WTN: Dinner w/Oswaldo (Vouvray, Auxey, Jumilla)

Thursday was a long long day with no wine, so Friday I was ready. I took a rainy drive down to Tribeca, picked up Oswaldo, then headed to East Village to meet Betsy and Joe, who had been playing an opera showcase at NYU. The winebar we wanted to meet at (http://www.wineisterroir.com) was packed, but after a cellphone retrieval incident we met at the winebar's sister restaurant, Hearth. They squeezed us in without reservations, and we had a nice quiet table in the back.

We started with an amuse of warm red lentil (couldn't see the red) soup with lemon oil. Then I had a great dish of fava beans and pecorino with oregano. Betsy had a tasty halibut cheek. My main was good Berksire pork, with a morel stuffed with sausage, along with some veggies. Betsy had lamb pappardelle. Betsy and I were pretty happy with the food.

We started with a bottle of the 2006 Pinon "Cuvee Tradition" Vouvray. This was good, but didn't quite appeal as much as previous bottle (I think it might have been the match, a funny interaction with the favas and pecorino). Off-dry, citrus, a little Chenin wooliness. I liked more without the food. B

With the mains, we had a bottle of the 2000 Michel Prunier "Clos du Val" Auxey-Duresses 1er. Oswaldo's call, I had never tried this producer before. Good call Oswaldo! Very pretty Pinot. Opens with a nose of cherry marked with woodsmoke. In glass it develops a more earthy edge. This is delicate without being thin, not a wine for those that worship size, but an excellent light to mid weight for a dinner wine. Drinking well now. Never heard much about Prunier before, but this was good enough that Oswaldo and I decided to split a 6-pack. B++

Betsy and I split a cheese plate, with Ossau Vielle and Crater Lake Blue. I was leaning towards an LBV, but Oswaldo mentioned he had tried another vintage of the sweet Monastrell offered and liked. So I got a glass of the 2004 Olivares "Dulce Monastrell (Jumilla). Very interesting wine- Oswaldo had compared to a Banyuls, and it definitely had a similar style- thicker texture, toffee and fig fruit, etc. But this had a very unusual -and very apparent- note of green olives on top. At first I wasn't sure I liked that note, but it was almost non-existent on the palate, and this was a nice wine (and a beautiful match with the blue). B+

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.
 

Were these off the list or were you planning to take your own wines to Wine Is Terroir?

Sounds like an interesting place, so good for them that they are crowded.

I have had a few Prunier wines. Nothing to make you forget about the other CdBeaune stars, but, can be fine when those other CdBeaune stars are unavailable.

These were off the list. Our plan was originally to (a) go to Wine Is Terroir and order btg with a small plate, (b) decide whether we wanted to stay (mostly worried about noise), and then (c) if we left going to a neighborhood place. I did have a '99 Lafarge VS and an '97 Einaudi Barolo in car. But when we couldn't get in at all and ended up at Hearth, I didn't especially want to try to add corkage to the deal as they were figuring if they could seat us. Hearth-style restaurants are typically $20-35 corkage in city, so wouldn't have been huge savings.

Based on one example, I wouldn't call Prunier a star. But the '00 Clos du Val is $20 retail, and at that price it's a buy for me.

It was a lovely evening in every respect. Dale and Betsy always such a pleasure to be with, likewise their super nice friend Joe. The lively conversation, not to be outdone by the wine, developed layers of complexity as the evening wore on…

I found the vouvray perhaps a little lacking in acidity; it should come into better balance in a few years as the sweetness declines. But when the foie gras appetizer arrived, it became a good match, though a little more complexity would have been welcome.

I had also never heard of Michel Prunier. Did some research this morning: Parker wrote (in 1992) that “Clos du Val is probably the finest vineyard site in Auxey Duresses” and says that he has “always been a fan of Michel Prunier's wines. If you are looking for top notch red burgundies that sell at a reasonable price, this is a name to remember.” No reviews after the 1990 vintage. Burghound reviews Prunier up to 2001, saying that "many regard (him) as the doyen of Auxey-Duresses."

What I loved about this wine, besides the smoked bacon note, was the satisfaction that we were drinking a wine at the height of its powers, giving all it can with finesse and complexity, punching above its category. An endearing “little engine that could.” In wine, as in boxing (which I don’t particularly care for), discussion is overly centered on the heavyweights when a Sugar Ray Leonard can be more satisfying.

I’ve had two other vintages of the Olivares dulce monastrell and find it consistently satisfying and a great QPR. I would only add, or emphasize, that the sweetness is molasses-like (a childhood association for me) rather than, say, honey, and there are some tar and mint notes. Excellent wine.

Look forward to the next get together!

Burghound reviews Prunier up to 2001, saying that "many regard (him) as the doyen of Auxey-Duresses."

I don't know Burghound's style, having never read his notes, but, just from this one quote, that could be intepreted as a (polite) way of saying 'others like the wines a lot, although I don't necessarily share their opinion'

I don't know Burghound's style, having never read his notes, but, just from this one quote, that could be intepreted as a (polite) way of saying 'others like the wines a lot, although I don't necessarily share their opinion'

Indeed, but Oswaldo forwarded me BH review, he was positive and said he liked style.

Oswaldo, I agree re the little engine. There is something so rewarding about a wine that "overachieves" (and not just the fact you are paying less!).

I don't know Burghound's style, having never read his notes, but, just from this one quote, that could be intepreted as a (polite) way of saying 'others like the wines a lot, although I don't necessarily share their opinion'

Indeed, but Oswaldo forwarded me BH review, he was positive and said he liked style.

Ok.

Dale - Hearth does not permit byo Their winelist is good and their food is delicious, so I enjoy going there even though I would prefer the option of byo.

Diane,
thanks for info. Now really glad I didn't ask re BYO.
But there were plenty of decent $30-60 options (ESJ, Thivin, etc) so lack of BYO doesn't bother me as much.

I've had the 2001 Los Olivars. I agree that it's quite a bargain and I've had a hard time ignoring the lone bottle I have left. But, I want to see what it will do with some years on it.

The '01, when young, had aromas of fresh-cut alfalfa, which is a very pleasant association for me, which carried over into the mouth, along with some molasses. My mouth is watering as I type this. Gonna have to track down some of the younger vintages.