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On the day Big Boy’s name reached New York Magazine fame for his voracious participation in THE Cellar II, we were all together for a long awaited dinner with his business partners and closest associates, a dinner hosted by Big Boy to celebrate this past year and all of its accomplishments at various addresses all over America. CRU was the location for the celebration, of course”¦as if that wasn’t a given.

I was actually there an hour early to catch up on a few debits and credits with CRU, and Roy was there having a quick bite, accompanied by a 1995 Krug Clos du Mesnil, hot off the press. The Krug was served out of a Riedel Sauternes glass, a trick of Robert’s trade that was an amazing discovery for me. I don’t think I will drink Champagne without it as a matter of fact, at least whenever possible. The Krug was gorgeous, laser-like in its definition and more wine-like than the average young Champagne due to the glass, no doubt. It was especially creamy, pure and obviously fresh, bursting and sparkling with minerals. When it comes to Champagne, it really is Krug and everything else (96+).

Since 20+ wines were on tap for the evening, I only had two glasses of the Krug. The official part of our programming started with a jeroboam of 1953 Pommery. Big Boy had assembled flights based on significant years for all those in attendance, and 1953 was the birth year of his partner Larry, and I think one other as well, but forgive me for not remembering all the particulars. The Pommery had an amazingly creamy nose with lots of vanilla. It clearly had amazing color and was in outstanding condition. There was this pinch of granulated sugar to the nose with baked edges, but the purity of the nose was what stood out the most for a Champagne 53 years of age. There was still a touch of mousse, but the Pommery was more wine-like in its character and excellent stuff (93J).

A duo of Cristal was next, beginning with the 1947 Cristal. Since the first vintage was 1945, this was a true slice of history. In fact, this was the first time I had ever witnessed a Cristal from the 40s. Leave it to possibly the greatest collector of Champagne in the world to pull something like this out of his cellar. His wine collection may already be legendary, but his Champagne collection is one of a kind. The 1947 had a bit of sherry to its nose and was not a perfect bottle but certainly still enjoyable and delicious. Full of ‘white chocolate,’ the 1947 also had a touch of burnt orange and sweet flavors. The mousse was gone, but the orange and caramel made up for it. It was ‘on golden pond’ delicious, ‘mind blowing’ according to one. Someone noted ‘mentos,’ and I got what they were saying. It still had great nutty flavors and texture; smooth, satiny and long (95A).

The 1949 Cristal was one of the greatest Champagnes that I have ever had. The nose was incredibly fresh, with more bran and oat in the nose and a sprinkle of that granulated sugar. There was also a touch of the inside of a banana peel. The palate was fantastic, at what I would call the peak of maximum maturity. White chocolate was there as well, and the palate had more yellow fruits than orange. It was so sweet and delicate yet still with that pinch of petillance. The minerals on the finish were superb, and the ocean of caviar served in the first course made the 1949 even more delicious. The first course equaled my previous year’s intake of caviar, and that’s ‘Big Boy Style’ (98)!

It was on to the reds, beginning with a flight of 1971s and a 1971 Dujac Clos St. Denis. Its nose was gorgeous with pure and beautiful, almost sappy fruit. There were great plum and black cherry aromas, light nut and incredible sap. There was this great, grapy sex appeal to the nose, which also had a touch of fig and chocolate. The palate was full of Bloody Mary flavors, a stark contrast to the nose. ‘Blackberry’ and ‘pepper’ came from the crowd. It was smooth and had touches of minerals and slate on the finish, but the palate was a step behind the nose, at least for me (93).

A 1971 La Tache was next. The bottle was sound, but this is a wine that will forever be measured by me by a case that CRU had a few years back. I must have had at least half that case, and it was pure magic. Back to this bottle, which had signature menthol and mint in the nose and fat fruit; it was symphonic in its plum, grape, blackberry and cassis mélange. It was very deep purple with the haze. Someone noted ‘bolognese,’ and the palate also had tomato flavors. Even Rob admitted that it was not the best of bottles but still found it ‘5 stars,’ and it was close, although I found it to fade with time. I should note that bottled (and still bottles according to many) barrel by barrel (94).

A 1971 Rousseau Chambertin finished this flight, and it was served out of magnum, acquired from a parcel of twenty! The Rousseau had a mesmerizing nose, vitamin city, with taut fruit, great citric twist and pungency, with a touch of nut, oat and brown sugar. The palate was rich, spiny, long and flat-out great ”“ spiny, spicy, earthy and vimful. There was amazing vigor; the wine kept gaining in the glass and flirted with ‘6 star’ status (96+M).

A flight of 1962s was next, and I sampled my 1962 Rousseau Chambertin first to compare it with the 1971. The 1962 also had an amazing nose, similar to the 1971, except it had more sweetness in the cherry family. There were great musk, meat and oil flavors with a touch of autumnal floor action. It was smooth and right down the middle of extraordinary, also gaining in the glass with time (96).

The 1962 Roumier Musigny was another amazing 1962 with similar qualities to the Rousseau due to the vintage, but it was even deeper with more game and that signature Roumier garden aroma. It was dripping with beef flavors, with a hedonistic gyro edge to it. Sweet and tender yet rich, spicy and edgy; the Roumier was fat and fantastic. Its acid lingered in the belly, and it gained a pinch of mint jelly flavors. Rich, long, earthy and meaty, this was serious juice (97).

It wouldn’t be a Big Boy flight without some Conti, so we eased into a 1962 Romanee Conti. Unfortunately, it was slightly corked, but the wine still shone through to achieve my highest ‘Affected’ rating ever! Underneath the cork was still the classic RC ”“ the meat, the tomato, the menthol, the game, the iodine, the richness. It clearly had the most power of the flight. Its density and length shattered the others (98A).

There was one more wine to this flight, a magnum of 1964 Romanee Conti, which possessed such perfume. Its nose was also full of deep, dark fruits, incredibly deep and rich. ‘Violet city,’ I wrote. The palate had the rust, iron and iodine of RC and an amazing spine. The citric vigor on the finish was classic, and cola flavors emerged. Long and sturdy, the 1964 was still missing something in the middle yet also ‘immature’ as Rob noted. It was great but a touch shy”¦in the middle, that is, as its front had the animal and its back the power and definition (95M).

It was halftime; hence a palate-cleansing flight of Champagne. The 1955 Krug Private Cuvee Extra Sec had the pure granulated sugar, vanilla, earth and cream in its nose. The nose was fantastic; its vanilla was all that and then some, very buttery and with a touch of antique wood. Rich and with a ‘touch of ice wine’ to it, the Krug kept gaining and gaining in the glass until it indubitably reached outstanding status (95).

The 1955 Pol Roger Extra Cuvee de Reserve had a lighter nose with a pinch of Goldschlager to it with the real gold and the super schlager. It had more vigor and spine than the Krug, great length and biscuit flavors with a drop of honey. Sturdy and long, the Pol Roger was great (96+).

A 1955 Dom Perignon served out of magnum was weird and an off magnum, reminiscent of bad Chow Mein (DQ).

It was back to Burgundy with a 1934 Vogue Musigny, not a Vielles Vignes I might add. It had a nice nose, mature yet firm with aromas of musk, meat, light brown sugar, long t ‘n a, a touch of garden and strong earth. The palate was long and spicy with great earth flavors, citric twists and light brown sugar flavors, impressive for its age (94).

The 1945 Vogue Musigny V.V. reminded Big Boy of the 1993. There was a touch of caraway, weed, garden and edge to its nose. Smooth and round with light flavors of earth, I have to admit I was a bit disappointed by this bottle, but after some food the 1945 gained some steam and equaled the 1934 in terms of complexity, adding tobacco to its flavor repertoire (94).

A 1929 Les Gaudichots was next, a bottle not from the famed cache from the Doris Duke cellar. The nose was ‘like whoa’ ”“ thick, gamy, nutty; it was so sweet, rich and heavy in its aroma profile. Long and with nice texture, round and with great spine, this bottle was definitely reconditioned, a fresh Nicolas bottle reconditioned in 1985 before they sold off the last of their inventory. There was an abundance of plum and cherry cola flavors, and its acidity was rippling with loads of minerals on its finish. Big Boy had it in 98-99 point territory, but I had it (96+), finding it a touch youthful for that zip code.

The g>1943 Romanee Conti had this lime and the coconut thing happening at first but settled down to more classic nut, brown sugar and that kiss of sherry maturity that was still just right. Great tobacco, citrus and earth flavors rounded out this rare and righteous RC (96).

A flight of 1953 Bordeaux was next, but I forgot to include this flight when writing the first draft and threw my notes out already, so I am going from memory. The 1953 Lafite was spectacular, everything it should have been, full of classic Pauillac flavors, that elegant Lafite style and that sumptuous 1953 texture (96). The 1953 Mouton was a bit weedy and stinky, still very good but not a standout on a night like this (91). The 1953 Lafleur was also very good but again not a standout amongst the all stars that had been already assembled (92).

There was a mega Pomerol flight to finish, and I was starting to wane a bit, as there was not a drop of spitting on a night like this. We started with a 1950 Lafleur, which gave an impressive impression in the nose. It was super concentrated, decadent with its dense cassis, plum and mocha aromas. The palate, however, was smoother and softer than I expected, a bit dirty in that pre-marriage Christina Aguilera way. It was still rich and had length but lacked mid-palate definition. ‘Pure chocolate’ and ‘Tootsie Roll’ came from the crowd; it was still great but a bit dirty (95).

The 1945 Trotanoy had a serious nose with great earth and minerality as well as an erotic tension between its fruit and structural components. Grape, cassis and chocolate abounded in its nose and on its palate, displaying more milk chocolate in the mouth with smooth flavors, chunky and long (96).

A magnum of 1947 Le Gay was just what we needed, as there was not nearly enough wine served so far. There was more minerality and slate than any other Pomerol so far yet still that kink underneath. So long and so dry, it kept gaining (95M).

The final wine of this magical evening was a 1949 Lafleur. It was an extraordinary bottle, pungent and full of ‘fresh cut grass.’ Nut, plum and mocha were there in this pure, long and exquisite Pomerol. That’s about all I could write by now; therefore, that’s all she wrote (96).