A Light Lunch...

ok... sure... if you want to call it that. I'm not really sure what to call it - a grouping of several of the greatest wines I've ever tasted put together in one afternoon? Amazing stuff... I'll go in order. The 1990 Krug Brut Champagne is magnificent as always. Certainly the finest Champagne I've ever tasted and continues to be so. Next month when we do this again, we'll try the 1990 Bollinger RD and see how it compares or perhaps the 1992 Krug Clos du Mesnil. It's just so yeasty, rich, honeyed - beautiful. The 2003 Didier Dagueneau Pouilly-Fume Silex is awesome. I do still think I like the Pur Sang a touch better, but I believe over time that the massive amounts of minerals will come out a little richer in this wine. Spearmint, grapefruit, grass, oak-spice and fat creaminess. It's like Haut-Brion Blanc on steroids... The 1990 Louis Latour Corton-Charlemagne is what really hooked me on wine. I have not to this day tasted any other chardonnay (including any Montrachet) that brings chills to my spine that this wine does. While not as powerful as many Montrachets or fat as many Batard-Montrachet, this wine just has the special character that I've found in very few wines. It's nutty, butterscotch, pears, apples, intense minerals and powerful. Was great after about 30 minutes, and continued to open for another 2 hours. Still vibrant and youthful. On to the reds (though, how do you top those whites???... here's how). The 1995 Gaja Sori San Lorenzo (Barolo - but not) is a smokey, meaty, leathery, pencil-lead filled mass of dried blueberries, black plums, and cedar. It's immense and is just beginning to show. While not the best Gaja I've ever tasted, this wine is silky-smooth and has the classic elegance that the greatest producers coax from their wines in every vintage. Angelo Gaja uses some Barbera to soften some of his single-vineyard wines, so they can not legally be called Barolo/Barbaresco, as I understand it. More Italian? The 1999 Antinori Solaia is just starting to open. Tasted 8 hours(!) later, this wine was still closed and not ready to give up much. This is mostly Cabernet Sauvignon, with a little Sangiovese and Cabernet Franc. Licorice, graphite, dried blackberries, plums, and blackcurrant. Classic Italian acid structure, but larger than life. Awesome. No more Italian... 1994 Penfold's Grange is just a baby... it's so pretty and gives so much, but it is too young. Put it away for another 10 years and try it again. Just starting to show the classic raspberry notes that will then pave the way for the intense earth that mature Grange is known for. Spicy and peppery with very exotic asian spices showing through. Nice, round, ripe, sweet tannins. Such a mammoth wine. Now, the big one. The 1955 Chateau Haut Brion simply rocks. While not as good as the bottle I tasted last month, we actually opened 2 bottles. The first was OK, but not great so we didn't serve it (tasted it with the staff). The second was awesome. The nose is classic - black plums, saddle leather, cedar, ground stones and a finish that goes on forever. Not as massive as last month, this is still incredible. Just awesome. For desert, the 2003 Inniskillin Vidal Sparkling Icewine is decadent. It's crisp acidity balanced the sweetness so well. It's a unique sensation - sparkling Icewine. Great stuff. The 1998 Von Buhl Forster Ungeheuer Riesling Trockenbeerenauslese, Pfalz is incredible. The botrytis comes right at you, then the striking minerality shines through. It's so sweet, but so great. Apricots, pears, apples, peaches, lemon, pineapple, mango - you name it, it's in here. Just amazing stuff... Well, cheers. 9 wines. One afternoon. I'm tired and ready for bed.