Jeff Grossman
Jeff Grossman
There have already been several events and even a couple dinners but it's time for the official welcome wagon rollout. About 70 of us gather at Canton Lounge, in Chinatown, for unchallenging Cantonese fare, a dazzling variety of wine, and a din that could wake the dead. (I haven't figured out how to post video here.)
There were a dozen or so wine-makers, a dozen or so wine geeks, and a whole lotta ITBers. So, much time was spent schmoozing but I was very happy with my table mates: Tse Wei, Guillaume, Sasha and Delia, Jeremy, Jochen Beurer, and Egon Muller.
Here's what I can recall of the wines on my table, the common table in the center of the room, and a few passed around (there were many, many, many more on the other tables):
Foreau 2010 Vouvray Petillant
Huet 2010 Vouvray Petillant
- both nice but the Huet was better
Calsac Champagne BDB "Les Rocheforts"
Moutarde Champagne
Prevost "Beguine" Meunier(?)
- Calsac is a recent import and quite savory; I don't think I've had Moutarde before but this was unusual and unpleasant in a go-go environment; a third champagne was definitely pinot meunier...
Rhys 06 Pinot Noir "Alpine"
Under The Wire 2013 Pinot Noir Rose
- the Rhys is aging nicely, already showing good secondary flavors, a pleasure to drink; the rose is just barely sparkling and made from fruit grown in Alder Springs Vineyard, this is also amazingly good, stone fruit and saline
Metras 2015 Fleurie
Chamonard 2011 Morgon
- both excellent wines
Huet 2010 Le Mont Sec
- closed, let sleep
Dolde 2014 Schwarze Birne
Belluard's beer made from gringet lees
- the first is a hard cider from rare German black pears, quite dry and really good; the second sounds insane but this was also really nice, lightly hopped, fine froth, elegant
Labet 2011 Chardonnay "Cuvee du Hasard"
Domaine des Marnes Blanches 2008 Vin Jaune
- the Labet made friends easily; this bottle was gorgeous, the four years of sous-voile adding the characteristic nose but still a youthfully vinous palate; the Vin Jaune is the first vintage the Fromonts made themselves (they inherited the prior years when they bought the estate in 2006)
Belliviere 2014 Coteaux-du-Loir "Rouge Gorge"
Belliviere 2014(?) Coteaux-du-Loir "Vieille Vignes Eparses"
- the pineau d'aunis is excellent, pure and white pepper and cement dust, while the chenin is grumpy and making friends only slowly
Pearl Morisette VQA Niagara
- no excitement here for me
Mugnier 2008 Nuits-St-Georges "Clos de la Marechale"
- pretty open though still not showing all the depth it should
Oddero 1970 Barolo
Le Piane 2007 Boca
- the Oddero is OTH but the Le Piane is gorgeous: it doesn't have the weight of a barolo but it has much of the beauty, kinda like Carema but even a touch lighter than that
Gonon 2014 SJ
A La Tache 2010 SJ Cuvee Badel
- both beautiful
Montevertine 1996
- something wrong with this bottle, or else it's just really shut-down
Holger-Koch 2014 Weissburgunder Hornstuck
- a very rich, full pinot blanc; a pleasure to drink this
Bourdy Galant des Abbesses
- Murgatroyd.
Two more notes about this event: First, we were enjoined to bring anything but riesling, and, second, after hours and hours of this mayhem, some people went out for more drinks.
There were a dozen or so wine-makers, a dozen or so wine geeks, and a whole lotta ITBers. So, much time was spent schmoozing but I was very happy with my table mates: Tse Wei, Guillaume, Sasha and Delia, Jeremy, Jochen Beurer, and Egon Muller.
Here's what I can recall of the wines on my table, the common table in the center of the room, and a few passed around (there were many, many, many more on the other tables):
Foreau 2010 Vouvray Petillant
Huet 2010 Vouvray Petillant
- both nice but the Huet was better
Calsac Champagne BDB "Les Rocheforts"
Moutarde Champagne
Prevost "Beguine" Meunier(?)
- Calsac is a recent import and quite savory; I don't think I've had Moutarde before but this was unusual and unpleasant in a go-go environment; a third champagne was definitely pinot meunier...
Rhys 06 Pinot Noir "Alpine"
Under The Wire 2013 Pinot Noir Rose
- the Rhys is aging nicely, already showing good secondary flavors, a pleasure to drink; the rose is just barely sparkling and made from fruit grown in Alder Springs Vineyard, this is also amazingly good, stone fruit and saline
Metras 2015 Fleurie
Chamonard 2011 Morgon
- both excellent wines
Huet 2010 Le Mont Sec
- closed, let sleep
Dolde 2014 Schwarze Birne
Belluard's beer made from gringet lees
- the first is a hard cider from rare German black pears, quite dry and really good; the second sounds insane but this was also really nice, lightly hopped, fine froth, elegant
Labet 2011 Chardonnay "Cuvee du Hasard"
Domaine des Marnes Blanches 2008 Vin Jaune
- the Labet made friends easily; this bottle was gorgeous, the four years of sous-voile adding the characteristic nose but still a youthfully vinous palate; the Vin Jaune is the first vintage the Fromonts made themselves (they inherited the prior years when they bought the estate in 2006)
Belliviere 2014 Coteaux-du-Loir "Rouge Gorge"
Belliviere 2014(?) Coteaux-du-Loir "Vieille Vignes Eparses"
- the pineau d'aunis is excellent, pure and white pepper and cement dust, while the chenin is grumpy and making friends only slowly
Pearl Morisette VQA Niagara
- no excitement here for me
Mugnier 2008 Nuits-St-Georges "Clos de la Marechale"
- pretty open though still not showing all the depth it should
Oddero 1970 Barolo
Le Piane 2007 Boca
- the Oddero is OTH but the Le Piane is gorgeous: it doesn't have the weight of a barolo but it has much of the beauty, kinda like Carema but even a touch lighter than that
Gonon 2014 SJ
A La Tache 2010 SJ Cuvee Badel
- both beautiful
Montevertine 1996
- something wrong with this bottle, or else it's just really shut-down
Holger-Koch 2014 Weissburgunder Hornstuck
- a very rich, full pinot blanc; a pleasure to drink this
Bourdy Galant des Abbesses
- Murgatroyd.
Two more notes about this event: First, we were enjoined to bring anything but riesling, and, second, after hours and hours of this mayhem, some people went out for more drinks.