TN: Da Other Prof in NYC (Nov 21, 2014)

J

Jeff Grossman

Jeff Grossman
attendees: Da Other Prof, Don + Melissa, Cliff, Brad, Jeff

It ain't every day that Jonathan Loesberg is this far north. (Actually, it's every year but shhh!) So, Don and Melissa swung wide the doors and he tumbled in.

As did some roast chickens from Whole Foods.

As did lots of other good eats, mostly from Melissa's kitchen.

And, taking the good with the bad, there was the rest of us, too.

Hobnobbery happened. We had fun. You don't care.

As to the wines, we had new friends and old friends and we broke the Rule of 15 twice:

Monmousseau NV Cremant de la Loire "Ammonite", Brut Extra - Don stumbled across this bottle in a shop and brought the stranger home; pretty nice! nothing too ripe or too sweet, a little chalkiness somewhere in the midpalate, a happy chance encounter

Thomas Labaille 2005 Sancerre Chavignol "Les Monts Damnes" "Cuvee Buster" - wow bottle

Eminence Road 2013(?) Pinot Gris - pre-release bottle (it's good to know Don); I cannot bring the taste to mind now but I recall liking it and that it prompted a discussion about Kay's generally skillful handling of E.R.

Clos de Maulevrier (M. Plouzeau) 2011 Touraine "Ante Phylloxera" - I know I should pay attention to wine from own-rooted grapes but I can't recall it now

Bod. Bilbainas 1955 Rioja, Vendimia Especial - a spicy, floral cup; the tannins are so far gone that, eyes closed, I might not guess that it's wine

La Folie Luce 2010 Saumur-Champigny "Autrement" - yup, that's cab franc, no doubt about it

Pierre Gonon 2006 Saint-Joseph - I thought this was just splendid: what Northern Rhone syrah is supposed to taste like, yum

A. Verset 2005 Cornas - this has hardly aged at all, and there's definitely some good dirt hiding inside all that youthful juiciness; alas, my only bottle

Dom. Huet 1996 Vouvray Moelleux "Le Haut Lieu" - lovely

Bod. Toro Albala 1979 Pedro Ximenez, Gran Riserva - sweet, as friendly as this very sweet wine ever gets but it's still winning no complexity awards

[Notes from memory, which is not the recommended course when I'm as busy/tired as I am just now.]

And one photo (thanks, Brad)
 
It was a great evening. Thanks to Don and Melissa. And the wine line-up was unusually good in the sense of no flawed bottles or objectionable wines. My state of inebriation at the end indicates that I enjoyed them all.

The Gonon was a good argument for keeping to the rule of 15. One moment, it would be wonderful--as Jeff said, N. Rhone syrah as it's supposed to be. The next moment, it would get sulky or weird. Then it would come out and play again.

The nephew Verset is probably worth learning about. This is the first of his wines I've had. At 9 years old, it tasted as if it were fresh of the boat. I don't know what this means about its aging profile. Maybe it will be young and grapey syrah until suddenly it's not anything. Maybe it will make the rule of 15 look to be much too short a time frame. But I'll be interested in trying more.
 
I thought Loesberg was 'the' prof. Who is the original?

Does the nephew Verset have the same vineyards as his uncle?
 
A couple of years ago, someone else started answering to the title Professor L. To avoid confusion, and as an act of homage to post-structural deontology, I requested that my title be changed to the other prof. Jeff, I believe, revised that to da other prof.
 
originally posted by Rahsaan:
Does the nephew Verset have the same vineyards as his uncle?
Click to expand...
Internet says no. He inherited from his father, Louis, various parcels in good vineyards but the total area is about a hectare. (Of course, he cannot support himself on that so he has a day job.) JLL is not keen on his winemaking. The 2005 may be a one-hit wonder.
 
originally posted by MLipton:
That latter might help explain why uncle Nöel didn't hand off the reins to him.

The Other Other Prof
Click to expand...

Out othering me isn't playing fair. You became the prof. Or, if you prefer, the prof tout court.
 
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