Jeff Grossman
Jeff Grossman
attendees: Tom R, Eric G, Rob H, Damon G, Mikhail L + Svetlana + Zach, Jeff G
Tom is in town from Texas to visit his Fabric District suppliers (among others). So we travel the R and M subway lines to gather at Mikhail & Sveta's apartment in Queens for talk, dinner, and wine.
And the unexpected pleasure of 9-year-old Zach performing Beethoven and Mozart on the piano for us.
When I arrive the apartment is setup with a long table in the ***********, Salil's crash couch having been pushed to one side, and already the table is heaped with Russian affetatsi: several sliced salamis and meats (pork and beef), various cheeses, dark bread, and dates. The main dish is Sveta's beer-braised beef stew and lots of it. (Eric had vaguely mentioned that he doesn't like to eat potatoes at the same time as proteins, and this was -- kindly -- over-interpreted to mean, "Don't cook them together, either!". So, there were actually two platters brought to the table....)
Oh, right, and wine:
Bod. Vinatigo 2014 Ycode Daute Isora, Listan Negro Rosado - earthy, slightly bitter, "Like a red grignolino" -Damon, with air some sweet cherry appears, good stuff
Immich-Batterieberg 2011 Enkircher Ellergrub Riesling Trocken - 05 12, frangipani nose, flowery and soft, very pleasant but drink now
Battenfeld-Spanier 2014 Molsheim Riesling Trocken - assertive nose, lots of material here, becomes pliant with some air but Eric can't drink it at all; Mikhail suggests waiting three years before comparing it to the previous wine; it works with the dairy zing of chevre
A. J. Adam 2015 Dhron Has'chen Riesling Kabinett - 07 16, corked
Maximin Grunhauser (Carl von Schubert) 2011 Abstberg Riesling Spatlese - 06 12, rather petrolly on the nose but it's usual yummy self otherwise, this is a wine that you'd stand a good chance of identifying in a blind tasting
Dr. Pauly-Bergweiler 1989 Bernkasteler alte Badstube am Doctorberg Riesling Auslese - 025 90, very round and gently yet persistently sweet, I wish this hadn't gone around so early
Diebolt-Vallois NV Champagne Brut, BdB Prestige - good, lemony fizz, friendly if a little non-specific
Pernot 2014 Bienvenue Batard-Montrachet GC - big, rich, and glyceral, this shuts down in the mid-palate soon after opening; later, it is back and people are kvelling
Hansult Artisanal Vineyards 2013 Chardonnay - Mattituck winery and Peconic grapes, slightly Pezzy nose but well-judged ripeness, good balance in the mouth; utterly unavailable wine since Rob agreed to buy out his partners but now is so short he can't get to market
Mugnier 2007 Nuits-St-George 1er "Clos de la Marechale" - open for business, very pretty nose, mid-weight palate, a slight shoe-polish (or black cherry?) hint, good now but more to come, too
Dom. Gourt de Mautens 2010 IGP Vaucluse - very red fruit (strawberry), glossy and clean, alcohol stings a little, others like this more than I do
Ch. Magdelaine 2011 St-Emilion 1er Grand Cru Classee - the last vintage, slightly lactic nose, reminds me of a raspberry creamsicle, palate shows some violets and a lifted/ minty/ eucalyptus note in the middle that is reminiscent of Musar
Hansult Artisanal Vineyards 2010 Red - all aboard!: 71% merlot, 9% cab franc, 8% syrah, 7% petit verdot, 5% malbec - all Southold fruit except the syrah and malbec; interesting palate, too young to judge really, try again in 5 years
Ch. Gilette 1989 Sauternes "Creme de Tete" - none of us has ever had this wine! the story goes that it spends 20 years in cement tank before bottling so no oak, "Like holiday eggnog" -Eric, delicately sweet, honeyed, not an earth-shaking wine but a warm blanket while you sit and meditate
Clos Haut-Peyraguey 2001 Sauternes 1er Cru Classee - classic sauternes: assertive nose of golden raisins, apricot preserves, and oak; lots of life in it (great vintage, of course)
Thank you to everyone for a wonderful evening.
Tom is in town from Texas to visit his Fabric District suppliers (among others). So we travel the R and M subway lines to gather at Mikhail & Sveta's apartment in Queens for talk, dinner, and wine.
And the unexpected pleasure of 9-year-old Zach performing Beethoven and Mozart on the piano for us.
When I arrive the apartment is setup with a long table in the ***********, Salil's crash couch having been pushed to one side, and already the table is heaped with Russian affetatsi: several sliced salamis and meats (pork and beef), various cheeses, dark bread, and dates. The main dish is Sveta's beer-braised beef stew and lots of it. (Eric had vaguely mentioned that he doesn't like to eat potatoes at the same time as proteins, and this was -- kindly -- over-interpreted to mean, "Don't cook them together, either!". So, there were actually two platters brought to the table....)
Oh, right, and wine:
Bod. Vinatigo 2014 Ycode Daute Isora, Listan Negro Rosado - earthy, slightly bitter, "Like a red grignolino" -Damon, with air some sweet cherry appears, good stuff
Immich-Batterieberg 2011 Enkircher Ellergrub Riesling Trocken - 05 12, frangipani nose, flowery and soft, very pleasant but drink now
Battenfeld-Spanier 2014 Molsheim Riesling Trocken - assertive nose, lots of material here, becomes pliant with some air but Eric can't drink it at all; Mikhail suggests waiting three years before comparing it to the previous wine; it works with the dairy zing of chevre
A. J. Adam 2015 Dhron Has'chen Riesling Kabinett - 07 16, corked
Maximin Grunhauser (Carl von Schubert) 2011 Abstberg Riesling Spatlese - 06 12, rather petrolly on the nose but it's usual yummy self otherwise, this is a wine that you'd stand a good chance of identifying in a blind tasting
Dr. Pauly-Bergweiler 1989 Bernkasteler alte Badstube am Doctorberg Riesling Auslese - 025 90, very round and gently yet persistently sweet, I wish this hadn't gone around so early
Diebolt-Vallois NV Champagne Brut, BdB Prestige - good, lemony fizz, friendly if a little non-specific
Pernot 2014 Bienvenue Batard-Montrachet GC - big, rich, and glyceral, this shuts down in the mid-palate soon after opening; later, it is back and people are kvelling
Hansult Artisanal Vineyards 2013 Chardonnay - Mattituck winery and Peconic grapes, slightly Pezzy nose but well-judged ripeness, good balance in the mouth; utterly unavailable wine since Rob agreed to buy out his partners but now is so short he can't get to market
Mugnier 2007 Nuits-St-George 1er "Clos de la Marechale" - open for business, very pretty nose, mid-weight palate, a slight shoe-polish (or black cherry?) hint, good now but more to come, too
Dom. Gourt de Mautens 2010 IGP Vaucluse - very red fruit (strawberry), glossy and clean, alcohol stings a little, others like this more than I do
Ch. Magdelaine 2011 St-Emilion 1er Grand Cru Classee - the last vintage, slightly lactic nose, reminds me of a raspberry creamsicle, palate shows some violets and a lifted/ minty/ eucalyptus note in the middle that is reminiscent of Musar
Hansult Artisanal Vineyards 2010 Red - all aboard!: 71% merlot, 9% cab franc, 8% syrah, 7% petit verdot, 5% malbec - all Southold fruit except the syrah and malbec; interesting palate, too young to judge really, try again in 5 years
Ch. Gilette 1989 Sauternes "Creme de Tete" - none of us has ever had this wine! the story goes that it spends 20 years in cement tank before bottling so no oak, "Like holiday eggnog" -Eric, delicately sweet, honeyed, not an earth-shaking wine but a warm blanket while you sit and meditate
Clos Haut-Peyraguey 2001 Sauternes 1er Cru Classee - classic sauternes: assertive nose of golden raisins, apricot preserves, and oak; lots of life in it (great vintage, of course)
Thank you to everyone for a wonderful evening.