Thanksgiving wines

J

Jeff Grossman

Jeff Grossman
Only four of us at the table and we drank four bottles: two of Brun NV "FRV100", one of Herve Souhaut 2015 Gamay "La Souteronne", keeping the gamay theme going, and we finished with Huet 2002 Vouvray Demi-Sec "Le Mont".

The Huet was perfect: paraffin, apricot, a bit of grain and chalk, pleasantly sweet and tactile and youthful.

(Meal prep involved additional booze: half a bottle of Dom. du Bagnol 2015 Cassis Blanc, a skoosh from a random cheapie Bordeaux Superieur, several ounces of pomegranate liqueur, Grand Marnier, and Cointreau. I also put up the eggnog for New Year's, requiring light rum and brandy.)

What did you drink?
 
Bessin VV Chablis 2014 was a lovely mix of lime, minerals, and a savoury edge to it. I should have bought more of this.

Fichet Bourgogne Blanc 2015 was really tight on Thursday, but it is both richer and with more pronounced acidity on day two.

Martin Müllen Trarbacher Hühnerberg Kabinett Trocken 2015 was the wine of the day, and disappeared quickly.

Bloomer Creek White Horse Red 2010 was awkward on Thursday, but is doing better today, with the Cabernet Franc being much more noticeable.

Loosen Erdener Prälat Auslese 1997 (A.P. 162 34 98) was gentle and gracious. Better on its own than when we tried to pair it with apple pie and ice cream.
 
A mix...

Magnum of '08 Lapierre...frustratingly low level brett and subdued...a flawed bottle. First pre-09 Lapierre I've had with this...Marcel's last complete vintage - I'd looked forward to this bottle for some time.

a '17 Dupueble BN...these wines are on the upswing...fun...a little banana'y, maybe they had to force fermentation.

'10 Noel and Rene Legrand Saumur - C Chaintree... I like their wines. True.

'01 Couly Doutheil Chinon Clos de l'Echo. These wines are mostly a yawn, but I had a nice full glass with dinner, and hey heck, it was great.

'99 Trimbach Seignuers Ribeaupierre Gewurtz. Sadly underwhelming, but I was distracted.

'15 Tremblay Montmains. Fine, ok.

'15 Nerleux SC Old viney ripe vintageness. Excellent.

Hard to get over the Lapierre, but we had a very nice Thanksgiving with the extended Mme L clan.
 
originally posted by Jeff Grossman:
...Herve Souhaut 2015 Gamay "La Souteronne", keeping the gamay theme going...
Click to expand...

Nice. I noticed your positive comments about the new release Souhaut wines in the other thread. I remember when he first started and the wines were very sought-after, but I haven't kept up. So many wines so little time!
 
originally posted by BJ:

Magnum of '08 Lapierre...frustratingly low level brett and subdued...a flawed bottle. First pre-09 Lapierre I've had with this...Hard to get over the Lapierre...
Click to expand...

Really? And you drink a lot of Lapierre. Brett has never seemed too far away from them for me.
 
Started Thanksgiving with shrimp and braised celery which was a gorgeous match with a furiously fragrant 2010 Hirtzberger Hochrain Riesling Smaragd. Later came the 95 ESJ Durell for main courses. Showed the dark minty aged side of syrah, sure it was seamless, but the meaty depth was past this bottle.

24 hours later, the 2010 Knoll Loibenberg Riesling Smaragd is a fine counterpoint to the Hirtzberger Hochrain. Finer more delicate showing. You must pay attention!
 
originally posted by Rahsaan:
originally posted by Jeff Grossman:
...Herve Souhaut 2015 Gamay "La Souteronne", keeping the gamay theme going...
Click to expand...

Nice. I noticed your positive comments about the new release Souhaut wines in the other thread. I remember when he first started and the wines were very sought-after, but I haven't kept up. So many wines so little time!
Click to expand...
I like the wines. They always drink nicely and, occasionally, they are wonderful.
 
I pulled a couple of bottles from my father's small cellar in his memory. He wasn't a wine geek, but when I poured something he liked he would ask me to get more for him. The Rhys Alesia Pinot Noirs were among his favorites, and his willingness to share my allocations certainly helped to cement my buying status on the Rhys mailing list.

My last note on the 2006 Rhys Alesia Pinot Noir San Mateo County was from Thanksgiving in 2014, and it has been a consistent selection for this holiday. I think this is the last bottle of this wine from my father's cellar (out of the 12 -18 bottles he started with), which I pulled for the family dinner in his memory and it is still showing why it was one of his favorite wines. Pretty red fruit and spice with a little herbal tang and nice brightness, it is a fine match for Thanksgiving dinner and based on this bottle will be for at least several more years.

For a white I chose a 2011 Dönnhoff Oberhäuser Leistenberg Riesling Kabinett, as I think off-dry whites work particularly well with my family's array of Thanksiving dishes and this further confirmed that opinion. A little lime tartness with stone fruit and minerals and an appealing sweet/tart interplay between the RS and acid make it very easy to drink. Like the Alesia, this wine holds a special significance for me. My family had gathered at an excellent local restaurant to celebrate my birthday and I selected a bottle of the Dönnhoff off the list because I thought it would work well with the variety of dishes we ordered. My dad tended to prefer California Chardonnays, so I was delighted that he not only liked the wine, but asked me to see if I could find a case of it for him. We drank bottles of it at the next two Thanksgiving dinners, which turned out to be his last.
 
originally posted by Rahsaan:
originally posted by BJ:

Magnum of '08 Lapierre...frustratingly low level brett and subdued...a flawed bottle. First pre-09 Lapierre I've had with this...Hard to get over the Lapierre...
Click to expand...

Really? And you drink a lot of Lapierre. Brett has never seemed too far away from them for me.
Click to expand...

I dunno...up 'til now, it seemed like the troubles began in '09...older Lapierre always seemed clean to me.

I think in general the younger generation has moved into experimentation with naturelle...with very bad results. Quite unfortunate.
 
a typisch Thanksgiving repaste :
home made crab cakes with lemon juice viniagrette. Pepiere 2002 Briordes. very very good balanced wine but perhaps not up to the richness of the crab cake. but no one complained.
home made pasta (extra yolks) with braised garlic / 25 yr old balsamico. Fourrier 2006 Vougeot. wonderful bourgogne in the Fourrier style. missed a little in the concentration aspect. matched well.
unagi sushi*. finished off Fourrier. only complaints were why was not there more Burgundy to be drunk.i of course was let down by not enough unagi sushi to partake of.
pumpkin cheese cake**. Donnhoff 2001 Hermannshohle gold capsule auslese. winner.

bestest to all, MSA

* home made
** also home made
 
originally posted by Mark Anisman:
a typisch Thanksgiving repaste :
home made crab cakes...
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Nice. Crab cakes are also one of our Thanksgiving staples (we don't eat turkey). (Actually crab cakes are one of our life staples during the NC season, but that's another story...)

This year I served them on the Friday.
 
Aubry Brut (disg. 08/2016)
With snacks. Lovely as always. We're still working through leftovers from the wedding. Who knew that people would hardly drink any Champagne.

Cru D'Arche Pugneau Sauternes 2011
This wine has really surprised me. Not to be confused with Climens, but this is an excellent example of Sauternes ready to go with good balance of sweetness and acid. It's pretty cheap too. Went great with our foie gras entier.

Knoll Loibenberg Gruner-Veltliner Smaragd 2015
Way young and kind of lost in the shuffle. I wanted to have a white on the table. Great texture but not particularly aromatic. There is about a quarter of the bottle that I'll check out later today.

Lapierre Morgon 2014
From a 3L bottle. It was good, but not exactly what it should have been (this is a wine I've had on several occasions). The cork is wet at least half-way up so I think that it got warm at some point and there was a brett bloom. It was still enjoyable, but I'm kind of pissed when wines like this can't be cared for in the supply chain. I mean fucking Bud Light is shipped cold.

Breton Morgon "Vielles Vignes" 2014
From magnum a perfect example. Lighter than Descombes, Foillard and Lapierre in the way that it is. Pretty violets and crunchy blue fruit. On the young side, of course, probably better in a few years but could go a fair distance.

This year we got a turkey from a friend who is open Thanksgiving at his restaurant. It's a heritage breed that he brined, cooked sous-vide and then fries. The juiciest turkey that I've ever had. So juicy that gravy doesn't absorb into it in the same way. Another highlight was cranberry sauce with green chilies brought by our friend who is native to New Mexico. Added a really cool dimension to it.

Hope everyone had a great day.
 
originally posted by Jeff Grossman:
we finished with Huet 2002 Vouvray Demi-Sec "Le Mont".

The Huet was perfect: paraffin, apricot, a bit of grain and chalk, pleasantly sweet and tactile and youthful.
Click to expand...

Great to hear about a good bottle of 2002 demi-sec.
 
originally posted by BJ:
Magnum of '08 Lapierre...frustratingly low level brett and subdued...a flawed bottle.
Click to expand...

Had a similar experience with a younger wine. Frustrating since I know what this wine can be.

originally posted by BJ:
'10 Noel and Rene Legrand Saumur - C Chaintree... I like their wines. True.

'15 Tremblay Montmains. Fine, ok.

'15 Nerleux SC Old viney ripe vintageness. Excellent.
Click to expand...

I don't know any of these three wines. Any more details?
 
originally posted by John M:
Fichet Bourgogne Blanc 2015 was really tight on Thursday, but it is both richer and with more pronounced acidity on day two.
Click to expand...

This and especially the VV are great. I still think I can get some 2015 but hesitated due to the vintage thanks for the note.
 
2014 Louis Michel, Montee de Tonnerre

2011 Domaine de Roally, Vire-Clesse

1990 Havens, Merlot

2003 Pegau, CdP

The Chablis was a pointe with crab cakes, the Macon with its hint of RS worked well with shrimp etouffee, the Pegau was good and the merlot was exceptional.
Best, jim
 
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