Cake!
Tet is the Vietnamese New Year celebration, but more than that, it is a call-to-arms for wine geeks to pull the best bottles from their cellars and travel to Trung and Martha Nguyen’s house for food and friendship. I believe this is the 4th (5th?) Tet, and it is something to look forward to all year long. In attendance this year was:
Trung and Martha
Mike, Carla and Danielle Lawton
Charles and Glenna Weiss
Rey and Juliette Fortney
PMAC
Amy and myself.
As usual, we kicked things off with a few nice bottles of bubbly.
1990 Charles Hiedseck Brut: The 1990 Charles Hiedseck has really begun to hit its stride over the past year. A harmonious mix of crisp apple and fresh toast with a nice finish rounds out this lovely warm-up Champagne.
1996 Bollinger “Grande Annee”: Much more closed than the last time I had it, this Bolly squeaked out some notes of fresh brine along with very primary Champagne nuances. The good news is, on release this wine was rather unruly and seems to have begun to straiten itself out. Given time, this will be a beauty.
Not Cake! (Rey and Juliette's duck pate with black truffle shavings)
NV Krug “Grande Cuvee”: The new label NV Krug is all one could hope for in a ready-to-drink Champagne. It’s possible that the old label was a little more complex, but I cannot argue with Champagne that drinks so classically well on release.
1996 Philipponnat “Clos des Goisses”: This is my first time trying Clos des Groisses. I heard that people considered this a polarizing wine, but I had no idea just how true that statement might be. Passion fruit, pears, and sweet lemonade are what popped into my head when tasting it. It was like the Pinot Noir was replaced with ripe Chenin Blanc. I have no idea what this wine will evolve in to, but I won’t break my piggy bank to find out.
1988 Pol Roger “Cuvee Winston Churchill”: I’m not usually a fan of Winston Churchill, young or old, due to the overwhelming amount of sourdough yeast that dominates the nose and palate, but this bottle seemed much more reasonable (at this stage). The acidity was the most striking aspect, possessing far more acid than any of the other Champagne we started with. The acidity cut through the slight butter nuance and remained present long after the rest of the finish dissipated. Great stuff.
2002 Radikon Ribolla Gialla (500ml): Bacteria, funk, musk, road kill - there are a lot of terms that could be used in describing this wine. Smelled with eyes closed, there isn’t much to distinguish itself as a white wine. Indeed, there was a smack of fruit tannin on the finish as well. This is the Ru Paul of white wines. The color might be white, but there is definitely a bulge. I dug it, though it isn’t for the faint of heart.
PMAC tests if telekinesis works in the year of the rat.
1995 Brundlmayer “Zobinger Heiligenstein” Alte Reben Riesling: Aside from the Zobs of Heiligenistic fruit, this bottle had an attractive petrol aroma which wafted heavily inside the glass. On the palate, there were hints of pineapple and a touch of bitterness (grey rot?).
1995 Allemand “Chaillot” Cornas: This bottle of Allemand was very very dense and, despite decanting, was totally shut down. It didn’t scream “Allemand!” like most of his Cornas do, but I’m sure this was due to the youth of the wine. Interestingly enough, this bottle seems even tighter than some of his more recent bottles. I’d love to try this again in ten years.
1969 Cappellano Barolo: This was the perfect example of old, traditional, Barolo that has begun to gracefully fade into the sunset. The nose was all dried flowers and resolved fruit. On the palate the nuances switched to rose hips and cedar. No signs of oxidization, just a fine wine that is coming to an end.
A beautiful thing.
Mystery Wine: I brought this, so the identity wasn’t a mystery, just the contents of the bottle. I’ve had a handful of the Kalin white wines, but this was my first Pinot. Everyone struggled with the source of this wine. It was older, to be sure, but the color was dark and the fruit and acid were still very much intact. The guesses ranged from Italy to Northern Rhone to Spain. If I had not known, I might have guessed Italian myself. Some were dubious about the nature of the acid, since it was so high, but there was no question that the wine was of excellent quality. When I revealed it to be a 1983 Kalin Cellars Pinot Noir “Cuvee WD” (where was the WD sourced from, anyone know?) I got a lot of dirty looks around the table. Kalin proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that they deserve credit for making some of the most unique and age-worthy wines in California. My thanks to a good buddy for helping me secure a mixed case of older vintages.
1996 De Vogue Musigny: My second to last bottle of Musigny, and sadly this was not the right time to open this bottle. Shut down, this bottle was all structure and promise. These are one of those lessons that are learned and relearned, much to my dismay. A little voice told me not to bring it, but who can say “no” to Tet?
1997 De Vogue Musigny: This was a much different creature than the 1996. Open for business, the palate was full of sweet cherries and candy apples. Succulent stuff, though it needs to be accepted without concern for regional authenticity. Down the road there might be some problem with the spiky acidity, but for now it seems stable. A dirty pleasure of a Musigny. Juliette rightfully dubbed this a child of the milk man.
The first of many quail and spring roll plates. I ate at least half the native quail population myself.
1997 Rousseau “Clos de la Roche”: Another 1997 Burg with some similarities to the de Vogue. However, it lacked some of the brazen presentation of the 97 Musigny and thus was overshadowed. There was also a metallic pang and a fractured finish that detracted from the overall spectacle. It might have shown better if not for the lineup.
1996 Rousseau “Clos de la Roche”: After a few bottles of Burgundy that flirted, but fell short of excellence, this Rousseau was everything that Burgundy should be. The tannin, acidity and fruit all worked in harmony to produce an elegant wine with a textured, but silky, finish. Feminine, mineral, and much more resolved than 96 Moose.
1996 Rousseau Ruchottes-Chambertin “Clos Des Ruchottes”: Simpler than the “Clos de la Roche” but possessing more power. This will come around sooner than the 1996 Musigny, but still needs a few more years to really blossom.
Chocrat!
1999 Paolo Bea Montefalco “Secco”: A tough change of pace from the Burgundies. I’ve never understood the love of Paolo Bea, though my friends would like to convince me.
1975 Chateau Lynch-Bages: Shockingly young nose with notes of plums and shoe leather. The structure was impeccable, and the tannin and fruit showed no signs of faltering. Very nice.
Batali Salumi
1983 Dr. Fischer Ockfener Bockstein Auslese: DOA
1990 Dr. Fischer Ockfener Bockstein Beerenauslese: I’m not going to bother posting notes on Riesling BAs, TBAs, and Eiswein any more. I will accept it as a personal flaw that I haven’t had one that I enjoyed in a long time. Mike, Rey, Charles and Pmac all dug it.
1993 Disznoko Aszu Eszencia: I’ve never had the Aszu Eszencia from Disznoko before, though I have had the Royal Tokaji Eszencia a number of times. Similar to the Royal Tokaji, this was almost too intense too swallow. This Disznoko had KY Jelly viscosity with sugar-shock sweetness and acidity that burned all the way down. The only thing more amazing than the intensity of this wine, was the fact that it still had tertiary notes and subtly behind the punch. Wow.
The line up and fruit.
Thanks to all for another great year.
Best,
Joe