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I go to a lot of wine dinners, most of which no one ever reads about. Most of the legendary dinners that I have attended, you have read about, and what happened this past Thursday night in Los Angeles quickly became one of the all-time legendary nights for everyone in attendance, and there were some serious and experienced connoisseurs in the room. Allen Meadows, aka the Burghound, was there, and the next morning had this to say to Rob: ‘Seriously, I have attended a lot of really nice events over the years, but this one ranks in my top five ever, which is saying something,’ or as he put it to me, ‘Dude. That was AWESOME.’ Another said the next day, ‘the best Burg and Champ night ever”¦I am done, it’s over”¦no way could I drink more or better”¦’ Here’s one more comment for good measure, ‘You rewrote LA wine history last night.’ Big Boy had come to Los Angeles, and now all of Los Angeles wants to know when Big Boy is coming back.

Cocktail round began with a magnum of 1979 Krug Collection, a nice aperitif. It was tight as nails at first, slowly revealing signature vanilla cream, oil and nutty wood frames. Its nose got creamier and creamier, and I thought to myself, ‘Here is a Champagne that almost needs decanting.’ It got more and more buttery in the glass, and almost a pan-fried complexity a la Zeppoles with some powdered sugar. The palate was very zippy, citrusy, spiny, bright and long with nice grit and dust. Rippling with minerals, I couldn’t help but feel that this was a food Champagne, and one that needed much more time in the glass to open up and show even more (95+M).

The mag of Krug went rather quickly, so we popped an impromptu magnum of 1971 Dom Perignon Rose. Mr. Rosania always likes to travel with a few extra bottles just in case lol. The ’71 was in a great spot right now, round and rich with tasty strawberry fruit. It had good earth flavors and didn’t get dirty like some old Dom Roses can. It popped without being overly acidic, and it seemed to be entering that plateau of maturity where it will stay for a long time. It still had some zip and was long in its own regal way (95M).

We finally sat down to the first official flight. We waited for a close friend of mine as long as we could, but there was a lot of drinking to do, and he was running an hour late as usual. All the Champagnes and wines were served blind, and I dropped a few hints as the guessing games went along throughout the night. I, of course, knew what was what, and Rob knew what he brought to LA but not what I selected for each flight.

The first Champagne was superb. We started off on the right foot with this creamy, nutty, toasty and honeyed nectar. It had this smoky, glazed donut edge and the perfect amount of sweetness possible. In the mouth, it was seamless, balanced and pure with great, granulated sugar flavors and excellent acidity. Someone picked up on ‘caramel.’ This magnum of 1969 Dom Perignon was as good as it gets (96M).

The second bubbly in this flight of three had a sweet and toasty nose that had this earthy streak that was more root vegetable. The nose had some woodsy and funky edges, but still possessed positive geyser, game and sunny yellow fruits. The palate was wild and woolly, sweet and buttery, gritty and exotic. Jerry admired its ‘jungle flowers’ and then made one of the most interesting and astute wine comments I have ever heard, ‘You can feel the humidity in the wine.’ It was so true, this bottle of 1969 Cristal really gave off this humid impression. Jef picked up on ‘coffee-coated licorice.’ Jerry added, ‘cat pee,’ and I a touch of cigar. Rob found it ‘kinky’ and observed ‘anise.’ I thought that this bottle was either very slightly corked or affected somehow, as I have had near-perfect bottles of this bring me to my knees, and Rob felt the same. It was still decadent and very, very drinkable (95A).

The last Champagne of this first flight really got Allen’s attention, and mine as well. This was clearly in a separate category from the first two with its breed and structure. Jerry liked its ‘yeasty’ personality, and its nose was just extraordinary. As Allen succinctly put it, ‘it has perfect balance and punch. I love austerity.’ It was austere in the most noble of ways, lemony and fiercely intense. Its finish took off like a rocket ship and went on and on and on”¦its acidity was unreal. Superlatives were not enough to describe how good this bottle of 1969 Krug Private Cuvee was, original bottling (97+).

Everyone was immediately bowled over by this impressive flight of ‘69s. Steve had a funny line about the flight, and one of the best things about fine and rare Champagne, “You can fake an orgasm, but you can’t fake Champagne.”

The next flight was comprised of four glasses, and I gave a hint early on: one producer, three decades. The first Champagne had amazing color, all the more so given its age. It was a ‘wow’ nose, full of vanilla bean and sugar crystals. Nutty and creamy with a nice foresty complexity, there were also hints of marzipan and bread crust from a fresh baguette. Its vanilla cream flavors were decadently good, ‘butterscotchy’ as Jerry put it, and one hour later this bottle of 1928 Louis Roederer was still singing. Old Roederer is still one of Champagne’s best-kept secrets, and it was easy to see why Big Boy calls 1928 ‘Champagne’s greatest vintage’ (97).

The 1952 Louis Roederer was a touch oxidized, but still excellent. It had lots of caramel and brown sugar in the nose, and Rob pointed out how it wasn’t as oxidized on the palate as it was in the nose. Delicious golden raisin and Madeira flavors graced its palate, which was a bit more wine-like than anything else so far (93A).

Allen was all over the next bottle, admiring its ‘crème brulee’ and ‘light Sauternes’ characteristics. There were touches of yeast and fig to this unraveling giant. Game, white meat, vitamins and oil started to take over in dominant fashion. Its fruit became sweeter and more exotic, and additional flavors of oats and yeast added to its complexity. We had another ‘rocket ship’ finish, and the 1955 Louis Roederer was all that and then some, still spritzy and oh so tasty, with pinches of sweet liquid dropped vitamins. This was another ’55 proving why Big Boy says this is the vintage of its decade (97).

The last wine in this flight was also Roederer, but it was also Cristal, 1966 to be exact. The 1966 Cristal was the ‘youngest’ to Jerry while guesses were still being made. The ’66 nose was racy and linear in a 99 mile per hour way. Loads of vanilla, yellow sunshine and this exotic sushi/soy/wasabe complexity graced its long and vigorous nose. Allen admired its ‘tertiary’ qualities and the fact that it was just starting to come into that phase. The palate was long, fresh and ‘super-duper,’ so yellow and full of corn-buttered fruit that was just divine (97+).

The third flight of Champagne was a duet, whose clue was ‘same vintage, different producer.’ The first bubbly had an unbelievable nose. It gave elegance a whole new meaning with its pure, clear and clean personality. Seductive aromas of straw, hay, nut, yeast, white fruits and vanilla were intoxicating. Long and ‘so good,’ there were loads of vanilla flavors to this thick yet agile 1949 Pommery. Balanced and full of minerals, this was another superb bottle of ancient Champagne from the cellars of Robert A. Rosania. When all was said and done, Rob actually felt that this wasChampagne of the night as it had ‘the greatest balance and the highest pitch.’ He would know (97).

The 1949 Dom Perignon was more advanced than the Pommery, more wine-like but still with some petillance and delicious in its own right. There was more texture and a sense of grandeur, but this bottle was already in a graceful declining stage. It might have been the bottle, or it might be ’49 DP in general. I guess I will have to have it again. Good thing I know Rob! Back to the DP”¦it was rich, saucy and almost soupy, sweet and delicious in its ‘On Golden Pond’ way (95).

It was time for some reds, and Jerry surprised us with a flight of his own that just so happened to fit into our program quite nicely. I love it when that happens. The first wine was serious juice. It had a killer nose of deep black fruits and incredible spice. There was what I call ‘fireplace action,’ along with tobasco, Worcestershire and earth. The palate was rich and hearty with great bouillon, earth and spice flavors. Hearty and long, and with huge acidity, despite its larger than life persona, it still remained polished and softened out in the glass wonderfully over time. It was a 1962 Ponsot Clos de la Roche Vieilles Vignes. Boing (97).

Many preferred the second wine in this flight the best, a surprisingly good 1962 Lamarche ‘La Grande Rue.’ I could see why as it was decadently mature, more advanced and more ready to go than the Ponsot, which was following the Lamarche’s road to maturity many years behind. The Grande Rue (a monopole vineyard in Vosne Romanee) had lots more beef and Worcestershire sauce in its big, spice-laden nose. There was also more garden, and some eucalyptus and cola complexities. Heady and saucy, both in the nose and on the palate, the wine’s flavors were of beef, citrus and cola, and it reminded someone of a ‘gamy Richebourg.’ It definitely showed the oldest of thethree ‘62s, but it kept expanding in the glass, gaining and growing on me. Its acidity really came out with some food, and despite its browned old fruit nature, it kept going and going and going, as did my score up up and up (96).

The third wine in this flight of ‘62s had a deep, sexy nose, also with lots of beef and Worcestershire, but some cassis behind those as well. There was incredible spice to its oily nose and a soft citrus edge. It was thick, rich and creamy with this nutty cassis kink becoming more pronounced. Its flavors were earthy and spicy with edges of bouillon and garden. It got mintier in the glass, thickening and leaving an impressive impression in the end. It was a rare 1962 Gros Frere et Soeur Richebourg (95).

There was another guest flight, but this one was planned, as there is also a guest consignment in Rob’s sale from ‘THE Cellar.’ a close friend of mine had long since arrived on the scene, and he brought gifts, two flights of them, in fact. a close friend of mine and Rob have developed a great friendship over the years with their comparable generosity and passion for rare, old wines. I should start a dating service lol.

The first wine in this second flight of red wines first had oats and brown sugar in its nose, also having classic bouillon, garden, earth and dirt. Flavors of citrus, earth and ‘caramel’ (Jerry) were present in this tangy wine, and Allen was all over its ‘lemongrass’ quality, and it was just that! Clean and almost crisp, this was a mellow yet solid bottle of 1959 Ponsot Clos St. Denis Vieilles Vignes that had nice spice and stayed fresh (95).

The second wine was a noticeable step up from the first wine, possessing ‘so much energy’ per someone. This wine ‘got game,’ I wrote, and it was as if there was a slice of Kobe beef in the center of its decadent and oily nose. Its earth qualities were incredible, citing Rob to call it ‘another dimension.’ It was more like ‘another night of wine dementia,’ I mused to myself, and we did certainly feel demented by the end of the night, not to mention the next morning. A hint of exotic lavender graced its palate, which was so thick and rich that I wrote the combination of those two words five times in my notes. I guess I wanted to get that point across lol. Its texture was ‘retarded,’ and its acidity was ‘off the charts’ as well. What a bottle of 1959 Roumier Bonnes Mares (97+).

The third wine in this flight of ‘59s was a bit stinky at first with some urine notes. With some oxygen, big, beefy fruit emerged, along with a bit of ass, to be blunt. Spiny yet soft, there was a rough, masculine edge here, ‘wood and spice’ as Jerry put it. There was excellent and spicy alcohol and acidity in this 1959 Ponsot Clos de la Roche Vieilles Vignes. This is a wine that I have had one near-perfect bottle and one near-perfect magnum, so it always seems like a letdown relative to those even though it was still (95). That doesn’t happen too often!

There was one more flight from a close friend of mine, this one being a flight of 1949s. Oh alright, if you insist. First up was the 1949 Rousseau Chambertin, which was gamy, earthy and spicy in its nose with decadent bouillon aromas. It was ‘rankly’ ripe; ie, very pungent and gamy, bordering on ‘rank’ in a good way. The palate was chunky and long, full of beefy and citrusy flavors and incredible earth on its finish. Ah oui oui (96).

As good as the Rousseau was, the next two bottles were staggering. It is pretty hard for Rousseau to get beat by a significant margin in 1949, or any vintage for that matter, but that is exactly what happened. The second ’49 had a minty nose with a deep leather component. Thick and decadent aromatically, there was iron, spice, earth and garden, and all those carried over to the palate in synchronicity. ‘So thick, so spicy, so outta control good,’ I wrote. This was wine number nineteen, and the notes were starting to wane as this was a tasting that you just had to drink almost every last drop! This bottle of 1949 Roumier Bonnes Mares was as good as it gets, and it flirted with 98/99 points, and were it not for the bottle that would follow, it might have actually gotten it. It was that good (97+).

The twentieth wine of the night would end up being its finest for me so far. The 1949 Ponsot Clos de la Roche Vieilles Vignes had a spiny and spicy nose, showing some of the same, old Burgundy character traits of the Roumier, with more hints of anise and allspice. The Ponsot went one step beyond the Roumier, its richness even more mind-blowing, its minerals and acidity extraordinary. This was breathtaking wine. In the end, the Ponsot ‘killed it’ (98).

We had an intermezzo, a magnum of 1952 Krug, which unfolded into its signature intoxicating vanilla cream, super sexy with its gamy fruits and mature nuances. Although the bottle gave me the feeling that the sun was starting to set for this wine, it was a breathtaking sunset, so to speak, a memory that will always linger. Round, lovely, lush and rich, it was super buttery in the mouth, so voluptuous, so concentrated, balanced and mature (94).

Rob brought some old Burgundies, too. You know he also has a bit of wine. Just a bit. It’s not all about Champagne for Mr. Rosania. He needs his Burgundy, too. The flight that would follow was crowned ‘best flight ever’ by David, and everyone couldn’t help but concur. Emails of adoration ensued the next morning about this flight, Rob’s version of ‘shock and awe.’

I only mustered up one official note for the four wines, which seemed to take all my note-taking skills with it. The 1934 Romanee Conti was monumental, as it should be. The nose was rich and intense beyond belief; aromas of cigar, cherry and atouch of cat’s pee went with the usual rose, menthol, citrus, rust and animal of great old RC. The palate had ‘insane’ intensity; one sip made me write, ‘99 points no question,’ the second time I have had that impression for this incredible vintage. Hey wait a second, both times I was with Allen! Man, the Burghound does know how to sniff out the right events to come to J. Thick, earthy, spiny and spicy, this wine sent shivers up and down my spine. If there ever were a wine to challenge the 1945 as ‘best wine I have ever had,’ it would be this bottle of 1934. If every person on earth could drink a wine like this, the world would be a much better place (99).

The 1923 Liger-Belair La Tache that followed was no slouch, either. ‘Sick as always,’ I wrote. I have had this wine three or four times from Rob’s cellar, and he has an incredible batch of this wine. It has always been at least a 98-point wine for me, and its gamy, leathery and earthy qualities were all legendary again. I might have been splitting hairs, but I gave it (98+). You’ll have to check some old notes for more details, sorry.

The third wine was the wine of wines, the king of kings and the lord of lords, the 1945 Romanee Conti. It is nice when two of your best friends have virtually all the bottles of this wine left in existence! Only 608 bottles were made; I have had it now five times (one still to be written up but you will read that one next week), and yes, they were all real. Man, what a wine. I have said so much about this wine before, that I don’t feel bad about my lack of a detailed note here. ‘YOWSERS’ was one of my detailed observations lol. ‘Super intense’ was another. Notwithstanding this wine’s usual perfection and status as the greatest wine I have ever had, as bottle and circumstance variation would have it, I actually found the ’45 on this night to be a small step behind the ’34. We are talking videotape replay, Indianapolis 500 photo finish material here (98+).

The last wine in what was supposed to be this last flight was a 1919 Les Gaudichots, actually brought by a close friend of mine. My only notes were, ‘Holy f-*%#.’ Everyone ought to have at least one or ten of those in their lives, don’t you think? The 1919 was so good it had world-class skier Kate doing iron crosses off the table lol. She immediately retired after this flight to pursue a life of drinking wine with Big Boy HA (99).

No matter where you are or what you are drinking, if you have wines from Domaine de la Romanee Conti in your plans, make sure you drink them last because there is really no place to go from there, and you are about to see exactly why.

There was another flight that was supposed to be opened earlier, but we fell off course. However, the bottles had already been opened, so we had to drink them, right? The wines were a 1952 Monfortino and 1966 and 1969 La Moulines. These are all 98 or 99 point wines and probably Italy’s and the Rhone’s greatest wines”¦EVER, but after the ’s, they all lost a couple points and were down to 96-97 point territory. The actually lowered their scores! They probably would have lowered some of the other wines’ scores from before, too, if we had them after the s. Allen emailed me the next morning, ‘What amazed me was how the ’66 La Mouline was just lost after that foursome, which is as we both know, for as great as the ’66 La Mouline is, really saying something.’

There was one more Champagne to wash it all down, a glorious 1961 Krug. If there is one wine in the world that can follow a flight of RC, it would be Krug. It alone stands worthy. Big Boy took this bottle of ’61 Krug outside onto the streets of LA and La Cienega Boulevard, and successfully sabered this bottle in one shot. The Krug was all Krug, buttery, lushand full of decadent vanilla and cream aromas and flavors. Man, those ’61s are in a great spot now, and not going anywhere anytime soon (97).

I don’t remember quite everything from there, but I do remember waking up the next morning still drunk. That doesn’t happen too often. I had missed my flight to Palm Beach, where the Great Wine Seminar was taking place, but after last night the simple truth of the matter is that I couldn’t even think about drinking anything for a few days. I had a mini Guy Savoy moment the night before when I got back to my hotel room at 2am, a brief moment of consciousness, that every wine I could possibly taste this weekend would seem like ordinary table wine no matter what it was. Plus, I would have to wake up and pack in like three hours, and that was definitely not happening!

I cannot thank Big Boy enough for his incredible generosity. Thank you a close friend of mine and Jerry as well. To have so many 97-99 point wines in one setting (sixteen!!!) is truly extraordinary. As Rob often says, ‘with privilege comes responsibility,’ and I love it when he is responsible like this lol. But seriously, sharing these wines and drinking these bottles with people are what it is all about, and there is definitely one man who understands this: Robert A. Rosania.