Holiday drinking/dining

J

Jeff Grossman

Jeff Grossman
This helped my Xmas dinner right along:
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There was also a roast goose, stuffing, cranberry sauce made with red wine and Cointreau, a green salad with Green Goddess, and a half dozen desserts. Actually, two bottles of the Ch. Poulvere 2013 Monbazillac "Prestige", plus a bottle of Brun FRV100 and a bottle of Koehler-Ruprecht 2016 Pfalz Kallstadter Steinacker Riesling Kabinett that was crisp and just barely sweet (so good).

What did you have?
 
Between being sick and breaking a four-week wine fast, I managed to fit in a Tissot Cremant de Jura, a wine I've come to love for its elegance, austerity, and delicious fruit; and a Jadot Beaune Cras, which I've wanted to try, and was good wine, if not the best value in the world. Jadot's wine is, I believe, made from what formerly were Germaine/Chateau de Chorey's vineyard parcels.
 
We had the 2002 Garaudet Monthélie Meix Bataille (solidly in an acid and dried leaf stage), 2014 Ingrid Groiss In Der Schablau (quite yummy), and a 1998 Lafarge Clos des Chenes. The Chenes was everything I was hoping for.
 
With a Thanksgiving-esque spread of turkey, etc. we had a delicious Jacky Blot/Taille Aux Loups “Triple Zero” Extra Brut, followed by a 2014 Mongeard-Mugneret Bourgogne. The former was zippy and precise, but almost devoid of fizz, possibly due to the stemware used or more likely from partial cork failure. The latter was rich, meaty and red-fruited but a bit too marked by Brett for my tastes in Pinot Noir. Otherwise, delicious wine, though.

Mark Lipton
 
12/24: 2013 Brovia Barolo
First bottle from a case. Cherry palate and with air, some strawberry notes, hints of balsamic, open and approachable, but some jagged tannin that has to smooth out. This is very enjoyable and should be quite good in five to seven years. Brought to Boca and enjoyed with a grilled porterhouse and grilled balsamic vegetables.

12/25: 2006 Maume Gevrey-Chambertin En Pallud
Dark, plummy palate, primary, soft mouthfeel, vibrant acidity. After three hours of air, some secondary notes emerged, raspberry, light spice and a hint of mocha on the finish. Last glass was the best, turning savory.
 
Our Buddhist / Jewish family forsook the traditional Chinese extravaganza and jumped at the gracious invite for a glorious Xmas dinner at Chez Team Kessler.

Charcuterie and stuffed mushrooms along with a 2010 Etienne Sauzet Puligny Montrachet led the evening.

Brodetto, made with a 2009 Bossard Ecu, ensured dehydration would not be a concern that night.

A stunning perfectly roasted prime rib graced the table along with a 1993 Chevillon Vaucrains.

A delish pumpkin pie completed the Christmas Day eve meal.

One dones well repast wise at this prestigious Silverado residence.

AS an extra added bonus, and I would be remiss not to annex, that raconteur Lou regaled us with his stories of playing golf with Rita Hayworth, playing at various courses like Pebble Beach, LA Country Club, and the Riviera, and one can not neglect to mention his tale of the day he fabricated 4 consecutive hole in ones (and the next hole was but a hole in two)!
 
Christmas Eve.

We began with some slices of Cinco Jotas Ibérico de Bellota which was a gift from my FiL and has been gracing our kitchen for the past 10 days or so. We had 2007 Vilmart Couer de Cuvée and MV Krug 166. The Vilmart was amazing and the Krug was fine. My FiL brought the Krug and I wouldn't pay up for it, personally.

Dinner was roast prime rib (using reverse sear). We had 2005 Geantet-Pansiot Charmes-Chambertin and 2005 Baudry Grézeaux, both out of magnum. The former was on the young side of plateau, but with some resolution to the structure and some development of aromas and flavors past primary. The Grézeaux was a tougher customer, the structure is still intense and may be too much for the fruit, but having a rich piece of beef helped. This is an emotional bottle as it was part of a lovely wedding gift from Mathieu.

Christmas Day

Various apps, including more ham. We had Savart L'Accomplie. Svart is turning into my current Champagne crush. I like the style. It makes me think of a more tense and intense Vilmart.

We had Colorado lamb chops (also using reverse sear). We had a magnum of 2009 Lafarge Volnay "Selection". It was drinking pretty well, but honestly, I wasn't paying much attention, the girls were dressed for Christmas and sitting at the table with us. They were very cute.

With cheese we had the and Mouzon-Leroux L'Ascendent. This is an Extra Brut, like the Savart, but is also a "solera" so there is more development and richness.

I'm a stark, raving Atheist, but it's hard not to fell blessed when surrounded by family and loved ones eating and drinking so well in a world gone so horribly wrong.
 
Need to pay more attention to Savart then. L'Ouverture Blanc de Noirs was thoroughly trashed by Bouchard val Vilaine at table #1 at the Crush annual Champagne gig a couple of weeks ago. It was, according to my notes, the weakest wine at the table that also featured Laherte, Robert Moncuit,and Coutier. I believe Jayson, who was at the same tasting earlier, concurs.

I also hold a Savart-related grudge against one of the major NYC restaurants (that shall remain nameless, for now, out of respect for friend/colleague of a great friend in the business) that got particularly creative with their billing for my girlfriend's Champagne-by-the-glass refills. But I don't hold the winery accountable :-)
 
Concur. I’m not a huge Savart fan so far. Including L’Accomplie.

Some folks kvell over them. Maybe I’ll cone around but for now I’ll take the Vilmart, please.
 
originally posted by MLipton:
With a Thanksgiving-esque spread of turkey, etc. we had a delicious Jacky Blot/Taille Aux Loups “Triple Zero” Extra Brut, followed by a 2014 Mongeard-Mugneret Bourgogne. The former was zippy and precise, but almost devoid of fizz, possibly due to the stemware used or more likely from partial cork failure. The latter was rich, meaty and red-fruited but a bit too marked by Brett for my tastes in Pinot Noir. Otherwise, delicious wine, though.

Mark Lipton
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several years ago now, jacky blot went to a very low carbonation style for this wine. i haven't had one since then, so don't know if there have been further changes, but your wine sounds like the style that was adopted back then.
 
originally posted by Jayson Cohen:
Concur. I’m not a huge Savart fan so far. Including L’Accomplie.

Some folks kvell over them. Maybe I’ll cone around but for now I’ll take the Vilmart, please.
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To each their own. Savart, to me, is like a cross between Collin and Vilmart which are 3 of my 4 favorite champagnes, but with less dosage than Vilmart which is why I think the Vilmart makes for better drinking solo. The fourth is Ledru, which shares very little in common with the others.
 
originally posted by Pavel Tchichikov:
Need to pay more attention to Savart then. L'Ouverture Blanc de Noirs was thoroughly trashed by Bouchard val Vilaine at table #1 at the Crush annual Champagne gig a couple of weeks ago. It was, according to my notes, the weakest wine at the table that also featured Laherte, Robert Moncuit,and Coutier. I believe Jayson, who was at the same tasting earlier, concurs.
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Wouldn't that Savart be the cheapest at the table along with the Moncuit? Aside from the Bouchard, which I haven't had in ages, I prefer it to any of the other 3 mentioned, particularly Coutier. That said, I feel like I have particular taste in Champagne.
 
Christmas dinner was just me, Sandi and Shira (my daughter). With prime rib, we had 2001 Chambolle "Les Sentiers", Maison Roche de Bellene. Not the first bottle I've had. Each has been silky and delicious. A friend is a high-up sales manager for the Loosen Bros. operation who imports Bellene's wines. He is able to sell me the wines at FOB prices (less than wholesale).
 
12/25: 2006 Maume Gevrey-Chambertin En Pallud
Dark, plummy palate, primary, soft mouthfeel, vibrant acidity. After three hours of air, some secondary notes emerged, raspberry, light spice and a hint of mocha on the finish. Last glass was the best, turning savory.
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Love to see notes on Maume. Not the most visible anymore. (At least in my pathways)
 
originally posted by VLM: That said, I feel like I have particular taste in Champagne.
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I think we are all in the same boat. (Different boats?) Relative alignment seems higher in other regions. Seems to happen often, for example, that Jay and I are fully aligned on one Champagne and then seemingly have opposite views on the next. I think he would agree.

I think it’s a combination of factors like dosage-acid balance, barrel aging, oxidation, and malo / no malo that creates particularized sets of preferences that are hard to generalize or comprehend.

I want to try more Ledru but next is probably Godme (Sabine for now, these probably from before the split of the domaine). Going to try a few to see if I like them.
 
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