Jeff Grossman
Jeff Grossman
Reboule du Rhone is a new event on the NYC wine calendar. It copycats the already-successful model followed by La Paulee, Rieslingfeier, Fete de Champagne, and so on.
But, of course, with syrah, viognier, and rousanne.
The walkaround event was held in a huge glass-enclosed atrium downtown. There was plenty of room to move around, plenty of seats when you needed a break, and, with the ceiling 50 feet above you, plenty of air circulation.
There were tables hosted by individual vignerons as well as tables staffed by specific importers. The wines ran about half available in the US now, a quarter that might come here, and a quarter just for show.
The short of it:
- Quite a few fresh, sprightly Condrieu. I'm still not a viognier buyer but these were not goopy wines that smell of Aqua Velva. They're mid-weight and zingy with just a hint of perfume on them.
- VGs: Of course, lots and lots of 2014 and 2015 syrah, all big and plush and puppy dog happy to see you. The few 2012 and 2013 wines were hit or miss, perhaps some have started shutting down. 2011 is fully closed or not very good. Everyone says 2016 will be more minerally and a less warm-weather-afflicted wine.
- I was surprised to taste several worthwhile barrel selections. Normally, if I want better wine I figure I should go find better dirt, but some of these were distinctive and good.
- Typical performances by the super-cuvees and the (in)famous houses.
MAKER TABLES
Dom Faury
2015 St-Joseph Blanc - [0], eh
2015 Condrieu - [0.5], light and fresh, wouldn't recognize it as Condrieu
2015 St-Joseph Rouge - [0.5], good zip, OK
2015 St-Joseph Rouge VV - [1.5], much more grip, fuller and sweeter
2015 Cote-Rotie - [0], eh
2014 Cote-Rotie "Emporium" - [2], fruity, lots of personality
Dom Pierre Gonon
2015 St-Joseph Rouge - [2], rich and round
+ skipped 1
Dom Vincent Paris
Levi was pouring here, and, as always, dispensing useful information along with the howdies and the pours.
2016 St-Joseph "La Cote" - [0], seems big but still not exciting
2015 Cornas "Granit 30" - [0], destemmed, intended to drink young, lacks typicity to me
2015 Cornas "Granit 60" - [2], whole cluster, 60-yr vines, the real deal, grippy yet suave for all that
Dom Rostaing
2015 Cote-Rotie "Ampodium" - [0], typique, an average C-R with a little too much wood
2015 Cote-Rotie "La Landonne" - [1], beautiful wine marred by slightly soft acidity and a few jangly lactic notes
2015 Cote-Rotie "Cote Blonde" - [1], ditto the Landonne plus some wood, might work better with food than alone
+ skipped 1
Dom Monier-Perreol
2015 St-Joseph "Chatelet" - [-2], bretty, stands out in this room
2015 St-Joseph "Terre Blanche" - [-2], bretty
2012 St-Joseph "Laliefine" - [0], magnum, OK
2011 St-Joseph "Laliefine" - [1], magnum, better, mellow and warm, showing some secondary development
Andre Perret
2014 Condrieu "Clos Chanson" - [0], eh
2014 Condrieu "Chery" - [1], good
2015 St-Joseph Rouge - [1], nice one of its kind
2015 St-Joseph Rouge "Les Grisieres" - [2], 40-yr vines, destemmed, lovely fruit and earth and a fine grip
Franck Balthazar
2015 Cornas "Chaillot" - [1.5], old vines, muted today, if it's going to come around you've got a long wait ahead of you
2015 Cornas "Cuvee Casimir" - [2], bright, cheerful, excellent, mix of old and young vines
Alain Graillot & Dom Des Lises
2015 Dom des Lises Crozes-Hermitage Rouge - [0], OK, vivid nose, destemmed
2015 Dom Alain Graillot Crozes-Hermitage Rouge - [0.5], OK, better all around, stems
2015 Dom Alain Graillot Crozes-Hermitage Rouge "La Guiraude" - [1.5], barrel selection
Clusel-Roch
2015 Cote-Rotie "Classique" - [1], eh
2015 Cote-Rotie "Vialliere" - [1.5], good, crisp, medium-weight
+ skipped 1
Aurelien Chatagnier
2015 Collines Rhodaniennes "Le Cret Louison" - [1], across from SJ, good quaffing wine
2015 St-Joseph Rouge - [0.5], OK
2015 St-Joseph Rouge "La Sybarite" - [1], barrel selection, better
2015 Cornas - [1], he swaps grapes with a friend living there, OK
Dom Jean-Louis Chave
skipped
Julien Cecillon
skipped
IMPORTER (and others) TABLES
Verve Wine / Mana Wine Storage
2015 Colombier Crozes-Hermitage Rouge - [0], eh
2016 Souhaut Syrah - [1.5], magnum, inviting nose, round, varietally correct, skinny (in a good way), I wish for more minerality though, does anybody know what dirt he has?
Pas Mal Selections
2015 Dom George Vernay Viognier "Le Pied de Samson" - [0], another fresh wine
2015 Dom George Vernay St-Joseph "Terres d'Encre" - [0]
2014 Dom George Vernay Cote-Rotie "Les Terrasses de l'Empire" - [0.5], pungent and interesting nose but a faint palate
2014 Dom George Vernay Cote-Rotie "Maison Rouge" - [0], eh, the pourer thinks there's something unusual about the wine but I don't taste it (nor can I find it on Google)
+ skipped 3
IPO Wines
2013 Louis Barruol Hermitage Blanc "La Pierrelle" - [2], 80-yr rousanne, drinking beautifully today
2014 Louis Barruol Crozes-Hermitage Rouge "Tiercerolles" - [1], nice of its kind
2014 Louis Barruol Cote-Rotie "La Boisselee" - [2], blend of 3 lieu-dits, only 5 barrels made, good complexity
2013 Louis Barruol Cote-Rotie "Neve" - [1], single lieu-dit but a bit tame
2011 Louis Barruol Hermitage Rouge "La Pierrelle" - [1], they only used 2-yr and 3-yr barrels but the wine is marked; acidity is good, however
Domaine Select
Delia and .sasha are pouring here. They've had an athletic start to the day: the wines scheduled for today were not delivered. So, they bolted back to the Domaine Select office, grabbed some handy Rhone bottles and rushed back.
2014 Yannick Alleno & Michel Chapoutier Crozes-Hermitage Rouge - [-1], faint; this wine, and several more, were produced by a recent (2010 or so) chef-and-winemaker partnership
2014 Jamet Colline Rhodaniennes - [0], ok
2011 Ogier "l'Ame Soeur" - [0.5], magnum, over-performing today but eh, I've had the 2012 of this wine, also from magnum, and it was peppery and lively
2012 Ogier Cote-Rotie - [1], ok
2012 Ogier Cote-Rotie "Reserve" - [1], good, typique
Vinergie Vins de France
2015 Dom du Coulet Cornas "Brise Cailloux" - [1], typique
2013 Dom du Coulet Cornas "Brise Cailloux" - [1.5], expressive bottle
2011 Dom du Coulet Cornas "Billes Noires" - [1], the old-vines cuvee, kinda closed
2014 Dom de Villeneuve VdF "Les 3 Barbus" - [2], magnum (only!), the three bearded guys are vignerons Matthieu Barret in Cornas, David Reynaud in Crozes-Hermitage, and Stanislaus Wallut (of Dom de Villeneuve) in Chateauneuf-du-Pape; not quite sure why they are depicted on the label wearing armor and wielding agricultural tools, though it is cool that they had their faces branded onto the cork!; anyway, each contributed a third of the wine for the cuvee so in 2014 it's 2/3 syrah, 1/4 mourvedre, and a dollop of grenache; the mourvedre lightens the texture of the wine quite a bit and definitely tilts the syrah 'blue fruit' flavor profile towards red; I like it
2014 Dom Jean-Michel Stephan Cote-Rotie - [0.5], very "Burgundian", red-fruited, cloudy, might be hard to recognize it as C-R though
2014 Dom Jean-Michel Stephan Cote-Rotie "Coteaux de Bassenon" - [2], 60% syrah, 25% sereine, 15% viognier; lively, even sprightly, I like this a lot
2014 Dom Jean-Michel Stephan Cote-Rotie "Coteaux de Tupin" - [1.5], all sereine, very animal, maybe there's a hint of sourness and/or brett (or just a funky grape?)
+ skipped 4
Monsieur Touton / Vintus
Another chef-and-winemaker collaboration here: "Saucisson Guigal", made by Jamie Bissonnette using Guigal's white wine. They were just giving them away. (Is that a saucisson in your pocket or are you... never mind.)
2014 Guigal St-Joseph Rouge "Lieu-Dit" - [0], eh
2007 Guigal St-Joseph Rouge "Vignes de l'Hospice" - [0.5], ok
2013 Guigal Cote-Rotie "Brune et Blonde" - [1], best of the bunch
2011 Guigal Cote-Rotie "Chateau d'Ampuis" - [1], ok
2008 Guigal Cote-Rotie "Chateau d'Ampuis" - [1], woody
+ skipped 2
Skurnik Wines & Spirits
2015 Jaboulet Crozes-Hermitage Rouge "Dom de Thalabert" - [1], good but not as extraordinary as its price
+ skipped 7
CHEFLY TABLES
I missed three, somehow, but here's what I did try.
Huertas - Jonah Miller
Pulpo a la Gallega "Tostones" ... tender and tangy chunks of octopus served on a potato disk
Prime Meats - Danny Amend
Confit Chicken Hearts with Sweet Spice and Late Harvest Apple Vinegar ... so, hearts are not my favorite offal because they are often just too chewy, but once you confit them, well, that is problem solved: this was just the right chew, boring autumnal seasoning but the apple vinegar is full and rich; great little plate; and, not on the menu; Danny tells a story of delicious offal dishes that not one customer would buy; Americans like to tip, perhaps, but they don't like buying organ meat much
Walnut Street Cafe - Daniel Eddy
Smoked Duck Heart Escabeche with Pickled Cherries ... and, not 20' away, we have more fowl hearts! Clearly, everybody thinks they know what goes with N. Rhone wine. These hearts were cut in half and served on skewers, not smoky at all, and also tender enough and the pickled cherries pierce the richness well.
Compagnie des Vins Surnaturels - Eric Wesley Bolyard
Roasted Beech Mushroom and Beet Bordelaise ... and a touch of foie gras fat and sprinkled with powdered parsley. The foie gras stink rises to meet me, of course, but I love all these flavors: earthy mushrooms, the sweet and creamy sauce, oh.
Breads Bakery
Chocolate Babka! ... saved for my exit from the venue, of course.
Bien Cuit - Zachary Golper
Miche and Pan Siciliano ... mountains and mountains of crusty, chewy bread. The Pan is a durum loaf while the miche is wheat(?) and rye. I kept a piece of miche with me at all times: to reset my palate and to add a little ballast while slurping 60 wines.
Finally, I was conscious of my swan-geese problem of my last walkaround posting and I recognize that there are, again, no 3s listed here (though several excellent 2s). So here is a recap of wines that stood out for me, regardless of scoring:
...Balthazar 2015 Cornas "Cuvee Casimir"
...Chatagnier 2015 Collines Rhodaniennes "Le Cret Louison"
...Faury 2014 Cote-Rotie "Emporium"
...Gonon 2015 St-Joseph Rouge
...Graillot 2015 Crozes-Hermitage Rouge "La Guiraude"
...Paris 2015 Cornas "Granit 60"
...Perret 2015 St-Joseph Rouge "Les Grisieres"
...Stephan 2014 Cote-Rotie "Coteaux de Bassenon"
...Barruol 2014 Cote-Rotie "La Boisselee"
Lastly, an extra shout out to Zach Golper. The table was still heaped with bread at the end of the event. I asked him what was going to happen to it all. He said he hoped people would just come and take it. And, with that, he stuffed an entire miche into my bag. Thank you!
But, of course, with syrah, viognier, and rousanne.
The walkaround event was held in a huge glass-enclosed atrium downtown. There was plenty of room to move around, plenty of seats when you needed a break, and, with the ceiling 50 feet above you, plenty of air circulation.
There were tables hosted by individual vignerons as well as tables staffed by specific importers. The wines ran about half available in the US now, a quarter that might come here, and a quarter just for show.
The short of it:
- Quite a few fresh, sprightly Condrieu. I'm still not a viognier buyer but these were not goopy wines that smell of Aqua Velva. They're mid-weight and zingy with just a hint of perfume on them.
- VGs: Of course, lots and lots of 2014 and 2015 syrah, all big and plush and puppy dog happy to see you. The few 2012 and 2013 wines were hit or miss, perhaps some have started shutting down. 2011 is fully closed or not very good. Everyone says 2016 will be more minerally and a less warm-weather-afflicted wine.
- I was surprised to taste several worthwhile barrel selections. Normally, if I want better wine I figure I should go find better dirt, but some of these were distinctive and good.
- Typical performances by the super-cuvees and the (in)famous houses.
MAKER TABLES
Dom Faury
2015 St-Joseph Blanc - [0], eh
2015 Condrieu - [0.5], light and fresh, wouldn't recognize it as Condrieu
2015 St-Joseph Rouge - [0.5], good zip, OK
2015 St-Joseph Rouge VV - [1.5], much more grip, fuller and sweeter
2015 Cote-Rotie - [0], eh
2014 Cote-Rotie "Emporium" - [2], fruity, lots of personality
Dom Pierre Gonon
2015 St-Joseph Rouge - [2], rich and round
+ skipped 1
Dom Vincent Paris
Levi was pouring here, and, as always, dispensing useful information along with the howdies and the pours.
2016 St-Joseph "La Cote" - [0], seems big but still not exciting
2015 Cornas "Granit 30" - [0], destemmed, intended to drink young, lacks typicity to me
2015 Cornas "Granit 60" - [2], whole cluster, 60-yr vines, the real deal, grippy yet suave for all that
Dom Rostaing
2015 Cote-Rotie "Ampodium" - [0], typique, an average C-R with a little too much wood
2015 Cote-Rotie "La Landonne" - [1], beautiful wine marred by slightly soft acidity and a few jangly lactic notes
2015 Cote-Rotie "Cote Blonde" - [1], ditto the Landonne plus some wood, might work better with food than alone
+ skipped 1
Dom Monier-Perreol
2015 St-Joseph "Chatelet" - [-2], bretty, stands out in this room
2015 St-Joseph "Terre Blanche" - [-2], bretty
2012 St-Joseph "Laliefine" - [0], magnum, OK
2011 St-Joseph "Laliefine" - [1], magnum, better, mellow and warm, showing some secondary development
Andre Perret
2014 Condrieu "Clos Chanson" - [0], eh
2014 Condrieu "Chery" - [1], good
2015 St-Joseph Rouge - [1], nice one of its kind
2015 St-Joseph Rouge "Les Grisieres" - [2], 40-yr vines, destemmed, lovely fruit and earth and a fine grip
Franck Balthazar
2015 Cornas "Chaillot" - [1.5], old vines, muted today, if it's going to come around you've got a long wait ahead of you
2015 Cornas "Cuvee Casimir" - [2], bright, cheerful, excellent, mix of old and young vines
Alain Graillot & Dom Des Lises
2015 Dom des Lises Crozes-Hermitage Rouge - [0], OK, vivid nose, destemmed
2015 Dom Alain Graillot Crozes-Hermitage Rouge - [0.5], OK, better all around, stems
2015 Dom Alain Graillot Crozes-Hermitage Rouge "La Guiraude" - [1.5], barrel selection
Clusel-Roch
2015 Cote-Rotie "Classique" - [1], eh
2015 Cote-Rotie "Vialliere" - [1.5], good, crisp, medium-weight
+ skipped 1
Aurelien Chatagnier
2015 Collines Rhodaniennes "Le Cret Louison" - [1], across from SJ, good quaffing wine
2015 St-Joseph Rouge - [0.5], OK
2015 St-Joseph Rouge "La Sybarite" - [1], barrel selection, better
2015 Cornas - [1], he swaps grapes with a friend living there, OK
Dom Jean-Louis Chave
skipped
Julien Cecillon
skipped
IMPORTER (and others) TABLES
Verve Wine / Mana Wine Storage
2015 Colombier Crozes-Hermitage Rouge - [0], eh
2016 Souhaut Syrah - [1.5], magnum, inviting nose, round, varietally correct, skinny (in a good way), I wish for more minerality though, does anybody know what dirt he has?
Pas Mal Selections
2015 Dom George Vernay Viognier "Le Pied de Samson" - [0], another fresh wine
2015 Dom George Vernay St-Joseph "Terres d'Encre" - [0]
2014 Dom George Vernay Cote-Rotie "Les Terrasses de l'Empire" - [0.5], pungent and interesting nose but a faint palate
2014 Dom George Vernay Cote-Rotie "Maison Rouge" - [0], eh, the pourer thinks there's something unusual about the wine but I don't taste it (nor can I find it on Google)
+ skipped 3
IPO Wines
2013 Louis Barruol Hermitage Blanc "La Pierrelle" - [2], 80-yr rousanne, drinking beautifully today
2014 Louis Barruol Crozes-Hermitage Rouge "Tiercerolles" - [1], nice of its kind
2014 Louis Barruol Cote-Rotie "La Boisselee" - [2], blend of 3 lieu-dits, only 5 barrels made, good complexity
2013 Louis Barruol Cote-Rotie "Neve" - [1], single lieu-dit but a bit tame
2011 Louis Barruol Hermitage Rouge "La Pierrelle" - [1], they only used 2-yr and 3-yr barrels but the wine is marked; acidity is good, however
Domaine Select
Delia and .sasha are pouring here. They've had an athletic start to the day: the wines scheduled for today were not delivered. So, they bolted back to the Domaine Select office, grabbed some handy Rhone bottles and rushed back.
2014 Yannick Alleno & Michel Chapoutier Crozes-Hermitage Rouge - [-1], faint; this wine, and several more, were produced by a recent (2010 or so) chef-and-winemaker partnership
2014 Jamet Colline Rhodaniennes - [0], ok
2011 Ogier "l'Ame Soeur" - [0.5], magnum, over-performing today but eh, I've had the 2012 of this wine, also from magnum, and it was peppery and lively
2012 Ogier Cote-Rotie - [1], ok
2012 Ogier Cote-Rotie "Reserve" - [1], good, typique
Vinergie Vins de France
2015 Dom du Coulet Cornas "Brise Cailloux" - [1], typique
2013 Dom du Coulet Cornas "Brise Cailloux" - [1.5], expressive bottle
2011 Dom du Coulet Cornas "Billes Noires" - [1], the old-vines cuvee, kinda closed
2014 Dom de Villeneuve VdF "Les 3 Barbus" - [2], magnum (only!), the three bearded guys are vignerons Matthieu Barret in Cornas, David Reynaud in Crozes-Hermitage, and Stanislaus Wallut (of Dom de Villeneuve) in Chateauneuf-du-Pape; not quite sure why they are depicted on the label wearing armor and wielding agricultural tools, though it is cool that they had their faces branded onto the cork!; anyway, each contributed a third of the wine for the cuvee so in 2014 it's 2/3 syrah, 1/4 mourvedre, and a dollop of grenache; the mourvedre lightens the texture of the wine quite a bit and definitely tilts the syrah 'blue fruit' flavor profile towards red; I like it
2014 Dom Jean-Michel Stephan Cote-Rotie - [0.5], very "Burgundian", red-fruited, cloudy, might be hard to recognize it as C-R though
2014 Dom Jean-Michel Stephan Cote-Rotie "Coteaux de Bassenon" - [2], 60% syrah, 25% sereine, 15% viognier; lively, even sprightly, I like this a lot
2014 Dom Jean-Michel Stephan Cote-Rotie "Coteaux de Tupin" - [1.5], all sereine, very animal, maybe there's a hint of sourness and/or brett (or just a funky grape?)
+ skipped 4
Monsieur Touton / Vintus
Another chef-and-winemaker collaboration here: "Saucisson Guigal", made by Jamie Bissonnette using Guigal's white wine. They were just giving them away. (Is that a saucisson in your pocket or are you... never mind.)
2014 Guigal St-Joseph Rouge "Lieu-Dit" - [0], eh
2007 Guigal St-Joseph Rouge "Vignes de l'Hospice" - [0.5], ok
2013 Guigal Cote-Rotie "Brune et Blonde" - [1], best of the bunch
2011 Guigal Cote-Rotie "Chateau d'Ampuis" - [1], ok
2008 Guigal Cote-Rotie "Chateau d'Ampuis" - [1], woody
+ skipped 2
Skurnik Wines & Spirits
2015 Jaboulet Crozes-Hermitage Rouge "Dom de Thalabert" - [1], good but not as extraordinary as its price
+ skipped 7
CHEFLY TABLES
I missed three, somehow, but here's what I did try.
Huertas - Jonah Miller
Pulpo a la Gallega "Tostones" ... tender and tangy chunks of octopus served on a potato disk
Prime Meats - Danny Amend
Confit Chicken Hearts with Sweet Spice and Late Harvest Apple Vinegar ... so, hearts are not my favorite offal because they are often just too chewy, but once you confit them, well, that is problem solved: this was just the right chew, boring autumnal seasoning but the apple vinegar is full and rich; great little plate; and, not on the menu; Danny tells a story of delicious offal dishes that not one customer would buy; Americans like to tip, perhaps, but they don't like buying organ meat much
Walnut Street Cafe - Daniel Eddy
Smoked Duck Heart Escabeche with Pickled Cherries ... and, not 20' away, we have more fowl hearts! Clearly, everybody thinks they know what goes with N. Rhone wine. These hearts were cut in half and served on skewers, not smoky at all, and also tender enough and the pickled cherries pierce the richness well.
Compagnie des Vins Surnaturels - Eric Wesley Bolyard
Roasted Beech Mushroom and Beet Bordelaise ... and a touch of foie gras fat and sprinkled with powdered parsley. The foie gras stink rises to meet me, of course, but I love all these flavors: earthy mushrooms, the sweet and creamy sauce, oh.
Breads Bakery
Chocolate Babka! ... saved for my exit from the venue, of course.
Bien Cuit - Zachary Golper
Miche and Pan Siciliano ... mountains and mountains of crusty, chewy bread. The Pan is a durum loaf while the miche is wheat(?) and rye. I kept a piece of miche with me at all times: to reset my palate and to add a little ballast while slurping 60 wines.
Finally, I was conscious of my swan-geese problem of my last walkaround posting and I recognize that there are, again, no 3s listed here (though several excellent 2s). So here is a recap of wines that stood out for me, regardless of scoring:
...Balthazar 2015 Cornas "Cuvee Casimir"
...Chatagnier 2015 Collines Rhodaniennes "Le Cret Louison"
...Faury 2014 Cote-Rotie "Emporium"
...Gonon 2015 St-Joseph Rouge
...Graillot 2015 Crozes-Hermitage Rouge "La Guiraude"
...Paris 2015 Cornas "Granit 60"
...Perret 2015 St-Joseph Rouge "Les Grisieres"
...Stephan 2014 Cote-Rotie "Coteaux de Bassenon"
...Barruol 2014 Cote-Rotie "La Boisselee"
Lastly, an extra shout out to Zach Golper. The table was still heaped with bread at the end of the event. I asked him what was going to happen to it all. He said he hoped people would just come and take it. And, with that, he stuffed an entire miche into my bag. Thank you!
