Jeff Grossman
Jeff Grossman
attendees: Don, Jay, Jeff, Lisa, Scott & Anne-Marie, Seth, Victor; and Jayson, and Eden (briefly)
And it's still fun.
All wines served blind.
The White Flights
Seth's #1 - My first guess is older Muscadet though maybe there is a chance that it is old chenin; there's something (good and) musty here. "Getting steelier as it opens in the glass" -Don. After a bunch of guessing Seth reveals that this wine is not French. Hm, does that mean South African chenin? No, it's a New York State wine. We're all quick to say it isn't from Long Island so it must be Finger Lakes but we never guess the cepage: Ravines 2008 Dry Riesling, Argetsinger Vineyard
Seth's #2 - Seth says it's dry. We all like this and we all pick it for old Riesling: "a hint of citrus and a touch of honey" -Ann Marie, "old Riesling, maybe 1970s" -Jay, and we collectively settle on German origin and likely an old Kabinett. But no, Seth informs us this is another Finger Lakes wine, and an excellent one: Hermann J Wiemer 2009 Dry Riesling, Magdalena Vineyard
Jeff's red/black - Another wine much admired, it has a vivid and somewhat perfumey nose, bracing acidity and minerality. Jay guesses viognier, someone else guesses sauvignon blanc... both good guesses but no. I offer a few clues -- it's Italian and made by a man called Heinrich, the grape is not merely rare: it officially doesn't exist -- which helps people guess its origin (Alto Adige) immediately but even the label reveal cannot help with the grape for it only reads, "B..te.le": Nusserhof 2018 Blatterle
Jeff's beige/black - Beautiful and vivid, white pepper and lanolin and a touch of sweet lemon. This is Muscadet and despite being 10 years old it is wondrously young and has miles to go: Pepiere 2010 Muscadet "Clisson"
A Transition Wine
Jeff's red/silver - A red, light or light-mid weight, not pale but not deep red. Several people report a Rhone-ish impression -- though not syrah. I tell them to "think New World" and someone (Seth?) correctly guesses a field blend of carignane and other tart/pink-ish red grapes. That's good enough for the reveal, but first, I ask around and no one thinks this wine is a substitute for CRB in any way: Sandlands 2018 Contra Costa County Red Table Wine
The Red Flights
Seth's #4 - Seth risks the wrath of Pythagoras and reorders the pours. Well, this one is kinda mute, doesn't show much of anything. We puzzle over it a good long while and we eventually decide that perhaps its not-much-ness is indicative! So we guess petite sirah. No. (We are crushed. Or de-stemmed. Something.) Seth said it had been rather more open last night and even this morning but that it is now shut down pretty hard: Edmunds St John 2015 Syrah "North Canyon Road"
Seth's #3 - A wow nose, potent, rushing headlong out of the glass. I call it cab franc (though I seem to call that a lot lately) but definitely not from the Loire as it's much too polished and clean. No. Jay rumbles a bit and guesses cab sauv, which is correct. But that's as far as we get; this wine is incredibly dark and youthful and powerful and shows not a minute of its nearly 30 years of age: Philip Togni 1991 Cabernet Sauvignon
Jeff's unmarked - This is a wine with a checkered track record but it's the girl with the curl so worth a try. Alas, though it seemed ready briefly this morning it is now also gushing from the glass, utterly spoiled: G. Mascarello 1998 Barolo "Monprivato"
Jeff's beige/silver - Here's a gorgeous older wine, clearly nebbiolo with its classic tar and roses profile... yet not the forthright style of Piedmont. It is a little more tailored, age has brought it a tantalizing lick of sweetness. Victor nails it for sfursat: Nino Negri (Veronelli Collection) 1989 Valtellina Sfursat
I followed my whites and Seth's reds over the next two days. They all remained basically as they were, the whites open and vivid, the reds robust but indistinct.
Of course, conversation ranged widely:
- Don observes that there are so many 'named' bottlings of Muscadet nowadays that it is hard to keep up. Ain't that the truth.
- Several people have interest in Broadway (Don transcribes music, Anne-Marie makes costumes, my partner is in SAG/AFTRA) so we discuss the hows and whens of reopening shows. I promised Don a video of Patti Lupone playing the tuba in "Sweeney Todd" (her entry is around 0:38).
- Melissa is a teacher and Eden was going to stop home-schooling her son Pierce so we are all interested to hear about school reopenings, and work conditions generally during the pandemic. It's a mixed bag, some people have been laid-off and others are working remotely.
- Inevitably we discuss streaming media, including some local talent!: Don has given a few lectures on Upper Manhattan topics, Jayson's son Isaac has given a recital (he's a baritone).
- Finally, we debate the exact measures of a fuckton of Riesling versus a metric fuckton. I assert it is an imperial unit (fucktonne) but even resorting to a dictionary does not entirely clarify.
And it's still fun.
All wines served blind.
The White Flights
Seth's #1 - My first guess is older Muscadet though maybe there is a chance that it is old chenin; there's something (good and) musty here. "Getting steelier as it opens in the glass" -Don. After a bunch of guessing Seth reveals that this wine is not French. Hm, does that mean South African chenin? No, it's a New York State wine. We're all quick to say it isn't from Long Island so it must be Finger Lakes but we never guess the cepage: Ravines 2008 Dry Riesling, Argetsinger Vineyard
Seth's #2 - Seth says it's dry. We all like this and we all pick it for old Riesling: "a hint of citrus and a touch of honey" -Ann Marie, "old Riesling, maybe 1970s" -Jay, and we collectively settle on German origin and likely an old Kabinett. But no, Seth informs us this is another Finger Lakes wine, and an excellent one: Hermann J Wiemer 2009 Dry Riesling, Magdalena Vineyard
Jeff's red/black - Another wine much admired, it has a vivid and somewhat perfumey nose, bracing acidity and minerality. Jay guesses viognier, someone else guesses sauvignon blanc... both good guesses but no. I offer a few clues -- it's Italian and made by a man called Heinrich, the grape is not merely rare: it officially doesn't exist -- which helps people guess its origin (Alto Adige) immediately but even the label reveal cannot help with the grape for it only reads, "B..te.le": Nusserhof 2018 Blatterle
Jeff's beige/black - Beautiful and vivid, white pepper and lanolin and a touch of sweet lemon. This is Muscadet and despite being 10 years old it is wondrously young and has miles to go: Pepiere 2010 Muscadet "Clisson"
A Transition Wine
Jeff's red/silver - A red, light or light-mid weight, not pale but not deep red. Several people report a Rhone-ish impression -- though not syrah. I tell them to "think New World" and someone (Seth?) correctly guesses a field blend of carignane and other tart/pink-ish red grapes. That's good enough for the reveal, but first, I ask around and no one thinks this wine is a substitute for CRB in any way: Sandlands 2018 Contra Costa County Red Table Wine
The Red Flights
Seth's #4 - Seth risks the wrath of Pythagoras and reorders the pours. Well, this one is kinda mute, doesn't show much of anything. We puzzle over it a good long while and we eventually decide that perhaps its not-much-ness is indicative! So we guess petite sirah. No. (We are crushed. Or de-stemmed. Something.) Seth said it had been rather more open last night and even this morning but that it is now shut down pretty hard: Edmunds St John 2015 Syrah "North Canyon Road"
Seth's #3 - A wow nose, potent, rushing headlong out of the glass. I call it cab franc (though I seem to call that a lot lately) but definitely not from the Loire as it's much too polished and clean. No. Jay rumbles a bit and guesses cab sauv, which is correct. But that's as far as we get; this wine is incredibly dark and youthful and powerful and shows not a minute of its nearly 30 years of age: Philip Togni 1991 Cabernet Sauvignon
Jeff's unmarked - This is a wine with a checkered track record but it's the girl with the curl so worth a try. Alas, though it seemed ready briefly this morning it is now also gushing from the glass, utterly spoiled: G. Mascarello 1998 Barolo "Monprivato"
Jeff's beige/silver - Here's a gorgeous older wine, clearly nebbiolo with its classic tar and roses profile... yet not the forthright style of Piedmont. It is a little more tailored, age has brought it a tantalizing lick of sweetness. Victor nails it for sfursat: Nino Negri (Veronelli Collection) 1989 Valtellina Sfursat
I followed my whites and Seth's reds over the next two days. They all remained basically as they were, the whites open and vivid, the reds robust but indistinct.
Of course, conversation ranged widely:
- Don observes that there are so many 'named' bottlings of Muscadet nowadays that it is hard to keep up. Ain't that the truth.
- Several people have interest in Broadway (Don transcribes music, Anne-Marie makes costumes, my partner is in SAG/AFTRA) so we discuss the hows and whens of reopening shows. I promised Don a video of Patti Lupone playing the tuba in "Sweeney Todd" (her entry is around 0:38).
- Melissa is a teacher and Eden was going to stop home-schooling her son Pierce so we are all interested to hear about school reopenings, and work conditions generally during the pandemic. It's a mixed bag, some people have been laid-off and others are working remotely.
- Inevitably we discuss streaming media, including some local talent!: Don has given a few lectures on Upper Manhattan topics, Jayson's son Isaac has given a recital (he's a baritone).
- Finally, we debate the exact measures of a fuckton of Riesling versus a metric fuckton. I assert it is an imperial unit (fucktonne) but even resorting to a dictionary does not entirely clarify.