esterday I took a train to Harlem and then jumped subway to Upper East Side . A quick walk over to the Evergreen Cafe, where Mark had put together a ta ble for the annual dinner for the Wine Media Guild. I enjoyed the dim sum plate,especially the shumai and rib. Less fond of the sea bass, but liked the fact the Peking duck was light on the hoisin. Ther e was also shrimp, steak, long noodles, beans, etc. Lots of sweetness.
Bubbles I didn't take notes on the rather appley/light Mionetto prosecco that was b eing served. Stuart handed me a blind glass of Champagne, which I liked mor e. Bready, dry, citrus notes over pear, good length. A producer I've never heard of , the 1999 Daniel Ginsburg "Cuvee Louis XVII" Champagne (mag) B+/A
-At first I found the 1995 Egly-Ouriet Champagne a bit heavy, but enjoyed mo re on revisit. A bit nutty, full, good with food. B+
I didn't take any notes on a bottle of Ruinart rose, but thought it went mu ch better with the Grand Marnier shrimp that the Rieslings.
Whites
1990 Karthauserhof Eitelsbacher Karthauserhofberg Riesling Auslese Full, rick, opulent, but with good acids. I liked B+1992 Karthauserhof Eitelsbacher Karthauserhofberg Riesling Auslese The acidity would be searing if it weren't for the nice sugar balance, ther e's a lovely ginger meets petrol note here, crisp and lively with food. A-
I think I might have been in minority at table at preferring the 1992
1985 Zilliken Saarburger Rausch Spatlese - one of the great things about Ri esling is its transparency. Tonight the TCA was revealed. :(1983 Sanctus Jacobus Serriger Schloss Saarfelser Schlossberg Riesling Ausle se (Auction) Tasty, mature, petrolly, nice. B+
A blind Riesling. Lots of sweetness, needs some acid, better on attack than finish. My guess was '75 or '76 Auslese, it was actually the 1971 Staatswe inguter Steinberger Riesling Spatlese. B-
1976 Friedrich-Wilhelm-Gymnasium Zeltinger Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese Citrus and red fruits, petrol, nicely balanced, mature. A-1976 Friedrich-Wilhelm-Gymnasium Trittenheimer Apotheke Riesling Auslese A little younger tasting than the ZS, but I thought less complex though goo d. B+
1978 Pieroth Gocklinger Kloster Liebfrauenberg Auslese I had written this down as 71 but was later told it was 78. Is it possible for a Pieroth wine to not live up to my expectations? Apparently. Brown, da rk, stinky, this was awful, I'd rather drink the corked Zilliken. D 1977 Pieroth Gocklinger Kloster Liebfrauenberg Auslese OK, this at least has a bit of life, though not a life I'd be interested in- oxidative notes over canned fruit salad. I thnk I'd prefer the corked win e to this as well. C/C-
1988 Egon Muller Wiltinger Braune Kupp Auslese Ah, more like it. Balanced, elegant, long, contender for wine of the night. A-Reds
2001 Roumier Chambolle-Musigny I had brought because I thought the duck and steak might need a red. This w orked well with the duck, but the reds suffered following all the sweet win es and with even the side dishes having sugar. But with duck and on its own (after some palate-cleansing Champagne) I really enjoyed. Pretty, elegant, perfumed, spicy. B++1996 Ambroise "Les Vaucrains" Nuits St George 1er Dense, a bit of wood, this might just need time. B/B-
There were also some dessert wines circulating after I had put away notes. A 1999 6 Puttonyos Tokaji (didn't note producer)was good but not exciting; a very surprising wine (at least on nose, I didn't taste) was a mid-90s Riv endell "Tears of the Clouds" Vignoles- interesting elven wine, with a very exotic nose.
Fun night with good people
Grade disclaimer: I'm a very easy grader, basically A is an excellent wine, B a good wine, C drinkable. Anything below C means I wouldn't drink at a p arty where it was only choice.Furthermore, I offer no promises of objectivi ty, accuracy, and certainly not of consistency.