TN: Ira 60th Bday (Jun 23, 2018)

[Jeff Grossman]

Or, as Ira said, the 20th Anniversary of his appreciation of wine.

--

In the past, email from Ira basically said, "Let's meet in the cellar!" But this email was different: come to a restaurant as my guest, do not bring wine.

That last part was especially hard to understand but, you know, what are friends for if not to smile benevolently while you babble incoherently about whatever?

I look up the restaurant. French seasonal cooking, they say. All the significant staff have Italian last names. OK, this is America.

The day comes and it turns out that this is no dollhouse tea party. Ira has reserved the entire restaurant and NY-NJ wine personalities are flowing in the door... Jayson, Jay, Richard, Marc, Tyler... a friend at Chelsea Wine (the store), the somm at Est. Milos, many more I don't know, and even a few blood relations. From behind the bar, Charles, the manager, recognizes me from his days at Convivio and greets me personally.

Platters of shrimp, lobster, and oysters are placed strategically around the room and two 'welcome' champagnes are passed:

Tattinger 2002 Champagne Brut, Blanc de Blancs "Comte de Champagne" - precise, minerally, clearly great wine that is not quite open for business; try again in 5 years

Billecart-Salmon 2002 Champagne Brut Rose "Cuvee Elizabeth Salmon" - more interesting today, more cut, more assertive with some red-fruit flavors and minerality that gets up your nose (in a medium-nice way)

Eventually, Ira shoos the 16 of us into our seats -- assigned tables, for those monitoring control-freak level -- and we start reading the menus. There are apparently no bad choices so I try to match up with the riesling and the rhone and off we go:

Keller 2008 Riesling GG "Abts E" - this was beautiful, also very rich and full-flavored, more fruit than flower, I chose the pork belly because of this wine

Dom. Weinbach 2005 Gewurztraminer, Selection de Grain Nobles "Mambourg" - not a hint of lychee, I could not have identified the cepage, this was sec-tendre sweet (or maybe a tad more), a bit denser on the tongue than the riesling but still 'creamy' rather than 'oily', might be my favorite white today; of course, it shares memory taste-space with seared foie gras so that might bias me a bit...

Every now and then, Ira gets up to speak.


Ch. Rayas 2008 Chateauneuf-du-Pape Reserve Blanc - I can sense that this is beautifully grown and beautifully made and it does not stir my soul at all

Ch. Rayas 2005 Chateauneuf-du-Pape Reserve Rouge - same! I gave away half my pour, Jay gave away all of his (minus a sip); I reflected long and hard on this: the entry of the wine is just fine, the mid-palate seems inert to me (the wine truck pulls up, drops off some sugar and alcohol and glycerol, and departs -- whereas I expect a chat with the delivery guy and maybe a bit of ooh-aah over the goodies), and the finish is OK but seems a bit disconnected or lost; ah, well, more for everybody else

Ch. Beaucastel 1998 Chateauneuf-du-Pape "Hommage a Jacques Perrin" - lots of fine 'furry' tannins here, a darker tone of fruit, more incisive on entry, more interesting altogether, this goes well with the silky steak (and I really did get a rare one); definitely my favorite red today

Dom. Roty 2008 Charmes-Chambertin TVV - kinda big and burly, I admire the muscles but it gets dull after the first couple poses; it may be that 2008s are starting to open but this one ain't there yet

There is an unlisted dessert wine, too:

Dr. Loosen 2009 Erdener Pralat Riesling Auslese - voluptuous wine, loudly sweet but the acidity provides harmony, slightly herbal, much marzipan and flowers, very nice against the just-so lemon curd

Somewhere along the way, I come to understand that Ira provided all the wines for the event. Well done, sir.

It was a four-hour lunch and amazing for every minute of it. Many thanks to Wallflower for a civilized environment, excellent food, and comfortable service. And uncountable thanks to Ira. Happy Birthday, indeed!

 

[Oswaldo Costa]

Bravo! The wines seem a bit too biased towards the conventional consensual (a few wackier wines might have provided unsulfured relief), but gift horses are only unwelcome in a zero sum world.

 

[Rahsaan]

Sounds like a fun time. What a way to celebrate.

And I can see why the 2005 gewurztraminer would leave such an impression. Aged gewurztraminer is a lovely thing. But I never buy any and am unlikely to ever own any. So when it comes around it is a treat.

 

[Jayson Cohen]

originally posted by Oswaldo Costa:
Bravo! The wines seem a bit too biased towards the conventional consensual (a few wackier wines might have provided unsulfured relief), but gift horses are only unwelcome in a zero sum world.

Ira may read these posts but doesn’t typicaly post himself, so I’ll jump in to explain as I understand: he was constrained by the need to provide three bottles of each wine, his desire to open wines considered special but that self-admittedly he may not have rebought as his palate shifted over the years, and that would have a certain age.

But that said, maybe consensual conventional is a slightly overly DisOrdered comment as the man goes well above and beyond to celebrate his 60th with friends in generous abundant style.

I for one was in no need of “unsulphured relief.”

Re the wines, mostly agree with Jeff but: the Rayas was excellent. I happily savored Jay’s pour. Wonderful wine. Still think there’s little else like it (and its stablemates) in the Southern Rhône. The Rose champagne was fine and detailed. Drinking very well. The Hommage was meh—the brooding roasted side of Mourvèdre that doesn’t appeal to me. It may need more time as there was a hint of red fruit in the finish that poked out with significant air. Served side by side with the Rayas was very tough company for the Beaucastel to my taste. Roty was an enigma. Too much (new) oak dominating the nose, but much more open and triggering old memories (when this cuvee was affordable) on the palate - rich, flavorful, balanced, deep, and still fine. I think it just needs more time, and would be inclined to give 140 year old vines the benefit of the doubt, as well as the track record . Loosen was tasty although ripe per the vintage and could use a little bit more acid though what is there is very well integrated and supportive.

 

[Pavel Tchichikov]

if that's lunch, I'd love to see what you guys had for dinner.

 

[Jeff Grossman]

originally posted by Pavel Tchichikov:
if that's lunch, I'd love to see what you guys had for dinner.

Tsingtao and Shanghainese food.

 

[VLM]

originally posted by Jayson Cohen:

originally posted by Oswaldo Costa:
Bravo! The wines seem a bit too biased towards the conventional consensual (a few wackier wines might have provided unsulfured relief), but gift horses are only unwelcome in a zero sum world.

Ira may read these posts but doesn’t typicaly post himself, so I’ll jump in to explain as I understand: he was constrained by the need to provide three bottles of each wine, his desire to open wines considered special but that self-admittedly he may not have rebought as his palate shifted over the years, and that would have a certain age.

But that said, maybe consensual conventional is a slightly overly DisOrdered comment as the man goes well above and beyond to celebrate his 60th with friends in generous abundant style.

I for one was in no need of “unsulphured relief.”

Re the wines, mostly agree with Jeff but: the Rayas was excellent. I happily savored Jay’s pour. Wonderful wine. Still think there’s little else like it (and its stablemates) in the Southern Rhône. The Rose champagne was fine and detailed. Drinking very well. The Hommage was meh—the brooding roasted side of Mourvèdre that doesn’t appeal to me. It may need more time as there was a hint of red fruit in the finish that poked out with significant air. Served side by side with the Rayas was very tough company for the Beaucastel to my taste. Roty was an enigma. Too much (new) oak dominating the nose, but much more open and triggering old memories (when this cuvee was affordable) on the palate - rich, flavorful, balanced, deep, and still fine. I think it just needs more time, and would be inclined to give 140 year old vines the benefit of the doubt, as well as the track record . Loosen was tasty although ripe per the vintage and could use a little bit more acid though what is there is very well integrated and supportive.

I would have flown up and bused tables for Jay's pour of Rayas! You guys are nuts.

Cool line-up and generous evening. It's a fun thing to do. I did something similar for my 40th birthday and it was great fun for me and hopefully everyone else who was there. I also poured conventional wines that could be considered somewhat special.

originally posted by Rahsaan:
And I can see why the 2005 gewurztraminer would leave such an impression. Aged gewurztraminer is a lovely thing. But I never buy any and am unlikely to ever own any. So when it comes around it is a treat.

This struck a cord and I am in the same boat. It is a treat to have these with some age and I never, ever buy any for the cellar.

 

[MLipton]

Wow, I wish I had friends who'd put on an event like this. Nice selection of wines, but maybe the guests could have been chosen more wisely for Grenache appreciation [insert emoticon here]. Sounds like a lovely evening.

Mark Lipton

 

[Jeff Grossman]

Actually, if anyone needs a complaint about 'conventional', look at the Jamet Vertical thread... for a random starter, Guigal, and for a random closer, Chapoutier. Drinks for points-chasers and the non-disordered.

 

[Ian Fitzsimmons]

I'm curiously drawn to the idea of an 18 year-old Champagne that will not be open for five years.

 

[Jayson Cohen]

originally posted by Ian Fitzsimmons:
I'm curiously drawn to the idea of an 18 year-old Champagne that will not be open for five years.

Air helps. I left mine in the glass for about an hour and I liked it slightly more than I already liked it.

But I think Jeff is right that another 5 years in bottle is best. 1995 and 1996 CdC are now in prime shape, and should drink well for a long time.

 

[Ian Fitzsimmons]

I've just begun to dabble in Champagne and get pretty excited by the evolution of a decent NV between day one and day three. News of 18 year-old bottles that are still immature arrive on my doorstep like reports from a galaxy far away ...

 

[Tristan Welles]

originally posted by VLM:

originally posted by Rahsaan:
And I can see why the 2005 gewurztraminer would leave such an impression. Aged gewurztraminer is a lovely thing. But I never buy any and am unlikely to ever own any. So when it comes around it is a treat.

This struck a cord and I am in the same boat. It is a treat to have these with some age and I never, ever buy any for the cellar.

Question: why not?

I go out of my way to age this stuff (Boxler, Zind-H in all its varieties, Barmes-Buecher's Steingrubler ages wonderfully, even Trimbach's Ribeaupierre -- which I perceive to be less serious than those listed above- gains something with ten years in the cellar).

Now I do understand that the exotic quality that develops is pretty much in the opposite direction of exotic hedonism so beloved of the fruit bomb crowd. In other words aged Gewurz has vinous qualities which are simply not found in other wine or especially in fermented grape-bombs. So what am I missing? Why don't Disorderlies age the stuff?

On this subject; Z-H's Rangen de Thann / Clos St Urbain Gewurz is one of only two wines (Raveneau's les Clos) that I can identify merely by the mouth feel, pretty much every time. How does Chablis instantly evoke childhood memories of viscous, exceedingly pure water from springs feeding fast rivers in the high Ozarks? dunno. How can smoky lanolin exist in a tactile sense? dunno.

 

[Rahsaan]

Sounds good.

In my case, I have very limited storage and have been trying to focus on a limited set of producers to maximize in-depth exploration. For me it's mostly chenin and riesling for white wine, and there are way too many intriguing producers to follow for those grapes alone.

Maybe at another stage in life I will open back up and start cellaring gewurztraminer.

 

[Oswaldo Costa]

I have been for some time enamored of this idea of focusing on a limited set of producers to maximize in-depth exploration, but have grudgingly come to admit that doing so is just not me. When scanning the cellar for tonight's bottle, what I have not tried always seems to trump what I already like. Unlike in matters of the heart, where I always drink the same wine. A mystery.

 

[MarkS]

Hope the rhubarb salad didn't include the leaves!

 

[Jonathan Loesberg]

originally posted by Oswaldo Costa:
I have been for some time enamored of this idea of focusing on a limited set of producers to maximize in-depth exploration, but have grudgingly come to admit that doing so is just not me. When scanning the cellar for tonight's bottle, what I have not tried always seems to trump what I already like. Unlike in matters of the heart, where I always drink the same wine. A mystery.

I have moved more and more to buying deeply from a handful of producers--but only in CdP. I don't at all feel, drinking their wine, that I am always drinking the same thing: as the years go by and I drink different vintages at different ages, I do experience new things. But I am constantly finding, over the years, that I was wrong not to buy more wine from some region or another and those discoveries fill my cellar with more options all the time.

 

[Ian Fitzsimmons]

I'm drifting in this direction, too; except for the deeply part - my drinking rate is tapering off, so the challenge is to buy fewer bottles of fewer vintners.

OTOH, Champagne these days is a field of tulips to tiptoe through barefoot, bearing a ukulele. That is, I'm buying the odd bottle of this and that, and taking notes as I go along.

 

[Tristan Welles]

originally posted by Rahsaan:


In my case, I have very limited storage and have been trying to focus on a limited set of producers to maximize in-depth exploration. ...

Maybe at another stage in life I will open back up and start cellaring gewurztraminer.

This does make sense and draws a clear delineation for me, as I tend to buy wine in pairs, rarely more than a four pack, and them let them sit. Inevitably I regret not having more of xxxx, but that feeling doesn't last long.

Come to think of it, perhaps I need to find some more of Vajra's Bricco delle Viole...

 

[Jeff Grossman]

originally posted by Tristan Welles:
This does make sense and draws a clear delineation for me, as I tend to buy wine in pairs, rarely more than a four pack, and them let them sit. Inevitably I regret not having more of xxxx, but that feeling doesn't last long.

There is always more good wine.