Monday, August 11, 2008

Geeking out (again) at Terroir SF





It was a celebratory evening last Wednesday night, as my friend Paul was in town and decided to have an assortment of friends - mainly wine business types - meet at Terroir. This makes sense as Paul has been a vocal advocate of naturally made wines for at least the past several years (longer, perhaps?) Though a bit under the weather, Paul clearly was in his element, staring slack jawed at the selection of wines from the Jura, remarking excitedly about what a ridiculous list the three man crew at Terroir have assembled, and clearly happy to catch up with old friends and share some great bottles. Which, of course is what it's all about. And, as anyone who reads wine blogs should well know, it's also all about trying to remember these various bottles and inform the masses on what one thinks is good (and not). So, in rough order of consumption, here are some quick (and I do mean quick) TN's.






Gros Jean Cremant de Jura 2001 - super earthy and funky, not very fresh nor charming.



Luc Massy Dezaley Chemin de Fer Chasselas Grand Cru 2001- a repeat from a few weeks ago. Found it more delicate, pretty and floral this time around



2000 Movia Puro - Disgorged by yours truly. Tart bitter cherry, maybe a bit lambic like? 50% Pinot Nero, 50% Ribolla. Cool wine, my first puro experience.



2006 Chidaine Rose sparkler - Sweet, one-dimensional and not as good as my favorite bugey cerdons. My disdain for sparkling Chidaines continues....



Bruno Michel Blanc de Blancs 1er Cru - Fun, bright, somewhat simple BdB.



2004 Thierry Puzelat 'in KO we trust' Cot - pure cot deliciousness. Floral, dark fruited, intense, fresh.



2005 Courtois 'Racine'- Fairly bright, high toned berries with some SSF (that's 'sans soufre funk,' see here for a related post)



2005 Freres Grosjean Fumin (Valle d'aosta) - Dark, penetrating, not fresh and alpine until the finish. Slowly grew on me.



2000 Montborgeau Cuvee Speciale L'etoile - nutty, bright, great intensity, nuance and depth. WOTN!



2006 Dard et Ribot Crozes-Hermitage - sweet, smoky, savory.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

The Dard and Ribot sounds cool.

I like the Puzelat Cot, too, although my second bottle was quite lean and tart. I need to try another bottle! (After picking up another bottle of Amateus, which I liked better than you did!)

Brooklynguy said...

we need someplace like this in NYC. it's pathetic that we don't have it.

Michael D. said...

I second that brooklynguy......very sad.

Michael D. said...

Joe:

This may be a random question, but at one time did you work with Henry Wine Group in DC??? One of our reps at Mac Bev was a Joe M. who moved to SF.Hmmm.

Joe Manekin said...

Brian -

Try another one, for sure. Sometimes those natural wines can be temperamental!

Bklnguy -

It is too bad you don't have a spot like this in New York. From what I hear, Terroir NYC is a bit more mainstream and compromising in its approach.

Mike -

It is indeed your former HWG rep. How are you? How did you happen across this site - did Cornwell steer you here?

Michael D. said...

Wow! So cool. Dude,I have been reading your blog for some time now. Great stuff...very informative. Cornwell is too busy sitting in his office drinking Rhone wine and busting balls to fill me in on things...ha! Love that guy. Miss him. He taught me a lot at Macbev.

Listen, I am working retail in nyc now, so when you get east lets pull some corks. I also joined the blogging world. Be good. Stay in touch. Here's the link.

www.theschist.com