Mostly European Wines

Please join me for a night of mostly European wines at Akdeniz, a favorite Turkish restaurant in Midtown West, located at 43 W. 46th Street, between 5th and 6th Aves.

We will have 1 white wine from the Rhone plus 4 red wines, 2 from the Rhone, 1 from Spain and 1 from Paso Robles, California.

Here is a link to Akdeniz' menu

Just a reminder of our usual rules:

The cost of this event is $43 and is for the wines and corkage. You will also have to pay the cost of your food (plus 33% for tax and tip). Please order at least two courses (i.e. a main dish and appetizer ). There are very few restaurants that allow us to bring our own wine for a low corkage.

NOTE: Meetup has started charging a "Partner Fee" that is above and in addition to the listed price of the event. It is annoying and confusing, but there is nothing I can do about it. It comes to approximately $4 more for each RSVP. You will see this charge when you complete your rsvp and pay for the event. MEETUP+ members are exempt from this charge.

Please read and understand the group's cancellation policy. If you take spot, then cancel, and no one else takes the spot, you will not receive a refund or credit. No refunds or credits will be given for no-shows or late cancellations (unless someone else takes your spot). All cancellations are subject to a $6 service fee.

Lastly: NO DRINKING AND DRIVING

The Wines (notes will be distributed at the dinner):

2022 Marc Sorrel Crozes-Hermitage Blanc ($55) - 95 points, Stuart Piggot, ""A dense, concentrated, textural and intense blend of 90% marsanne and 10% roussanne. It shows notes of green apples, blanched almonds, white flowers and a hint of chalk. Medium-bodied with a very refined and precise development. So much concentration. Funneled and lively. So much tension with a vibrant finish, excellent persistence and plenty of mineral undertones."

2021 Clusel-Roch Côteaux du Lyonnais Le Vin du Spoutnick ($30) - A Gamay from the Rhone's Coteaux du Lyonnais region. To me, this tastes similar to a Moulin-A-Vent from Beaujolais. From the importer, "One of the handful of nouveautés from the Coteaux du Lyonnais, this is the third vintage of Guillaume's small trial with carbonic maceration, the whole berry (not crushed) vinification technique that is so popular in Beaujolais, but which is not at all common in the N Rhône. The wine is then aged for a year in demi muid, and the results so far have been lip smackingly good due to the juicy and appetizing primacy afforded by carbonic maceration. This one sounds like some juicy tasty fun."

2012 Domaine La Millière Châteauneuf-du-Pape Vieilles Vignes ($35) - WA 90 points, "The 2012 Châteauneuf du Pape Vieilles Vignes is beautiful, with textbook, slightly old-school notes of saddle leather, garrigue, incense and sweet kirsch and blackberry fruit. Made from a blend of 60% Grenache and 10% each of Syrah, Mourvedre, Cinsault and Counoise, it still has some tannin to integrate, but it has a solid, medium-bodied, classically styled palate feel with lots to like."

2019 The Farm Winery Pura Vida ($80) - The 2nd, and I think last vintage of The Farm's Petit Verdot/Cabernet Sauvignon blend. It is 80% Petit Verdot, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon. Beautiful fruit with blackberries, blackcurrants, hints of leather, violets, spiced cedar and undergrowth. Medium-bodied, compact and polished with ultra-fine tannins that are melted intro the wine. Long and silky. Drink or hold.
94 points; James Suckling September 2023"

2018 Raul Pérez Petit Verdot Valtuille ($50) - I thought it would be fun to compare a CA Petite Verdot to this Spanish version. No reviews but I've poured this for our group twice this year and we loved it both times.