Older and interesting wines with the Meat Fairy at Châteauneuf-du-Joe.
Dougherty's.
Tasted Saturday, September 8, 2007 by BradKNYC with 764 views
Introduction
Greg dal Piaz started it all. A simple e-mail he sent out about this past weekend. "Anybody interested in going out to dinner?" The usual replies of "I'm free," " I can't" plus the requisite clever banter ensued. Who knew that it would lead to an evening of fine wine at Châteauneuf-du-Joe, Joe Dougherty's posh Tribeca crib, with most of the good eats supplied by the Meat Fairy?
The Meat Fairy, you say? You don't believe in him? I too was a skeptic at first. Oh, I had heard of him and the wondrous meaty delicacies he would prepare for true foodie believers. But, it was not until he swooped in on my birthday this past June totting two slabs of perfect baby back ribs, a whole brisket and smoked sausages that I became a worshipper.
Okay. I'll spill the beans. Josh Raynolds, in addition to knowing a thing or two about wine, cooks some mean cue and on this occasion, he and his wife cooked up a veritable feast of Maryland crab soup, smoked brisket, smoked duck quesadillas, corned beef, pulled pork and just for good measure an almond cake, packed it all in a car (well, except for the quesadillas which were made on the scene) and schlepped it all in from Long Island. Needless to say, we ate well.
We also drank pretty well, too. If you don't believe me, keep reading.
2001 Trimbach Riesling Clos Ste. Hune
France, Alsace
Pow! Right in the kisser. A very tightly coiled fist of piercing lime, white, dusty gravel and a pineapply/guava tropicalness. Shows great promise with a finish a mile long while developing richness at the back of the palate, but this is painfully young now. Open only in the interests of science at this stage, but this is a great wine. A.
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1994 F.X. Pichler Riesling Smaragd Ried Kellerberg
Austria, Niederösterreich, Wachau
I'm usually not a fan of matching a wine with soup, but this really worked well with the Maryland crab soup. The wine's very earthy/lightly petrolly character and desiccated stone fruit notes complemented the bay seasoning and sweet crabbiness wonderfully. Just a touch of ripe sweetness balanced by a strong acid backbone. To my tastes it's at peak. I like where the fruit is now and prefer a little more fruit to a bit more earth. A -/B+.
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1971 Franz Hirtzberger Riesling Spätlese Hochrain
Austria, Niederösterreich, Wachau
Wins the award for hardest label to read of the night. It shows an intriguing nose of creamed corn and a lightly yeasty/grainy Belgian peach beer. Unfortunately, there's not much going on on the palate. There's a very quick hint of faint sweetness upfront followed by a long intermission in the mid-palate culminating in a split second hit of peach on what really can't count as a finish. What's here really isn't objectionable; it's just there really isn't anything here. C-.
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1962 Paul Jaboulet Aîné Cornas
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Cornas
We weren't expecting much from a 45 year old Cornas, but then we saw the color, which was still a beautiful and youthful red. The wine is delicate and light in body, but still shows lots of life and plenty of cherry to the fruit. Spicy, with brown earthiness and dried leaves. It has a nice mixture of life and death. Quite a wonderful surprise. Low B+.
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1977 Robert Mondavi Winery Petite Sirah
USA, California, Napa Valley
Another older pleasant surprise. I'm usually not a big fan of Petite Sirah, but this is lovely. Aromatically ebullient and complex with spice cake, pipe tobacco, dusty earth and prunes. Slightly drying and coarsely textured, as should be expected, with like flavors as aromas. Very tasty with more life ahead. Solid B+.
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1990 Guy Breton Morgon
France, Burgundy, Beaujolais, Morgon
Now this you don't smell everyday. The wine shows a peculiar nose of marijuana, Christmas spices and a touch of bergamot which slowly starts to acquire the aromas of a really sweaty horse and cherries. On the palate, alas, it's nowhere near as fun as the nose. There is some cherry, but the wine picks up a Pine Sol note to go along with the spice and that sweaty horse. The finish is a bit sudden and too acidic. Heading south and picking up speed. Low B-.
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1989 Jacky Janodet Morgon
France, Burgundy, Beaujolais, Morgon
Shows a complex nose with a core of deep cherry with lots of earth and a hit of body odor. It's pretty acidic on the palate, but there's enough cherry fruit to tame it. Lots of hard minerals with an erotic sweatiness to it. Far from the best wine, but it showed a lot of personality and worked well with the vinegary pulled pork. B.
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1989 Domaine de la Chevalerie Bourgueil Busardières
France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Bourgueil
Yikes! Green, green, green! Someone poured a V8 and removed the tomato leaving just the celery, green peppers and some bay leaves. Not only that, but the wine is extremely abrasive on the palate. A DNPIM (Do Not Put In Mouth) wine if there ever was one.
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2001 Luis Pato Vinho Regional Beiras Vinha Pan
Portugal, Beiras, Vinho Regional Beiras
Nice to try this producer again. I think the last time I had any wines from them was their '94's or '95's. The wine has a pleasing, somewhat grapey nose with anise, tree bark and lightly spicy wood. Greg calls it a Barolo lover's wine and indeed it is as the tannins are thuggish and the acidity is somewhat screechy, giving the wine a bit of a coarse, rustic feel to it. Yet despite the fact that one's gums get a little shredded by the formidable structure, there is pretty good fruit here and the wine seems to straddle the line between new world and old world. I'd be curious to see what happens to this wine if left in the cellar a decade. B+/B.
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1981 Château Latour Grand Vin
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
A great example of old school Bordeaux. Not a great vintage, but a terrific wine. I can't recall ever having a silkier Latour. The wine truly glides across and caresses the palate, leaving pillows of sweet black fruit, rich black earth and herbs tucked away by a comforter of cigar box. This is all about texture and subtlety. A beautiful wine. A-.
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1971 Domaine des Baumard Quarts de Chaume Grand Cru
France, Loire Valley, Anjou-Saumur, Quarts de Chaume Grand Cru
Hadn't tried this wine in about six years, but recently found some at a steal and stocked up. Glad I did as this wine is still terrific, though was a bit outclassed by the Huet that followed. Solid gold in color with typical Chenin aromas of yellow fruts, light earl grey tea and a touch of shoe polish. On the palate this bottle seems to actually show a little more youthfully, yet less sweet and thick as the last bottle I had. The acidity is a bit more apparent, the wine a touch more focused and the fruit a younger quince with light earl grey notes. What becomes apparent when tasting side by side with the Huet, and this seems to be a rule to me, is that Quarts de Chaume doesn't show its minerality as much as Vouvray does. Not a knock, just an observation. Good stuff that belies its 36 year old age and it improved even more with air. Solid A-.
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1989 Domaine Huet Vouvray Début Pressée Le Mont
France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Vouvray
I thought I had all my bases covered with the '89's from Huet. I'd heard about and had every special cuvée Pinguet made that year, the "Temoin," "Fin Pressée," "Biodynamique" and the "Cuvée Constance." All of a sudden, Victor Lederer grabs this bottle out of the refrigerator and brings it to the table to gasps and smiles. How could this be? Even Dougherty, who probably owns more Huet than anyone outside of the winery, has never heard of it. I guess if there's a Fin Pressée, there had to be a Début Pressée, no?
The wine is a light amber/coppery gold color as many of these '89 cuvées are. There's great intensity and sweetness on the nose and palate with rich apricot, pineapple, orange marmalade and honeycomb goodness. Of course the earthy mineral is there in spades and, with air, I got a distinct blood orange note. What I think separates this bottling from all the other special cuvées this vintage is there's a certain elegance here that the others lack. This wine not only appears slightly less sweet, but it seems a little more subtle on the palate, but without being noticeably more acidic. I still marginally prefer most of the others for their sheer density and balance, but this is right up there and a rare treat indeed. A+/A.
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1988 Domaine Tempier Bandol Cuvée Spéciale La Tourtine
France, Provence, Bandol
Served double blind after pretty much all was said and done, I guessed Northern Rhone as it was fairly lean, showed a little spice and a bunch of Brett. Unfortunately, this may have been a bad bottle. There really wasn't much going on at all. There's some decent fruit, but it's not particularly interesting and there's not enough of it to stand up to the mean-spirited structure. Surprising and a disappointment as I'm a big Tempier fan. B-/C+.
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