Jeff Grossman
Jeff Grossman
It is a miracle of social engineering. Not the Liquidator, although there are perhaps issues requiring a structural engineer there....
No, I mean to pull off a surprise birthday party in this day and age. Josie reserved a private room at Landmarc, summoned nearly 30 people, and no one blabbed about it ahead of time on Facebook, Whatsapp, Snapchat, Skype, LinkedIn, Instagram, Kik, Pinterest, Flickr, Tumblr, VK, Reddit, Youtube, Meetup, Twitter, Hangouts, Viber, ooVoo, or Wine-Searcher.
Bravo!
We all arrive around 7:30p at the restaurant (in no particular order):
Brad, Michel (in from Western climes), Don + Melissa, Jayson + Laura, Lisa (having just dashed back), Suzanne + Kenny, Jay, Jeff G, Jeff C (dapper and gentlemanly, as always), Victor + Mrs. Victor (Elaine?), Cliff, .sasha + Delia, Asher, Josefa + Mark (enjoying an evening not schnooking), Cesar (long time!), Denyse, John G + Marie-France (he's still getting over the flu)
Of course, we're far too undisciplined to hide behind chairs and under tables. We immediately start pulling corks, griping about the stemware, and hub-bubbing. The wait-staff gets buckets and water and ice onto all the tables, passes hot hors d'oeuvres and pours:
Pinon 2014 Vouvray Petillant - its usual cheerful self, though a couple bottles seem kinda flat
Occhipinti SP68 Red - I never had any but I tasted it at the recent Dressner event
Occhipinti SP68 White - ditto
We get a two-minute warning when The Eagle enters the building, and cheer him when he enters the room. We got 'im.
Josie had arranged a short and simple menu: choice of two appetizers (soup, salad) and choice of two mains (swordfish, risotto). Easy on the kitchen, easy on the staff, and easy on us. So we can focus on the Birthday Boy and a wee dram beside:
Christian Moreau 2013 Chablis 1er "Vaillon" - 375ml, fruity, punchy, good zing, shared by a few of us while waiting for the room to open
Luneau-Papin 2002 Muscadet "Le L d'Or" - like it always does: this cuvee loses acidity but the palate ages at a glacial pace, beautiful balance in this beautiful year for Muscadet, perhaps showing a little bit of honey?
Dom. de la Pepiere 2004 Muscadet "Clos des Briords" - mag, yellow-fruit and a whiff of funky-cheesey going on, more-ish
Brundlmayr 1997 Gruner Veltliner "Alte Reben" - much susurrus around the table about whether there is a vineyard designation on here somewhere (no one could find one) and sighed reminiscences of SFJoe (a tireless advocate for wines of Austria); vivid and intense, green grapes and a basket of herbal scents, delightful
Edmund St-John 1994 Syrah "Durrell Vineyard" - library bottle; gorgeous, perfect, hint of soy sauce in the nose and that saline quality carries into the mouth, red and blue fruits both, even the people dismissive of CA wines are impressed
Clos Roche Blanche 1998 Touraine "Cot" - sturdy yet, cool, deep, some schoolpastey brett bothers the more-sensitive palates, great wine
Pinon 2005 Vouvray "Cuvee Tradition" - at first, the haze of sugar and glycerin dazzled me but .sasha convinces me that it is sherried, sigh
Rollin 2014 Pernand-Vergelesses Blanc "Les Cloux" - classic white burg, never my favorite style but this is attractive, demanding, powerful stuff
Vouette et Sorbet 2014 Champagne Extra-Brut "Fidele" - "Thank God, champagne!" someone said, juicy, tangy, all yellow fruit and a tease of oxidative smellies
Fourrier 2010 Morey-St-Denis "Clos Solon" - pretty wine if slight, seems to be ready
Clos Roche Blanche 2006 Touraine "Cot" - mag!, dark and lovely and incredibly youthful, I don't imagine anyone other than .sasha has more of this but, if you do, drink and hold
Ch. Cantemerle 1966 Haut-Medoc - this is perfect: all those classic Bordeaux descriptors (e.g., currants, tobacco, freshly-turned earth) are all in balance and woven together such that none sticks out, middling body is also a tactile pleasure
Dom. de Chevalier 1981 Graves - very red-fruited following the Cantemerle, maybe a little muted?
Dom. Baudry 2015 Chinon "Clos Guillot" - yup
Ygay 1983 Rioja Gran Reserva Especial - mag, very tannic and dry and drying and maybe dried-out, good but hard to like
Ch. Magdelaine 1995 St-Emilion 1er Grand Cru Classee - no note other than it was about as expected
Ch. Magdelaine 1985 St-Emilion 1er Grand Cru Classee - no note other than it was about as expected
R. Lopez de Heredia 1968 Rioja Gran Reserva "Bosconia" - oxidized, prompts a lot of discussion about how bottles of '68 Bosconia seems to run about 50-50 great or shot
Cappellano 1968 Barolo - a powerful perfume can be smelled a foot away from the glass, glorious red fruit and roses and country air, the palate could not (and does not) keep pace but so what, great wine
Trimbach 1995 Riesling "Cuvée Frederic Emile" - surprising but definite nose of celery, then bright and tangy white grapes (but no more ripe than that), good acid spine still
Trimbach 1992 Riesling "Cuvée Frederic Emile" - similar to the '95 but a little more fleshy, a little more three-dimensional, beautiful
Pinon 1996 Vouvray "1er Trie" - I'm enjoying this, damn the notes
Dauvissat 2007 Chablis 1er "Vaillon" - another Vaillon!, this one is also pretty but already the oxidative clouds are forming over it, drink now (I've held some '05 Forest till now but I'm not quite mad enough to keep them any longer)
Dom. des Petits Quarts 1996 Bonnezeaux "Le Malabe" - not black label, one of Dressner's cheapie imports back in the day, a Brad Kane wine: nicely sweet and vivid but too low acid for me (especially this far into a blowout dinner)
...and that's all I captured. There probably were more wines but me and my liver can't be everywhere.
I've dragged two photos over from FaceBook, one from Brad that shows the party in full swing:
And one from Manuel with Jayson and Cliff that nicely captures the spirit of the thing (i.e., drunken grins, within macho bounds):
No, I mean to pull off a surprise birthday party in this day and age. Josie reserved a private room at Landmarc, summoned nearly 30 people, and no one blabbed about it ahead of time on Facebook, Whatsapp, Snapchat, Skype, LinkedIn, Instagram, Kik, Pinterest, Flickr, Tumblr, VK, Reddit, Youtube, Meetup, Twitter, Hangouts, Viber, ooVoo, or Wine-Searcher.
Bravo!
We all arrive around 7:30p at the restaurant (in no particular order):
Brad, Michel (in from Western climes), Don + Melissa, Jayson + Laura, Lisa (having just dashed back), Suzanne + Kenny, Jay, Jeff G, Jeff C (dapper and gentlemanly, as always), Victor + Mrs. Victor (Elaine?), Cliff, .sasha + Delia, Asher, Josefa + Mark (enjoying an evening not schnooking), Cesar (long time!), Denyse, John G + Marie-France (he's still getting over the flu)
Of course, we're far too undisciplined to hide behind chairs and under tables. We immediately start pulling corks, griping about the stemware, and hub-bubbing. The wait-staff gets buckets and water and ice onto all the tables, passes hot hors d'oeuvres and pours:
Pinon 2014 Vouvray Petillant - its usual cheerful self, though a couple bottles seem kinda flat
Occhipinti SP68 Red - I never had any but I tasted it at the recent Dressner event
Occhipinti SP68 White - ditto
We get a two-minute warning when The Eagle enters the building, and cheer him when he enters the room. We got 'im.
Josie had arranged a short and simple menu: choice of two appetizers (soup, salad) and choice of two mains (swordfish, risotto). Easy on the kitchen, easy on the staff, and easy on us. So we can focus on the Birthday Boy and a wee dram beside:
Christian Moreau 2013 Chablis 1er "Vaillon" - 375ml, fruity, punchy, good zing, shared by a few of us while waiting for the room to open
Luneau-Papin 2002 Muscadet "Le L d'Or" - like it always does: this cuvee loses acidity but the palate ages at a glacial pace, beautiful balance in this beautiful year for Muscadet, perhaps showing a little bit of honey?
Dom. de la Pepiere 2004 Muscadet "Clos des Briords" - mag, yellow-fruit and a whiff of funky-cheesey going on, more-ish
Brundlmayr 1997 Gruner Veltliner "Alte Reben" - much susurrus around the table about whether there is a vineyard designation on here somewhere (no one could find one) and sighed reminiscences of SFJoe (a tireless advocate for wines of Austria); vivid and intense, green grapes and a basket of herbal scents, delightful
Edmund St-John 1994 Syrah "Durrell Vineyard" - library bottle; gorgeous, perfect, hint of soy sauce in the nose and that saline quality carries into the mouth, red and blue fruits both, even the people dismissive of CA wines are impressed
Clos Roche Blanche 1998 Touraine "Cot" - sturdy yet, cool, deep, some schoolpastey brett bothers the more-sensitive palates, great wine
Pinon 2005 Vouvray "Cuvee Tradition" - at first, the haze of sugar and glycerin dazzled me but .sasha convinces me that it is sherried, sigh
Rollin 2014 Pernand-Vergelesses Blanc "Les Cloux" - classic white burg, never my favorite style but this is attractive, demanding, powerful stuff
Vouette et Sorbet 2014 Champagne Extra-Brut "Fidele" - "Thank God, champagne!" someone said, juicy, tangy, all yellow fruit and a tease of oxidative smellies
Fourrier 2010 Morey-St-Denis "Clos Solon" - pretty wine if slight, seems to be ready
Clos Roche Blanche 2006 Touraine "Cot" - mag!, dark and lovely and incredibly youthful, I don't imagine anyone other than .sasha has more of this but, if you do, drink and hold
Ch. Cantemerle 1966 Haut-Medoc - this is perfect: all those classic Bordeaux descriptors (e.g., currants, tobacco, freshly-turned earth) are all in balance and woven together such that none sticks out, middling body is also a tactile pleasure
Dom. de Chevalier 1981 Graves - very red-fruited following the Cantemerle, maybe a little muted?
Dom. Baudry 2015 Chinon "Clos Guillot" - yup
Ygay 1983 Rioja Gran Reserva Especial - mag, very tannic and dry and drying and maybe dried-out, good but hard to like
Ch. Magdelaine 1995 St-Emilion 1er Grand Cru Classee - no note other than it was about as expected
Ch. Magdelaine 1985 St-Emilion 1er Grand Cru Classee - no note other than it was about as expected
R. Lopez de Heredia 1968 Rioja Gran Reserva "Bosconia" - oxidized, prompts a lot of discussion about how bottles of '68 Bosconia seems to run about 50-50 great or shot
Cappellano 1968 Barolo - a powerful perfume can be smelled a foot away from the glass, glorious red fruit and roses and country air, the palate could not (and does not) keep pace but so what, great wine
Trimbach 1995 Riesling "Cuvée Frederic Emile" - surprising but definite nose of celery, then bright and tangy white grapes (but no more ripe than that), good acid spine still
Trimbach 1992 Riesling "Cuvée Frederic Emile" - similar to the '95 but a little more fleshy, a little more three-dimensional, beautiful
Pinon 1996 Vouvray "1er Trie" - I'm enjoying this, damn the notes
Dauvissat 2007 Chablis 1er "Vaillon" - another Vaillon!, this one is also pretty but already the oxidative clouds are forming over it, drink now (I've held some '05 Forest till now but I'm not quite mad enough to keep them any longer)
Dom. des Petits Quarts 1996 Bonnezeaux "Le Malabe" - not black label, one of Dressner's cheapie imports back in the day, a Brad Kane wine: nicely sweet and vivid but too low acid for me (especially this far into a blowout dinner)
...and that's all I captured. There probably were more wines but me and my liver can't be everywhere.
I've dragged two photos over from FaceBook, one from Brad that shows the party in full swing:
And one from Manuel with Jayson and Cliff that nicely captures the spirit of the thing (i.e., drunken grins, within macho bounds):
