TN: White Burgs, Champagne with Shanghai-style food in Tribeca

Last night we had a Champagne and White Burgundy tasting at China Blue in T ribeca. I took the train, the subway, and then crossed the tunnel traffic a t Canal, suddenly I felt I was in "Omega Man" with Charlton Heston. 3 deser ted blocks to the restaurant, where most of the group was waiting. A nice n ight with fine Shanghaiese food.

NV (2009, disgorged 2012) Vouette et Sorbée "Blanc d'Argile" Champagne I thought first taste was odd- an intense gingery note- but whatever irked me went away, Dry, crisp, refreshing. B+

First couple courses were cold jellyfish with cucumber and crispy eel.

2002 Bollinger "Grande Annee" Champagne Not as heavy as some Bollys, but didn't excite me as much as some others at the table. Baked apple, lemon sherbert, almonds. B/B-

2002 Taittinger Comtes de Champagne Very young, but oh so promising. Crisp, full, elegant, long. A- with potent ial for A

Some soup dumplings, vegetable dumplings, and a lovely herb/tofu soup

1999 Pol Roger "WInston Churchill" Champagne Full, smoke and bread dough, lovely wine, not quite as powerful as the '96 but a lovely bottle of Winston Churchill. A-

Pork belly with buns, "West Lake" fish, and great eel with chives!

1995 Henriot "Enchanteleurs" Champagne Toasty, rich, mushrooms and citrus, long, I enjoyed but not quite as much a s a bottle last month. B+/A-

Mushrooms with tofu, bok choy, spinach. steamed bass

2006 Lilbert-Fils Blanc de Blancs Brut Grand Cru Cramant Champagne The cork flew away and never came back. I didn't love this but think it suf fered from positioning after the more mature wines. I wrote B-, but think i f it was served at beginning I would have liked more.

2004 Simon Bize Corton Charlemagne Citrus and pear, lots of herbal notes, good length. B+/A-

2005 Jadot Corton Charlemagne Full bodied, quite woody compared to the Bize, nice wine in need of time. B for drinking now.

2010 Drouhin Clos des Mouches Beaune 1er (blanc) Young and tight at first, but fun to revisit after a bit. Powerful, crisp a cids, clean white fruits and citrus, light oak, long. B+, A potential

We got re-orders of several dishes (pork, eel, etc) , plus a couple new one s (Lions head meatballs)

2006 H. Boillot Criots-Batard-Montrachet Surprisingly bright, mineral, good length. B+/A-

2005 Leflaive "Clavoillon" Puligny-Montrachet 1er Pears, hazelnut, but I think this is in a bit of a grumpy stage. B/B- this night, one to watch

2006 Pernot Batard-Montrachet Good showing, no hint of PremOx in this bottle, sweet pears, stones, good l ength. B+/A-

2005 Sauzet "La Garenne" Puligny Montrachet 1er Minty, some light oak,\white fruits, maybe the most ready of the '05s we ha ve this night. B+

Great food, great company. We got lucky with no corked or oxidized bottles, and while I had favorites there was nothing I wouldn't drink. . Fun night in a truly quiet corner of Manhattan.

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.

Reply to
DaleW
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Sounds like a fascinating evening! I do have one question though: How long will the 2002 CdeC need, do you think?

Greetings to all, Charley

Reply to
Charles Milton Ling

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