TN: Northern Rhones at Racines in NYC

A nice group gathered at Racines on Chambers Street last night to drink som e Northern Rhone reds. My first time at Racines, and I totally enjoyed, tho ugh it was a little sad to be BYOing with that great list. As we gathered,

3 whites made the rounds

1998 Chave Hermitage Blanc I'm not a big fan of Rhone whites, but this was pretty lovely, Wax, honey, flowers, powerful and full but not heavy. B+/A-

1997 Beaucastel Chateauneuf-du-Pape blanc Deep golden color, seemed quite advanced. Surprisingly, I thought much bett er as it got air and got warm, seemed less oxidized and more honied. B/B-

2013 Lise & Bertand Jousset Singulier "Clos Aux Renard" Montlouis Crisp, nervy, dry, with wax and wool and excellent length.B+

We had an amuse of cauliflower veloute, good but not very cauliflowery

2000 Verset Cornas Pretty forward, nice depth, herby with a stemmy note, meaty, good length. A -

1995 Verset Cornas Lots of smoked meat, great acids, earth and flowers. A-/B+

My appetizer was lobster stuffed squash blossom with morcilla and carrot fo am, really very tasty

2001 Voge Cornas VV Brambly berry fruit, cow patty, spice. . Some brett, but a strain that appe als to me.A-/B+

1998 Voge Cornas VV Earth, pasture, black fruits. Nice texture on the finish. A-

Suzanne had a great idea, we split several orders of fregola "risotto" with chanterelles on top, very wine friendly

1988 Jaboulet "La Chapelle" Hermitage Black fruit,bacon, pepper, not a big vintage of La Chapelle but quite elega nt. A-

1996 Jaboulet "La Chapelle" Hermitage A bit riper, earthy, forest floor. B+

My main was the porcelet with squash and some delicious ricotta agnolotti

1998 Vallouit " Les Roziers" Cote-Rotie New one to me. Peppery, a little tart (Bill calls sour), slightly clipped. B-

1998 Jamet Cote-Rotie Corked., Too bad, I really liked this wine previous time I tried.

2001 Jamet Cote-Rotie Spicy, young, good but only wine I felt really needed more time. B

1999 Gaillard "Rose Pourpre" Cote-Rotie Black fruits and cedar, olives. B

We also had a cheese plate- Bayley Hazen is only one I noted name, but good . Diane had brought a bubbly:

2002 Clos Cazals Blanc de blanc Champagne Crisp, elegant, fresh baked croissant over pear fruit, quite floral. A-/B+

Nice night, really enjoyed wine, company, and restaurant. At end of night we did traditional 3/2/1 voting, with Paul using 2 hands (o ne for Bill who had departed, but Paul said he knew what Bill has said)

2000 Verset 14 1998 Voge 13 2001 Voge 8 1995 Verset 5 1996 Jaboulet 4 1988 Jaboulet 3 2001 Jamet 3 1999 Gaillard 1

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.