Jeff Grossman
Jeff Grossman
attendees: Jay, Jeff, Gil, Jay+Marsha, Zack, Salil, David
We are back at Bite of Hong Kong. They are reliable and good and big enough to accommodate eight wine-geeks at short notice. And Jay can recite the menu in his sleep waking moments because we already know what's good: squid with Chinese leeks, roast squab (when they have it), Peking Duck, the egg tofu dish, and the lamb chops.
We arrive somewhat on time and immediately set about pontificating and kvetching and generally whooping it up. Fortunately, there aren't too many other people in the dining room to disturb on a Monday evening.
Salil is looking robust and much happier now that he's moved into town (a spot of blue in otherwise deep-red territory). Plenty of beverages tonight, much to Salil's palate... riesling and Cote-Rotie:
Selbach-Oster 2008 Zeltinger Himmelreich Riesling Spatlese "Anrecht" - 2 606 319 015 09, beautiful, crisp with just a touch of sweetness, some lovely restrained fruit (not so ripe as apricots but fruitier than, say, green grapes), great way to start the evening and one of my favorites of the evening
Charles Hiedsieck 2004 Champagne Brut, Blanc de Blancs, "Blanc des Millenaires" - woof, and this is dry and skimpy and unpleasant coming right after the Selbach; so, yeah, it's a super-cuvee champagne but not my friend just now; judgment reserved
Leitz 2007 Rudesheimer Berg Rottland, Alte Reben - 24 079 013 08, a little tired (can it still be shut down?), delicate, lacks oomph and also lacks some palate clarity, eh
J.J. Prum 2007 Graacher Himmelreich Riesling Spatlese - 2 576 511 08 08, 8%, firm but friendly acidity, much more puckery than the Selbach: green grapes and lemon, pure and yum
Levet 2004 Cote-Rotie "La Peroline" - sturdy, blue-black fruits, a bare hint of schoolpaste confirms its rustic roots, this is rocks and moss and maybe some mushroom, and rocks, did I say rocks yet?, no bacon fat in sight, good bottle
Dom. de Vallouit 1998 Cote-Rotie "Les Roziers" - tannins have gone all fine and furry, this wine is also plenty alive and shows the typical Cote-Rotie flavors, I like the balance of this wine just a little better than the Levet
Gerin 2001 Cote-Rotie "La Landonne" - high-toned, forward, no longer exactly oaky but this is still pumped-up on wood tannins, starting to dry out, others like this more than I do
Muga 2001 Rioja Reserva - a brute of a wine, big and chewy, all dark fruits (even getting close to the density and sweetness of dried fruit), this is a great match with the squab
Goodfellow 2012 Pinot Noir, Whistling Ridge - minerally and scratchy (for pinot), the Goodfellow website suggests not opening this till next year (at least), there's also a bit of redfruit and resin, drinks really well anyway
Willi Schaefer 2011 Graacher Domprobst Riesling Kabinett - 2 583 154 16 12, the nose is recognizably Willi Schaefer and it is gorgeous, really this bottle has it all going on: clean fruit, just a swatch of sugar here and there, restless acidity, wow
Girardin 1999 Clos Saint-Denis GC - echt Burgundy, a great bottle, the maker has a reputation for using too much oak but it did not show up here
Muller-Catoir 1998 Mussbacher Eselshaut Rieslaner Auslese - 5 174 079 15 99, quite sweet, golden raisins, a whiff of smoke, lots of bouquet
J.J. Prum 2006 Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese - 2 576 511 16 07, the cork crumbled on this one, lighter and brighter than the M-C, honey and pineapple notes
We are back at Bite of Hong Kong. They are reliable and good and big enough to accommodate eight wine-geeks at short notice. And Jay can recite the menu in his sleep waking moments because we already know what's good: squid with Chinese leeks, roast squab (when they have it), Peking Duck, the egg tofu dish, and the lamb chops.
We arrive somewhat on time and immediately set about pontificating and kvetching and generally whooping it up. Fortunately, there aren't too many other people in the dining room to disturb on a Monday evening.
Salil is looking robust and much happier now that he's moved into town (a spot of blue in otherwise deep-red territory). Plenty of beverages tonight, much to Salil's palate... riesling and Cote-Rotie:
Selbach-Oster 2008 Zeltinger Himmelreich Riesling Spatlese "Anrecht" - 2 606 319 015 09, beautiful, crisp with just a touch of sweetness, some lovely restrained fruit (not so ripe as apricots but fruitier than, say, green grapes), great way to start the evening and one of my favorites of the evening
Charles Hiedsieck 2004 Champagne Brut, Blanc de Blancs, "Blanc des Millenaires" - woof, and this is dry and skimpy and unpleasant coming right after the Selbach; so, yeah, it's a super-cuvee champagne but not my friend just now; judgment reserved
Leitz 2007 Rudesheimer Berg Rottland, Alte Reben - 24 079 013 08, a little tired (can it still be shut down?), delicate, lacks oomph and also lacks some palate clarity, eh
J.J. Prum 2007 Graacher Himmelreich Riesling Spatlese - 2 576 511 08 08, 8%, firm but friendly acidity, much more puckery than the Selbach: green grapes and lemon, pure and yum
Levet 2004 Cote-Rotie "La Peroline" - sturdy, blue-black fruits, a bare hint of schoolpaste confirms its rustic roots, this is rocks and moss and maybe some mushroom, and rocks, did I say rocks yet?, no bacon fat in sight, good bottle
Dom. de Vallouit 1998 Cote-Rotie "Les Roziers" - tannins have gone all fine and furry, this wine is also plenty alive and shows the typical Cote-Rotie flavors, I like the balance of this wine just a little better than the Levet
Gerin 2001 Cote-Rotie "La Landonne" - high-toned, forward, no longer exactly oaky but this is still pumped-up on wood tannins, starting to dry out, others like this more than I do
Muga 2001 Rioja Reserva - a brute of a wine, big and chewy, all dark fruits (even getting close to the density and sweetness of dried fruit), this is a great match with the squab
Goodfellow 2012 Pinot Noir, Whistling Ridge - minerally and scratchy (for pinot), the Goodfellow website suggests not opening this till next year (at least), there's also a bit of redfruit and resin, drinks really well anyway
Willi Schaefer 2011 Graacher Domprobst Riesling Kabinett - 2 583 154 16 12, the nose is recognizably Willi Schaefer and it is gorgeous, really this bottle has it all going on: clean fruit, just a swatch of sugar here and there, restless acidity, wow
Girardin 1999 Clos Saint-Denis GC - echt Burgundy, a great bottle, the maker has a reputation for using too much oak but it did not show up here
Muller-Catoir 1998 Mussbacher Eselshaut Rieslaner Auslese - 5 174 079 15 99, quite sweet, golden raisins, a whiff of smoke, lots of bouquet
J.J. Prum 2006 Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese - 2 576 511 16 07, the cork crumbled on this one, lighter and brighter than the M-C, honey and pineapple notes