Garagiste!

ah... after Petrus... after Le Pin... There is Valandraud. But I'll get to that in a little bit. The 2003 Lewis Cellar Cabernet Sauvignon was beautiful tonight. Very jammy with a spicy, black currant and plum nose. Very nice concentration, but slightly more reserved than in the past. A very good wine, without the great mid-palate that this wine usually has. The 1996 Chateau de Valandraud, St.-Emilion, was so nice... such a beauty! This baby opened right up from the get go. I did pour it into a magnum decanter to give it a little more room to breathe. Who says merlot isn't any good? Cocoa, earth, leather and black fruits dominate this sexy wine. It is so velvety in the mouth. As good as Cheval Blanc or Ausone? Not this bottle, but it certainly is in a unique class.

From last night... The 1968 Beaulieu Vineyards Georges de Latour was porty... nutty, oaky, and porty. Not the best bottle I've had, but I think this wine is over-rated anyway. The 1996 Muga Prado Enea Gran Reserva, Rioja, Spain is the currant release. Its sweet cherry fruit along with dill and vanilla make this wine so appealing, if not a little lackluster on the depth. The others... not worth the mention.

California

Cali night... 1968 GDL (porty) / Ramey Chards/ 1995 Lokoya Cab (corked) / 1996 Muga Prado Enea Gran Reserva / 1998 Priorato. Details tomorrow.

Chateau Latour (continues to be) Marvelous... but...

Ok... Another day, 10 more bottles of Latour. This was a trade tasting, so it was a bit more technical/geeky than the dinner Wednesday night and only tasted from 1 bottle. First, the 2003 Pauillac (Latour's 3rd Wine) was a jammy, cocoa, dried prune Latour fruit bomb - tasted a lot of merlot... 50% Merlot, 50% Cab. Nice to drink, but it's not Latour, nor is it Les Forts. The 2003 Les Forts de Latour showed almost exactly as it did yesterday with mocha, toffee, sweet, ripe tannins, and plums. Jammy... The 2001 Les Forts de Latour was very clean, bright, balanced, in a classic Latour style. Some dried fruits, but exceptionally pure. The 2000 Les Forts de Latour showed better than at the tasting Wednesday night. This wine is opaque with black fruits - plums, blackcurrants, and loads of earth. Very soft, round tannins but still slightly closed. Very long finish (better than 03). The 1996 Les Forts de Latour was a little weaker. Slightly herbal with black olives, this wine was showing cedar and cigar box, tobacco and a touch of stewy fruit (?). Not quite as open nor as elegant as Wednesday.

More Latour... First, retasted a few opened bottles from the night before (24 hours opened). The 2002 Chateau Latour was every bit the almost exact same wine as before. Just a few more hints of evolution. Simply stunning. The 2003 hadn't changed a bit either. The 1966 was nearly dead with most of the fruit gone. The 1990 was beautiful... absolutely gorgeous. Stayed the night just fine...

Now, fresh bottles. The 2002 Chateau Latour showed every bit as good as Wednesday night with sweet fruit, earthiness, round tannins, violets, and plums with absolutely magnificent length and perfect balance throughout. Awesome as it completely fills your mouth. The 2000 Chateau Latour was completely closed. Even after 45 minutes in the glass it was very hard to get anything out of this wine. This wine is completely opaque. Loads of tannins on the back, and the fruit muted. The bottle was in perfect condition, it just didn't show much. Some black fruits, graphite, anise, tobacco. A very, very long finish. Give this at least 10 (++) years before cracking one open. The 1999 Chateau Latour again showed much the same as previously, with more crushed stones. Not a great Latour, but not bad to drink! The 1995 Chateau Latour had a nose of black olives, and was starting to show cedar and cigar box aromas with very dried fruits - cherries and plums. Very earthy, and very high tannins. Msr. Engerer thinks this will outlast the 1996 and certainly pass it in terms of quality. We'll see... The 1990 Chateau Latour was magnificant. Perhaps better than any bottle of 1990 tasted Wednesday (perhaps 2nd best) this showed cedar, cigar box, tobacco, saddle leather, truffles, and that classic "salty" Latour finish. Very long, very sweet finish with loads of dried fruits. Definition of elegance with power. Does it get any better than this? This wine does need food though...

Anyway, an absolutely amazing 2 days. Simply tremendous. Cheers to Chateau Latour and to Frederic Engerer!

But alas... my heart will always lie in Burgundy. R and I were thinking about what we wanted to taste last night after all of those bottles of Latour. Bordeaux wouldn't do it. Had to be Burgundy. After a bottle of 1999 Bonneau du Martray Corton-Charlemagne was oxidized, we opened the 2000 Domaine de la Vougeraie Vougeot 1er Cru Clos Blanc de Vougeot Monopole and it completely blew away any Bonneau Corton I've ever had! Full of fat, rich, butter with apricots, pears, and tons of minerals, this was a blockbuster. Outstanding length, very clean and pure. Awesome! The 2000 Bouchard La Romanee was a beautiful mass of dried strawberries and cherries, with a spicy, powerful terroir element. Decanted for 2 hours, this was a simply extraordinary wines. Although not in the same league in a great vintage, this wine was simply far more profound than the 2000 La Tache the other night. Has a great deal in common with Romanee-Conti. A wonderful wine.

Chateau Latour is...

Simply the single best Estate/ Chateau/ Domaine/ Producer/ Bottega/ etc. for Cabernet Sauvignon based wines in the world. Period. Tonight's tasting/ dinner did nothing but add to the mystique that is Chateau Latour. I will add that all bottles came directly from the Chateau, and all were double decanted at least 1 hour (most had 2-3 hours under their belts, and as many as 6 when last tasted).

First, the "second" wine (which most Chateau - even classified growths - would be proud to call their grand vin) . The 2003 Les Forts de Latour was jammy, ripe and powerful. Very woody... Excellent length, but was this really Chateau Latour, or a California Cabernet? The 2000 Les Forts de Latour was pretty - so elegant, long in the mouth, with pretty ripe blackcurrants, plums, cherries. Just hints of cedar and cigar box. So sweet and seductive. Beautiful. The 1996 Les Forts de Latour was starting to really show signs of maturity. While it still has years (decades?) left, this wine was beautiful, and is perfect to start drinking now. Classic Pauillac, and an excellent wine! The 1990 Les Forts de Latour was so pretty and elegant. Ripe, rich tannins with cedar, blackcurrant, stoniness. A wonderful bottle and a great taste of things to come.

On to the Grand Vin.... The 2003 Chateau Latour was... well, how can I put this nicely??? Not my cup of tea? Actually, was more like a cup of Mocha Coffee... so toasty with mocha, chocolate, black ripe plums, blackcurrants, and stewed sweet cherries. While still very much Bordeaux, there is no terroir in this wine right now - just oak, and caramel. Nice to taste, but I won't be buying any. The 2002 Chateau Latour was a great suprise. Simply astounding, this is a classic bottling of Chateau Latour. Elegant, but powerful. Grace with beauty. Perfect balance amd a long, lingering finish. RP and WS scored this one too low. Sweet, with gravel, cherries, clove, and round, sweet tannins. So pretty - I can't wait to try it again in 15 years or so. The 2001 Chateau Latour was closed, tannic, and not terribly pleasant to drink right now. It will come around, and perhaps be like the 1999, but not yet. The 1999 Chateau Latour was showing cedar, with soft, round ripe tannins. The only thing this is missing is a mid-palate, and it would go from good to great. But, alas... we all need wine to drink now while out other bottles mature, right? The 99 is it. On to the "stars" of the night... Up until now, I've not discussed bottle variation (because there was none), nor the number of bottles tasted (approximately 3 of each of the above wines.) From here one out, I'll discuss bottles separately as needed. The 1990 Chateau Latour came in 4 forms - corked, elegant and powerful, more elegant and more powerful, and lastly - perfection. One corked (really bad) bottle isn't so bad. The 2nd bottle opened was so pretty... very sweet, with just hints of cedar and cigar box just starting to show through the plummy and cherries. The 3rd bottle was astounding, and would have been rated as the best bottle of 1990 Latour I've ever had... if it weren't for the 4th bottle (the bottle that would have not been opened had the first not been corked... funny how that works... you'll see that come up again later). The 4th bottle was tasted roughly 4 times over 6 hours and all it did was open more and more and more... this wine is a monster - incredibly powerful with black fruits, cedar, cigar box, round tannins, and a long, long sweet finish. This is what wine is all about. Simply stunning. I'm speachless. Ah well, the 1983 Chateau Latour (Magnums) was tasted several times from 3 different magnums, and did not show significant bottle variation. It's a pretty wine, with mature notes of cedar, black currants, hints of black pepper, clove, turned black earth, and truffles. Excellent. I'll skip the 1982 for now... the 1971 Chateau Latour (Magnums) was tasted many times from 3 magnums (one not quite right so it was rejected) and one 750ml. The The first Magnum was questionable. The 2nd was beautiful - very mature, not long on fruit, This is a wine that needs to be drunk soon. The 3rd Magnum was excellent. While not the 1983, and certainly not the 1990, it drove it's point home. A very nice, mature wine from a decent vintage - still very much Chateau Latour. A hint of anise on this last magnum. The 750 was a little overdone and should have been consumed long ago.... The 1982 Chateau Latour, one of the legends of wine history, was amazing. Brought tears to my eyes. Tasted approximately 9 times from 5 different bottles (750ml). Four of the bottles were remarkably similar - not too much bottle variation. Still way, way, way too young - this wine is so sexy and seductive. You don't want to stare, but you can't help it. Wow. Cedary with tobacco, anise, leather, black currants, and sweet cherries. Incredible length, amazing mouthfeel. These four bottles were awesome. Then there was bottle number 5 (actually bottle number 4, in the order I opened them). This bottle was exceptionally youthful -with far more fruit than mature spices - this is the bottle I would put in my cellar. This was a rockstar. So powerful, so much tannin, so much fruit... so balanced. This is the modern Bordeaux all others should judge their own wines by. Simply a perfect wine. As if all of that wasn't enough, it was on to the 1966 Chateau Latour (magnums). Tasted from 4 magnums (2 being slightly off). Going back to the way the 1990 was... the first was off, the second outstanding, the third off, and the fourth... well, I'll get to that. This wine is the anti-1961. Not terribly flamboyant - this wine is exactly what Chateau Latour is all about. This wine is very, very young - as bottles 2 and 4 show. Bottle 2 was rich in color (still showing purple in the center), and rich in the mouth. Lots of cedar, grass, hints of herbs, and clove. Sweet cherries, black currants and still showing hints of plums! An excellent, elegant bottle. Bottle #4 was simply without words. Quite possibly the best Bordeaux I've ever tasted, this bottle was a freakshow. Still purple, with the same general notes as bottle #2 - but all of them stonger, deeper. Quite a thrill to open this bottle and immediately know that this was it. The "one". The bottle that makes it all come together. The last bottle opened of the night, actually. This is still a baby as well. While pure cedar, black fruits, and spice - this wine is showing youthful tannins, vibrancy only matched by the 1982 & 1990, and a clarity and purity that 99.99% of the wines in the world don't even come close to. When you drink or taste Chateau Latour - you know it's Chateau Latour. THIS is what Chateau Latour is all about... You can't always say that about the other Chateau.... What an amazing evening. The chance to try all of these stunning bottles side by side - and so many of them... Makes it a shame we spit alot of it out... (notice I said alot... not most or all). Ah, but tomorrow at 3, I will sit down and taste through several of these wines again, with a few different ones thrown in!

The good, the bad, and the really bad

Started the night out with 3 consecutive corked bottles of wine (TCA)... always fun times. The 1996 Chateau Haut-Brion was sweet tobacco, cedar, blackcurrant, plums, and earth. So pretty... the 2003 Pride Cabernet Sauvignon appears to have added some weight and lost some of its overbearing fruitiness. This is pure mountain fruit!!! I'm tired and going to bed...

On Zombies...

No, not the kind that run around horror movies eating people... the kind that goes into a glass. Every so often R & I have a contest to see who can sell the most of a certain drink. The first was Mai Tai's, then Blue Whales/Hawaiis/Lagoons (whatever you want to call it)... and last week it was the Zombie. Comprising 5 (yes, 5) types of rum - light, gold, dark, Bacardi 151 and Malibu Coconut along with orange juice, pineapple juice, and Apricot Brandy - this is one drink that will knock you over really quick. Anyway, I lost the contest 3-0, but gosh was it fun. It's simply a gentleman's bet - $1 - oh yeah, and a Zombie for the person who sells the first one. It's a great drink from the 40's - not sweet, not harsh, goes down easy - but watch out! Another cocktail to put in my belt... Had a great blind tasting yesterday... 4/5 (was 6, but the one wine was "disqualified".) In that bunch was the 2003 Foxen Merlot from Santa Barbara which was incredible!!! I called it Napa Cab because of the rich tannins, but the cocoa should have drawn me to Merlot... anyway. Great, great wine. Not sure of the price, not sure where to get it, but wow. Also in there (the disqualified wine) was the 2003 Louis Jadot Chateau de Jacques Clos de Rochegres Moulin-a-Vent Cru Beaujolais... WOW!!! Oh my... certainly not maceration carbonique and certainly not a wimpy wine. This has so much structure and depth. The acidity is low and it spoils quickly, but gee... it completely reminds me of 1er Cru Gevry Chambertin! The fruit, the tannins, the power. Did call the vintage correctly, and old world, but no where near Beaujolais. Find some (it is not inexpensive - probably retail around $40). That's it for today... be sure to check back tomorrow night (Wednesday) as I will be tasting a vertical of Chateau Latour going back to 1966. Can't wait for that.

Breaks My Heart... but...

you have to do what's right. Not one, but TWO bottles of 1989 Chateau Lafite Rothschild down the drain. Not corked, not oxidized, not (overly) hot, just not right. No midpalate. No Lafite nose... no Lafite anything. The 1995 Chateau Mouton Rothschild wasn't spectacular, but was still pretty good. Black velvet... The ZD Abacus VII, a unique and terribly interesting wine, was wonderful. From vintages 1992 to 2003, this wine behaves like both a beautiful cedary, mature California Sauvignon and like a Madeira, with it's caramel and nutty finish. Great wine. I think that was really it... Oh yea... also the 1999 Paul Jaboulet Aine Hermitage La Chapelle - a pretty, earthy, elegant syrah. And, I got to retell the story of my trip to the top of the hill of Hermitage and La Chapelle...

It Picks Back Up...

Sorry I've not written in a few days... but after a few days of not much noteworthy (including an underwhelming 1999 BR Cohn Olive Hill Cabernet Sauvingon that smelled just like it's name - black olives. Not my favorite) - tonight was back to business as usual. The excellent 1993 Dunn Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon was tightly wound and closed at first. It needed a good hour to open up. After that it was pure, sweet, black mountain fruit. Classic bretty nose and a still impenetrable purple color, this wine is just a baby.... Needs another 10 years. As does the 2000 Domaine de la Romanee-Conti La Tache... as R said "She's but a baby..." and she certainly is. The clove and wild red berries that typify this beautiful, but earthy - elegant, but powerful - lady of DRC. Great estates make great wine regardless of the year. They rely on nature to make their wine, not their winemaker. This wine is just starting to show depth, and was considerably better 3 hours after decanting. It's just so darn pretty.

Bubbles Galore

Ahhh Happy Valentine's Day (belated).... lots and lots of bubbles. But first... last night (Monday). I actually cooked and opened a nice bottle of wine with my wife... 2002 Archery Summit Premier Cuvee Pinot Noir which was outstanding. A hint of earth, some nice black and red fruits mixed in there. A hint of clove... very, very, very nice. I wish all of my Pinots were that good... Tonight, though... was about the bubbles. 1999 Louis Roederer Cristal vs. Krug Grand Cuvee. Visual - The Krug is a nice gold straw color with spots of bubbles. The Cristal is a bit lighter with one broad stream of very small bubbles... Nose - Krug is toasty, yeasty, biscuity, with hazelnuts and rich apples. Cristal is tropical - almost sweet fruits - apricots, beautiful. None of the toastiness - alas the mark of a young Champagne... Taste - The Krug is clearly developed with richness and weight on the palate. Both front and mid-palates offer fruit and toast. A mouth-filling Champagne. The Cristal is clean - very clean - crisp, fruity, almost seems like it might be a touch off-dry, but is in fact completely dry. Mouthwatering acidity and freshness. Conclusion? Two completely different Cuvees de Prestige - one mature and rich, the other youthful and precise. The favorite? While I always love Krug, the Cristal needs some time. I would love to try this again in a few years. I think this is the best Cristal I've had and is truly something to behold.

What the?!?!

The best... and worst... thing about this business is that at the beginning of the day, almost everything you thought was going to happen didn't... and everything you didn't even think about, happens. Oh well. The 2003 Joseph Drouhin Puligny-Montrachet "Folatieres" 1er Cru was, when first tasted, somewhat flabby. It displayed an unusual density of minerals given the vintage, had moderate acidity (much less than expected even), but I felt needed time to put on some fat. After 8 hours of decanting, this wine finally began to open... only it revealed a greater presence of new oak than I would have like to have seen. It did put on weight, but I'm not sure exactly how. It was an interesting bottle, though not one I'm sure I'd like to age a great period of time. Anyway, the 2001 Joseph Drouhin Clos de Vougeot Grand Cru exhibited a tremendously barnyardy nose - a suprise for this young wine. Still youthful, this terroir-driven wine was pretty - somewhat impressive tannins coupled with dried red fruits, dried leaves, and roses. Excellent for this extremely under-rated vintage. The 1982 Chateau Margaux was the best bottle I've had of this and boy was it spectacular. Usually the 82 leaves you with a "huh?"... this was a "wow!". Impressive balance, with youthful plums, violets (could Margaux NOT show violets?), and hints of cedar. So nice... so elegant... so pretty. Classic... but short of the other 82's I've had in the last few weeks. The 1976 Leroy Pommard 1er Cru "Arvelets" was not as spectacular as several other bottles of this that we've had before... Always a treat though. The 1980 Opus One was suprisingly still good! Mostly spice, with just hints of fruit. The best of the 80 Opus' I've had. The 1992 Opus One was a touch green with hints of anise (a classic Opus signature). The 2002 Casa Lapostelle Clos Apalta, Chile had a classic green-pepper nose. Concentrated and thick... A unique wine from a unique blend of Merlot, Carmenere, and Cabernet Sauvignon. The 1990 Dom Perignon Rose en Magnum was beautiful, if not a bit flatter than on Monday. Still beautiful... a classic Champagne.

A few...

The 1990 Dr. Burklin Wolf Riesling Auslese Trocken (!), Pfalz was incredible. So youthful, full of wonderful acidity, and showing that beautiful petrol quality that older rieslings display. Full of apricots and pretty oranges along with classic minerality (though this isn't as prevalant as in the Mosel of Rheingau). This wine will live another 20 years easily... oh yeah, it's DRY!... The 2002 Stags Leap Wine Cellars "Fay" Cabernet Sauvignon 3-Liter was pretty. very Bordeaux-like, but certainly with the classic California fruit. Pencil lead, black currant, plums, cedar (!), and dried leaves. Very, very nice wine... The 2001 Ch. St.-Jean "Cinq Cepages" was not spectacular... was not great, not even real good. It was good, but nothing more. Too much fruit and glycerin. Oh well. The 1999 is far superior to this wine. But, it also could be that I tasted it right after the 1995 Chateau Latour. This wine is tight and closed, but still showing some pretty fruit, and excellent length. While not anywhere near the 1990 or 82, this is still a fabulous Latour. I would give it another 5-10 years before opening a bottle of this. The 2000 JL Chave St. Joseph "Offerus" was awfulus (sorry, had to do it...). very, very acidic with jammy raspberry and just hints of the earth that was in this wine a few months ago. Perhaps bottle variation...

Well...

Tonight had it's share of ups and downs... mostly downs... a few highlites. The 2003 Newton Unfiltered Chardonnay, Napa Valley is outstanding (and rarely do I even comment on CA Chards). The oak is so well integrated that you hardly know it's there... like great Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru. Tropical fruits highlited with some minerals, and richness. So pretty, and not nearly as weighty as the 2002 was. The 2001 Catena Alta Malbec, Mendoza, Argentina was fat, jammy and ripe. Maybe the slightest hint of elegance, but overall, this is not my style of wine. The 1999 Paul Jaboulet Aine Hemitage La Chapelle is my style... so soft, silky, and completely elegant. Beautiful wine - the most elegant style of Syrah. So different than the intense Guigal La Mouline. Earth with hints of meat, black pepper, and soft black plums make this an excellent wine, and certainly in the classic La Chapelle style.

Now This Is Starting To Get Rediculous...

Mind you I'm not complaining... but seriously. I think I have the greatest occupation in the world... I can't say "job" because it often doesn't feel like real work. First, the 2003 Lewis Cellars Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon is a mass of jammy black plums, black currants, and sweet glycerol. Beautiful, powerful, balanced wine. Great stuff... be on the lookout for this extremely hard-to-get item! The 2003 Schloss Johannisberg Riesling Auslese, Rheingau was out of this world... sweet, but not overdone. Tropical fruit and richness, but intense acid structure as well. Everything this great estate should bring... 2003 Patz & Hall Hyde Vineyard Pinot Noir, Carneros, California. Lots of people source grapes from this legendary vineyard in Carneros - but no one, at least as far as I've tasted, makes Pinot this rich and full from this cool-climate area. Geez... tastes like Russian River Valley! Great stuff, even if it needs a few years and the alcohol seemed a touch out of wack. The 2002 Spottswoode Cabernet Sauvignon took hours to start to evolve... the first time I've tasted this vintage, though I've read lots and lots of rave reviews. At first, it was disjointed and unbalanced. After 5 hours, the wine had finally started to show it's signature softness... velvety with all of the classic St. Helena Cabernet flavors... how they get extraction and depth with such balance from a flat piece of vineyard - 2 blocks outside of St. Helena, I'll never know... Now, onto the reason I titled this what I did. "I'll have the 86 Cheval Blanc" - "well, I just had it yesterday and even though its quite a bit more, the 82 is superior" "great, lets do the 82"... The 1982 Chateau Cheval-Blanc was simply otherworldly. Other wines are more powerful. Other wines are deeper. Other wines are richer. But no wine... ah, no Bordeaux-varietal based wine - is as soft and seductive as Cheval Blanc. The 1982 is pure finesse with hints of power on the elegant, sweet finish. AND IT'S STILL A BABY!!! 3 hours after decanting, this wine finally began to reveal it's classic intense cedar nose, with black plums, truffles, and black earth. So sweet, soft, and sexy. It's like wrapping your tongue in silk. I do think that this wine is still a touch closed and will blossom once again, if it's not just in the early stages already. Clearly better than the 1986 yesterday, this is the essence of wine.... and it's only getting better. Is this better than the 82 Mouton or the 82 Latour? I don't know, it's just a completely different species... Stunning...

Oh wow...

Ok, first I'll talk about Saturday Night... the 2002 Dom. Leflaive Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru "Clavillions" was closed and tight. The minerals were very striking - coupled with the acid - it was almost too intense. This wine should be spectacular in a few years, but I think it's slightly disjointed for now. The 1990 E.Guigal Cote-Rotie La Mouline was much rounder, earthier and smokier than the other night. This wine is immense - and still a youthful baby. For syrah, it does not get better. Also, hints of tar and asphault. The 2000 Domaine de la Romanee Conti Grands-Echezeaux had an incredible perfume. Classic young DRC clove nose with roses and violets. Slightly spicy with soft earth, raspberry, and wild strawberry. Beautiful, long finish. For an off-vintage Burgundy, this wine still needs another 5 years at least to open.

Yesterday (Monday) was incredible. A tasting in Miami... You won't see comments about each wine unless I feel they warrant it. Get there for a Rose Champagne Seminar. Rose is so hot right now... it's great. Dom. Chandon etoile Rose, NV, California; Moet & Chandon Brut Imperial Rose; Ruinart Rose (an especially powerful, extracted Rose); Moet & Chandon Millesime Rose 1999 (yeasty, bold, with slight tannins); Veuve Clicquot Vintage Rose 1999 (very floral - rose petals, red fruits); Veuve Clicquot Vintage Reserve Rose 1985 (truly spectacular - mature Rose! Nutty, buttery, and rich. Orange/yellow color); Dom Perignon Rose Vintage 1995 (caramel and nuts, with florality. Balanced, but very tight. Needs time); Dome Perignon Rose Vintage 1990 en Magnum (very classic Dom nose - coffee, nutty, toasty, with oil. Very pretty Rose); Veuve Clicquot La Grande Dame Rose 1995 (sweeter, with marzipan and pastry notes - tropical fruits and quince with cherries. Excellent, with outstanding finish); Krug Rose MV (Best Rose... biscotti, tight, elegant, finesse - touch of tannin, with some yeast - classic Krug! The best!); Moet & Chandon Nectar Imperial Rose. Next, a "20 year Retrospective - 1985 & 1986" - 1985 Castello di Monsanto Chianti Classico Riserva "Il Poggio" (needs time - the 1968 shows what this might turn into); 1986 Chateau La Nerthe Chateauneuf-du-Pape Rouge (an amazing wine... the essence of Grenache - licorice, heavy earth, asian spices, smoky, sweet fruit - suprise of the tasting); 1986 Ceretto "Bricco Asili" Barbaresco Faset (Classic Barbaresco dried fruits, still hearty - but soft - tannin. Long, sweet finish. Beautiful); 1984 Marques de Grinon Dominio di Valdepusa Cabernet Sauvignon, La Mancha, Spain (pretty, cedar, black fruits, anise, dill, sawdusty); 1985 Newton Unfiltered Cabernet Sauvignon (very extracted, tired, sweet and jammy); 1985 Capezzana Cabernet Blend "Ghiaie della Furba", Supertuscan (smokey, still with strong tannins); 1986 Chateau Cheval-Blanc 1er Grand Cru Classe, St.-Emilion (still a baby, just opening, powerful, licorice, black currant, smoke - not yet showing the true strong cedar/cigar box nose that CB is so famous for.)

Ok... not done yet! In the Grand Tasting... 1998 Dom Perignon (classic Dom... needs time), 1990 Dom Perignon Oenotheque (so much coffee!!! Beautiful!); Krug Grand Cuvee, (more) Krug Rose; the highlite of the day... the 1990 Krug en Magnum (amazing... this is simply incredible stuff.); Veuve Clicquot La Grande Dame 1996; 2003 Casa Lapostolle Clos Apalta (very tight... not my favorite); 2001 Ceretto Barolo "Bricco Rocche" Prapo (very intense... in a few years - like 10 - this will be simply stunning); 1999 Chateau Cheval Blanc (very nice - drink young); 1995 Chateau d'Yquem (classic d'Yquem nose, if not a bit lacking in power); 2000 Chateau La Nerthe Chateauneuf-du-Pape Rouge en Magnum (earthy, excellent); 2004 Cloudy Bay Pinot Noir (new release! - tighter than the 2003!); and lastly, you have to try Adbeg Islay Single-Malt... Nice day, huh? Everything was special... an amazing collection of wines. The highlite was clearly the Champagnes, being able to taste Dom and La Grande Dame with Krug... Still the 1990 Krug from Magnum was the stunner. Simply the greatest Champagne I've ever tasted.

Had to come back and edit this as I forgot the simply stunning 1994 Stags Leap Wine Cellars "Cask 23" with dinner... so young and lively. Just starting to show secondary aromas. Amazingly youthful wine...

Perfection

How do you improve on perfection? I'll get to it... the 1999 Domaine Louis Latour Corton-Grancy was a nice start. Very "fruity" - as fruity as Grand Cru Burgundy can be, anyway. Not a lot of delineated earth, just very clean - almost too clean for my liking. Onto the others... 2002 Cakebread Reserve Chardonnay, Napa Valley... just not my style at all. I personally would never drink it. Ever. Ok... onto the highlites. The 1995 Haut-Brion was exceptional. Classic power and elegance that only Haut Brion gives... Cedary, showing just hints of cigar box and other maturing notes. This wine has a long, long life ahead of it. Unfortunately, it is simply nothing compared to the 2001 Harlan Estate Proprietary Red Wine. This is now the Cabernet-based wine that all others that ever cross my lips will have to compete against. I wrote about this wine a few weeks ago and it was even better the second, albeit last (hopefully not!) time around as this was our last bottle. Simply perfection. Hopefully someday I will be fortunate enough to have a bottle in my cellar. Until then I will continue to relive the smell and taste of the greatest Cabernet-based wine I have ever had the pleasure to enjoy. All this from a self-proclaimed Francophile! Better than the 1982 Latour, 1982 Mouton, and yes, I would even argue with the 1961 Latour. The only question I have is, how much can this wine improve? Every other producer around the world should look at Bill Harlan and shake their heads. The rest of the world shouldn't be chasing Petrus, Cheval Blanc or Latour - it should be chasing Harlan Estate. Read my tasting notes from before... I won't repeat. Notice that I stopped short of proclaiming this the greatest wine I've ever had... Yup. #2.

Decanting Bubbles?

We tried an experiment tonight... I'll get to it later. First, the 2002 Zind-Humbrecht Vieilles Vignes Pinot Gris was mammoth. If anyone has any doubt about the quality of wines that Zind-Humbrech consistantly makes, even in the "off" vintages, find a bottle of this. 15% alcohol - yet completely balanced. Stewed peaches and tropical fruits, with just a hint of baked apricots. The 2003 Turley "Old Vines" Zinfandel is all about the nose... bramble, bramble, and bramble. Classic new style Zin with a jammy raspberry nose.

There have been a good number of articles written lately about decanting Champagne and Sparkling Wine... So R and I decided to decant an already open bottle of Krug Grand Cuvee and see what happened. While the nose was certainly clearer, I felt that the entire reason for drinking Champagne was lost. The bubbles were still there - sort of. It lost all notion that it was Champagne and just became wine - with a few bubbles. Still balanced, with clear notes of yeast, toast, peaches and pears. The wine was still amazing... which leads me to a thought.

What do the following have in common (other than very expensive price tags) - Domaine de la Romanee-Conti, Leroy, Latour, Petrus, Cheval Blanc, d'Yquem, FX Pichler, Robert Weil, Harlan, Shafer, Colgin, Guigal, Krug, Gaja, Trimbach, Paul Hobbs, Weinbach, Nicolas Joly, Bruno Giacosca, Penfold's Grange, Zind-Humbrecht, Torbreck Run Rig, Herm Donnhoff, etc....? Why are they the best? Because even in "off" vintages, they manage to make great wine. Now, what makes these wines great - Collectors want them? Restaurants want them? Sure, but that's not what it is. These estates all make very, very concentrated wines designed to age, evolve, and improve for decades. But there's an even bigger key than the concentration. I've had wines that will rot your teeth they are so concentrated with tannin, fruit, etc. To me, the real reason that these are the best wines in the world are the fact that year in and year out, good or bad vintage, they are exceptionally balanced wines. The tannins, fruit, and acid all come together so that if they are high in alcohol, you don't notice. If they are high in tannin, you don't notice. Jammy? Can be, but mostly they just have a formula for achieving complete balance. My main criteria for determining how great a wine is, not matter what stage of maturity it is in, is whether the wine is completely balanced. What makes the 1961 Chateau Latour so great? It's earthy, cedary, smokey, almost porty, it still has a good amount of tannin and acid - and it's completely balanced. The next time you taste a wine that is widely considered "great"... think about why it's so great.

Finally getting around to last week...

Just notes from the other night when I didn't get a chance to write... 2 separate Magnums of 2002 Domaine de la Romanee-Conti Vosne-Romanee 1er Cru Cuvee Duvault-Blochet - magnum numbers 00074 and 000075. Wow. The 1999 was outstanding, the 2001 very good, but this has the potential to be the best of the 3 bottlings of this premier cru, which is basically declassified La Tache - so the pedigree is outstanding, plus it's DRC! The bottles were incredibly different, despite being early numbers and consecutive bottles. 00074 had it's corked soaked mostly through and displayed a slightly closed nose of wild strawberry, turned earth, dried leaves and currants. After working it through the mouth for 15 seconds, it is clear that this is an excellent wine. Bottle 00075 had a completely soaked cork and was slightly molding on top. This bottle displayed the same time of notes, just more developed and complex. This was the better bottle of the two, though I don't think it would have lasted as long due to the cork. I would be pretty upset if in 5 years I opened these up and found them to be leaking and oxidized... just a comment. The 00075 was superior in every way. Working it with air for a good 15-20 seconds brought out soft rose petals, wild strawberry, turned earth and dried leaves. Classic Vosne-Romanee, and soft like La Tache. The 1997 Beringer Private Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon was pretty and still had tons of black fruits left to it. This is not a 1997 that is losing it's fruit... a long, long life ahead of it. 1999 Felton Road Block 5 Pinot Noir was mistaken for the Volnay 1er Cru when tasted blind later... a great earthy mass of rustic, powerful pinot noir from one of the leaders in Central Otago. 1999 Jacques Prieur Volnay-Santenots 1er Cru was mostly fruit-driven with classic Volnay power and rusticity. Mostly black fruits. A nice, nice bottle. 1988 Trapet Latricieres-Chambertin Grand Cru was dead... no fruit left at all. Bottle was rejected by both myself and the host. 1981 Chateau Mouton-Rothschild was oxidized as well. The 1976 Leroy Pommard-Arvelets was without question the best of the 5 or 6 bottles I've tasted. The depth of fruit after 30 years in this Pinot Noir is amazing. Too bad we only have one bottle left. This wine continued to evolve over the course of 2 to 3 hours. 2003 Peter Michael Les Cairrieres Chardonnay is great California Chardonnay and continues to improve with bottle age. The 1995 Araujo Eisele Cabernet Sauvignon is still a tannic, massive, inaccessable young wine. My hope is that the fruit lasts as long as the tannins do, and the soft, but very much present tannins, do not appear to be lessening any. I am not sure exactly how this wine will continue to evolve, but we have 10 bottles left and I will continue to update how they are drinking. Right now, decant it for 3-4 hours before drinking it.