TN: Grand Sichuan Again (Oct 6, 2016)

J

Jeff Grossman

Jeff Grossman
attendees: Jeff G, Dale W, Todd T, Jay M, Seth R

Just a little gathering because Todd was in town from Tucson. Nice to see Seth, too.

The food was the usual run of things - cucumber with sesame, tea-smoked duck, guizhou chicken, etc. - but the wines behaved really nicely. (Well, except for the one that was corked and the one with a label so basementy that we had to wrap it in plastic.)

Weingut Brundlmayer 2001 Ried Kaferberg Gruner Veltliner - initial bottle funk blows off, lots of material here, very rich, glyceral and pretty, great with the ginger spinach

F. Pinon 2014 Vouvray "les trois argiles" - light and bright and minerally and just a bit sweet, the usual pear and wax, yum though maybe a tad quiet

Prager 2001 Weissenkirchen Riesling Smaragd "Achleiten" - wow, tangy, big but deft, hint of Christmas and potpourri, loved it

Dom. de Montille 2009 Volnay 1er "Les Taillepieds" - wow, outstanding, just everything Cotes de Beaune should be

Dom. Lucien Geoffroy 1978 Gevrey-Chambertin 1er "Clos Prieur" - corked

Dom. Roty 2007 Gevrey-Chambertin 1er "Les Fontenys" - floral but sturdy, Jay thinks it needs food but it opens up with a little time, vigorous and red-fruited

Dom. Vissoux (P. Chermette) 2005 Fleurie "Poncie" - meh

Schlossgut Diel 1990 Dorsheimer Pittermannchen Riesling Auslese - the sugar is very resolved so it hardly tastes sweet, crisp, starts to fall apart with air

Maximin Grunhauser 1998 Herrenberg Riesling Kabinett - yum, sweeter than the Diel!, did I say yum yet?

Marimar Torres 2008 Pinot Noir "Stony Block" - hoo boy, I brought the only New World wine?, minerally, saline, black cherry but lean, hold (I have it so we'll see how it changes in the next couple days)

Emrich-Schonleber 2002 Monzinger Fruhlingsplatzchen Riesling Spatlese "Rutsch" (auction) - 27 03, a tad musty, maybe? good but not thrilling

Kruger-Rumpf 1996 Munsterer Dautenpflanzer Riesling Auslese - 23 97, ripe and tangy, fabulously big and friendly, loved it

H. Donnhoff 1991 Grauburgunder Eiswein - 27 92, very brown color, amazing nose, palate is a little closed, Todd says this one is better after 5 days open (I have it so I'll let you know)
 
I need to post a reward to the first person who can do some corporate espionage for me and find out what they add to the chongqing chicken recipe to turn it into guizhou.
 
I miss Grand Sich now that I am down here in DC. The only thing I have found that is somewhat comparable is Panda Gourmet, which is a pain to get to and much less tolerant of folks bringing a bunch of wine to the restaurant (although, within limits, they do let you do it for a very cheap fee). Which Grand Sich did you go to this time?
 
originally posted by Michael Lewis:
I miss Grand Sich now that I am down here in DC. The only thing I have found that is somewhat comparable is Panda Gourmet, which is a pain to get to and much less tolerant of folks bringing a bunch of wine to the restaurant (although, within limits, they do let you do it for a very cheap fee). Which Grand Sich did you go to this time?
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St. Marks Place
 
Jeff, you win the bounty. Send me your address and I will send you a bottle of something.

Recipe is absolute bullseye. Just requires two modifications: boneless thigh chunks instead of cleavered chicken on the bone, and Sichuan peppercorns instead of black pepper.
 
originally posted by Michael Lewis:
I miss Grand Sich now that I am down here in DC. The only thing I have found that is somewhat comparable is Panda Gourmet, which is a pain to get to and much less tolerant of folks bringing a bunch of wine to the restaurant (although, within limits, they do let you do it for a very cheap fee). Which Grand Sich did you go to this time?
Click to expand...
That is basically the situation I was in, esp. after living around the corner from the place and getting delivery at least once a week. I bought every English language Sichuan cookbook I could find so I could make the stuff at home. Fuchsia Dunlop has recipes that nail beef with green pepper, double cooked pork, and pork with bitter melon. Tea smoked duck is very, very easy. I was able to mod another Fuschia recipe to reverse engineer chongqing chicken. But gui zhou had been my white whale.
 
originally posted by Keith Levenberg:
Jeff, you win the bounty. Send me your address and I will send you a bottle of something.

Recipe is absolute bullseye. Just requires two modifications: boneless thigh chunks instead of cleavered chicken on the bone, and Sichuan peppercorns instead of black pepper.
Click to expand...
Delighted to hear it!
 
originally posted by Jeff Grossman:
F. Pinon 2014 Vouvray "les trois argiles" - light and bright and minerally and just a bit sweet, the usual pear and wax, yum though maybe a tad quiet

Marimar Torres 2008 Pinot Noir "Stony Block" - hoo boy, I brought the only New World wine?, minerally, saline, black cherry but lean, hold (I have it so we'll see how it changes in the next couple days)

H. Donnhoff 1991 Grauburgunder Eiswein - 27 92, very brown color, amazing nose, palate is a little closed, Todd says this one is better after 5 days open (I have it so I'll let you know)
Click to expand...

The Report of Latter-Day Disorder: The Pinon did not keep its charm more than a day or two. It may have been shutting down. The Torres blossomed around Day 4 and I finished it tonight, Day 11, wanting more. It still had that saline quality but the fruit was smooth and clear. The Donnhoff is just a tad more open than it was, still brown and sweet but a little more yummy.
 
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