Another Tuesday in the City

If I actually lived in NYC, I think I might be in very great trouble. On Tuesday, City Winery played host to the "New York Pinot Noir Celebration" as part of the Skurnik/Theise "Direct Import" tasting. For me, it was a chance to sample the dark (red) side of the Skurnik portfolio, as well as a chance to revisit my favorite Austrian and Champagne producers.

First things first, I stopped to say hello to my host, and to get a glass of the 2005 Marc Hebrart Special Club. My man calls this my future house wine, and I sure hope he’s right… but more on that another time.


The Austrians - although the Pinot Noir wines were my primary objective for this tasting, I couldn't help myself, so those simply had to wait a bit. Having roundly tasted the Austrians at the last Skurnik tasting in June, I was only looking to taste the few '09s available and to meet the winemakers who weren't in attendance then.

Weingut Berger - the basic '09 Grüner Veltliner was surprisingly silky, soft and full. Seems unusual, but maybe it's just because it's just out of the barrels?

Weingut Nigl - The '09 GV "Freiheit" was beautifully delineated, super acidity, refreshing with classical profile, apples, pears, citrus, lentils, pepper and great minerality. Strike what I thought about the Berger, this was spot on.

Salomon Undhof - I very much enjoyed their 2008s, so was curious to try the first 2009er. No letdown here. The tank sample of the '09 GV "Hochterrassen" had very pronounced aromatics and again a classical profile, already very delicious. Also being poured was the '96 Riesling "Pfaffenberg" Kremstal DAC, which was showing attractive secondary characteristics, teetering on the off-dry but well-balanced and quite elegant. Very enjoyable.

Schloss Gobelsburg - Michael Moosbrugger was on hand to pour, and I got to follow on with my enquiries into the use of acacia - he still uses it for sweet wines, but it seems that the wood for these barrels are dried for several years before cooperage, and are not toasted at all. He also noted that quite a long time ago, there was much more interest in the choice of wood as they were deliberately used to provide aromatics. Interesting.

The '09 GV "Gobelsburger" was light but solid, while the Riesling "Gobelsburger" was very dry and tight but intense - looking forward to getting some of this. The '08 GV "Steinsetz", to my palate, still retains some of the funky characteristics I didn't enjoy last summer. The '08 GV "Renner" on the other hand, was lovely, nicely balanced. So, more hits and misses from '08. To finish, an '08 Riesling "Tradition", nice complexity, tea and citrus and hint of nuttiness.

Reisetbauer - Hans Reisetbauer was on hand, but didn't have either of his carrot or blue gin distillates on hand, so I only sampled the Rowanberry and the Plum, both of which I'd had before. He did explain that there was no difference between the terms obstbrand, edelbrand, and eau de vie. Just don't call his stuff schnapps.

Heidi Schröck - Ms. Schröck was very warm and engaging, clearly loves what she is doing. We spoke a little about the botrytis characteristic of Burgenland and contrasted it with that of Sauternes – she pointed out that Neusiedlersee is cooler, further north, and being a lake, provides a different moisture environment than Sauternes’ rivers. Interesting. Onto the wines. Once again, I preferred the '08 Muscat to the Furmint, but also being poured were three sweet wines. I found the '08 BA (a Welschriesling/Weissburgunder blend) surprisingly like a PX in all but colour, while the '07 Ruster Ausbruch "Turner" was a touch soft (none was made in '08 and '09 due to insufficient yield.) Certainly, the '07 Ausbruch “On the Wings of Dawn” was the sweets highlight, very ambrosia-like, lots more pineapple than I'm used to from Austria. According to the Ms. Schröck, the name was inspired by Psalm 139 ("...If I fly with the wings of dawn and alight beyond the sea, Even there your hand will guide me...") As she explained it, everything important in winemaking happens in the morning.


Germans - Ok, I only tasted one German wine… a 2009 barrel sample from Selbach Oster, not far removed from grape must. Johannes Selbach was saying that the vintage was such that there would be no “real” Kabinett…does not bode well for me if I’m to drink anything German… seems Johannes is a regular visitor to Malaysia! Ah, I probably should have tasted his lineup, seeing as we did enjoy his 2001 Selbach-Oster Zeltinger Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese* last summer, and I had had the question about the difference between the Auslese and Auslese*... oy veh. Next time.


French Pinot - almost all Burgundy, basically uncharted territory for me. Don't know why, even my wine-drinking in the UK was very claret-heavy, virtually no Burgundy, so this is a major gap.

Domaine Marc Roy - three Gevrey-Chambertin, all weighing in at 13.5% abv. I was surprised at the softness and roundness of the '07 "Clos Prieur" and the '06 "Cuvee Alexandrine" (a millerandage wine). Conversely, the '07 "Vielles Vignes" was nicely spicy and meaty, with prominent cinnamon notes and good acidity.

Domaine Dureuil-Janthial - a "practicing organic" producer, the trio of '07 Rully wines were much more to my taste, with both the "En Rosey" and "En Guesnes" open for business. The 1^er Cru "Clos du Chapitre" was also aromatically inviting, but very tight and tannic. Not "blown away" but pleased.

Domaine de l'Arlot - I was very interested to try their 2007 lineup as I had punted on some '05s, and had a rather difficult experience with an experimental bottle. I learned quite a bit here. Mostly, that the '07s were surprisingly approachable in contrast to where the '05 Petit Plets I checked in on recently. This was especially true for the Cotes de Nuits-Villages "Clos du Chapeau", which was just filling all the right spaces, as well as the Nuits St. Georges 1^er Cru "Clos de l'Arlot". Gives me hope.

David Duband - a young producer, of whom the notes from Skurnik suggest that early vintages were oak-driven, but that the recent wines are more elegant. My impression is that that transition is not complete.

Domaine Frederic Magnien - in contrast, the '07 Gevrey-Chambertin "Seuvrees" and 1^er Cru "Lavaut St. Jacques" were both on point, with the former just ready to go, right now, the latter very intense.

The remainder of the French Pinot were single bottle offerings, with a sole non-Burgundy representative, the very appealing 2006 Domaine Bailly-Reverdy Sancerre Rouge, which struck me for an unusual fennel note. Other wines that were drinking well included the biodynamic Domaine Arlaud's 2007 Bourgogne Rouge "Roncevie", which had a very engaging but not stinky funkiness, and Domaine Xavier Besson's 2007 Givry Rouge 1^er Cru "Petit Pretans", which was like a BBQ in a glass.

Others seemed promising, but not really showing, such as Jean Garaudet's 2006 Pommard "Noixons" and Domaine Jean-Luc Dubois's Chorey-les-Beaune "Clos Margot". On the whole though, I must say I was very happy with the Skurnik Burgundy portfolio. I suppose there's no surprise there.


Pinot from New Zealand, Oregon, and California - Conversely, I have to say that I was nearly uniformly unimpressed by the wines and wineries on offer. On average, high alcohol and too much sweetness, whether it be truly residual sugar or perceived. Just much more fruit-dominated than I would typically want in my glass - maybe just a reflection of my liking to drink wine with food, maybe just my internal calibration for balance. Wineries whose lineups I tasted were Mud House, Cairnbrae and Pisa Range Estates from New Zealand, A to Z, Tannahill, Rex Hill, Hatcher, Penner Ash, Cristom, and Domaine Serene from Oregon (Soter had poured out by the time I got to them), and Etude, Stewart Cellars, and Paul Hobbs from California.

Highlights, such as they might have been, were the New Zealanders 2007 Mud House "Swan Reserve" and the 2007 Pisa Range "Black Poplar Block" (both still sweet, but reasonably balanced); the 2007 Cristom "Mt. Jefferson Cuvee" and 2006 Domaine Serene "Grace Vineyard" from Oregon.


Italy Fortunately, there was plenty of time left to the event, and before heading to the Champagne table to shut things down, I was very happy to see Sicily's Terre Nere, which focuses on Etna Rosso, and uses Austrian oak casks to mature their wines, made from largely pre-phylloxera vines grown in some of the highest altitude vineyards in Europe. Skurnik calls these wines Burgundian in character, and having tasted these, I can see where they get that, though my favorites were the ones that were least so - the "Calderara Sottana" which was Burgundian, yes, but also herbal and wild, and the "Feudo di Mezzo" which was dark and brooding, and not quite willing to show its stuff. In contrast, the "Guardiola" and the "Santo Spirito" were rather more refined, I hesitate to say too much so. Would certainly like to try all of these again, frequently.


Champagne - On occasion, it is very nice to finish where one begins! Highlights for me were the N.V. Champagne Varnier Fannière Brut Grand Cru (blanc des blancs), the N.V. Champagne Henri Goutorbe Brut Cuvée Prestige, the N.V. Champagne Pehu-Simonet Brut Selection (this I really want), and, of course, the 2005 Champagne Marc Hébrart Brut Special Club. One more interesting note - the N.V. Champagne Duc de Romet Brut Prestige, which is a 3:1 Pinot Meunier:Pinot Noir cuvée, a Co-Op wine from Vandières, blended by René Geoffroy. I was definitely on the fence for this wine, not sure if I liked the overt grapiness. But what drew my attention was a rather distinctly yamahai / hineka nose... yes, it reminded me of wild yeast and/or age-damaged sake. Weird.

A tremendous afternoon's work. Topped off by another long dinner at Buenos Aires, my new favorite steak restaurant in NYC.