Robin Garr (from WineLoversPage.com) and his wife Mary were in town for a seminar, Jay Miller rallied a few of the troops to greet them. After a slight timing snafu ("made the reservation for 8" meant numbers, not time) a fun evening ensued. We were down at Inside on Jones St in the Village, I had fried oysters and the Newport steak. Both were in the good not great category. But wines were mostly good:
2005 Hirsch Zobing Riesling (Kamptal) Screwcap! Lighter style but with some body, fresh, good depth. Excellent for the level. B+1996 Altemasi Riserva Graal Bubbly from Trentino. Bright with ripe apples and a pleasant bitter almond edge. Fine mousse, ok length. I liked more than some others. B/B+
2000 Derain "En Remilly" St. Aubin Apple fruit with just a hint of oxidation. Finish is a little short and wine seems empty, there was speculation it might get better with air but a revisit brought out an unpleasant chalky note. C2003 Brintziki Avgoustiatis A red from Greece,a hand import. Earthy and rather barnyardy at first whiff, I thought it was bretty, but whatever it was blew off. Ripe berry fruit, good length, I enjoyed. B
2003 Noi Rosso (Emilia-Romagna) I think I heard this was Sangiovese with a dollop of Merlot and CS. A bit tannic and oaky, chewy black fruit. I wouldn't have guessed Sangiovese. Not really my style. C+2006 JP Brun "L'Ancien" Beaujolais Nouveau Hey, if you're going to drink BN it might as well be Brun's. Sure it's grapey and simple, but it's fun and there actually is a core of fruit and flowers. Too bad on the timing of BN- if this was around in July it might make a nice chilled patio sipper. B/B-
2002 Saintsbury Brown Vineyard Pinot Noir (Carneros) Some oak but not oppressive, good dark Pinot fruit, nice finish. I enjoyed quite a bit, but Jay and I agreed that it's a nice $30 wine that sells for more like $50-70. Still, the wine was nice. B+2005 Puzelat Pineau d'Aunis Touraine Darker than some previous vintages. White pepper and spice, minerals, beautiful strawberry fruit. Lovely light wine. B+
Jay passed around a mystery wine. Deep cherry fruit with a touch of raspberry, some floral notes, beautifully balanced. Just a hint of a spicy oak edge, excellent wine. I felt pretty sure it was Pinot Noir, not Burgundy but didn't seem Californian to me. I guessed Oregon, but it was California after all, the 2004 Alesia Pinot Noir (Sonoma Coast). One of the 2-3 best CA PNs I've had. A-
1996 Gallois "Combes aux Moines" Gevrey-Chambertin 1er A little tight at first, but opens nicely with lots of earth and acids. Blacker fruit, good length. This probably needs time but I enjoyed now. A producer I've not heard of. B+1983 Trapet Chambertin I brought this bit of a longshot because Jay had said he had liked in the past (as I had, it was nice but mature 5 or so years ago). I opened, thought I got some mildew, but with a wipe of bottle top it seemed ok. It sat for a bit then went around, but the mildew was back with a vengeance. Too bad, the fruit seemed alive underneath. Damn TCA!
2003 Solatio Brovia Dolcetto d'Alba I found this rather horrid, others liked better. When you combine a low-acid grape like Dolcetto with a low acid year, you get flabby. I mean REAL flabby. Heavy in the mouth, and tannic as well. C/C-1999 Clos des Papes Chateauneuf-du-Pape I think this could use more time, but enjoyed. Big red fruit, some herb/garrique notes, a bit of oak. Some found it too modern but I quite enjoyed. B+
1995 Ch. Musar A bit of VA and high acids in general, no discernable brett at first. Medium-bodied, red fruits. As it sits around fruit seems sweeter, but a bit of horsesweat appears too. Not the best Musar I've had, but certainly drinkable. Of course my past experience tells me that the next bottle could be totally different. B1979 Ch. Figeac My other contribution. I seem to be on a winning streak with 79s. Opens with a little funk, some find it reductive. Smooth red fruit, lovely texture, good depth. Forest floor, leather, and mushroom notes. Some find it fading but I don't. Revisited later it's going strong, although there is a little burnt rubber note, not enough to be bothersome. A-
2001 Finca Sandoval (Manchuela) Big, brawny, tight. Lots of oak, lots of blackberry liquer. Some really hate it. I don't mind a super-modern Syrah now and again, and would prefer this to a lot of CA Syrahs that retail for twice as much. B1997 JJ Prum Graacher Himmelreich Riesling Auslese Some had this early on, others saved for dessert. I did the latter, but unfortunately there was no icebucket. Accordingly, this showed a bit flabbier than it actually was. Big ripe white peach fruit, a core of slatey minerals nonetheless. Hard to judge in its warm state, I'm guessing a cool bottle would edge towards an A- on my easy scale.
Fun night, nice people. Good to see Robin and Mary again, along with Manuel, Joe Moryl, & Tony Fletcher, and to meet Bethany and Tevye. Thanks to Jay for organizing. A bonus for me when Betsy decided to meet the train, saving me from a mile & a half midnight walk.
Grade disclaimer: I'm a very easy grader, basically A is an excellent wine, B a good wine, C mediocre. Anything below C means I wouldn't drink at a party where it was only choice. Furthermore, I offer no promises of objectivity, accuracy, and certainly not of consistency.