Gevrey and Mosel Dinner

Last Thursday, a group of 8 met at Ibiza in New Haven for dinner, with the wines of Gevrey and the Mosel as the theme.

As always, the food and service at Ibiza were top-notch. In my humble opinion, this is the best restaurant in Connecticut.

Just a few quick notes on the wines in the order they were served.

N.V. Bereche et Fils Champagne Extra Brut (France, Champagne, Montagne de Reims, Champagne) Very dry, leesy, lots of citrus, mineral. I like this style.
2005 St. Urbans-Hof Leiwener Laurentiuslay Riesling Spätlese Feinherb Erste Lage (Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer) Quite ripe but balanced, long, good minerality.
2007 Stein St. Aldegunder Palmberg-Terrasen Riesling Spätlese feinherb (Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer) New producer and vineyard to me. Deep, complex, excellent acidity and minerality. Worth searching out.
2003 Sybille Kuntz Dreistern Riesling (Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer) Strange, in that it seemed tight but also unlikely to improve. Lots of diesel on the nose, but not much else. This was better on release.
1994 Von Schubert Maximin Grünhauser Herrenberg Riesling Spätlese (Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer) This wasn't overtly corked (to me), but seemed strangely muted. Judgement withheld.
1994 Domaine Joseph Roty Griottes-Chambertin (France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Griottes-Chambertin Grand Cru) Brutally dry tannins. Nothing on the palate, and no finish. The person who brought this got it on sale recently for $20, and seemed to think it was a good buy at that price. I disagree.
1997 Domaine Ponsot Chapelle-Chambertin (France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chapelle-Chambertin Grand Cru) Fully resolved. Light-bodied. Not complex, but enjoyable. Drink soon.
1998 Château de La Tour Clos Vougeot (France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Clos Vougeot Grand Cru) (I'm not sure if this was the Vielles Vignes bottling or not.) Young, but starting to come out of it's shell. Balanced, complex, mostly black fruit. Really picks up on the long, detailed finish. For me, one of the top wines of the evening. I like this style.
2002 Reinhard & Beate Knebel Winninger Röttgen Riesling Spätlese (Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer) (I don't think this was the Alte Reben, but I could be mistaken.) Quick return to some spatlesen due to the menu (my favorite dish of the night: foie gras croquets topped with quail eggs). This wine was surprisingly evolved. Needs a bit more cut.
2007 Vollenweider Wolfer Goldgrube Riesling Spätlese Goldkapsel (Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer) Big for a spatlese, but pure, crystalline, complex. I'm sure this will age well, but it's delicious right now. Paired beautifully with the croquets.
1998 Domaine Dujac Charmes-Chambertin (France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Charmes-Chambertin Grand Cru) Medium-weight for a Charmes. Limited complexity and depth, but pure and drinking beautifully now.
2001 Domaine Dujac Charmes-Chambertin (France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Charmes-Chambertin Grand Cru) In contrast to the '98, this is not drinking beautifully now. In fact, it's quite young and angry. Much stronger raw material, with good balance, but needs more time in the cellar.
1993 Frederic Esmonin Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Clos St. Jacques (France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru) Drinking beautifully now. Long, complex, a bit of funk. One of my top wines.
1999 Hubert Lignier Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Aux Combottes (France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru) Paired with the Esmonin. I think this is the better wine, but it needs more time. It would have been nice to savor this wine over the course of the evening.
2004 Claude Dugat Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru (France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru) High-toned, tannic, high-acid. Tough to taste right now, but my experience with this wine gives me hope for it's future. Let it rest.
2004 Bernard Dugat-Py Gevrey-Chambertin Coeur de Roy (France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Gevrey-Chambertin) Very good for a village wine (pricing aside). Some barnyard, bright red fruit. A bit lean on the finish.
2004 Domaine Armand Rousseau Père et Fils Charmes-Chambertin (France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Charmes-Chambertin Grand Cru) Medium-bodied, but balanced and pure. Drinking surprisingly well now.
2002 Joh. Jos. Christoffel Erben Ürziger Würzgarten Riesling Eiswein (Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer) Very pure. Almost weightless on the palate. Beautiful, complex finish. Should last a long time, but I don't see it ever being better than it is right now.

[David M. Bueker]

Spencer,

Thanks for posting the notes (and thanks to Sarah for driving).

I was underwhelmed by the Champagne. I just didn't think there was any "there" there.

The two feinherb Rieslings were delicious if in totally different styles. I preferred the richness of the St. Urbans-Hof, but the Stein went better with the eclectic tapas plate.

I liked the Dreistern more than you did (do I sense a trade coming up?). I found an engaging minerality that worked well with the oysters.

I'm pretty much with you on the '94/'97/'98 flight, with the Clos Vougeot being the clear winner and one of the evening's best, but I really did not like the '97 and found a few nice things to say about the '94, though only in context. The test of a really good wine is that you do not have to say "for a xxx" as a qualifier on commentary. I had to say "for a 1994" and "for a 1997."

The Knebel was better with the duck meat portion of the foie gras course than it was on its own. The Vollenweider was in the top 3 of wines of the night for me, and as you say a stunning match with the croquettes (which were more like foie gras hush puppies than croquettes). It was the dish of the night.

You nailed the '98/'01 Charmes flight. Nothing more to add. I found the match with the lamb ravioli to be pretty good at calming down the '01.

The Esmonin was my wine of the night (followed by the Vougeot and Vollenweider), and perhaps the only Burg that was really drinking well without exercising extreme patience. The Lignier needed more time in the glass, and I saved it through the cheese course where it did open up. I have two more & they will age for quite a while longer. I loved the beef tenderloin course, but did not have enough room left in my stomach to truly savor it.

The '04s were quite good, save for the Dugat-Py which I found flawed by excessive brett. I found some herbal elements in all 3, but I was looking for them. The overall balance of the Dugat and Rousseau was very good, and I am more and more hopeful about 2004.

The Christoffel was delicious, and completely blew away the dessert (the only dish where I felt Ibiza totally missed it).

Spencer has totally undersold the food by the way. We had 8 courses (including cheese and dessert), and while some of the food was a little cutting edge at times, it was all executed beautifully. Even the dessert (fried milk curd with a minted sauce and papaya ice cream) was interesting, though too bizarre. The foie gras croquettes were one of the best things I have eaten in a long time.

Sympathies over the corked Grunhaus and the Roty, but it looks as if the rest of the lineup was pretty stunning.

That Eiswein sounds really amazing - and glad to hear the Stein showed so well. Might have to pick some up at Crush if they have any left (was quite intrigued by their offer and the vineyard writeup here - http://www.crushwineco.com/archives/200 ... photo.html - but didn't end up biting for any bottles then).

[David M. Bueker]

This event was really hard. Burgundy is such a slow wine to come around that we rarely had the chance to let the wines open up properly. there were only a few glasses that I had in front of me for more than 15 minutes or so.

If I am going to enjoy Burgundy I really prefer to have 2 or 3 wines open & shared throughout the meal. That way there is time to allow the wines to open up and show what they are truly made of. Burgundy is a wine that cannot be hurried.

Was there consensus on the corked Grunhaus? I can see how even a sound bottle would show 'muted' next to all the other more exotic German rieslings that were being poured.

Regardless, lots of tasty wines in that list. Must have been a sensory feast!

[David M. Bueker]

It took a while, but a number of folks called it. A few thought it just the usual Grunhaus stink, but it had a nasty element on the finish & a retro-nasal aromatic of moldy basement.

Otherwise it was a very nice evening.