Dinner with Ed Zimmerman, Chris Thile, and Other Cool Folks
at White Street Restaurant,
NYC (7/8/2015)
Ed Zimmerman
generously put together this dinner of wine lovers, tech people, and musicians.
The guest of honor was
Chris Thile,
a brilliant musician, a lover of Nebbiolo and soon to be the new host of
A Prairie Home Companion.
The wine and food people included Mannie Berk (owner of
Rare Wine Co),
Thomas Burke (US rep for Ch. Margaux based in Las Vegas),
Alex Michas of Vintus,
Jordan Salcito, Beverage Director of
Momofuku restaurants in NYC
and owner & winemaker of
Bellus Wines
and her husband, Robert Bohr, Wine Director & Owner of
Charlie Bird Restaurant
in SoHo.
The tech people included Ed (Chair of the
Tech Group at Lowenstein Sandler LLP)
with his wife Betsy,
Jake Schwartz (CEO and Co-Founder of
General Assembly),
Dwight Merriman
(Co-Founder of MongoDB
and many other companies including DoubleClick),
and I suppose your humble scribe, though perhaps I was included under wine.
The food at White Street was excellent. The Kobe beef in particular was heaven.
Sadly, White Street Restaurant (221 West Broadway, NYC) closed in 2016.
Ed supplied all the wines except the few below where I mention who brought it.
Click on any photo with a border for a larger view.
Picking up my wine from Jamie Wolff, co-owner at
Chambers Street Wines and
arriving at White Street.
Our host Ed (center) chats with Chris (left). Dwight and Rob on the right.
Chris and Mannie with Robert in the background.
Rob, Dwight, and Chris.
There are more people pix after the tasting notes.
Flight 1: Whites while standing.
-
1984 Eyrie Vineyards Chardonnay - USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley
Flat. Nothing there.
-
?? Schloss Reinhartshausen Erbacher Riesling - Germany, Rheingau
This isn't a non-vintage wine. Rather, the label was gone.
From the cork, we identified the winery as Schloss Reinhartshausen.
I would guess the wine was from the 70s, perhaps 75 or 76, from the taste.
Certainly Riesling.
Probably from Erbach just because more of their best wines come from there.
Anyway, it was still lovely, whatever it was. Fully mature. (92 points)
-
2007 Weingut Keller Westhofen Brunnenhäuschen Abtserde ("Abtse®.de") Riesling Spätlese
Goldkapsel Auction - Germany, Rheinhessen
Stunning stuff. Just a terrific young Riesling. Should improve for 10-20 years.
(95-?? points)
Note the bottle without a label. We did some research to try to identify it.
The cork provides a clue to the mystery wine.
Dwight and Mannie search for the wine. Dwight finds it on Delectable.
Flight 2: Bollinger Champagne.
Flight 3: Whites from Jura and Burgundy.
Salmon Tartare with Avocado, Cucumber, and Shaved Baby Vegetables.
-
2007 Jean-François Ganevat Côtes du Jura Cuvée Marguerite -
France, Jura, Côtes du Jura
Magnum. From Chardonnay planted in 1902. Only sold in magnums. Complex fruit salad nose.
Soft and complex in the mouth.
A delicious wine that I would not have guessed is made from Chardonnay due to its flavors
and softness. A very appealing wine. (95 points)
-
2000 Domaine Leflaive Chevalier-Montrachet -
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Chevalier-Montrachet Grand Cru
Stunning nose of minerals and lemon custard. Complex and super long in the mouth.
I would say this is at its peak now.
I liked this even better than the Montrachet that followed it. (97 points)
-
2009 Domaine Fontaine-Gagnard Montrachet -
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Montrachet Grand Cru
Muted marzipan nose. Rich, buttery, young and fairly simple at this point.
Likely to show much better in 5-10 years. (95–98 points)
Flight 4: Barolo
Bucatini with Short Rib Ragu, Rosemary, and Red Wine.
-
1989 Vietti Barolo Rocche - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
From magnum. Brought by Mannie Berk. Decanted around 7:30pm.
Gorgeous nose of red fruit and minerals. Complex, tannic, long. Classic 1989 Barolo.
Still young and rich from magnum. Many years ahead. (96 points)
-
1989 Giuseppe E Figlio Mascarello Barolo Monprivato -
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
From 2 750s. Amazing. Even better than the 89 Vietti Rocche.
Bright nose of black berries and earth. Just wow.
A great wine that could get even a bit better.
This bottle has exuberant fruit.
Mannie says the other bottle is equally good, but a bit more restrained.
(97 points)
-
1970 Vietti Barolo Rocche - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
Oxidized, cinnamon nose. Sour and completely oxidized. (NR)
I think it was at this point in the dinner, that Chris compared Nebbiolo to Bach. He said,
Nebbiolo is contrapuntal like Bach, with multiple complex themes or melodies playing
at different levels at the same time, different but fitting together.
I rather liked that.
It put to words something I knew but could not describe.
Flight 5: Barbaresco and Barolo
Grilled Kobe Steak with Wild Mushroom Ragout, and Red Wine Jus.
-
1989 Produttori del Barbaresco Barbaresco Riserva Rabajà -
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barbaresco
From magnum. Brought by me from Chambers Street. Double decanted at 1pm. Served around 10pm.
Something is off in the nose initially, but blows off after 15 minutes in the glass.
Still youthful nose of bright cherries. More mature in the mouth. Appealing sour cherry.
This would have gone quite well in front of the two 1989 Barolos to show the very typical
difference between Barolo and Barbaresco.
This is gorgeous in its own right, but doesn't have quite the power of those 2 Barolos.
(94 points)
-
1964 Giuseppe E Figlio Mascarello Barolo Riserva - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
From 2 750s. OMFG! Just stunning wine. Amazingly youthful.
Following the 1989 Monprivato, I would guess this is mostly from that great vineyard.
Brilliant wine. Made by Mauro's father. (97 points)
-
1961 Vietti Barolo - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
From 750. I am just overwhelmed by the generosity of our host.
Another impeccable old wine. Smoky sweet mature, but fully alive.
At that peak where it has no more up side, but has not started on the downside.
What a wine! Made by Luca's dad, Alfredo Currado.
What a testament to that great pioneer. (96 points)
Flight 6: Georges Mugneret Red Burgundy
Cheese Plate: Bellweather Farm San Andreas (sheep, CA),
Five Spoke Creamery Tumbleweed (cow, NY),
Cavemater Reserve Cornelia (cow, NY).
-
2000 Domaine Georges Mugneret/Mugneret-Gibourg Ruchottes-Chambertin -
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Ruchottes-Chambertin Grand Cru
From magnum. Complex and appealing nose of smokey red fruit.
Terrific sweet fruit on the palate.
Still young from magnum. My WOTF. (95 points)
-
1993 Domaine Georges Mugneret/Mugneret-Gibourg Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru
Les Feusselottes - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru
From magnum. Austere, spicy, tart, complex, but not as appealing at the 2000 Ruchottes above.
(93 points)
-
2000 Domaine Georges Mugneret/Mugneret-Gibourg Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru
Les Feusselottes - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru
From magnum. Tart cherry nose. Cherries in the mouth, but dirty in an unappealing way.
(NR)
Flight 7: 2004 Luciano Sandrone Barolo Le Vigne
-
2004 Luciano Sandrone Barolo Le Vigne Sibi et Paucis -
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
From a magnum brought by Alex Michas. His company, Vintus, imports this now.
Decanted in the afternoon. "Sibi et Paucis" in Latin literally means "For Himself and a Few".
It is the name for a fairly new library release program by Sandrone.
This wine is still seriously young. Lovely perfumed nose of flowers and red fruit.
In the mouth, there is thick dark black fruit nearly covering huge tannins.
Great structure, but a bit short at this point. Needs a lot of time.
(93-?? points)
My tasting notes posted from CellarTracker.
Dessert
Sticky Toffee Pudding with Creme Fraiche Sorbet, Pecan Macaroon, and Coconut Tuille.
Conclusion
What can I say but many thanks to Ed and all the participants for a wonderful evening!
There were so many people I would have liked to have more time to chat with,
but there just isn't enough time in one evening.
I could repeat this evening many times sitting next to different people each time.
(And repeating the food and wine wouldn't be suffering either!) What a special event!
More People Photos
Click on any photo with a border for a larger view.
Ed introducing the dinner. Rob on the right.
Mannie and Chris.
Robert, Jordan, Dwight.
Four pix of Chris & The Fine Wine Geek taken by Ed.
All original content © Ken Vastola
