WTN: Chardonnay (OR, Chablis, Chassagne) Rioja Prum

Friday was lamb saddle, potatoes, & spinach, with the 2009 Lopez de Heredia Cubillo Rioja Crianza. High acid crunchy cranberry and raspberry, touch of dill and coconut. Good lamb wine. B+/B

Saturday met a group at Brothers in Ossining. This started as a fish and chips takeout, but expanded to include a full service restaurant. The chef/owner Elmer is inventive, and offers a tasting menu. We did that (and BYOed). I enjoyed every actual course

Oyster with salt and pepper carrot brine and fresh cilantro
Red shrimp ceviche with a fried mussel, with coconut milk sauce
Lobster and shrimp Tostones
Mescal negroni “palate cleanser” with applewood smoke (the only misfire, especially for a group with wine on the table!)
White shrimp on squid ink rice
Trout with trout roe on greenpea/jalapeno sauce with baby broccoli
Baby mackerel with chimichurri on a shitake-oyster-king trumpet mushroom reduction

2014 Fevre Bourgros Chablis GC
Pear, apple blossoms, wet rocks, a hint of citrus zestt. Maybe more Cote d’Or-ish than Chablis-ish, but fresh and long. B+/A-

2020 Niellon “Vergers” Chassagne-Montrachet 1er
Fuji apple, a touch of hazelnut, fresh crisp and long. A-/B+

2001 JJ Prum Wehlener Sonnenuhr Auslese
The perception of sweetness has eased with time, lovely creamy texture but with a backbone of 2001 acids. Almost delicate texture though there plenty of depth here. Really nice wine, young with only a hint of petrol though to me less successful with the food (I think others disagreed). A-

I guess we hadn’t had enough fish, so Sunday I shucked some oysters (served with a pickled ramp mignonette), roasted black sea bass, while Betsy made pasta with chanterelles and salad. Wine was the 2022 Goodfellow Berserker Cuvee Temperance Hill Chardonnay. From previous experience, I decanted in advance- some reductive notes. With 30-60 minutes of air a pretty delicious midweight (though still a little matchstick, doesn’t bother me) with rich pear, lemon zest, and a touch of brioche (?!). I quite enjoyed, B+

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.

[David M. Bueker]

Nice lineup.

The reductiveness of the Goodfellow Chardonnays is what kept me from buying a ton of them. I’ve had a couple of 2017s where even days open it didn’t blow off.

That Prüm will outlive us.

Thanks Dale for getting me back here.

The food was superb. Want to go there again soon.

Both Chablis and Vergers really shone, and while totally different, I did not feel there was much of a gap between them.

Last time I had the Prum 2001, the wine was far more evolved than this bottle and hence slightly less sweet. An awkward food match, but so good, I was happy to drink by itself after the last savory was served.

[David M. Bueker]

I say this from long experience - German Riesling is incredibly variable in aging. It’s bottle to bottle not after twenty years, but after as little as five.

German Riesling is incredibly variable in aging. It’s bottle to bottle not after twenty years, but after as little as five.

Interesting. More so than other wines? I haven't noticed that, but I don't drink the same quantities over the same amount of time as you!

What do you think accounts for that greater variability in German riesling? Assuming you're particularly focused on the off-dry wines, I would have thought the rs helped stabilize and reduce variability.

[David M. Bueker]

Generally crappy corks and the fluted bottles promote ooze/air issues which are exacerbated by the residual sugar.

Generally crappy corks and the fluted bottles promote ooze/air issues which are exacerbated by the residual sugar.

Aha. The leakage angle should be visible, although also hard to predict how the wine will be affected. But cork quality has improved over time, so this variability should be decreasing? (Not to mention screwcap usage)

[David M. Bueker]

Yes but that doesn’t fix the 1200 bottles of older German Riesling in my cellar or the millions of bottles floating around with other people.