Catch-Up

A little time to breathe now... So much to catch up on, so here's the short and sweet version of the last few weeks (more depth on yesterday, though...) So let's start with yesterday... Opened a 1979 Krug Collection Champagne Magnum for a reception. The dense, toasty, almond and apricot nose gave way to tremendous length on the palate. One of the great wines... Only to be quickly put in its place by the magnificent 1990 Krug "Clos du Mesnil" Champagne - without question, the greatest Champagne I've ever had. It has changed from a piercing, mineraly wine to a wine of incredible finesse and elegance with a long, mineraly finish that just doesn't stop. A real joy. On to the still wines - 1966 Leroy Meursault 1er Cru (forgot the vineyard... I'll find it and update it) tasting like to could have been from 1985 - it took at least an hour to fully open in the glass. Butterscotch, hazelnuts, tons of crushed pebbles. A fabulous wine... On to the reds. The 1959 Trapet Gevry-Chambertin 1er Cru "Les Caizerets" (I think that was the vineyard... have to check on that one too) was so earthy - dried leaves, and cloves with a hint of rhubarb. Still showing well... a great wine. The 1996 Clos de Tart came next and this was a better bottle than any of the 5 we had at the dinner a few weeks ago. Still a baby, but showing a hint of black truffles. Awesome. Had one bad bottle of 1961 Chateau Latour, and one that was amazing. This is what wine is all about. Without question one of the 2 or 3 greatest wines I've ever had, this kept opening and opening for hours and hours. It acts like it's only 10 years old... The 1949 Chateau Haut-Brion was dying and lasted all of 5 minutes in the glass. Real bacon-fat with crushed gravel. Classic HB. On to Syrah... The 1990 Penfold's Grange was perfect. Ripe raspberry with pepper, black plums and spice with lots of eucalyptus. Classic. The wine of the night for me was the 1990 Guigal "La Turque" Cote-Rotie. Tons of truffles, mushrooms, dirt and raspberry and still a healthy amount of tannin - this is what all Syrah should hope to become. Spicy and elegant. 1998 Alvaro Palacios L'Ermita, Priorato was a dusty, dirty powerhouse. Loads of black fruit with a spicy finish... long... needed another 5 years. The 2002 Bond "Melbury" was a powerhouse fruit bomb after everything else... Fit nicely though, which says a lot about the quality of these wines. The 1994 Vega Sicilia Unico was finally showing well again, after a period in which I thought the wine was not all it could be. It was finding its way and is now so earthy and pretty... a very elegant wine with a ton of tannin. The 1975 Quinta da Noval "Nacional" was wonderful (coming from a non-port-lover)... loads of caramel and black fruit. The 2003 Inniskillin Sparkling Vidal Icewine was a nice intermezzo... The 1990 Chateau d'Yquem was immense - incredibly massive - but elegant and perfectly balanced. So rich with apricots and botrytis. This will last forever. The 2002 Masetto in Magnum was back to fruit, but with hints of anise and black pepper (?)... good, but lighter than the 2001 or 2000. We needed something to finish with so we went with the 1990 Dom Perignon Rose in Magnum which was divine. A wonderful way to end the greatest wine afternoon of my life. I think that was it(!!?!?!?) Forgot the 1990 Dr. Burklin Wolf Riesling Auslese Trocken. Yummy... so much petrol and minerals...

Friday night was the last bottle (and the best one!) of 1994 Bryant Family Cabernet Sauvignon - beautiful. This was so much younger than the other 3. Mint and fruit and powerful tannins... instead of dying after 4 hours, this bottle kept getting better and better. The 2001 Vitus Terrarum (La Mancha, Spain) needs time. Going to be great one day, but not today.

The 2001 Far Niente Cabernet Sauvignon is rich, elegant slightly green... not my favorite, though it never is. The 2000 Sparr Schoenenberg Grand Cru Riesling (killer stuff... bone dry), rocks... plain and simple. I love Riesling... The 1998 Comte George de Vogue Le Musigny was good but not as good as it has been in the past. The 2004 Pride Cabernet Sauvignon (killer stuff, here...) makes my head spin. Glad I've got some in my cellar...

yummy... such gems as 2005 Mommessin Clos de Tart (love the 05), 2001 Clos de Tart (amazing), 1996 Clos de Tart (good), 2005 Mommessin Gevery-Chambertin 1er Cru "Lavaux St. Jacques", a killer 2005 Meursault, about 8 Cru Beaujolais, and a few other gems from last night... 2000 DRC Richebourg (young), 1999 Jacques Prieur Volnay-Santenots Premier Cru (beautiful nose, less appealing palate), 2001 Guigal Cote-Rotie (earthy), 2004 Jadot Puligny-Montrachet (minerally and elegant), 2004 Dagueneau Pur Sang (sharp, not the best bottle), 1995 Araujo Eisele Cabernet Sauvignon (stunning), 1995 Chateau Calon-Segur (really good), 1985 Chateau Haut-Brion (3 different bottles - 1 great, 2 outstanding) 1997 Dunn Howell Mountain (loads of brett here), 2003 Phelps Backus (a monster!), 2003 Peter Michael Les Pavots (rock star), 1994 Bryant Family, and 1996 Dalla Valle "Premiere Napa Valley" Barrel #41 (amazing wine... drunk like a 1999... great stuff.) Cabernet... all huge, with the Dalla Valle being a huge surprise - absolutely gorgeous.... also had the 1999 Tirecoul "Cuvee Madame" Monbazillac...