The night was fun... started with a bottle of Perrier-Jouet Brut N/V... nice, clean, dry (!)... wonderful stuff. The 1992 Perhod Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru "Les Chenevottes" was unfortunately, dead... not even close... d.e.a.d. As a tribute to old-school California Cabs... the 1987 Robert Mondavi Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve was one of my favorites of the week... beautiful black fruit, balanced tannin, lovely cedar spice, a hint of mint... a great wine with a long life ahead. Too bad the wines aren't made like this anymore... The 1982 Chateau Cos d'Estournel was powerful, full of tar and leather, tobacco leaves, cedar cigar box, all spice and a hint of green pepper. A great wine, but I prefered the 87 better, though many did not. The 1993 Domaine Robert Arnoux Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru "Les Hauts Mazieres" was the best Pinot Noir of the week... beautiful with Epoisses. Lovely red cranberry, beetroot, clove (along the lines of DRC), rose petals, pink peppercorn, and forest floor. I've always loved Arnoux's wines from Vosne-Romanee better than his from any other village. Certainly one of the best, he just gets what V-R is all about...
The next night was a pair of Bordeaux and a lovely Loire Chenin... The 1988 Chateau Calon-Segur was as good as I remember from a few months ago. Beautiful ripe red cherries add a fruit componant to this wine that is different than so many of the other '88s. Long lingering finish. The 1986 Chateau Pichon-Lalande was gorgeous with lots of bell pepper, graphite, black cherries, black plum, and loads of spice box and tobacco. The Merlot really came through in this vintage. Good, but ready to drink. The 1997 Domaine de la Souchieres Coteaux du Layon - Chaumes was out of this world... mindblowing candied apricots, perfect balance... a great sweet wine. Stunning, really... this wine really needs 20 years, in addition to the 10 it already had! Beautiful...
On the last night, the wines really were out of this world... until the end. The 1978 Chateau Haut-Brion was a wine I could have smelled all night long. It continued to open an hour after opening... the glass smelled like tar-covered gravel, with smoke, saddle leather and black plums. Ready to drink? Sure... would it improve? Doubtful, but an exceptionally enjoyable bottle of wine, even more so given the company. With the 1990 Chateau Beaucastel Chateauneuf-du-Pape, someone smiled as the last bottle I had was corked, and this one blew away the one before that even more than I could have imagined... this bottle was fresh, alive, still young (!)... red cranberry, red wild strawberry, crushed pomegranite seeds, dried roses and spice box. A beauty... long, long finish. The last two, were unfortunately, both dead and we gave up and had some Lemoncello instead (!)... The 1976 Hallgarten Siebeldinged Konigsgarten Riesling Beerenauslese was unfortunately, long past its prime... As was the 1981 Chateau St. Jean Riesling Late Harvest... such a shame...opened a 1981 CSJ Johannisberg Riesling (dry) last year and it was great...
All in all, a fabulous week with the family... when I came, back, I had some 2002 Perrier-Jouet Rose Belle-Epoque Fleur de Champagne... this is a rock star... maybe the best since 1996, or even 1985...
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