A nice group gathered at Racines on Chambers Street last night to drink some Northern Rhone reds. My first time at Racines, and I totally enjoyed, though it was a little sad to be BYOing with that great list. As we gathered, 3 whites made the rounds

1998 Chave Hermitage Blanc
I'm not a big fan of Rhone whites, but this was pretty lovely, Wax, honey, flowers, powerful and full but not heavy. B+/A-

1997 Beaucastel Chateauneuf-du-Pape blanc
Deep golden color, seemed quite advanced. Surprisingly, I thought much better as it got air and got warm, seemed less oxidized and more honied. B/B-

2013 Lise & Bertand Jousset Singulier "Clos Aux Renard" Montlouis
Crisp, nervy, dry, with wax and wool and excellent length.B+

We had an amuse of cauliflower veloute, good but not very cauliflowery

2000 Verset Cornas
Pretty forward, nice depth, herby with a stemmy note, meaty, good length. A-

1995 Verset Cornas
Lots of smoked meat, great acids, earth and flowers. A-/B+

My appetizer was lobster stuffed squash blossom with morcilla and carrot foam, really very tasty

2001 Voge Cornas VV
Brambly berry fruit, cow patty, spice. . Some brett, but a strain that appeals to me.A-/B+

1998 Voge Cornas VV
Earth, pasture, black fruits. Nice texture on the finish. A-

Suzanne had a great idea, we split several orders of fregola "risotto" with chanterelles on top, very wine friendly

1988 Jaboulet "La Chapelle" Hermitage
Black fruit,bacon, pepper, not a big vintage of La Chapelle but quite elegant. A-

1996 Jaboulet "La Chapelle" Hermitage
A bit riper, earthy, forest floor. B+

My main was the porcelet with squash and some delicious ricotta agnolotti


1998 Vallouit " Les Roziers" Cote-Rotie
New one to me. Peppery, a little tart (Bill calls sour), slightly clipped. B-

1998 Jamet Cote-Rotie
Corked., Too bad, I really liked this wine previous time I tried.

2001 Jamet Cote-Rotie
Spicy, young, good but only wine I felt really needed more time. B

1999 Gaillard "Rose Pourpre" Cote-Rotie
Black fruits and cedar, olives. B

We also had a cheese plate- Bayley Hazen is only one I noted name, but good..
Diane had brought a bubbly:
2002 Clos Cazals Blanc de blanc Champagne
Crisp, elegant, fresh baked croissant over pear fruit, quite floral. A-/B+

Nice night, really enjoyed wine, company, and restaurant.
At end of night we did traditional 3/2/1 voting, with Paul using 2 hands (one for Bill who had departed, but Paul said he knew what Bill has said)

2000 Verset 14
1998 Voge 13
2001 Voge 8
1995 Verset 5
1996 Jaboulet 4
1988 Jaboulet 3
2001 Jamet 3
1999 Gaillard 1

Grade disclaimer: I'm a very easy grader, basically A is an excellent wine, B a good wine, C drinkable. 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.

On Tuesday, July 28, 2015 at 11:47:08 AM UTC-4, DaleW wrote:
> A nice group gathered at Racines on Chambers Street last night to drink some Northern Rhone reds. My first time at Racines, and I totally enjoyed, though it was a little sad to be BYOing with that great list. As we gathered, 3 whites made the rounds
>
> 1998 Chave Hermitage Blanc
> I'm not a big fan of Rhone whites, but this was pretty lovely, Wax, honey, flowers, powerful and full but not heavy. B+/A-
>
> 1997 Beaucastel Chateauneuf-du-Pape blanc
> Deep golden color, seemed quite advanced. Surprisingly, I thought much better as it got air and got warm, seemed less oxidized and more honied. B/B-
>
> 2013 Lise & Bertand Jousset Singulier "Clos Aux Renard" Montlouis
> Crisp, nervy, dry, with wax and wool and excellent length.B+
>
> We had an amuse of cauliflower veloute, good but not very cauliflowery
>
> 2000 Verset Cornas
> Pretty forward, nice depth, herby with a stemmy note, meaty, good length. A-
>
> 1995 Verset Cornas
> Lots of smoked meat, great acids, earth and flowers. A-/B+
>
> My appetizer was lobster stuffed squash blossom with morcilla and carrot foam, really very tasty
>
> 2001 Voge Cornas VV
> Brambly berry fruit, cow patty, spice. . Some brett, but a strain that appeals to me.A-/B+
>
> 1998 Voge Cornas VV
> Earth, pasture, black fruits. Nice texture on the finish. A-
>
> Suzanne had a great idea, we split several orders of fregola "risotto" with chanterelles on top, very wine friendly
>
> 1988 Jaboulet "La Chapelle" Hermitage
> Black fruit,bacon, pepper, not a big vintage of La Chapelle but quite elegant. A-
>
> 1996 Jaboulet "La Chapelle" Hermitage
> A bit riper, earthy, forest floor. B+
>
> My main was the porcelet with squash and some delicious ricotta agnolotti
>
>
> 1998 Vallouit " Les Roziers" Cote-Rotie
> New one to me. Peppery, a little tart (Bill calls sour), slightly clipped.. B-
>
> 1998 Jamet Cote-Rotie
> Corked., Too bad, I really liked this wine previous time I tried.
>
> 2001 Jamet Cote-Rotie
> Spicy, young, good but only wine I felt really needed more time. B
>
> 1999 Gaillard "Rose Pourpre" Cote-Rotie
> Black fruits and cedar, olives. B
>
> We also had a cheese plate- Bayley Hazen is only one I noted name, but good.
> Diane had brought a bubbly:
> 2002 Clos Cazals Blanc de blanc Champagne
> Crisp, elegant, fresh baked croissant over pear fruit, quite floral. A-/B+
>
> Nice night, really enjoyed wine, company, and restaurant.
> At end of night we did traditional 3/2/1 voting, with Paul using 2 hands (one for Bill who had departed, but Paul said he knew what Bill has said)
>
> 2000 Verset 14
> 1998 Voge 13
> 2001 Voge 8
> 1995 Verset 5
> 1996 Jaboulet 4
> 1988 Jaboulet 3
> 2001 Jamet 3
> 1999 Gaillard 1
>
> Grade disclaimer: I'm a very easy grader, basically A is an excellent wine, B a good wine, C drinkable. 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 usually decant Rhone whites as I find that the oxidized note usually blows of in time and decanting speeds up the process.

http://www.winespectator.com/blogs/show/id/52100

in recent years the remaining Verset wines in marketplace have skyrockets past my level, but I sure enjoyed them "back in the day"

The 2000 was my last bottle.

On 9/16/15 11:33 AM, DaleW wrote:
> http://www.winespectator.com/blogs/show/id/52100
>
> in recent years the remaining Verset wines in marketplace have
> skyrockets past my level, but I sure enjoyed them "back in the day"
>
> The 2000 was my last bottle.
>

Sad news, Dale. Thanks for the heads-up. I have many fond memories of
Verset's Cornas, a wine that helped cement my love of N Rhone Syrah.
Like you, I've been priced out of recent vintages, and I drank my last
Verset Cornas a few years ago now. The memories will live on, however.

Mark Lipton

--
alt.food.wine FAQ: http://winefaq.cwdjr.net

On Wednesday, September 16, 2015 at 5:33:44 PM UTC+2, DaleW wrote:
> http://www.winespectator.com/blogs/show/id/52100
>
> in recent years the remaining Verset wines in marketplace have skyrockets past my level, but I sure enjoyed them "back in the day"
>
> The 2000 was my last bottle.

Oh, so Franck Balthazar is also a nephew of his, like the Verset I got recently.

My next tasting is north rhone and I will have both the baltharzar and the alain verset.