WTN: Zin, Zind, Cahors, Rhones and more w/cassoulet

Last night Ramon Cabrera put together a little gathering of cassoulet fans (well, a couple people got other mains) at La Sirene in SoHo. Nice evening, with a good group. I have a bit of a cold, but still found most of the wines quite enjoyable. My mussels and cassoulet were both tasty, I also enjoyed some great cheeses that Marina brought. The wines:

1999 Rollin Pernand Vergelesses blanc
Oxidation is taking this over, some caramelly/nutty/sherry notes, too bad, but it seemed to me there was good acidity and structure underneath. NR

2003 Philippe Colin "En Remilly" Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru
This shows the vintage. Not a lot of oak, but fat and round. Some butterscotch and pear, drinkable but non-descript. B-
 
2001 Zind-Humbrecht "Rotenberg " Pinot Gris
We discussed sweetness level, to me this seemed Spatlese-ish. Ripe sweet peaches and yellow plums, a pleasantly oily texture, excellent length. Has that gingery spiciness you sometimes get with PG. I liked this a lot. For me ZH is a bit like Schoenberg or Ornette Coleman- I like to try occasionally, I recognize the brilliance behind it, but I don't want to make it a mainstay (I'll stick to Bach, Coltrane, and Trimbach for my standards). Still, quite tasty. A-

1989 Ch. du Cayrou Cahors
Black fruit and some leather, tannins mostly resolved, pleasant though not exciting.  B

2001 Pegau "Cuvee Laurence" Chateauneuf-du-Pape
Tannic, but rich red fruits and lots of herb. Good length, showing a bit of oak. The tannins are a bit drying on the finish, but its better with the cassoulet. B/B+
 
1997 Ridge Geyserville
 Warm, easy, ready. Someone questions whether its fading. To me it is mature but quite alive. Spicy, juicy, tasty. B+

1982 Renato Ratti "Marcenasco " Barolo
 Seems light at first, but there are still some firm tannins underneath. Perfumed, floral, with surprisingly dense red cherry and raspberry fruit. Tar, earth, a really lovely Barolo. My WOTN. A-

1999 Vernay Cote-Rotie
(vintage corrected) Midweight Syrah, black berry fruit, a lovely smokiness. Just a hint of vanilla, this may be considered modern but not at all over the top for me. Some grilled meat, delicate but with real body. I think this is the first Vernay red I've tried. A-/B+

Hey, a pretty good night when I like all the reds. Food was good, company was great. And Betsy was designated driver- whoo hoo!
Thanks to Ramon for organzing, and to all for the wine and company.

Edited for vintage correction

Grade disclaimer: I'm a very easy grader, basically A is an excellent wine, B a good wine, C mediocre. Anything below C means I wouldn't drink at a party where it was only choice. Furthermore, I offer no promises of objectivity, accuracy, and certainly not of consistency.
 

I'm certainly not a stickler for precise matches and absolutely drinking regional wines with regional dishes, but still interesting that there was only 1 Southwestern wine.

Does the restaurant offer a modern/loose interpretation of cassoulet?

No Madiran?? shucks....

The cassoulet is pretty standard Toulouse style- duck, sausage, slab pork, lots of garlic.

Restaurant has no list, free BYO is a big draw. I brought the Cahors (and the Chassagne and Pinot Gris), my lone Madirans (a bottle each of Laffont and Lafitte-Teston) are in a spot that required too much case-moving. None of the others owned any SW wines.

Thanks for the notes Dale. It was a nice to get together on a chilly night with (what else?) some hearty cassoulet. It was great to see the folks, again.

Your notes are spot on, as far as I can cull from my memory. I loved the 2001 Zind Humbrecht Pinot Gris, which imho can almost be a very light dessert wine, and it was terrific as an aperitif.

As for the reds, somehow, I thought that the 2001 Pegau Laurence was too soft when simultaneously opened with the other burly reds as the entrée were served. I mentioned to Arv that I preferred the Reservee bottling from the same vintage that I’ve had before. Nonetheless, and quite surprisingly, it drank nicely with the cassoulet.

The 1999 Vernay Cote-Rotie was a first from me from this producer and it was big, full and I thought it stood-up nicely to the after dinner cheeses. I loved the slight international style and Cote-Rotish combination. If pressed, it was my WOTN, just barely ahead of the Z-H and the Barolo.

The 1982 Ratti Marcenasco Barolo was a revelation for me. Its age just showed itself in a very nice way. Medium bodied, it was very good with the dishes. Wow!

The 1989 Domaine du Cayrou Cahors is the oldest Cahors that I’ve had and I 've not had many before. In spite of its age, the freshness of the fruit was evident and with just the right level of acidity. I’d probably score this one a notch higher than you did.

I thought that the 1997 Ridge Geyserville suffered a bit from lack of complexity than what the other reds showed.

Ramon

Edited for vintage correction.

Cahors should be almost as good with cassoulet as Madiran but it sounds as if you preferred the match with Pegaü and Barolo. Cayrou and Gamot used to be quality leaders in Cahors under the late father Jouffreau when I visited the estate (late 70s or early 80s) but they have since been overtaken by the likes of Cèdre, Triguedina, Lamartine and Cosse-Maisonneuve; maybe this 89 was a bit too mature and soft for the cassoulet.

I am interested in the fine showing of the Ratti Barolo. Does anyone know whether the estate is performing up to this level in recent vintages? The reason why I am curious is that a local merchant is offering the Marcenasco 2004 at the price of € 37, i.e. almost half the price of those modern styled Barolos I tasted some 10 days ago.

Cayrou and Gamot used to be quality leaders in Cahors under the late father Jouffreau when I visited the estate (late 70s or early 80s) but they have since been overtaken by the likes of Cèdre, Triguedina, Lamartine and Cosse-Maisonneuve..

Different styles, no?

Cayrou and Gamot used to be quality leaders in Cahors under the late father Jouffreau when I visited the estate (late 70s or early 80s) but they have since been overtaken by the likes of Cèdre, Triguedina, Lamartine and Cosse-Maisonneuve..

Different styles, no?

Yes, but I have been underwhelmed by Cayrou and Gamot which have come my way in recent years.

Yes, but I have been underwhelmed by Cayrou and Gamot which have come my way in recent years.

I have really liked several bottles of the 85 Gamot (regular and Cuvee Centenaire) tasted from 2003-05. It always impressed me more than the recent vintages but I just assumed it was because of the magic of age. I didn't taste the 85 on release so I had no way of knowing whether the recent releases were similar quality and had similar futures or not.

But I guess you have that perspective!

My nearest wine merchant, the one who also offers Ratti, proposes the Jouffreau wines, so perhaps I should take a look their 2005s, an excellent vintage, in dining room conditions to refresh my impressions.

1999 Rollin Pernand-Vergelesses - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Pernand-Vergelesses
Oxidized. (FLAWED)

2001 Zind-Humbrecht Pinot Gris Rotenberg - France, Alsace, Wintzenheim, Alsace AOC
Really beautiful wine. Bright, sweet, honeyed without being over sweet. Clean and clear with a touch of petrol and spritz. Like a lush Spatlese in profile and weight. Long finish. A real treat.
A-

2003 Philippe Colin Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru En Remilly - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru
Very nice. Rich, buttery & yeasty. Pretty weighty with round, nutty flavor but falls a little flat in the middle and lacks acid to give it zing. Not over-oaked, but from a lush vintage and comes off as slightly new-worldy for a Burgundy.
B

1997 Ridge Geyserville - USA, California, Sonoma County
Rich, dense with a lot of typical Ridge perfume. Sweet core with broad floral flavors. Warm, broad, round and pretty soft. Lacks a firm backbone and at this point a little mushy in the fruit, but that could be due to the firm CDP it was paired against. While I don't think it's suffering from age, this wine is not going to get any better I would plan to drink up before the next 3-5 years at most. A pretty and friendly wine and quite nice.
B+

2001 Domaine du Pégaü Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Laurence - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Rich & dense with sweet prune core and a floral element. Chewy and weighty with some rubbery notes and nice firm structure. Very nice. Will continue to improve for years, but a nice drink now.
B++

1982 Renato Ratti Barolo Marcenasco - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
Light, bright with lovely perfume, flowers, raspberry. This is at a wonderful age and has a still rich, firm, and fairly strong core with pretty high toned flavors. Aged Barolo is quite a treat. Very very nice.
A-

1989 Château du Cayrou Cahors - France, Southwest France, Cahors
Dark, rustic with some dense herbs. Lacks power and follow through. I think this is past it's prime.
B-

1999 Domaine Georges Vernay Côte-Rôtie - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie
Rich, dense with a sweet core. Long floral finish. Beautiful and complex wine.
A-

It seemed like the Cote Rotie, Barolo, and ZH were the consensus WOTNs, with various people giving slight edge to one or another of those. I think it was the ZH for me, with the Barolo second and Cote Rotie third.

A very nice and varied collection of wine to go with the good friends and delicious cassoulet!

Thanks Ramon and Matt for your notes, always good to see some agreement and a little disagreement.
Note the Cote Rotie was the 1999
Good group of people!