Caught up with Rahsaan yesterday for a late dinner at the St. Marks Grand Sich. A fun evening with good company, food and wine, with a pair of Rieslings providing some welcome relief from the heatwave hitting the east coast.
We started with a pair of reds to go with milder appetizers. The 2007 Philippe Pacalet Chambolle Musigny was lovely, showing pretty aromatics with scents of bright floral elements, blood orange and fresh red fruited flavours, and a light, polished palate presence lifted by bright acidity. There isn't a lot of tannin here, and it's a very pleasurable wine to drink now. Though most of my attention was on the 2002 Bernard Baudry Chinon La Croix Boissée, which I thought was outstanding with layers of dark fruit, savoury earthiness, tobacco and fresh herbal elements combining into a seamless, fragrant whole. There's still some tannin on the back end and a richness to the fruit that suggests there's plenty of time ahead, but this is absolutely stunning now with amazing depth.
With the spicier main items, our focus moved towards two Rieslings. The 2001 Willi Schaefer Graacher Domprobst Riesling Spätlese #3 was wonderful as ever, showing all the clarity, elegance and vibrancy that so many of the top '01 Germans are showing now. Wonderfully pure fruit and minerality, the start of developing smokiness and incredible balance. I'm glad to have more of this as it's stunning now, and I expect it'll only keep getting better. A 2004 Vollenweider Wolfer Goldgrube Riesling Spätlese was quite a contrast though; much creamier and richer in contrast to a point that it seemed like a ripe Auslese - but still very enjoyable with luscious fruit and enough acidity to balance the sweetness. Fun night with some lovely wines, and good to catch up with Rahsaan after a while.