Jeff Grossman
Jeff Grossman
attendees: Jayson, Victor, Brad, Craig, Marty, Sasha, Jay , Jeff
We're at the Milling Room because, well, Sasha is always there. That's how it seems, anyway.
And Jayson Cohen is suddenly 45 so it's time to pull a few corks. Scott Bryan throws together a menu for us:
Plate: Hamachi Tartare... chewy, oily, but the spiky citrus and sprouts make it go pop
F. Cotat 2005 Chavignol Rose - tangy, minerally, like gravel and rainwater and, if you look carefully, spring flowers, wow wine for the AFWE
Taittinger 2004 Champagne Brut, Blanc de Blancs, "Comtes de Champagne" - at first this tastes like a good white burgundy from a skimpy year, lean and taut; with some air, it just explodes with fruit, flavor, shapely acidity, worth the wait
Dom. de Chevalier 1978 Graves Blanc - change gears; mentally stimulating wine, waxy, a touch of maderization, gently tingly, Brad says the oak is too prominent and so is the caramel; this is a Gregorian chant wine
Between plates
Knoll 2001 Gruner Veltliner Smaragd Vinothekfullung - L/F 635402, I know this nose: it's rice crackers with soy, the palate is old-lady handkerchief and hard candy (or maybe Cracker Jack and blood orange); it's a lot, anyway, and most people find it too heavy
Dom. Perignon 1990 Champagne Brut - OK on entry but rapidly turns bitter, Brad calls a nose of Special K cereal; heat damage, perhaps
Dominus 1991 Cabernet Sauvignon - just a taste from another table... still impossibly youthful, blueberries, mud, and shoe polish, others like it better than me
Plate: Seared Salmon... another rich little dish, with a tasty roasted endive, but not my fave though it goes really well with the Cotat
Huet 2007 Vouvray "Le Haut Lieu" "Franc de Pied" - well, it absolutely screams Vouvray (chalk, yellow fruit, a whiff of orange oil) but no one can get a grip on the sweetness... it was demi-sec originally, we think, but it comes across pretty dry now
Prince de Merode 1976 Corton "Bressandes" - c'est vieux, mon cher; citrusy but bony, Sasha and Jay both say this has lost a lot of charm after being opened a while
Plate: Rabbit Papperdelle... the menu says "aromatic" and boy it sure is
Breton 1985 Bourgueil "Les Perrieres" - extremely strong green pepper nose but then light on the palate; balance is not good though there's nothing technically wrong
Texier 2006 Cotes du Rhone "Brezeme" "Dom. Pergault" - appealing Rhone syrah but still tight and sturdy, Jay says it opened up later
Ch. Grand-Puy-Lacoste 1995 Pauillac - drinking well, hits all the usual Bordeaux notes, still somewhat tannic and still a vivid robe
Bod. Faustino 1970 Rioja GR "Faustino I" - delicate, red-fruited, delightful, a pretty girl with fine features
Plate: Duck Breast, beautifully cooked though somewhat salty
Ch. La Mission Haut Brion 1964 Graves - gorgeous, just what an old Bordeaux should be: tannins resolved, red fruit moving in a citrus direction, a touch of VA, Brad calls it "a campfire in a bottle" (it's praise but I'm not really sure what he means)
Ch. Ducru-Beaucaillou 1970 Saint-Julien - similar to the La Miss but a bit more vivid, a bit of mint, I'm getting sloshed so there isn't much more written
Plate: Assorted Cheese or Assorted Sweet Dessert
Burklin-Wolf 1970 Wachenheim Gerumpel Riesling Beerenauslese - it is really dark brown, The Fish called it a "Cola TBA" (on FaceBook, later), very sweet, all raspberries and iodine, yum
Many thanks to Sasha and Brad for the planning, Scott for the cooking, and Jayson for keeping his molecules together for all that time!
We're at the Milling Room because, well, Sasha is always there. That's how it seems, anyway.
And Jayson Cohen is suddenly 45 so it's time to pull a few corks. Scott Bryan throws together a menu for us:
Plate: Hamachi Tartare... chewy, oily, but the spiky citrus and sprouts make it go pop
F. Cotat 2005 Chavignol Rose - tangy, minerally, like gravel and rainwater and, if you look carefully, spring flowers, wow wine for the AFWE
Taittinger 2004 Champagne Brut, Blanc de Blancs, "Comtes de Champagne" - at first this tastes like a good white burgundy from a skimpy year, lean and taut; with some air, it just explodes with fruit, flavor, shapely acidity, worth the wait
Dom. de Chevalier 1978 Graves Blanc - change gears; mentally stimulating wine, waxy, a touch of maderization, gently tingly, Brad says the oak is too prominent and so is the caramel; this is a Gregorian chant wine
Between plates
Knoll 2001 Gruner Veltliner Smaragd Vinothekfullung - L/F 635402, I know this nose: it's rice crackers with soy, the palate is old-lady handkerchief and hard candy (or maybe Cracker Jack and blood orange); it's a lot, anyway, and most people find it too heavy
Dom. Perignon 1990 Champagne Brut - OK on entry but rapidly turns bitter, Brad calls a nose of Special K cereal; heat damage, perhaps
Dominus 1991 Cabernet Sauvignon - just a taste from another table... still impossibly youthful, blueberries, mud, and shoe polish, others like it better than me
Plate: Seared Salmon... another rich little dish, with a tasty roasted endive, but not my fave though it goes really well with the Cotat
Huet 2007 Vouvray "Le Haut Lieu" "Franc de Pied" - well, it absolutely screams Vouvray (chalk, yellow fruit, a whiff of orange oil) but no one can get a grip on the sweetness... it was demi-sec originally, we think, but it comes across pretty dry now
Prince de Merode 1976 Corton "Bressandes" - c'est vieux, mon cher; citrusy but bony, Sasha and Jay both say this has lost a lot of charm after being opened a while
Plate: Rabbit Papperdelle... the menu says "aromatic" and boy it sure is
Breton 1985 Bourgueil "Les Perrieres" - extremely strong green pepper nose but then light on the palate; balance is not good though there's nothing technically wrong
Texier 2006 Cotes du Rhone "Brezeme" "Dom. Pergault" - appealing Rhone syrah but still tight and sturdy, Jay says it opened up later
Ch. Grand-Puy-Lacoste 1995 Pauillac - drinking well, hits all the usual Bordeaux notes, still somewhat tannic and still a vivid robe
Bod. Faustino 1970 Rioja GR "Faustino I" - delicate, red-fruited, delightful, a pretty girl with fine features
Plate: Duck Breast, beautifully cooked though somewhat salty
Ch. La Mission Haut Brion 1964 Graves - gorgeous, just what an old Bordeaux should be: tannins resolved, red fruit moving in a citrus direction, a touch of VA, Brad calls it "a campfire in a bottle" (it's praise but I'm not really sure what he means)
Ch. Ducru-Beaucaillou 1970 Saint-Julien - similar to the La Miss but a bit more vivid, a bit of mint, I'm getting sloshed so there isn't much more written
Plate: Assorted Cheese or Assorted Sweet Dessert
Burklin-Wolf 1970 Wachenheim Gerumpel Riesling Beerenauslese - it is really dark brown, The Fish called it a "Cola TBA" (on FaceBook, later), very sweet, all raspberries and iodine, yum
Many thanks to Sasha and Brad for the planning, Scott for the cooking, and Jayson for keeping his molecules together for all that time!