Jeff Grossman
Jeff Grossman
Here and there:
Burlotto 2016 Rosato - really nice, minerally, nebbiolo; orange blossom water, astringent, sour red cherries, lively stuff.
Cantalupo 2015 Rosato "Il Mimo" - not quite as lively as the Burlotto but clearly cut from the same cloth
St. Innocent 2013 Pinot Noir "Momtazi Vineyard" - acidic, palate of black raspberries overlaid with sassafras; I often like wines from this vineyard though this one may need time to open. [A day later:] This has relaxed, the fruit has come forward, the distracting off-notes have receded, the tannins have tucked under, much better.
In or with crab in wine sauce over pasta with gremolata:
Luna 2014 Pinot Grigio - The previous renters left this, unopened, in the fridge. We'll cook with it.
Bow and Arrow 2015 Gamay - juicy, crisp, fruit cup sort of flavor but still quite dry, yummy
Fritz Haag 2015 Brauneberger Juffur Riesling Spatlese - 25770500516, 7.5% abv, complex, fairly sweet, green apple and peach, tangy and good with the crab pasta, too
With slow-smoked pork shoulder:
Bedrock 2014 Old Vine Zinfandel - minerally, alcohol sticks out a little bit but restrained brambly fruit, good grip
Jacob's Creek 2006 Riesling "Steingarten", Barossa - bottle 20461, sold to me as having gone all petrolly; indeed, diesel on the nose and palate, very long and resinous; mostly left undrunk, though
Mollydooker (Marquis) 2009 Shiraz "The Boxer" - extracted, sweet, hot, not quite chocolatey but a cup of smooth, hot tarmac, bleh
Dinner at St. Jack with a large group of friends:
Dom. Pignier MV Cremant du Jura "l'Autre" - pleasant fizz with just a tease of the Jura oxi flavor
Maxime Magnon 2011 Corbieres Blanc "La Begou" - closed at first; with air this gains apricots, wax, funk, stems; which is to say, a Rhone white profile but more compact and with more punch
Dom. Bourdy 2011 Cotes du Jura - the regional three-grape blend (pinot noir/trousseau/poulsard), a little light and ordinary, this was chosen by someone else to go with the duck dish, eh
Visit to Brooks Wines:
Note the bird houses to encourage the right kind of vineyard residents.
The new tasting room is a beautiful wooden open-air deck overlooking the estate vines.
2014 Pinot Noir "Janus" - transparent, tingly, roses, cranberry, minerally, my favorite
2015 Pinot Noir "Unvarnished" - includes wine from musca(?), crennel(?), and wadenswil clones; deeper pitched flavors: beets, cinnamon, tannic
2014 Pinot Noir "Rastaban" - even heavier extraction, barrel tannins, slightly too important for me
2014 Pinot Noir Rose - dry, brisk, stony, skimpy, but 14.4% is too strong
I've bought quite a bit of Bois Joli, for immediate quaffing, so the nice folks at Brooks pull some library bottles:
2011 Riesling "Bois Joli" - too tart, lemony, this has fallen out of balance
2012 Riesling "Bois Joli" - this is more aromatic, kabinett-level sweetness, 9.9% alc, slightly funky but in a good way, the table preferred this wine over the '13, good but I'm inclined to say this is not a wine to keep
2013 Riesling "Bois Joli" - simpler palate but this is a friendly puppy dog
2015 Riesling "Bois Joli" - 12+%, sweeter yet, good complexity
2016 Riesling "Bois Joli" - bottled but not yet available; 11.5%, more grip, even more life; perhaps it's their technique that's improving or it's just a wine best young
2015 Riesling "Sweet P" - for comparison, here's the sweetest wine they make; limeade and limp, meh
Visit to Kelley Fox Wines (at the Momtazi Vineyard):
Alas, Kelley is elsewhere so we are escorted by her brother Gerson. We pile into the jeep and drive around Momtazi a bit, looking at the various blocks and the flowers planted at the head of each row. (The flowers mildew before the vines so they serve as warning about conditions.)
Then Gerson brings out bottle after bottle:
2015 Pinot Noir Momtazi Vineyard - instantly recognizable to me, something wild and animal here, always interesting, on the darker side of the pinot profile: black raspberry, blueberry; and all her wines have excellent cut and gentle (but definite) grip
2015 Pinot Noir Momtazi Vineyard "Tir" - a selection; to my palate, not much different, but I am in the minority (e.g., the friend I brought with me thinks this is much better)
2015 Pinot Noir "Ahurani" - the younger vines and selected barrels (=> the ones that didn't make the cut - Hi Gerson!), stylish by most standards, regular here
2015 Pinot Noir Maresh Vineyard - grippy, tactile, beautiful, cooked strawberry and pretty florals
2015 Pinot Noir Maresh Vineyard "Star of Bethlehem Flower Block" - a selection; similar but even fresher and brighter, uncooked strawberry...
2015 Pinot Noir "Mirabai" - previously, this was the everything-in young vines cuvee but now it is all Maresh; good
2015 Pinot Noir Maresh Vineyard "Red Barn Blocks" - a selection; not really fair to report on this since this bottle has been open for two weeks; it's in good shape but I cannot know what volatiles have already flown away
2016 Pinot Gris - I am told that Kelley cannot abide pinot gris. But now she has this concrete egg and all the cool kids are doing skin contact whites. So she laid her hands on a good batch of grapes and in they went - stems, twigs, leaves, spiderwebs, spiders, everything -- and they fermented their way out through the top (there are still smears down the side). Gerson brings out a little unlabeled sample: it's a hazy orange-yellow, quite volatile on entry, somewhat bitter finish, but lively between them. Musar like, perhaps. "Drink it chilled" is the recommendation.
Dinner at Davenport with Kirk and Mark:
Prevost 2014 Champagne Brut "Beguine" - always good, echt champagne, chalky and bright
Dom. du Collier 2012 Saumur Blanc "La Charpentrie" - not much nose and never did open up; others at the table like it more
Chezeaux 2000 Griottes-Chambertin - this is beautiful, I am amazed that all that wood has receded so nicely; there are still wood tannins in the mix as well as a balsam sort of thing that indicates the barrel more than the vine, but I'm quibbling: this is luxuriously glyceral, ripe enough to be slightly slutty, a pleasure
Dinner at Le Pigeon with Lee and Mel (and Bruce and Karen and Cindy):
Walter Scott 2016 Blanc Vojtilla Vineyard - sylvaner, scheurebe, pinot blanc, auxerrois, and chardonnay; not sure why they don't just say 'field blend'; the wine exists in anecdotal quantities (only Le Pigeon and the winery sell it); so little exists it doesn't even have a label; busy and odd nose, lightweight and cacophonous in the middle, savory and slightly herbal finish; works well with the curried fried chicken; but kooky
Sattlerhof 2013 Gamlitzer Sauvignon Blanc - typique nose but the palate is Loire-ish: golden raisins, old lady's handkerchief, delicate with a hint of green herbs, surprisingly civilized
Eyrie 1988 Pinot Noir Reserve - beautiful older pinot, great color, orange confit, red raspberries, sous bois, fine furry tannins; from an auction lot that Lee picked up in 2010 for teeny money; great buy
Chandon de Briailles 1988 Pernand-Vergelesse 1er "Ile de la Vergelesse" - nose similar to the Eyrie but the similarity stops there: much better acidity, less glyceral, less ripe, has the vim and dash of a mature but not senescent wine; yum
All my pix from the trip are here. There are a few more wine pictures but mostly more of the rental house, friends, and the game.
Burlotto 2016 Rosato - really nice, minerally, nebbiolo; orange blossom water, astringent, sour red cherries, lively stuff.
Cantalupo 2015 Rosato "Il Mimo" - not quite as lively as the Burlotto but clearly cut from the same cloth
St. Innocent 2013 Pinot Noir "Momtazi Vineyard" - acidic, palate of black raspberries overlaid with sassafras; I often like wines from this vineyard though this one may need time to open. [A day later:] This has relaxed, the fruit has come forward, the distracting off-notes have receded, the tannins have tucked under, much better.
In or with crab in wine sauce over pasta with gremolata:
Luna 2014 Pinot Grigio - The previous renters left this, unopened, in the fridge. We'll cook with it.
Bow and Arrow 2015 Gamay - juicy, crisp, fruit cup sort of flavor but still quite dry, yummy
Fritz Haag 2015 Brauneberger Juffur Riesling Spatlese - 25770500516, 7.5% abv, complex, fairly sweet, green apple and peach, tangy and good with the crab pasta, too
With slow-smoked pork shoulder:
Bedrock 2014 Old Vine Zinfandel - minerally, alcohol sticks out a little bit but restrained brambly fruit, good grip
Jacob's Creek 2006 Riesling "Steingarten", Barossa - bottle 20461, sold to me as having gone all petrolly; indeed, diesel on the nose and palate, very long and resinous; mostly left undrunk, though
Mollydooker (Marquis) 2009 Shiraz "The Boxer" - extracted, sweet, hot, not quite chocolatey but a cup of smooth, hot tarmac, bleh
Dinner at St. Jack with a large group of friends:
Dom. Pignier MV Cremant du Jura "l'Autre" - pleasant fizz with just a tease of the Jura oxi flavor
Maxime Magnon 2011 Corbieres Blanc "La Begou" - closed at first; with air this gains apricots, wax, funk, stems; which is to say, a Rhone white profile but more compact and with more punch
Dom. Bourdy 2011 Cotes du Jura - the regional three-grape blend (pinot noir/trousseau/poulsard), a little light and ordinary, this was chosen by someone else to go with the duck dish, eh
Visit to Brooks Wines:
Note the bird houses to encourage the right kind of vineyard residents.
The new tasting room is a beautiful wooden open-air deck overlooking the estate vines.
2014 Pinot Noir "Janus" - transparent, tingly, roses, cranberry, minerally, my favorite
2015 Pinot Noir "Unvarnished" - includes wine from musca(?), crennel(?), and wadenswil clones; deeper pitched flavors: beets, cinnamon, tannic
2014 Pinot Noir "Rastaban" - even heavier extraction, barrel tannins, slightly too important for me
2014 Pinot Noir Rose - dry, brisk, stony, skimpy, but 14.4% is too strong
I've bought quite a bit of Bois Joli, for immediate quaffing, so the nice folks at Brooks pull some library bottles:
2011 Riesling "Bois Joli" - too tart, lemony, this has fallen out of balance
2012 Riesling "Bois Joli" - this is more aromatic, kabinett-level sweetness, 9.9% alc, slightly funky but in a good way, the table preferred this wine over the '13, good but I'm inclined to say this is not a wine to keep
2013 Riesling "Bois Joli" - simpler palate but this is a friendly puppy dog
2015 Riesling "Bois Joli" - 12+%, sweeter yet, good complexity
2016 Riesling "Bois Joli" - bottled but not yet available; 11.5%, more grip, even more life; perhaps it's their technique that's improving or it's just a wine best young
2015 Riesling "Sweet P" - for comparison, here's the sweetest wine they make; limeade and limp, meh
Visit to Kelley Fox Wines (at the Momtazi Vineyard):
Then Gerson brings out bottle after bottle:
2015 Pinot Noir Momtazi Vineyard - instantly recognizable to me, something wild and animal here, always interesting, on the darker side of the pinot profile: black raspberry, blueberry; and all her wines have excellent cut and gentle (but definite) grip
2015 Pinot Noir Momtazi Vineyard "Tir" - a selection; to my palate, not much different, but I am in the minority (e.g., the friend I brought with me thinks this is much better)
2015 Pinot Noir "Ahurani" - the younger vines and selected barrels (=> the ones that didn't make the cut - Hi Gerson!), stylish by most standards, regular here
2015 Pinot Noir Maresh Vineyard - grippy, tactile, beautiful, cooked strawberry and pretty florals
2015 Pinot Noir Maresh Vineyard "Star of Bethlehem Flower Block" - a selection; similar but even fresher and brighter, uncooked strawberry...
2015 Pinot Noir "Mirabai" - previously, this was the everything-in young vines cuvee but now it is all Maresh; good
2015 Pinot Noir Maresh Vineyard "Red Barn Blocks" - a selection; not really fair to report on this since this bottle has been open for two weeks; it's in good shape but I cannot know what volatiles have already flown away
2016 Pinot Gris - I am told that Kelley cannot abide pinot gris. But now she has this concrete egg and all the cool kids are doing skin contact whites. So she laid her hands on a good batch of grapes and in they went - stems, twigs, leaves, spiderwebs, spiders, everything -- and they fermented their way out through the top (there are still smears down the side). Gerson brings out a little unlabeled sample: it's a hazy orange-yellow, quite volatile on entry, somewhat bitter finish, but lively between them. Musar like, perhaps. "Drink it chilled" is the recommendation.
Dinner at Davenport with Kirk and Mark:
Prevost 2014 Champagne Brut "Beguine" - always good, echt champagne, chalky and bright
Dom. du Collier 2012 Saumur Blanc "La Charpentrie" - not much nose and never did open up; others at the table like it more
Chezeaux 2000 Griottes-Chambertin - this is beautiful, I am amazed that all that wood has receded so nicely; there are still wood tannins in the mix as well as a balsam sort of thing that indicates the barrel more than the vine, but I'm quibbling: this is luxuriously glyceral, ripe enough to be slightly slutty, a pleasure
Dinner at Le Pigeon with Lee and Mel (and Bruce and Karen and Cindy):
Walter Scott 2016 Blanc Vojtilla Vineyard - sylvaner, scheurebe, pinot blanc, auxerrois, and chardonnay; not sure why they don't just say 'field blend'; the wine exists in anecdotal quantities (only Le Pigeon and the winery sell it); so little exists it doesn't even have a label; busy and odd nose, lightweight and cacophonous in the middle, savory and slightly herbal finish; works well with the curried fried chicken; but kooky
Sattlerhof 2013 Gamlitzer Sauvignon Blanc - typique nose but the palate is Loire-ish: golden raisins, old lady's handkerchief, delicate with a hint of green herbs, surprisingly civilized
Eyrie 1988 Pinot Noir Reserve - beautiful older pinot, great color, orange confit, red raspberries, sous bois, fine furry tannins; from an auction lot that Lee picked up in 2010 for teeny money; great buy
Chandon de Briailles 1988 Pernand-Vergelesse 1er "Ile de la Vergelesse" - nose similar to the Eyrie but the similarity stops there: much better acidity, less glyceral, less ripe, has the vim and dash of a mature but not senescent wine; yum
