We gathered at Cafe Arzu in Rego Park for Kosher Uzbeki/Middle Eastern food. Hummus and baba ganoush, tomato salad, spiced carrot salad, pickled vegetables, and Kebobs(!) (chicken, lamb rib, and chopped lamb).
A trip to Rego Park is always a home coming to me.
A few notes on an interesting set of wines.
1996 Didier Dagueneau Pur Sang Pouilly Fume. I bought this on release, and it is still sporting its price tag. It’s been a long time, old friend. Completely different in the nose and mouth. Tropical and honeyed aromatically. Linear and mineral with a mellowed but balancing acidity in the mouth, not electric like it was in its youth. It’s very decent, and seems to be drinking on a plateau as it’s stable and there is little development in the glass. But it’s not layered or textured like a top Chavignol or Bue with 20+ years in the bottle. I like it as much for nostalgia as what’s in the glass, but I wonder at the value at its current price point. It does go well with the vegetables and chicken.
2011 Alzinger Steinertal Riesling. This is always a great wine. I thought this bottle was mildly corked but others disagreed. The stoniness and grip of a top Alzinger Steinertal Riesling are there, just a tad clipped. And not the same weight or flavor impact as the 2012 a few weeks ago; that may be just the different vintage character. I’d love to see another bottle in a few years.
2007 Dauvissat Chablis La Forest. I am always glad to see a top 2007 Chablis, maybe my favorite Chablis vintage, and this did not disappoint. The extract, delineated penetration, and inner mouth aromatics distinguished this wine from the other whites tonight. I kept a glass around until the end, and as expected it kept getting better.
1993 Hanzell Vineyards Chardonnay Sonoma Coast. Served blind, it smells like a maturing Chenin sec, almost like a Savennieres. But then it’s hard to judge once tasted. None of us guessed Chardonnay or California. Still some energy and drinking well although it comes off a little short next to tough company, the Dauvissat. A real treat still.
2014 Domaine Rollin Pernand Vergelesses Rouge. I brought this because Pavel had sent me a favorable email on this just a few days before. Bright, earthy, strawberry, pure, and hard not to like. Then gets more serious and starts to fold in on itself with more air. It’s a village wine with a future. A good match with the Chicken kebobs.
2005 Bernard Baudry Chinon Les Grézeaux. This is an excellent Grézeaux. My sense is this is just starting to roll as it is earthy and still has tannin to resolve but has strong underlying fruit, like its slightly more transparent (at this stage) 2004 version. The Grézeaux-lamb combo really shone. The lamb brought out the inherent sweetness still wrapped in the structure of the wine. I think I would remain patient, and that has been my sense over the last couple years with most 2005 Chinon I’ve tried.
1998 Chateau Rayas Chateauneuf du Pape. This comes off to me as more 1998 Grenache-y Chateauneuf and less Rayas than any Rayas I can recall. It’s fully resolved and earthy, a touch roasted. It has Rayas gravitas. Others like it a lot, and I can see why. But it’s just not my cup of tea. (I don’t think Jay Miller would have liked this.) I love Rayas when it’s more acid-driven and red fruit leaning, and that was not this bottle. I hope others come in to defend this bottle for the Chateauneuf lovers out there.
2009 La Pialade Cote du Rhône. From the Rayas stable. Beyond younger, this comes off more fruit forward and brighter than its big older cousin, some spicy flavorful red fruit. I thought the alcohol poked out a bit on this one: it’s listed at 13.5% but I’m fairly certain the ABV is higher. With a little lower alcohol, I think I really would have enjoyed this one as it has the profile that distinguishes the Reynaud wines for my palate from other Grenache-based Chateauneuf.
Almost forgot. There was a lovely 2005 Rieussec from a half bottle. On the lush pineappley bigger side of Rieussec. Still drinking young but integrated.
