Was there a little over a month ago. We had a Champagne BTG to start a Chablis and a red I don’t remember which but the menu is more white focused. I would grab a white if I was going to buy a bottle it will work better with the menu. You are in excellent hands. Tell them what you like, let them take care of you, don’t over think it.
George
What Jim has said is my experience exactly. We had the wine pairing a couple times and to say it was uninspired was an understatement. The food and wine were on two different levels. I like either the BYO option or picking out a versatile bottle off the list that will match up with the menu.
Tom
I haven’t been in nearly a decade after a really uninspired expensive meal during the Grid menu period. But back then the best values were usually in Germany and that doesn’t seem to have changed. I’d probably go for the
Egon Müller, Scharzhofberger, Kabinett 2016 $210 or the
Keller, Morstein, Grosses Gewächs 2016 265
Pretty safe that 2016s haven’t shut down yet.
And then I reread the first post before clicking submit and see those are over your budget. Sorry.
How about the
Nigl, Senftenberger Piri, Privat 1999 175
That should be fantastic.
Oh if bringing ur own wine is an option, then of course that’s the best course of action. Their corkage is surprisingly reasonable for a 3* place.
Hadn’t seen the Paul Bara, good catch, Neal. Unfortunate it’s so high over retail. It would pain me to pay $155 for it. We’re eating at the bar, so it’s 5 courses. $95/pp for regular pairings. $175/pp for reserve.
I also didn’t catch that Riesling. Enticing.
I definitely plan to talk it over with the Somm. I’d want a clear list of what each wine served with the pairing is, but it sounds like I should expect that it’ll likely be sub-par. Without knowing the food being served it’s difficult to know what to do, so hopefully the somm could be helpful.
Thanks for the recommendations on the 2013 Gonon and 2013 Jamet being more open.
I thought about half bottles, but the mark-ups seem even worse over there. I’m flying from Toronto, so bringing wine with me is counterproductive, and I feel weird about buying a bottle at a shop and paying the $75 corkage, especially at the thought of a bottle being flawed.
I did find the mark-ups on American wine especially bad.
At this point I’d lean toward a bottle of 2013 Gonon St Joe, and then one glass of a white for anything from the sea. Based on the posted list a glass of Chidaine Vouvray or Walter Scott Chard could work.
PS - thanks, Bruce!
I’ve noted the inclusion of the Juge in the restaurant’s online wine list over the last several months now and, given the relative scarcity and the going winesearcher-pro price at >$400, I’m a little surprised that it’s still on the list at $180.
The Ferreiro Albarino is beautiful wine, and rare to find on a BTG list.
That price for Keller Morstein is way below market.
Some great advice all around. I’d second that the somm team is awesome and will pair the wines excellently as well as take into account your interests. That’s what I did when I was there and I don’t regret it.
That said, here are a few things that caught my eye as I skimmed through the list:
Wines by the glass:
Try a glass of the Enric Soler Improvisacio. It’s a low-sulfur wine so I’ve had off-bottles, but when it’s on it’s amazing - like a Puligny-Montrachet with slight pyrazines (herbal notes). It’s straight Xarel-lo so quite unusual.
The 2004 Les Pagodes de Cos also looks fantastic - solid Bdx with a good amount of age.
Glass of '96 d’Yquem for dessert?!!! Not cheap, but awesome. It’s the best vintage I’ve tasted.
Half Bottles:
The 2000 and 2001 Musar Rouge are both in a great place right now - especially out of half-bottle. I’d call ahead and have them decant. The full bottles are all too young to be worth it, except the '98 which is a bit over budget.
White Bottles:
There are two excellent New World Chards that are like high-acid Ceritas-on-a-budget:
2014 NZ Syrah - Trinity Hill - Gimlett Gravels $85. Not rare, but delicious for the money.
Olga Raffault, Les Picasses, Chinon 1981 $190 - I’ve tried the '89 and the '90 and they were stunning. These wines go the distance.
Yes, that was my reasoning as well.
Juge has been an “easter egg” on quite a few top lists in the city. I managed to pluck it off the list at a few places, since I can no longer afford the retail/auction pricing!
I believer that Pignan would be considered the 2nd wine and then Fonsalette and then La Pialade.
Thanks Michael. Edited.
Thanks for the additional thoughts, and specifically Rajv, thanks for your in-depth review of BTG options.
I absolutely love the wines of Rayas, so I am extremely tempted by the Pialade. I don’t know how I missed that! I actually had the 2012 in London last year (loved it) and have 4 bottles in the cellar. It’s only 1.84x what I paid at retail, so the mark-up is totally fine. The only thing is whether I want to have a wine I already have lots of in the cellar or try something new to me that’s impossible to find at retail (Juge, Gonon).
Looking more and more like my best bet is to buy a bottle of red and then grab a glass or two of white, BTG.
Was there in March. We skipped the $175 wine pairing and opted for the “Reserve” wine pairing…I think $300? Was fantastic! And Somm kept coming back asking us if we wanted a bit more.
I don’t seek it out, but ordered a 2014 @ $130 at another local NYC restaurant 8 - 9 months back.
Special occasion; try things you don’t have .
Took Bruce’s advice. At EMP we ordered the 2015 Marcel Juge Cornas ($180). It was really great (my note is on CT). Young, but it did have the aromatic fireworks, even on first pour. It paired great with the mains (Duck Breast, Rib Eye), the cheese course, and was nice to sip over the course of the night. I ordered a glass of Walter Scott Chard for Caviar, Lobster, and Foie Gras. I wanted to try a Gonon, but spotted it significantly cheaper on the Racines wine list (and there the same Juge was more expensive, go figure). So the following night we went to Racines and I had the '13 Gonon Les Iles Feray for $58.
I really appreciate all the comments on this thread. No doubt Champagne would be a strong option. Next time when the budget is larger I’ll get Krug Rosé.
I bought some tickets over the weekend for a special celebratory dinner in October. Helpful advice here.
Interesting. I think 2011 and 2012, in that order, are much more approachable, while I’m letting my '13s go long.
The 2015 Juge is the easy buy here. At $180.
Pricing on the list is just stoopid. At a restaurant like this, I usually go for a simple wine and just allow the food to take precedence. A nice Riesling, Sancerre or Beaujolais would be perfect.