TNs:NY BERSERKERS DINNER @ CAFÉ CORTADITO

WINE TALK
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NY BERSERKERS DINNER @ CAFÉ CORTADITO - 210 E. 3rd St., NYC (3/16/2009)

So, “New World Swill” turned out to be the theme of this inaugural NY Metro Berserkers dinner. Our nicely composed group of 7 gathered at what has turned into one of the best wine dinner restaurants in our fair city, Café Cortadito. As usual, the food was fantastic; as was the company. The wines? By consensus, apparently less so. Nonetheless, it was a fun night and it was great meeting Rich K., Kristina S. & Rick S. and seeing Izzy, Michel & Cheryl again.

  • 2006 Locatelli Dry Gewürztraminer - USA, California, Central Coast, Monterey
    Spicy cardamom, white pepper, mango and melon notes. In mouth, good acidity with roasted tropical fruit and spice flavors. A little bit of heat at the end detracts. Just the slightest hint of sweetness. (86 pts.)
  • 1997 Pahlmeyer Proprietary Red - USA, California, Napa Valley
    Beautiful cedar, tobacco and currants on nose. Minty and warm red fruit with firm tannins on the palate. This is a beauty of a wine and my WOTN. (92 pts.)
  • 2007 Bedrock Wine Co. The Bedrock Heirloom - USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Valley
    Sweet & spice. Plum and raspberry notes. In the mouth it’s soft and sweet with similar plum and red fruit flavors. Nice. (87 pts.)
  • 1998 DeLille Cellars Chaleur Estate - USA, Washington, Columbia Valley, Red Mountain
    Weird. A chemically sweet smell leads to a soy/fishy yet sweet note in the mouth. (78 pts.)
  • 2001 The Standish Wine Company Shiraz The Standish - Australia, South Australia, Barossa, Barossa Valley
    For me this wine was very one dimensional showing a sweet molasses and berry compote characteristic. Big in the mouth with the similar sweet berries melange. In spite of the lack of complexity, I liked it. (87 pts.)
  • 2002 La Sirena Syrah - USA, California, Napa Valley
    Very nice. Restrained sweet red fruit and brambly spice on the nose. In mouth attractive flavors of red and black fruit. Good acidity and well integrated oak on the long finish. My runner-up WOTN. (90 pts.)
  • 2004 Carlisle Zinfandel Rossi Ranch - USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Valley
    Quite enjoyable if a bit reserved. Silky red berry with a peppery bite. Goes down smooth with no discernible heat. Long finish. (90 pts.)
  • 1998 Le Vieux Donjon Châteauneuf-du-Pape - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
    Complex and beautifully nuanced notes of earthy mushroom, Chinese 5 spice and plums. Firm tannins in the palate. A great match with food. A beauty. (90 pts.)
  • 2004 Alder Grenache Alisos - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Barbara County
    Not showing as well as in the past. Muted notes of black pepper and red fruit. Nothing exciting going on at the moment. (84 pts.)
  • 2004 Stolpman Syrah Hilltops - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Ynez Valley
    Honestly didn’t get much from this wine towards the end. Not bad but not memorable. (85 pts.)
  • 2005 Jackson-Triggs Vidal Icewine Proprietors’ Reserve - Canada, Ontario, Niagara Peninsula, Niagara Peninsula VQA
    A tropical fruit bomb. Roasted pineapple, mango & coconut flavors. Very sweet but with enough acidity to balance it out. (88 pts.)

Posted from CellarTracker

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Looks kind of a let down dinner save the Pahlmeyer Red.

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Sounds like a nice evening, despite a few disappointments. I love '98 Donjon but I haven’t had it in a couple of years-- sounds like it’s time to hunt down another.

Is it my imagination, or do you guys go to Cafe Cortadito a lot for your offlines? The name gave me total déjà vu.

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You’re a tough grader, Jorge. Only 92 points for the 97 Pahlmeyer?

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Not entirely Guillermo. The La Sirena, Vieux Donjon and Carlisle Rossi were very nice indeed. I’m just a conservative grader.

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I love Cafe Cortadito…I got to meet Jorge and many other people there last time I was in NYC.

Man, you really didn’t like that DeLille huh?

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I’d be a sadistic professor. [blush2.gif]

Mel - I had not been to Cortadito since the night PMC & Zach were in town. It’s a fantastic place and if you EVER do decide to grace NYC with your presence, rest assured that I’ll try to drag you and Steve there.

Zach - The DeLlile was just plain weird. At least for me.

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Plus…it’s fun to hear Jorge in his native tongue! He’s much less awkward when he’s speakin the Spanish! (just kidding jorge, you’re grasping English nicely)

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Ummmm, thanks? [dontknow.gif]

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Pics:

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And just for Todd:

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Glad to see Jorge stole my pics from Facebook. I guess that’s one of the reasons they call him Speedy Gonzalez…

Anyway, what a fun night, in spite of the wines. This was one of those nights where the company made up for the wines, and in spades. It was great to meet Rich and Rick, and wonderful to see Jorge, Cheryl, Izzy and Kristina again.

Now, about those wines… [diablo.gif] Jorge’s a generous grader in some respects and a hard one in other ways, IMHO. In general my biggest complaint with the New World stuff was that many were one-hit wonders, with a huge attack and nose that promised lots, but then disappeared really rapidly, with no finish whatsoever. In addition, many of the wines lacked complexity or had been acidulated. And don’t get me started on the alcohol levels… [heat.gif]

  • 2006 Locatelli Dry Gewürztraminer -
    Smells like Gewurtz, but doesn’t offer as much as the smell says it should. Yeah, there’s mango, lychees and some RS, but the acidity is a bit lower than it should be in my book. Not bad but promised more.

  • 1997 Pahlmeyer Proprietary Red -
    Surprisingly nice considering the last one I had was drying out. Very Bordeaux-ish though there was a slight green streak at first, which, when I went back to the wine later in the evening, had become a real weed-fest. Then again, I am very green sensitive (not a big fan of the 2004 red Burgs for the most part). However, the fruit was nicely integrated with the oak and there was a nice seam of acidity balancing everything. My runner-up for WOTN.

  • 2007 Bedrock Wine Co. The Bedrock Heirloom
    Very candied but also brambly, which made it interesting, until that candy thing really overwhelmed the brambles. Even though this had 15.7% Alc/vol, the heat was in check. Not bad, as I said it was interesting, though it eventually fell apart by the end of the evening.

  • 1998 DeLille Cellars Chaleur Estate -
    Yuck. Do I really need to taste this? I can think of better things to do with my tongue.

  • 2001 The Standish Wine Company Shiraz The Standish -
    VERY big, with a huge but interesting nose, though the palate didn’t follow through. Not nearly enough acidity or complexity for me.

  • 2002 La Sirena Syrah -
    Actually, this wasn’t bad, it had a smoky, bacony aspect to it that I liked. THen again, who doesn’t like bacon? Again, the nose promised more than the palate delivered but this wasn’t bad.

  • 2004 Carlisle Zinfandel Rossi Ranch -
    To be honest, I don’t recall my impressions of this wine, aside from not being thoroughly impressed by it. The mounting alcohol levels might have had something to do with it.

  • 1998 Le Vieux Donjon Châteauneuf-du-Pape -
    90 points??? You’ve got to be kidding me! This was gorgeous, elegant but complex and offering tons of olives, guarrigue, deep, dark fruits, and some meaty notes. The nose and the palate were in-line with one another, a noted difference from the other wines. Beautiful, my WOTN. But then again, I have an elitist Eurocentric tongue. Somehow, no women have complained about it yet.

  • 2004 Alder Grenache Alisos -
    Bleh, fake pepper and dark, syrupy fruit.

  • 2004 Stolpman Syrah Hilltops -
    Another wine that was lost in the fumes of alcohol coming off the other bottles. I remember thinking it had some typical CA Syrah aspects, but that’s all.

  • 2005 Jackson-Triggs Vidal Icewine Proprietors’ Reserve - Canada, Ontario, Niagara Peninsula, Niagara Peninsula VQA
    Very nice and a welcome respite from the assault on the palate, with lychees, mangos, pineapple and some acidity to help balance things out.

I know it sounds like I didn’t enjoy the evening, but I actually had a lovely time. I am a firm believer in keeping an open mind and an open palate, so this was a great learning experience as I haven’t had many New World wines in a while. And I probably won’t have more for a while, either, at least until Flannery Fest.
Cheers! [gen_fro.gif]

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Complained about it? Scroll up! A woman said she loved this wine, here in this very thread. Be nice to the ladies.

Oh, and Jorge, That’s a kickin’ pocket square! Love the close-up.

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Yeah, that 98 was gorgeous. [give_heart.gif]

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Grassy-ass [blush2.gif]

Well, that’s what sucks about points. I thought the wine was great, I simply liked the Pahlmeyer and Sirena a tad more. What would you prefer? Ninety seven points? I don’t just throw points out there like that. Point whore. [beee.gif]

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Ah yes, the Santa Claus of Australian & Spanish winemakers. [ok.gif]

But Bill, I at least WROTE a TN. [laughingneqw.gif]

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I liked the La Sirena a bit more than I expected to and liked the Pahlmeyer and the Carlisle as should be expected. Loved the Donjon. The Stolpman was a let down.

A lot of the new worlds just got unbearably hot after being open for a while.

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Oh, and about the stolpman, I’m wondering if it could have been off (it was an auction purchase).

Recent CT notes include: “Very aromatic! Deep wine with really good structure.” “full, rich flavors of black cherry” “Dense, young wine.” “Concentrated flavors” “gobs of flavor” “many ever-changing layers”. I got none of that.

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Nicely done, everyone. I’m bummed that I missed it. Will try to make the next one.

However, being in California for the weekend had its rewards - barrel tasting in Sonoma. Will post my notes in a few.