On a hot Thursday a group of us met at Bite of Hong Kong in Chinatown for a reprise of a Northern Rhone dinner last year. Great food- dried squid with Chinese leeks (I would have called chives, but delicious, my DOTN), crispy squab, Peking Duck, short ribs in black pepper sauce, and more.
2005 Zilliken Saarburger Rausch Kabinett More spatlesey, richness and ripeness of ?05 shows, drinking well in a honied mode. B+/B2001 Ogier Cote-Rotie Initially comes across hot despite being listed at 12.5%. Black fruit, a little glossy, outclassed this night but a revisit was more appealing. B
2001 Ogier ?Les Embruns? Cote-Rotie This also seemed bigger than it?s stated abv (13%), and with an oak signature as well. Somewhat plodding. B-/C+1999 Texier Cote-Rotie VV Pretty stern and a little shrill at first, but I really enjoyed as it settled down and acid seemed to integrate. Smoke and black olive, tangy, long. B+
2001 Texier Cote-Rotie VV I?ve liked this a lot before, but shown up by its ?99 brother (and cousin H). Funky, a little dirty, a little flat on finish. B-1999 Texier Hermitage Good acids, not shrill to me, black raspberrries, leather, smoked meat. Nice finish. II liked more than most I think. A-/B+
1999 J-M Stephan Cote-Rotie Vielle Vignes Corked, damn1999 Allemand ?Chaillot? Cornas Black cherry, smoked meat. . Lovely, balanced, elegant. A-
1995 Clape Cornas A bit stern and reserved (angry someone said). I think just needs time or air, I should have revisited. B/B-1998 Jamet Cote-Rotie Totally delicious, bacon, olive and smoke, great balance, long finish. A-
1995 Jamet Cote-Rotie This was weird, some thought corked, I didn?t, but I (alone) thought this had caramelly nose and a cookedfruit/metallic thing on palate. Just an off bottle., C+1998 Levet Cote-Rotie Brisk acids, red fruit, pretty pretty wine. I need to look for Levet. A-
1991 Chapoutier ?La Morderee? Cote-Rotie Some loved this. I thought there was a slightly offputting musky/cologne note, and it lacked the elegance on the palate of the Levet and ?98 Jamet. But not tired at all. B/B-1997 Chave Hermitage This was I think most people?s wine of the night, and it was my nose of the night. Espresso, gamey meat, red fruits, leather. It was good on the palate but a little round and maybe just a tad clipped to me (others disagreed). B+/A-
2014 Xavier Gerard Marmouzin Condrieu Better acids than most Condrieu. But still not super appealing to me. B/B-2012 Willi Schaefer ?Graacher Himmelreich? Auslese #14 Delicious and drinking well. Citrus and pit fruit surrounded by garden herbs and slate. Floral and balanced. A-
Fun night, great food, wine, company.
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 party where it was only choice.Furthermore, I offer no promises of objectivity, accuracy, and certainly not of consistency.