Sharon Bowman
Sharon Bowman
I met a pal at the new RT Chelsea last night. This was my third time there, and first time with the whole wine list in my paws.
The first time was for a pre-opening "friends and family" meal and they did not yet have a liquor license and said there was no possibility of BYO, either. That turned into a topsy-turvy night, because my reservation was for 8:30pm on the night that the bomb went off on 23rd Street exactly then, five blocks away. I was running late and from my taxi going up 6th Avenue began to see all manner of police cars, bomb squad vans, and TV vans.
The second time was opening night, and they had printed the white wine part of the list, but not yet the red. There were two of us, so we contented ourselves with:
1998 Pascal Doquet - A favorite grower from the Côte des Blancs (he is based in Vertus, but makes blended and Le Mesnil cuvées, too). This was just starting to get a little oxidative, but it was still plenty appealing and very much of its place.
2004 Raveneau Butteaux - Exemplary Raveneau, with all the parts in all the right places. So young, but really pretty.
Then other people sent over:
2004 Domaine d’Auvenay Auxey-Duresses "Les Clous" - same year, different beast. This was rich and oleaginous. It had that big-boned Côte d'Or chard thing going on. I liked it more than my companion, who found it too blowsy. This is what it's like to drink in a fancy zip code.
*
Skip ahead to last night, and all the pieces of the wine list are in place.
2008 Larmandier-Bernier Terre de Vertus - I have always liked this very austere, non-dosé wine from Vertus (as some from USC a few years ago might recall), and here it remains Cistercian, but is still so pleasurable. Perfect bead.
2013 Domaine de la Sansonnière "Les Fouchardes" - Ah, the dry Bonnezeaux from Mark Angéli. Pascaline had an older rendition on the list (1998), but she and sommelier James mentioned they were coming off as pretty funky on opening and needed a long decant. However, she said, the 2013 was great. MAN, was she right. This thing was insane! Pure, pure nose, like the stoniest Chablis, but more complex on the palate, long and going down like an arrow. Holy hell, this is great. Extremely young, but extremely good.
2011 Vignes du Mayne Mâcon-Cruzille "910" - Or how they used to do it 1100 years ago. I have always loved this wine, since DLills turned me on to it a few years ago. The winemaker is a former clown, but there is nothing silly about this. Just a light, fantastic gamay/pinot noir blend, a little reminiscent of Ganevat's Cuvée Julien or J'en Veux.
Then Pascaline brought us over small pours of a different wine. She said it was a pinot noir.
I found it hard, ungiving, opaque, very tannic. Where could it be from? I hate to say it, but neither I nor my friend liked it very well. Pascaline said she thought it was a compelling wine.
It was: 2014 Ostertag Pinot Noir "Fronholz".... Wow, burly Alsatian.
The first time was for a pre-opening "friends and family" meal and they did not yet have a liquor license and said there was no possibility of BYO, either. That turned into a topsy-turvy night, because my reservation was for 8:30pm on the night that the bomb went off on 23rd Street exactly then, five blocks away. I was running late and from my taxi going up 6th Avenue began to see all manner of police cars, bomb squad vans, and TV vans.
The second time was opening night, and they had printed the white wine part of the list, but not yet the red. There were two of us, so we contented ourselves with:
1998 Pascal Doquet - A favorite grower from the Côte des Blancs (he is based in Vertus, but makes blended and Le Mesnil cuvées, too). This was just starting to get a little oxidative, but it was still plenty appealing and very much of its place.
2004 Raveneau Butteaux - Exemplary Raveneau, with all the parts in all the right places. So young, but really pretty.
Then other people sent over:
2004 Domaine d’Auvenay Auxey-Duresses "Les Clous" - same year, different beast. This was rich and oleaginous. It had that big-boned Côte d'Or chard thing going on. I liked it more than my companion, who found it too blowsy. This is what it's like to drink in a fancy zip code.
*
Skip ahead to last night, and all the pieces of the wine list are in place.
2008 Larmandier-Bernier Terre de Vertus - I have always liked this very austere, non-dosé wine from Vertus (as some from USC a few years ago might recall), and here it remains Cistercian, but is still so pleasurable. Perfect bead.
2013 Domaine de la Sansonnière "Les Fouchardes" - Ah, the dry Bonnezeaux from Mark Angéli. Pascaline had an older rendition on the list (1998), but she and sommelier James mentioned they were coming off as pretty funky on opening and needed a long decant. However, she said, the 2013 was great. MAN, was she right. This thing was insane! Pure, pure nose, like the stoniest Chablis, but more complex on the palate, long and going down like an arrow. Holy hell, this is great. Extremely young, but extremely good.
2011 Vignes du Mayne Mâcon-Cruzille "910" - Or how they used to do it 1100 years ago. I have always loved this wine, since DLills turned me on to it a few years ago. The winemaker is a former clown, but there is nothing silly about this. Just a light, fantastic gamay/pinot noir blend, a little reminiscent of Ganevat's Cuvée Julien or J'en Veux.
Then Pascaline brought us over small pours of a different wine. She said it was a pinot noir.
I found it hard, ungiving, opaque, very tannic. Where could it be from? I hate to say it, but neither I nor my friend liked it very well. Pascaline said she thought it was a compelling wine.
It was: 2014 Ostertag Pinot Noir "Fronholz".... Wow, burly Alsatian.
