Salil put together a nice small group to gather at the St. Mark's Place version of Grand Sichuan last night, good times ensued. Good to see Salil, Jay, and Rahsaan again, and to actually talk to John (who I had emailed and seen over retail counter but never really met). Nice assortment of food- cucumber in scallion sauce, tea smoked duck, soup dumplings, green beans, broccoli, fish, "short ribs", tofu, etc. And of course good wines:

2005 Huet Vouvray Petillant
Clean, chalky, and held well- actually opened nicely as the petillance subsided. B+

2001 Franz Hirtzberger "Spitzer Hochrain" Riesling Smaragd
Surprisingly (to me) friendly and accessible, rich, long, delicious. A-

1993 Trimbach Cuvee Frederic Emile
Tight and austere, opens nicely, fully mature, nice petrol notes over apple and citrus. One person says surprised it has RS, we look at him like he has 2 heads till he realizes he was trying wrong glass- he's smelling the Vollenweider. B+

1966 Domaine de Chevalier (Graves)
A little too cold at first, but as it came to better temp it showed well, and stayed strong for entire evening. Sweet fruit, cigarbox, earth, a fine package with balanced acidity, resolved tannins, and plenty of vigor. My WOTN on a good night. A-/A

2001 Roumier Chambolle-Musigny*
Very nice aromatics, on the palate it was maybe a bit thin (one called dilute) at first. But it picked up weight with air- still a delicate Chambolle, but fruit is pretty and complex- black cherry with citrus rind and floral/fruit blossom notes. Drinking nicely. B+/A-

2001 Willi Schaefer Graacher Domprobst Riesling Spatlese
AP05. This was very tight - good acids, nice mouthfeel, but not as aromatically giving as I expected. There was some discussion about borderline TCA/fruit scalping, but I didn't think so. But I carried home with me, and ventured a taste about the time train passed 125th st. For a second I got a definitely cardboard note- the wine or the box I had the glasses in? I still wasn't sure, but a sniff of bottle this morning makes me decide this was lightly corked.

2000 Muler-Catoir "Mussbacher Eselshaut" Rieslaner Spatlese
Served blind (though we knew M-C), I guessed Scheurebe by it's fruit cocktail (in a good way, not Del Monte) profile. Modest acids, pleasant, a great success for vintage. B

2005 Vollenweider "Wolfer Goldgrube" Riesling Auslese
Shows the vintage, ripe and powerul, but balanced Full, long. I think this is my first Vollenweider, I like it. B+

2001 JJ Prum "Wehlener Sonnenuhr" Riesling Auslese
Sulphur, still a bit primary, but amazing combination of strong fruit and delicate structure. Needs time. A-

2002 Donnhoff "Niederhauser Hermannshole" Riesling Auslese*
Big, deep, balanced, drinking very well, though I think I slightly preferred the delicacy of the Prum. A-/B+

Fun night, thanks all.

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.