WTNs: A Cold Weekend with Bdx, Alsace, Rhones, Tusc and Germ

Below freezing temperatures relegated cold-weary us to staying in, with home-cooked meals, and Netflix dvds. Meals included canned cassoulet, cavatelli with heavy tomato-based and sweet Italian sausage sauce, canned corned beef and dry-aged shell steaks.

We decided on a last-minute cancellation of a Friday night restaurant reservation, Marina was up for making a hearty pasta dinner, rather than go out in the cold. I was in a lounge-bar kind of mood and put on some cool Randy Crawford tunes on the stereo.

1994 Schloss Schonborn Rudesheimer Berg Rottland Spatlese, Rheingau
A nice wine to lounge around with. Gold-tinted in color, with some wood, mineral and appealing confection nose. Honeyed, citrusy, lime, and mineral notes on the palate. I loved sniffing this wine. This was better than a previous one consumed last summer. B++

2006 Fattoria Monsanto Chianti Classico Riserva, Tuscany
Smelled of wood and meadow earth. This medium-bodied wine is young and tannic but showed lively cherry and raspberry acidity. Will disappoint those looking for the fruit-forward stuff, but the lean fruit complements the nice overall structure. White pepper. Needs food at this point. Went very well with heavy red=sauced pasta and sweet Italian sausage dish. Bought for $17 at Garnet’s 10% off mixed case of reds. A good price, imho, and I may go for more since the sale lasts until March iirc. B+

2000 Dom. La Vieille Julienne Chateauneuf-du-Pape
With canned cassoulet. Wine smelled of meat, brett, garrique and sweet fruit. From the onset it was ripe with red and black fruit, sweet, some kirsch, specks of white ground pepper, a big but quite rustic CdP. Not balanced, imo, and not as good as a previous bottle, 4 months ago, with “real” freshly-cooked cassoulet at La Sirene. B

2007 Clos du Mont-Olivet Montueil-La Levade Cotes-du-Rhone
With sautéed corned beef.
Big and brawny, ripe fruit, very young, tannic, a nice qpr for $13. I favor the chance that this will be good when things resolve a little bit with time. B+

1983 Ch. Pichon Lalande, Pauillac
With dry-aged shell steaks.
Classic mature Bordeaux nose of leather, old wood, cigar and pencil. Lean fruit, smooth and easy mouth-feel, resolved tannin, appropriate acidity, slight notes of leather. Everything seems to fall appropriately in place but I think this bottle is at its best drinking window. Not a blockbuster, but one very fine mature wine. A-


The local weather turned up for the better on Sunday, a celebratory high of 3 below freezing. A last-minute opentable search came up with Bar Room at the Modern in the Museum Of Modern Arts. One of Marina's favorite, plus … and a big plus, Sunday happens to be the free corkage day at the restaurant. Off we went, layers of warm clothing and a couple of bottles in tow.

Great food and service, as per our usual experience, at the Modern. The restaurant’s signature appetizer of Tarte Flambee was great to start with after our 15 minutes of cold weather walk from home. A couple of new dishes, for us, were standouts. These were the Slow Poached Fam Egg In A Jar (with lobsters, salsify and sea urchin) and the Tagliatelle With Rabbit and Mushrooms.

1983 Trimbach Cuvee Frederic Emile Vendanges Tardives, Alsace
Wow. This is one heck of a terrific way to start. Petrol notes intermingled with tropical fruit amidst the very interesting aromatics. Slight touch of residual sugar, a tasty level of acidity complemented the excellent evolution of this 27 year old Riesling. Finish that lingered beautifully. At the 2 hour mark, sulfur notes on the nose. A

1997 Jean Louis Chave Hermitage Rouge, Hermitage
The Trimbach would be a hard act to follow … and it was. But the Chave Hermitage was no slouch, either. Brett on the nose, but the lean yet ripe red fruit and the excellent high level of acidity did not disappoint. Fine tannin, smooth in the mouth, and a long chewy finish with waves of red fruit and delicious tartness. Still a few notches below both the 1995 and 1999 versions, both of which I’ve had in the last 6 months, but this wine showed how good this producer can make out even in a so called so-so vintage. Floral and mint nose developed with further airtime. I shared with our wait staff and one said '"lychee". A-

Ramon

2000 Dom. La Vieille Julienne Chateauneuf-du-Pape
With canned cassoulet...not as good as a previous bottle, 4 months ago, with “real” freshly-cooked cassoulet at La Sirene.

Bottle variation or an atmosphere/cassoulet factor?

quite a weekend of wine!
I've really enjoyed the '83 Pichon Lalande, but wine I'm most jealous of is the 83 CFE VT.

2000 Dom. La Vieille Julienne Chateauneuf-du-Pape
With canned cassoulet...not as good as a previous bottle, 4 months ago, with “real” freshly-cooked cassoulet at La Sirene.

Bottle variation or an atmosphere/cassoulet factor?

You know, I’d really like to say canned cassoulet is a major let down for any good wine. Not this time, though.

Also, I had the earlier bottle at around 630 pm on a Tuesday, which is usually a time and day when there’s still very few diners at La Sirene … when the bistro’s ventilation-challenged and very compact atmosphere had not kicked in yet. I felt at ease with my smelling and tasting ability then, as I did when I was in shorts and t-shirts and having the 2nd bottle in the comforts of my own home.

I’d say, then, that bottle variation is primarily responsible for the difference. Btw, I bought the 2nd bottle from the same store, a couple of weeks after having had the good first bottle.

quite a weekend of wine!
I've really enjoyed the '83 Pichon Lalande, but wine I'm most jealous of is the 83 CFE VT.

Thanks Dale.
I picked up a few Freddie VT 2000’s at a recent wineconnection sale and with some 2001’s already in my offsite storage, I now plan on cellaring these for a loooong time.