TN: North Square (Aug 28, 2018)

J

Jeff Grossman

Jeff Grossman
attendees: BJ, Mme L, Jay, Jeff

BJ and Madame have come East for a family function and have time for a jeeb.

We meet at North Square, a hotel restaurant in the West Village, mere steps from the Washington Square park. It is the week leading up to Labor Day, a big holiday in the US, so the resto is pretty quiet, maybe a third full.

And we were the last table to leave.

Well, you know. The wines were good, the food was good (I can vouch for the pistachio-crusted rack of lamb), and so conversation just kept tumbling out... disorderly gossip (you know who you are), family gossip (the groom's very interesting post on FB), the family of hawks living atop the Washington Square Park arch, and goodness knows what else.

My first time at this resto. They charged corkage but food was good, service was excellent, so we tipped well, to encourage them to keep on keeping on.

Our custom beverage list:

Nigl 2009 Gruner Veltliner "Privat" - I think this is also rightly named Senftenberger Pellingen Erste Lage, beautiful, as chalky as a good champagne but with warm yellow fruits (it is '09), a bit later it shows slightly dieselled, drink and enjoy

Rousset 2016 Crozes-Hermitage Blanc - old vines Marsanne, crisp and clean and pure, not at all oily-wooly-waxy, nice of its kind

Dom. l'Anglore (Eric Pfifferling) 2016 VdF "Sels d'Argent" - not Tavel, grenache blanc; oxidative but not oxidized, but this was opened yesterday so not fair to really scrutinize it too closely

Jasmin 2006 Cote-Rotie - double-decanted a few hours ahead of time, this is very forward and rich... and a bit of a johnny-one-note, still it's a nice note, would it be a little more open if given three more years to rest?

Sterling 1976 Cabernet Sauvignon - leathery old cab, alive and well, a streak of black cherry runs through it, vivid; Day 2 the same

Deletang 1997 Montlouis Moelleux "Les Petits Boulay" - the neck tag says "Grande Reserve Tris", perfectly sweet and fruity, rather plum-wine like, no earth, spectacularly good; Days 2 and 4 are about the same but a vague note of swimming pool has appeared in the nose, perhaps that's just a manifestation of the chenin "corked" thing?

Lovely to meet Madame, always good to see Beej, and the ever-garrulous Jay.
 
originally posted by Jeff Grossman:
TN: North Square (Aug 28, 2018)attendees: BJ, Mme L, Jay, Jeff

BJ and Madame have come East for a family function and have time for a jeeb.

We meet at North Square, a hotel restaurant in the West Village, mere steps from the Washington Square park. It is the week leading up to Labor Day, a big holiday in the US, so the resto is pretty quiet, maybe a third full.

And we were the last table to leave.

Well, you know. The wines were good, the food was good (I can vouch for the pistachio-crusted rack of lamb), and so conversation just kept tumbling out... disorderly gossip (you know who you are), family gossip (the groom's very interesting post on FB), the family of hawks living atop the Washington Square Park arch, and goodness knows what else.

My first time at this resto. They charged corkage but food was good, service was excellent, so we tipped well, to encourage them to keep on keeping on.

Our custom beverage list:

Nigl 2009 Gruner Veltliner "Privat" - I think this is also rightly named Senftenberger Pellingen Erste Lage, beautiful, as chalky as a good champagne but with warm yellow fruits (it is '09), a bit later it shows slightly dieselled, drink and enjoy

Rousset 2016 Crozes-Hermitage Blanc - old vines Marsanne, crisp and clean and pure, not at all oily-wooly-waxy, nice of its kind

Dom. l'Anglore (Eric Pfifferling) 2016 VdF "Sels d'Argent" - not Tavel, grenache blanc; oxidative but not oxidized, but this was opened yesterday so not fair to really scrutinize it too closely

Jasmin 2006 Cote-Rotie - double-decanted a few hours ahead of time, this is very forward and rich... and a bit of a johnny-one-note, still it's a nice note, would it be a little more open if given three more years to rest?

Sterling 1976 Cabernet Sauvignon - leathery old cab, alive and well, a streak of black cherry runs through it, vivid; Day 2 the same

Deletang 1997 Montlouis Moelleux "Les Petits Boulay" - the neck tag says "Grande Reserve Tris", perfectly sweet and fruity, rather plum-wine like, no earth, spectacularly good; Days 2 and 4 are about the same but a vague note of swimming pool has appeared in the nose, perhaps that's just a manifestation of the chenin "corked" thing?

Lovely to meet Madame, always good to see Beej, and the ever-garrulous Jay.
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Deletang Montouis: I've been tasting these cuvees over the past (Wow) 20 years and it is time to open my last bottles of 1997 Les Petits Boulays, moelleux; and 2007 Les Batisses, sec. All have been unpretentious and lovely since release...
 
We are back in Jet City. We had a great time in NYC. Jeff and Jay were perfect City hosts.

BTW, it is the bride who is the FB troublemaker, for once.

We had stopped at Ten Bells the night before and the Pfifferling was from there. I had specifically asked if it was oxidative and was assured it wasn't but alas that wasn't the case. The wine divided opinions - the pro-oxy (Jay) seemed profoundly moved, the rest of us, a bit meh. I did appreciate it - it is a very subtle and complex wine - but just not my tea. Pfifferling, OTOH, is.

As a side note - travelers tend to be about ten years behind the times, and it sounds like Ten Bells is not the haunt it once was, which is about when we were last there. We however did have a very pleasant time, and those things we ordered off the glass list (always a good policy in a naturalish wine bar) were delicious). It was a challenge, however, trying to eat a full dinner based on the tapas menu.

In a strange way the Nigl was WOTNish, along with the Deletang and respectfully the Sterling. I know little about GV, and the Nigl was very good. The Rousset was straight ahead. I have honestly always felt that Jasmin was 2nd tier and this outing reinforced that, even given Jeff's lack of Rule compliance (interestingly I say that with full knowledge that I really enjoyed the wine quite a bit, esp. with the lamb). The '76 as Jeff said was not quite up to the '77 but that is quite possibly just bottle variation - who knows where those old Cal. wines have been by now.

I appreciate Karen's commentary about Deletang - out of another era, quite delicious, classically made, straight out of Jacqueline Friedrich (someone we all should take deeper bows to). Would have been fun to try side by side with the '96 Huet from the last Jeeb.

A bit of bonus footage: I am embarrassed to admit I have never been to either the Guggenheim or the Frick - both a lovely it very very different ways. The Frick may be the best museum I've been to viewed from a certain way - the Holbein portrait of Moore seems about a half a millennium ahead of its time. Also a visit to Kykuit is well worth it, along with the Old Sleepy Hollow Church and cemetery and the Union Church. Dia Beacon and Storm King (especially) are worth a detour, perhaps even a journey.

Sorry if this post has a certain tone, I've been reading way to much John le Carre this summer.
 
The Frick is incredible -- 100% masterpieces -- and the Holbein portrait of Moore is one of the greatest paintings of all time. The Velazquez portrait of King Philip and the Van Dyck portrait of Snyders are also way up there in my pantheon of heroes. Ordinarily they have their four stunning Whistlers hanging in the oval gallery but at the moment three of them are down to make room for the large Canova sculpture of Washington.

Have you been to the Morgan Library?

We went to Kykuit this summer and enjoyed it. We liked visiting the 100-years-older Boscobel even more, so check that out next time you swing it upstate.
 
Dia Beacon and Storm King (especially) are worth a detour, perhaps even a journey.
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Many things Upstate are worth a detour, simply need to travel the path less traveled.
 
originally posted by BJ:
I have honestly always felt that Jasmin was 2nd tier and this outing reinforced that, even given Jeff's lack of Rule compliance (interestingly I say that with full knowledge that I really enjoyed the wine quite a bit, esp. with the lamb).
Click to expand...
Every once in a while I have some really good Jasmin. So it goes.

I am embarrassed to admit I have never been to either the Guggenheim or the Frick - both a lovely it very very different ways.
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The Frick is an especially lovely museum: amazing holdings and a lovely property to visit. It has a lot more charm than just empty marble corridors.

The Morgan Library, mentioned by Zach, is also a very charismatic place. The exhibits are not quite so haut as the Frick but they are all the more consumable therefore. Anyway, you can't actually dislike Holbein even if it isn't your thing but you are perfectly within your rights to diss pencil sketches by Wayne Thiebaud, for example.
 
The Morgan Library is currently showing selections from the world-class autograph and manuscript collection of a cousin of mine (full disclosure, I get no cut from ticket sales). Until September 16.
 
You people are crazy, that Pfifferling was gorgeous.

I agree that the '77 Sterling was better but that doesn't take away from the delightful showing of the 1976. A touch more fruit, a bit less complexity, but still a very enjoyable drink.

The Jasmin was good but I agree that they never make it into the top tier of N. Rhone producers for me. It seemed to shut down a bit over the course of the evening indicating it was 3 years too young. Still quite enjoyable, esp. with the lamb.

The Nigl was also young, showing the ripeness of the vintage. I'd probably prefer it once it's had a chance to slim down further but it was still delicous to drink that night.
 
originally posted by Oswaldo Costa:
The Morgan Library is currently showing selections from the world-class autograph and manuscript collection of a cousin of mine (full disclosure, I get no cut from ticket sales). Until September 16.
Click to expand...
Wow, that is really quite a collection! I'm sorry that I shall have to miss it (...I'll be on hiatus, whatever that means in this chronically-connected age, as previously announced).
 
originally posted by Jeff Grossman:
originally posted by Oswaldo Costa:
The Morgan Library is currently showing selections from the world-class autograph and manuscript collection of a cousin of mine (full disclosure, I get no cut from ticket sales). Until September 16.
Click to expand...
Wow, that is really quite a collection! I'm sorry that I shall have to miss it (...I'll be on hiatus, whatever that means in this chronically-connected age, as previously announced).
Click to expand...

Buon viaggio!
 
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