau) 1966 Muscadet de S+M sur lie "Clos des Orfeuilles" - in a vin jaune bottle, corked, but we tried it anyway: kinda like a honey cough drop, very long (and very corked, bleh)

Bereche NV Champagne Extra Brut "Les Beaux Regards" - disgorged Dec 2013, tangy, bright, pure, and clean, a pleasure to drink ('09 fruit?)

Dom. Sainte-Anne 1998 St-Gervais - gentle reddish/grenachey fruit, a little soft

Dom. Arlaud 1996 Morey-St-Denis 1er "Les Ruchots" "Cuvee Unique" - masculine, chewy, "from the bonfire-mustard seed side of Morey"-Asher

Dom. du Collier 2002 Saumur Rouge "La Ripaille" - Jayson doesn't like this ("It's flat") but I think it strikes a good balance of pyrazine aggression and vegetal suavity

F. Hirtzberger 2007 Singerriedel Riesling Smaragd - in the same dry style as the muscat but so much better

Ch. Nenin 1978 Pomerol - corked

Poggio Antico 1990 Brunello di Montalcino - nice! a berry basket with good balance of acidity and substance

Ridge 1990 "Monte Bello" - rich, solid cab, yum

Leroy 2010 "Les Rouliers" Chenin - good, more lanolin than honey

Pierre Bise 1995 Coteaux de Layon "Les Rouannieres" - perfect, quite sweet

Huet 2002 Vouvray Moelleux 1er Trie "Clos du Bourg" - a little more lively than the Bise but a little less hypnotic

Ch. Langoa-Barton 2000 St-Julien - just what it should be, although maybe a little tired

And, swiped from Brad's FaceBook stream, a photo of us:
2014-10-25_Manhattan_jeebus.jpg
 
originally posted by Jeff Grossman:


Eminence Road 2013 "Cuvee Acidalia", Elizabeth's Vineyard - a 'Bordeaux blend' from the home team and it is a delightful mix of cranberry and saddle leather and good zip
Click to expand...

Love the name. I gotta try some of those wines some time.

Dom. du Collier 2002 Saumur Rouge "La Ripaille" - Jayson doesn't like this ("It's flat") but I think it strikes a good balance of pyrazine aggression and vegetal suavity
Click to expand...

I'm perplexed, Jeff. To me pyrrazines are what give rise to the vegetal notes in Cabernets. Can you explain the distinction that you're drawing here?

Ch. Langoa-Barton 2000 St-Julien - just what it should be, although maybe a little tired
Click to expand...

Ouch!!! That's not a good sign at all.
Thanks for the write up.

Mark Lipton
 
Ch. Langoa-Barton 2000 St-Julien - just what it should be, although maybe a little tired
Click to expand...

Ouch!!! That's not a good sign at all.
Thanks for the write up.

Mark Lipton[/quote]

Mark, I brought the 2000 Langoa, and I had a different take on it:

As this sat in the decanter, notes of sweet funk and pencil lead emerge, but when this wine is poured a few hours later, no funk. Pure dark fruit, like black currant with a bit of cassis, showing great richness and concentration, with gentle tannins. Nothing is overdone here, this is a rather transparent Bordeaux that shows good balance and richness, with nothing sticking out. The mouthfeel here is more velour than velvet. The structure is in the background, and while the structure seems to have released its grip, this wine has years to go.
 
originally posted by MLipton:
Dom. du Collier 2002 Saumur Rouge "La Ripaille" - Jayson doesn't like this ("It's flat") but I think it strikes a good balance of pyrazine aggression and vegetal suavity
Click to expand...

I'm perplexed, Jeff. To me pyrrazines are what give rise to the vegetal notes in Cabernets. Can you explain the distinction that you're drawing here?
Click to expand...

Are they the only ones? I thought they were responsible just for the green bell pepper flavor and not other sort of earthy/rooty flavors.
 
originally posted by Asher:
Ch. Langoa-Barton 2000 St-Julien - just what it should be, although maybe a little tired
Click to expand...

Ouch!!! That's not a good sign at all.
Click to expand...

Mark, I brought the 2000 Langoa, and I had a different take on it:

As this sat in the decanter, notes of sweet funk and pencil lead emerge, but when this wine is poured a few hours later, no funk. Pure dark fruit, like black currant with a bit of cassis, showing great richness and concentration, with gentle tannins. Nothing is overdone here, this is a rather transparent Bordeaux that shows good balance and richness, with nothing sticking out. The mouthfeel here is more velour than velvet. The structure is in the background, and while the structure seems to have released its grip, this wine has years to go.
Click to expand...

By then I had a lot more to drink than you, some of it dazzlingly sweet, so I defer to your note.
 
Domaine du Collier 2002 Saumur Rouge "La Ripaille" was underwhelming last night. I think it was only the nephew's second vintage after the schism, so perhaps he was still evolving to become what he is today evolving to become.
 
I have liked that wine better than some. Interesting about winemaker evolution, though. A 2008 white was lovely, on Thursday evening.

(All the 2002 whites I have had were shot, unfortunately. Or maybe there was a live one one time, but the rate was low.)
 
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