TN: A Bite of Hong Kong (March 28, 2019)

S

slaton

Slaton Lipscomb
Well it's been a few days already so I guess I will start this one.

I posted something awhile back on the jeebus board (a wonderful place that I suggest visiting, if you have not previously) as I had plans to be in NYC this week for work.

Jeff and Jay were kind enough to help coordinate a dinner at A Taste of Hong Kong, and in the end we were five: Jeff, Jay, Zach, Tse Wei, and yours truly. While I've met Jay many times over the years, this was somehow my first time meeting the rest of this crew and I had a fantastic time.

My favorite among the food dishes was a wonderfully flavorful preparation that included Chinese leeks, dried squid and XO sauce. There was also the usual variety of crustaceans, and also some general kvetching as we were told that the much-discussed crispy squab is now only served weekends.

The wines: (please correct me on vintages or add anything I missed)

2009 Vilmart Grand Cellier Rubis - This was youthful but quite lovely and maybe the wine I went back to the most throughout the evening as it seemed to go with everything. Pretty now but should get more savory with additional age.

2008 Diebolt-Vallois Fleur de Passion - Not closed like some 2008s, and a reasonably good drop, but still too unevolved to really get me going. The dosage was mostly integrated but seemed to (over-)emphasize the perfumed florality that for me is a hallmark of the house style. I will try not to open another bottle of this for a decade.

2015 Closel Savennieres La Jalousie - This seemed to be the forlorn stepchild of the evening, we all tasted it and nodded, good. Yet no one seemed to linger with or revisit it. I intended to do so but failed due to WADD with so many goodies on the table.

2007 Alzinger Riesling Smaragd Steinertal - Really in a lovely place for current drinking, perfumed and putting on richness but still with a lovely backbone. One of my favorites on the night.

2013 Domaine Ganevat Julien en Billard - I really enjoyed this, finding gentle amarena cherry and spice notes in a delicate, nearly weightless package. I took the leftovers home and the next day they were completely shot.

2014 Robert Barbichon Coteaux Champenois Rouge - Initially quite pretty with ethereal wild strawberry and gentle evergreen notes, it closed up for me a bit after that but left me intrigued about the producer (who is new to me).

1999 Henri et Philippe Gallet Cote-Rotie - This was developing nicely as you would expect for a 1999, with porky, animale flavors making a front and center appearance. Yum.

2006 Levet Cote-Rotie La Peroline - 2006 is not my favorite vintage of Northern Rhone or Levet. Nonetheless, his seems to be moving past a period of awkwardness I recall 4-5 years back and was very pleasing if still a touch structural for my preference. I might have felt differently if I'd had animal fat on my plate.

2009 Occhipinti Il Frappato - Alas, this was corked.

1999 Chateau Musar (rouge) - This was very nice, but I confess that I didn't spend a lot of time with it. I enjoy Musar but struggle a bit with what my brain perceives as moderate VA and slightly oxidized flavors in some examples. This bottle was in rather good nick though with notable complexity.

2002 Dönnhoff Niederhäuser Hermannshöhle Riesling Auslese - A half bottle of this was cracked at the end of the evening, a delicious coup de grâce to remind us that our return to the real world was imminent.

Thanks to all, and look forward to dining with you again next time I am visiting.
 
Really fun time - great to meet you, Slaton, and to reacquaint after many years with Tse Wei (Madiran 4eva!), and of course to carouse once again with Jay and Jeff.

I was really impressed with the food. The leeks were tops and I thought the salt-and-pepper squid was a fine rendition of that dish, and everything else was quite good. I'd return.

I agree with your impressions pretty much across the board. The Vilmart, Alzinger, and Musar were my favorites. I could drink the Vilmart anytime - just so good. The Alzinger is in early prime time and I found it riveting, but it wasn't a great match with the food. The Musar also is in its early peak, showing dark and musky with a wild edge.

The Levet is too young but I believe it will be pretty damn fine in time.
 
Thanks for posting, Slaton. I was busy with other things on Friday and Saturday so wrote notes but did not get a chance to format/post.

Bite of Hong Kong did a lovely job with each plate but, overall, I think our choices were inharmonious. Perhaps it was just that the dishes were all very piecemeal, i.e., peel a shrimp, dip a fried squid, tug a crab leg. Felt like rummaging around in the fridge for something to nosh, and not a dinner.

I am mostly in agreement with your assessments, a quibble here and there:

Vilmart 2009 Champagne Brut Rose "Grand Cellier Rubis" - red fruit, chalk and bright acids, so good!; later, continues going from strength to strength, stylish

Diebolt-Vallois 2008 Champagne Brut GC BdB "Fleur de Passion" - white fruit over chalk, textbook champagne in a non-leesy style, steady and delicious all evening

Robert Barbichon 2014 Coteaux Champenois - slaton says this is nice when popped but shuts down rapidly, perhaps so... it's definitely a lightweight red, clear and bright, good acids, but indeed not much personality now

Nota Bene: I have lately been infatuated with Henriot's CC and those bottles, too, perform inconsistenly. The one at Secchu Yokota was brilliant, while two at home have been funky/high-toned in a vaguely Musar way.

Occhipinti 2009 Frappato - corked as hell, quick kill it before it gets to the children

Ch. Musar 1999 Rouge - ah, somehow a delightful combination of mixed red berries and Miss Revlon, fairly weighty

Ganevat 2013 Cotes du Jura "Julien en Billat" - light and tweaky, as you'd expect; unfortunately, other than the obvious Jura heritage there isn't much personality here

Levet 2006 Cote-Rotie "La Peroline" - OMG, with air, plummy and plums, delicate tannins, some spirity cherries somewhere in there; Day 3: slightly faded but in a totally seductive way

Sorry about the optics of heaping praise on one of my brings but it was really good.

Alzinger 2007 Steinertal Riesling Smaragd - what a wine! powerful, thrusting flavors of green grapes, rocks, and leeks(?), why don't I own this?

Dom. Closel 2015 Savenniere "La Jalousie" - bright, tangy, light, recognizably chenin, good but not terribly interesting

Gallet 1999 Cote-Rotie - always a pleasure to see the old parchment scroll label with an ancient drawing of a vigneron, thief in one hand, tastevin in the other; the wine is a delicate syrah: very fine tannins, suave, perfumey, wonder if there is viognier here?, anyway, delightful; Day 2: same

Donnhoff 2002 Niederhauser Hermannshohle Riesling Auslese - 7 753 0101 503, yummy, still sweet and ripe, I like this but it is going a bit soft; Slaton thinks it's "banana-y" and tse calls it "attention-grabbing"
 
originally posted by Jeff Grossman:

Nota Bene: I have lately been infatuated with Henriot's CC and those bottles, too, perform inconsistenly. The one at Secchu Yokota was brilliant, while two at home have been funky/high-toned in a vaguely Musar way.
Click to expand...

Trend identified and lesson learned. Do not drink these wines in your home! Only consume at said restaurant.
 
originally posted by Rahsaan:
originally posted by Jeff Grossman:

Nota Bene: I have lately been infatuated with Henriot's CC and those bottles, too, perform inconsistenly. The one at Secchu Yokota was brilliant, while two at home have been funky/high-toned in a vaguely Musar way.
Click to expand...

Trend identified and lesson learned. Do not drink these wines in your home! Only consume at said restaurant.
Click to expand...

I think your neural net needs tweaking, but more data will help.

Can you get Henriot in your market?
 
And I'm confused, because Coteaux Champenois != Coteaux de Champlitte. While I was not previously aware of the latter designation or wine, it appears to be in a different region of France. Although they have pinot noir in common.
 
originally posted by slaton:
And I'm confused, because Coteaux Champenois != Coteaux de Champlitte. While I was not previously aware of the latter designation or wine, it appears to be in a different region of France. Although they appear to have pinot noir in common.
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You're right. I'm confusing my lightweight pinot noirs.

Sorry about that!

They're still inconsistent.
 
originally posted by Jeff Grossman:
Can you get Henriot in your market?
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Assuming you mean Horiot, I recently ordered 2014 En Barmont and En Valingrain. (From CSW, alas not available locally) I am looking forward to opening them soon, and it will be at my home.
 
Jeff is referring to the 2017 Pascal Henriot Coteaux de Champlitte mentioned in the Secchu Yokota thread.

I have been tempted to pick up some of those Horiot bottles as well, though.
 
originally posted by slaton:
Jeff is referring to the 2017 Pascal Henriot Coteaux de Champlitte mentioned in the Secchu Yokota thread.

I have been tempted to pick up some of those Horiot bottles as well, though.
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Me too, I'm hesitating since I've been disappointed by many 2014 Champagnes and don't know how that might carry over to the still wines.
 
originally posted by Jay Miller:
originally posted by slaton:
I have been tempted to pick up some of those Horiot bottles as well, though.
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Me too, I'm hesitating since I've been disappointed by many 2014 Champagnes and don't know how that might carry over to the still wines.
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I have just n=2, but one was stellar (Egly-Ouriet) and the other intriguing if inconclusive (Barbichon).
 
originally posted by Rahsaan:
originally posted by Jeff Grossman:
Can you get Henriot in your market?
Click to expand...

Assuming you mean Horiot, I recently ordered 2014 En Barmont and En Valingrain. (From CSW, alas not available locally) I am looking forward to opening them soon, and it will be at my home.
Click to expand...

Mr. Maxwell, did you ever open this?
 
I did. I thought I posted a note but perhaps not. I was not taken by the bottles. Perhaps not the best representation of their fullest potential, because they seemed fragile and lacking the character I would expect for the price tag.

But, regardless of whether I had them at their best, it may not be what I need to pursue here in NC. Alas.
 
Thanks. Opened my first 2014 Valingrain last night, and while it had the same strawberry deliciousness of prior vintages, there was something a bit linear and simple about it that underwhelmed. Perhaps time will help.
 
originally posted by Jayson Cohen:
Just to make sure I’m understanding. You guys are talking about the red CCs, not the Rose des Riceys, right?
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Didn't know there was a straight red, so I meant the Rosé de Riceys (and thought Rahsaan did too). It was pretty dark for a rosé, the color of your average red Burg.
 
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