Wednesday, September 19, 2007

Home cooked food and Geek wines in NYC

I had some good food and fun wines with some folks last night at Chez Desor in the east village. Before dinner there was some epoisse and a tasty French blue cow's milk cheese (I forget which one). Didn't have any wine with the blue cheese (always a tricky thing unless you're drinking Auslese. Here were some of the wines (listed from favorite to least favorite):

2002 Mason Pierre Overnoy Poulsard - This wine was bottled by someone else, Emmanuel Houillon, which was noted prominently on the wine label - never seen that before. It was really cool wine though. Very light ruby color, with lots of animal and spicy notes on the nose and palate. It was delicious with Epoisse and then with a pork tenderloin. It opened up and revealed some more berry fruit over the course of a couple hours, though still retained a Mourvedre/Grenache type savor on the finish, which I found interesting. Very fun wine. Thank you, Chambers Street Wines, for the enthusiastic rec here.

1989 Lopez de Heredia Vina Tondonia Reserva Blanco - I was very, very excited to taste this. It was a pretty, limpid yellow-golden color. Very tight at first, though it was open enough on the nose, with some soft citrus and nutty scents. Aromas became more intense and quince-like with some air. On the palate, the wine was very subtle, and soft, with some whispering citrus and classic american oak spice. With the epoisse the finish became very nutty, a keen observation from my buddy Chris. Delicious wine, but I'd really like to drink it in another five years.

1999 Guelbenzu Lautus - Guelbenzu is a winery in Navarra who makes some ok wine. They have never been my favorites. This wine is a Spanish style Bdx blend (Tempranillo, Cab, Merlot and a bit of Garnacha). It had some pleasant leafy and green notes from the Cab and Merlot components. Nothing spectacular here, but if you're into Bordeaux and if you see this wine for $40 or less (more than that would be pricey, methinks) then it might be worth a try.

2006 Fuente del Conde Rosado - Tempranillo Rose from Cigales. They did a good job of it this year. Bigger, richer, fruitier style of rose for you tavel fans. But it was still crisp and fresh enough to be a rose that I enjoyed drinking, even if the style lends it a bit of an anonymous character.

1998 Flora Springs Trilogy - Not to hate on CA meritage, but this Napa juice, even with bottle age, was just ok. It's not my thing, but it was well enough made to be tasty to fans of Napa Cab, I think.

2004 Dominio de Tares Bembibre - A real oak bomb. New French oak. It was very tough to taste the Mencia goodness through all this oak. The wine did not improve over the course of an hour and a half or so. I'd be curious to re-visit this wine in three years.

Afterwards I had a bit of single malt. Not a good way to fnish the evening, at least in terms of how I felt for part of the day today. Whether or not you are a single malt person, I would advise against drinking it after an evening of wine drinking.