TN: Thursday Upper East Side BYO

WINE TALK
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THURSDAY UPPER EAST SIDE BYO - Afghan Kebab House II, NYC (7/16/2009)

It was really fun to get together last night with Bob Fyke, Fernando Losada and Mikhail and Sveta Lipyanskiy at the Afghan Kebab, one of my favorite BYOs. We had a good lineup of wines, no clunkers and all in quite different styles, which made for a lively evening. WOTN for me (and by a vote of four to two, for the group) was the delicious and elegant Travaglini.

I look forward to doing this all again soon!

  • 1989 Weingut Max Ferd. Richter Erdener Treppchen Riesling Spätlese - Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer
    Light lemon color. Grassy nose, with elements of hay, herbs, wildflowers and ripe white fruit, with a squeeze of grapefruit. Full bodied on the palate, off dry with a medium finish. This was better on the nose than the palate. (88 pts.)
  • 2000 Travaglini Gattinara Riserva - Italy, Piedmont, Northern Piedmont, Gattinara
    Medium ruby color. Focused and intense nose of red cherry, rose petals and dry herbs. Very pretty and elegant. Medium bodied on the palate with fine tannins and a touch of bitter earthiness. Still quite young but delicious. (92 pts.)
  • 2001 Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe Châteauneuf-du-Pape La Crau - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
    Deep ruby color. Nose of strawberry jam and roast coffee with a touch of mint leaf in the background. At times it almost smelled like an herbal version of strawberry pie. Somewhat reticent on the palate, full bodied with fine tannins. (90 pts.)
  • 2005 Bodegas y Viñedos del Mediterraneo Yecla Cueva de los Secos - Spain, Murcia, Yecla
    Deep ruby color. It was quite reticent on the nose; needed perhaps a half an hour or so to open up. Notes of blackberry syrup and licorice; this is in a modern style but not overblown. Medium bodied with good acidity and soft tannins. It’s a red blend of Monastrell, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot if I remember correctly. Bought at El Rincón del Vino in Bilbao; the owner is associated with the winery, and I don’t believe it’s imported into the US. (90 pts.)

Posted from CellarTracker

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Thanks for the write up. Lovely evening indeed, with good wines and great friends. The Gattinara was also my favorite, although all the wines showed well, each one with a very different style. The Gattinara and the VT need cellaring time, I thought. There was also a dessert wine from Cyprus kindly offered by the Count, if I recall correctly, but I wasn’t taking notes…

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Shoot, yes, it was a Commandaria Centurion, I believe, although at that point in the night my note taking had tapered off to uselessness …

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Gattinara rocks. A 1971 Travaglini I brought to a Piedmont dinner this year held its own with several top-notch Barolos. If you go back into older wine books it’s clear that not long ago Gattinara was considered the equal of the Langhe and only recently got cursed with its “bargain region” reputation. Travaglini (and Antoniolo) prove it should be considered top-tier stuff again.

Why don’t we hear a peep from Mikhail anymore?!

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He’s been busy, busy, busy. I’m hoping this thread draws him out of hiding!

[grin.gif]

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Thanks for the notes. I was just thinking about Gattinara. Do you age yours the same as Barolo? Vintages? Drinking windows? If anything I usually give them a bit longer to smooth out the rough edges, but the 2000 sounds lie it was fine.

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Ditto - was thinking the same thing. Hope he and Sveta are doing well.

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Loren – this one was drinking very well but still young, had plenty of time ahead of it. Fernando felt it probably needed another decade. So take that FWIW.

Cheryl – yes, they’re very well, just busy. Still hoping he’ll poke his head in here and join us sometime.

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it was (as usual) a pleasure to see some great friends and to drink some good wine… :slight_smile: and some VERY good wine

oh and HI ALL :slight_smile:

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Welcome, Mikhail!

(folks, it only took him half a dozen registrations to finally get here, so ‘A for effort’!)

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Hey, great to have you here, Count! Now get right on it and post some more!

neener

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Good line-up at a great place. I haven’t been back there in a while, which is surprising as it’s across the street from me.