Despite my really having only two-and-a-half months of typical social drinking in 2020, I managed to cram in quite a few legendary wines in 2020. It was Acker’s 200th Bicentennial Anniversary, after all, so there was no hesitation in pulling any and every cork that got in my way for the first couple months. Of course, in typical JK fashion, I have misplaced the notes for a few evenings even in a year where there were fewer nights out, so in going back looking at pictures and places, I noticed evenings like thirty vintages of Rousseau that never made it on these charts, because I am not sure where those notes are. There could have been an extra three or more Rousseaus here, as an example of the imprecise nature of my recap. There is an anal, perfectionist side of me that in years past would work on this article for days until every wine was captured and recorded, even relaying a list of those 97/97+ point wines. I think I got close to 200 97+ point wines tasted in 2018, and this very same nature is why I never got this article out in 2019. This year, I am not letting that happen twice, so I am giving you a 90th percentile perception of my year in wine. It was 2020, you know, so there had to be some degree of fuhgeddaboudit to it.

Let’s start my recap with nine, very fine wines that scored 98 points or more that I didn’t officially write up:

Not a bad nonet, no? I think that’s the first time I ever used that word, I love it when that happens. Moving right along, there were fifteen other wines that scored 98 or 98+ points that I did write up, then another ten that scored 99 or more. Actually, make that sixteen. It will all be clear in the end, I promise.

Let’s start with a white, and a 1978 Niellon Chevalier Montrachet that showed great floral qualities immediately with lots of acacia and honeysuckle. It was very tropical, exotically so, and its palate was rich, creamy and luscious. Secondary flavors of vanilla and caramel emerged in this perfectly aged bottle of white Burgundy. Lord Byron Jr. hailed it as ‘oily’ and ‘unctuous.’ Each sip made me appreciate this profound wine even more. It got some pretty high scores from some distinguished tasters; Jetski was in 99-point territory and the Curious Gourmet gave it 98. Jetski quickly backpedaled, but both of them – and the wine – pulled me up a point in the end (98).

Another most noteworthy white wine was a Domaine Leflaive Montrachet. The 1996 Domaine Leflaive Montrachet had a fabulous nose with creamed corn and butter fresh off the farm aromas. There was sweet yellow fruit and a great icecap on its nose. There were underlying minerals and tension beneath its sensual olfactory stimulation. The palate was rich, creamy and round with such signature smoky sexiness. There were secondary butterscotch aromas and flavors in this divine wine (98).

There was a superlative magnum of 1988 Salon, which was pretty much perfect in every which way. It had a rich nose full of vanilla aromas that Big Boy quickly gave 98 points. It was long and scintillating with a nice sweetness and powdered goodness to it. This was rock star stuff with great acidity and still on the upswing. In the end, I agreed with Big Boy, which is always highly recommended (98M)!

I drink a lot of Chave, and the 1990 “regular” delivered 98 point bliss on two occasions: one night we began a flight with the headline act also known as the 1990 J.L. Chave Hermitage. I’d recently tasted two magnums of this in January that remained at the forefront of my brain, but that didn’t take away from the thrill of this bottle. There was great minerality, and it was consistent with my most recent, previous tastings. The Chave was like a full meal with its vegetable, animal and mineral components — WOW. It was long, fine and meaty, with flavors of iron, bacon and violet. This wine pretty much had it all. A second bottle was another evening’s last call: one final wine arrived, a mystery wine that Big Boy deemed ‘somewhere between strong and extremely strong,’ which was quite accurate. It had great bacon and mint aromas, with the perfect ‘zippy zip’ I wanted at the end of the night. It wound up being one of the best bottles of 1990 Chave Hermitage that I have ever had, firing away on all cylinders in all its rich and decadent glory (98).

Speaking of Rhone, a 1978 Guigal Cote Rotie La Mouline was deep and meaty with menthol, violet and bacon – that superior signature of La Mouline. It was chocolatey on the palate, but the cheese kind of stripped it a bit; don’t serve cheese with your red wine! It regained its footing after the cheese went away and kept getting better and better. This was another superlative bottle on what was clearly a superlative night (98).

1945, 1955, 1959 and 1961 are pretty good places to be if you like to drink Bordeaux, and some of those vintages slid into my Top Wines of 2020. First up is 1959 Chateau Haut Brion, which had a spectacular nose of chocolate and tobacco. There was plenty of zip left in it with some band-aid, charcoal and gravel aromas to add complexity. I could sense how long the palate was before I tasted it, and it was terrific and sensual, full of chocolatey, creamy and tasty greatness. There was lots of gravel on the finish, and Hamburger found a ‘particular freshness to it’ (98).

Next is another perfect condition bottle, a 1961 Chateau Haut Brion. It had toffee, caramel and peanut aromas with an egg cream kiss. It was rich and luscious on the palate with great, coffee and chocolate flavors alongside dark plum and cassis. This was a long and sexy wine; if flavors could be midnight, this wine was it. I wanted to take it back to my hotel room accordingly (98).

There was a 1961 Petrus which had a rich, sexy and sweet nose full of plums and chocolate. It was so complex with all the shades of all the flowers of the Royal garden in full bloom. The ’61 was incredibly expressive in the nose. Some mint crept in on the palate that was still a touch shy. It was still rich, creamy and sexy as hell. It was clearly the most complex wine so far. There were great layers to the mouth; this was was soooo good. Sweet, sexy and chocolaty, the ’61 Petrus was a veritable rap star (98).

La Tache always finds its way to the top; it could be renamed ‘La Top’ lol. We had a Rare Legends dinner, and it couldn’t be a Rare Legends dinner without a La Tache flight, so most appropriately we began one flight with a 1990 DRC La Tache. This was another rock star wine with great depth and freshness. This was fresh like the Versailles garden. It was rich, leathery and black with a touch of partridge with the buckshot still in it. It was so long and stylish, continuing to unfurl until there was regrettably nothing left in my glass (98).

Rousseau basically has its own VIP section in my 98-point club, and this doesn’t even include that night of thirty others. I hope it’s clear I love the wines from Rousseau. A Premier Cru even snuck in here thanks to a divine 1978 Rousseau Gevrey Chambertin Clos St. Jacques. It was a super sexy bottle that was musky, oily and tangy with a wealth of red cherry sex appeal. The finish was so long and sensual with great earth flavors and a nutty finish. It made me smack my lips, and its acid lingered in my belly like a warm fireplace on a cold night. Its gritty, long finish had me excited (98).

A 1993 Rousseau Chambertin was deep, dark, vitaminy, irony and rich. This wine was deep, deep inside. It was long and strong with a great flash of black and purple fruits. There was a fair amount of game as in ’got game,’ and everything was in the right spot. Its sweet core tickled my fancy, and it was so long in a beautifully brooding way, what a wine (98).

A 1985 A. Rousseau Chambertin was full bodied and then some. This was a ‘deep ocean’ wine as Big Boy would have said if he ever made it to Brazil. It was black like a deep cave after dark, and full of wet, dark stone mysteriousness. This wine was rich and great, in every which way, not rich and an asshole lol (98).

The red wines began with a bang thanks to a strong bottle of 1985 Rosseau Chambertin Clos de Beze. It was outstanding from the get-go, with great length and zip. It was still on the tight side and young for an ’85. It kept unfurling and lingering on the palate, with great cedar and a flash of fruit on the strawberry city side. This was an amazing wine still with a long way to go (98).

A couple more wines pushed the boundaries of 98 to 98+, making it five wines total for the year knocking on heaven’s door. The first was one of the rarest of them all, and we went straight to the penthouse with a 1999 Roumier Musigny. ‘Miraculous,’ ‘other shores’ and ‘stellar’ came from the crowd. It was deep in an inverse, mountainous way. It had deep, dark fruit and was coiled like a rattlesnake. I couldn’t stop drinking this nectar, a big-time Rocky Mountain high experience (98+)!

We moved on to a spectacular bottle of 1985 Ponsot Clos de la Roche. It was rich, decadent and super concentrated. This was a perfect bottle of this wine, and it was clearly nestled in the strike zone of Ponsot’s best vintages. It is an outer-worldly wine in the context of the 1985 vintage, a bit of a superhero amongst mere mortals, although we had two other superheroes in this flight already! There was a lot of boss to this sauce (98+).

And now, drumroll please…time to cross over into 99-point territory and the best wines I tasted in 2020. First, I must pay tribute to the four wines I gave 99 points that didn’t make the official countdown; ie, they have no tasting note. Apologies in advance. Chalk this one up to the fugghedaboudit pile that wasn’t completely forgotten. Where would they be inserted in the official countdown? If you really care, send me an email, I need more human contact anyway lol.

(10) In tenth place is the perennial Top Tenner, The 1989 Petrus. It is tough to see any vintage of this wine since 1961 ever eclipsing the 1989. It is always as good as it gets, and still ascending. One night it came out, and immediately it was, ‘now we were talking!’ I was all about the coconut kisses amidst its deep purple and black fruits. It was thick as a brick and rich with great length and zip. This was the ‘BEST,’ I wrote. Some things never change (99).

(9) Viva Italia! Any one who thinks Italy can’t make some of the world’s greatest wines should start with some 1978 Conterno Barolo Monfortino Riserva, or many other vintages of Monfortino, for that matter. One bottle was full of ‘cinnamon.’ It was long and dry but lifted like the take-off of an under-control rocket. This was clearly a great wine with great acidity and a zippy personality. The usual tar and leather were joined by black roses and Grandma’s secret spices. Mamma mia (99)!

(8) 1978 is a good segue to the first Red Burgundy in my Top Ten, a 1978 Roumier Bonnes Mares, which once again delivered an immaculate experience. It had a smoky nose full of deep, dark purple fruits. This oily red was a 99-point wine from the get-go with its smorgasbord of delicious fruits. It still felt so young but was so open, with great length and grit. This wine had impeccable concentration and zip, and it lingered on my palate effortlessly and endlessly (99).

(7) I might drink more white wine than red wine on a yearly, everyday basis, even though the best wines are dominated by red. I was glad a 1996 DRC Montrachet gave me more and then some, cracking that 99-point code. It was all about its richness and smoky intensity. The acidity was even more intense; its length and zip made it a real powerhouse. The Ambassador thought the ‘acidity endless,’ and he was right. This wine wasn’t even on its plateau yet and was as good as Chardonnay gets (99).

(6) A spectacular lunch closed out with a 1990 J.L. Chave Ermitage Cuvee Cathelin. I brought it. I mean, a ’71 RC magnum was opened, and I’m a gentleman! I just realize that I may have had this wine in late 2019, but I never released by ‘Best of 2019’ article, so just deal with it lol. As previously indicated, I have been drinking as much Chave as possible; it is generally a good habit. The Cathelin had an amazing nose with an insane blend of menthol, violet and bacon. It was so white smoky and so sexy with enough oil to get a racecar going. The palate was superb; this was another long and sexy wine that left my mouth open and wanting more. Its creamy, honeyed personality and elegant, endless finish had me in the promised land again. Just wow (99).

(5) The best wine of Acker’s 200th Anniversary Gala that I tried was a 1991 J.L. Chave Ermitage Cuvee Cathelin. This wine always achieves 99 points; I have written this wine up on this level before and will refer to the last time I wrote it up properly: While by no means mature, the additional nuances and style of the 1991 Cathelin obviously showed more development than the 2003, but it still felt like a very young wine. What amazed me about the 1991 was its silky personality. This was not a bomb like the 2003, and I could see even more Jean-Louis’ insistence that Cathelin was a different wine and expression of a given vintage. Its fruit was again on the black side, with more purple and light ink edges. Smoked meats and fireplace crackles of the God of War mixed with violets and wildflowers from the Goddess of Love. It had a long, sensual finish, unfurling slowly, surely and sexily. It was creamy but not heavy; there was a grace and elegance to the 1991, and it danced like a ballerina on my palate. It also was dripping with diamonds, sparkling in every which (and rich) way. I just realized I totally forgot about this wine in my Top Wines of the Year article in 2017! Those auction tasters are impossible for me to keep track…but I won’t forget it again (99).

(4) The 1978 DRC La Tache proved on two occasions to be another ‘wow’ wine. It was packed with menthol, rose, white smoke and light game, as in just right light. There were leather and slate flavors on its muscular and unfurling finish. This bottle of LT had it all. Lord Byron Jr. was hesitant to give it the elusive 99 points, but while the ink in his pen dried up, most of us had no doubt. Tasted twice, both 99 points, and the second time was also as good as it gets. It resided in menthol city with any and every fruit readily apparent in an amazing, smorgasbord fashion. It was a kaleidoscope of colors: red, purple, blue and even more. There was great earth and leather, too, accompanying the spectacular mint notes. It was in the perfect spot at age 42 (99).

(3) The last wine of one of Jetski’s celebratory nights was as spectacular as anything we had had so far, and one of my most spectacular wines of the year. It should have been, as it was a 1971 Rousseau Chambertin Clos de Beze. It had the citricity meets electricity that would light up anyone’s palate. The red rainbow of fruits was on full display, starting with currant and, let’s not forget, the berries, straw, cran, rasp and lingon, of course. This was a spectacular wine that would be hard to defeat no matter who the opponent (99).

(2) The 1945 Mouton Rothschild was perfection as always. I seem to be fortunate enough to have this wine at least once a year. The bottle I had in 2020 had everything it should have and dream it could have. This remains, year after year, one of the Top Ten wines I have had in my life – really Top Five. That eucalyptus edge à la 1974 Heitz Martha’s is that characteristic’s best it ever could be. The caramel, carob, cream and candlelight qualities were Captivating with Capital letters. The wine reeked capital, in fact. I will never be able to drink enough bottles of this most incredible wine. Thankfully, I’ve already had it close to twenty times (99+).

(1) Now those of you that have been reading my notes for years, you know that I don’t give out 100 points. I believe in the pursuit of perfection, but not perfection itself. So, 99+ is as high as I have ever given, and only to a handful of wines, one of which is above. However, one night in February in New York City made me think a bit differently about things, and it took four wines to combine together into a rising Phoenix of a 100-point experience, and the four wines were all DRC Romanee Conti, of course. First a bit of context. It was the week before our gala, and there were conflicting events popping up all over. I was at Per Se with Comte Liger-Belair, doing a historical retrospective of every vintage of Aux Reignots, ever, which normally would be enough of a great wine night on its own. But Big Boy was also holding Romanee Conti court at his home, back to 1937, on the same night. The Comte and I arrived late, but quickly caught up, because thankfully Sir Robert and Dapper Dave were saving us some sips. There were numerous afterthoughts like 1990, 1999 and 2002, because four mature vintages of RC hit the bellissimo bullseye, three of which were 99-point wines: 1937, 1952, and 1971, combined with the aforementioned 98+ points, the 1980. One could split hairs that the 1937 was 98 points, but at that point and that age and that circumstance, it just got that baby bump. Of course, the younger vintages were still alpha alphas, but when you have great old bottles next to the same great young wines, it is very hard for youth to prevail. I didn’t take thorough notes as it was late, and I was catching up, but I stayed until about two in the morning, sampling and sipping my way through numerous other RCs (a great magnum of 1970 was another standout), along with a trio of DRC Montrachets amongst others. To give a great tasting note of the ultimate mature RC experience, I will share with you a wine that I was going to include in this article, a note from a magnum of 1971 RC that I then realized I had in December 2019, previously mentioned in my misplaced 1990 Chave Cathelin note above: A magnum of 1971 DRC Romanee Conti came next. That’s right. In fact, this magnum was purchased at our November Hong Kong auction the month prior. The magnum was in outstanding condition, and it had outstanding provenance, so I was feeling no pressure. After one sip, I was feeling no pain. Its nose was full of that autumnal rust and spice. There were tomato, rose, bouillon and menthol aromas filling my nose to capacity. The Winemaster found the 1971 ‘more elegant than 1978’ in general, and I was in love with its great, fully mature flavors. There were brick, rust and autumn flavors here. While its palate was elegant, its finish was thick. It got more minty and (good) herbal on its finish, with almost a kiss of Chartreuse-like complexity. What a wine (99M).

So, there you have it, my first 100-point rating, although it would be fair to call it an experience, a Big Boy Experience, of course. I suppose there have been many other 100-point nights over the years, but this combination of 1937/1952/1971/1980 DRC Romanee Conti gets the first, official (100). It only took me 25 years, but 2020 was the kind of year that needed one.

Forty wines in 2020 rated 98 points or more, and a few missing soldiers, for sure. All things considered, I’ll take it. I have a feeling that my 2021 will be backfilled a bit like my 2020 was front filled. No matter what, I will still find a way to drink and share some great wines with great people. I look forward to lots of catching up in 2021!

This has been a different year for everyone, a lot of ‘Home Alone’ on the playlists for sure. Slowly but surely, one must poke one’s head out of the ground and say hi to the world…responsibly, of course. Everyone I know has no problem with masks and social distancing; one would think this wouldn’t be an issue. In fact, responsible people want to go out and see their friends; it’s the strangers everyone is concerned about. After limiting most of my summer movement to deserted beaches and island hopping, I took a big hop to the Hamptons to deep dive into a few familiar wine lovers’ cellars. The expedition was deeper than I expected, and that was a very good thing. The concert was officially sold out, and it was time to get back to what we all knew best.

A magnum of very aged Krug MV was served first as a cocktail and estimated to be a release between 1966 and 1976 by the world’s foremost Champagne expert, Big Boy. It was 100% delicious, vanilla cream soda tasty, so easy to drink and so scrumptious. Amazing how well the Krug ‘non’ aka ‘multi’ vintages age (95M).

A flight of Ramonet was the first official sit-down occasion, beginning with a 1992 Ramonet Batard Montrachet. It had a mature nose in a great way. Caramel, honey, carob and nut all integrated well in its round nose. Its flavors were on the dry, honeyed side. The wine was rich and fat but starting to lose focus. It was still nutty and tasty with corn kisses and a wheaty finish. It was rich but lost its center in time (94).

The 1988 Ramonet Bienvenues Batard Montrachet ultimately proved to be the best wine of the flight, which is definitely an underdog story. There was more waterfall and acacia in its nose, with lots of matchbox flavors to complement. Nutty, tasty and dry, the ’88 exploded with lots of acid and its bigger finish (95).

The nose of the 1986 Ramonet Bienvenues Batard Montrachet had me thinking best of flight, but the palate didn’t back up the thesis. It had the sweetest and most exotic nose, very tropical in character. It got fatter and also more floozy with time. It was too early for that (93).

The 1971 Vogue Musigny VV was good not great per the consensus. It was ‘a little stewy, you can still sense the grip,’ Big Boy acutely observed. The palate was round, a little earthy, zippy yet tangy. There are better bottles of this wine (90A).

The 1966 Vogue Musigny VV was a better bottle, for sure. Its nice red fruits were ‘working’ per one of the guests. ‘Delicious’ came from another. There was a floral, sensual quality to its great, red fruits. Its fruit went va va with the voom and even gave me a kiss of charcuterie. I think the French would say, ‘oh ho ho.’ More kisses of earth, a touch of tea and a smack of leather held my attention. Its acidity sealed the deal (97).

We continued with the Musigny theme and a rare 1955 Jadot Musigny, which was rich and decadent but also a touch square, most likely touched up/reconditioned at some point. Attention all Burgundians: it doesn’t work well for Pinot Noir please cease and desist! Its finish was quite dry with desert-like flavors. There was some discussion about the wine’s bottling, and Vogue’s name came up (92).

There was one more Musigny – for now. It was an outstanding 1971 Drouhin Musigny. ‘Fantastic bottle’ started my note. It was on the chalky, citrusy, garden-y style. Its palate was round, tangy and zippy, reinforcing the citrus before its dry finish. It was a tightwire act, showing more citric tension than any other Moose. Its acidity was still lifting, but its fruit was a touch taut (95).

The next flight was a rare trio of Roumier Chambolle Musigny Les Amoureuses, led by the 1995. Its nose was fantastic and alluring, ‘spectacular’ per Big Boy with its aromas of wafer, citrus and black cherry. Dapper Dave found it ‘super clean,’ while The Mogul found it ‘too young.’ It was tight but with amazing structure, and it was still so elegant. This was clearly the best of the forthcoming flight, and its finish smacked sexy in its desert of a finish (96+).

The best way to sum up the 1993 Roumier Chambolle Musigny Les Amoureuses was ‘not perfect’ (DQ), and the 1988 was strong but a bit squirrely and confused with its expressions (93).

One good Roumier flight deserves another, and we went straight to the penthouse with a 1999 Roumier Musigny. ‘Miraculous,’ ‘other shores’ and ‘stellar’ came from the crowd. It was deep in an inverse, mountainous way. It had deep, dark fruit and was coiled like a rattlesnake. I couldn’t stop drinking this nectar, a big-time Rocky Mountain high experience (98+)!

The 1996 Roumier Musigny was much more shy and tight. It was long, dry and zippy, a bit square and make that very dry. ‘Tight’ and ‘Sahara’ were my last observations (94).

The 1995 Roumier Musigny was an intense wine. It was zippy, stony, long and dry. It was still tasty, but it was definitely iron fist strong. Long and acidic, this was another ‘wow’ Roumier, although as is the case with most Roumiers of the last 25 years, still young (96+)!

It was definitely some time for some Bordeaux, even more especially so thanks to a spectacular flight of five wines from the 1945 vintage. 1945 Palmer? Why yes please, thank you very much lol. This was a phenomenal bottle of Bordeaux, everything one would need to explain the region to anyone. Its nose was rich and buttery, a testament to the vintage, and it had a kiss of honey as well. Its palate had pencil, minerals and chalk, and tobacco graced the finish of this delicious wine (96).

The 1945 Lafite Rothschild had signature lead pencil but also a bit of locker room to its nose. Its palate was light and elegant, atypical for the vintage. It was Burgundian in style compared to the rest of its counterparts in this spectacular quintet. This was an elegant wine, a 93 point bottle at best but really a 92. It was ultimately the least wine in this best flight (92).

Someone said nothing was ‘close’ to the 1945 La Mission Haut Brion. The La Miss had a deeper, darker nose which was full of chocolate. It wasn’t quite as open as the Palmer, but it was certainly more serious. Dapper Dave got deep with ‘cool smokiness, almost embers. It’s a smoky minerality.’ The Mogul talked me up a point, but he was right. He always knows when the stock should go up. He’s a good financial advisor lol (97+).

The 1945 Latour was not the best bottle that this wine can be; it wasn’t off, but it was a touch gamy and more fruit forward. There were some classic components and nice cherry, but this wine can be a beast, and this bottle was clearly domesticated (93).

The 1945 Mouton Rothschild was perfection as always. It had everything it should have and dream to could have. This remains year after year one of the Top Ten wines I have had in my life – really Top Five. That eucalyptus edge a la 1974 Heitz Martha’s is that characteristic’s best it ever could be. The caramel, carob, cream and candlelight qualities were Captivating with Capitals. The wine reeked capital. I will never be able to drink enough bottles of this most incredible wine. Thankfully, I’ve already had it close to twenty times (99+).

A 1966 Faiveley Bonnes Mares was classic and delicious. It had red fruits that were fleshy and softer, aged in a great way. It was an excellent wine (93).

The 1966 Vogue Bonnes Mares was cut from the same cloth as the Musigny but not as complex. It didn’t have the density of the Moose, but it was still a sturdy, complex wine (94).

There were two more wines, a 1971 La Tache being the first. It wasn’t the best example of this wine, but it was still really, really good. It was a slice more mature, a bit saucy compared to prime examples, but it had density and complexity. I am a good judge of this wine; unlike the 1945 Mouton, I’ve had ithe ’71 LT more than twenty times 😉 (97pts).

The last wine of the night was as spectacular as anything we had had so far. It should have been, as it was a 1971 Rousseau Chambertin Clos de Beze. It had the citricity meets electricity that would light up anyone’s palate. The red rainbow of fruits were on full display, starting with currant and let’s not forget the berries straw, cran, rasp and lingon, of course. This was a spectacular wine that would be hard to defeat no matter who the opponent (99).

The music was still loud, but it was time for the show to be over. It was good to get the band back together thanks to Jetski and his incomparable chronicles!

What a difference one month can make. In early February, Acker was celebrating its 200th anniversary in full frontal fashion. Dinners, auction, gala. It was a great week, and now a reminder of good times rolling, good times that will be back again soon. There were three extraordinary dinners that week, and the Rare Legends dinner at Daniel was most certainly one of them.

The first flight highlighted the majesty of Coche-Dury’s premier cru holding of Meursault Perrieres, beginning with the 2008 vintage. One found it ’spongy,’ while I thought it was a touch tropical and definitely ripe. This felt a bit advanced and gamy, though it remained rich and sweet, almost sugary. It was less complex than I remembered but it got much better with food (94).

The 2007 had a great nose and an even better palate with far better balance. It was long, zippy and icy with nice yellow flavors. This had solid length and nice grit, in a much more stylish, lean manner, with a precise finish. This was the best of the three bottles I have had of this wine in 2020 (96).

The 2005 was a big, rich and broad-shouldered Coche. It was sweeter than the ’07 and richer, too. Hamburger noted its ‘opulence,’ while Paul and Vinivici found it ‘unctuous and powerful.’ Pitts was also in the ’05 camp, and another noted the ‘best balance of fruit and acid.’ This wine’s tremendous richness made it win the flight by a group landslide (97).

The second flight of the evening showcased the majesty of Montrachet, four wines from the 2011 vintage by a few of the best producers in the Côte de Beaune. It began with the 2011 Drouhin Montrachet Marquis de Laguiche from a perfect magnum. It was sweet, rich, decadent and very honeyed. There was great length here, too, to this delicious Chardonnay. It’s tough to beat Drouhin’s Montrachet for price/quality ratio when it comes to Montrachet (95M).

The 2011 Comtes Lafon Montrachet showed some banana on the nose and palate, with a tropical sweetness and a touch of glue. It was initially a bit awkward on the finish, but Alberto noticed it got better and drier with food, becoming his favorite. I agreed that it got better, and so Pitts, channeling his inner Tony the Tiger and proclaiming, ‘it’s great!’ (95).

The 2011 Comtes Lafon Montrachet showed some banana on the nose and palate, with a tropical sweetness and a touch of glue. It was initially a bit awkward on the finish, but Alberto noticed it got better and drier with food, becoming his favorite. I agreed that it got better, and so Pitts, channeling his inner Tony the Tiger and proclaiming, ‘it’s great!’ (95).

The 2011 Ramonet Montrachet was a rock star white, with loads of minerals, zip and amazing length. There was great minerality and white ice in this long, long, long, zippy, zippy glass of majestic white. It was clearly the best of the flight (97+).

We finished the flight with the 2011 DRC Montrachet, which was a bit tropical as well, almost ‘like the ’08 Coche,’ someone said. The palate was big and brawny but not very showy. It was a bit shy, rich but shy. I wondered if there were better bottles; I felt like it under-showed and was most certainly a surprising fourth place in this quintessential quartet (94).

We moved onto reds with a spectacular flight of 1993 red Burgundies. The 1993 Dujac Clos de la Roche was full of dank olives, with a sexy and gamy nose. This was a musky wine with rich, creamy notes and some nice jam on it. Decadent and brothy, the Clos de la Roche had a lot of fruit for a ’93. It was the most open of the flight with dark and foresty tones, and another killer wine from the Dujac assassins (96).

The 1993 Rousseau Chambertin was deep, dark, vitaminy, irony and rich. This wine was deep, deep inside. It was long and strong with a great flash of black and purple fruits. There was a fair amount of game as in ’got game,’ and everything was in the right spot. Its sweet core tickled my fancy, and it was so long in a beautifully brooding way, what a wine (98).

The 1993 Domaine Leroy Richebourg was strong and powerful. It was deeper, darker and blacker than the previous two wines. Someone admired its ‘viscosity kiss,’ and I was wrapped up in its strength and length. Its dry finish was admirable, even though there was no mistaking its bigness. Pitts wrapped up this flight quite eloquently when he said, “There was no least favorite for me, it was like choosing between Beethoven, Mozart and Bach.” Well said (97).

It couldn’t be a Rare Legends dinner without a La Tache flight, and most appropriately we began with a 1990 DRC La Tache. This was another rock star wine with great depth and freshness. This was fresh like the Versailles garden. It was rich, leathery and black with a touch of partridge with the buckshot still in it. It was so long and stylish, continuing to unfurl until there was regrettably nothing left in my glass (98).

The 1985 DRC La Tache was terribly shot, so we moved on (DQ).

The 1985 Dujac Clos de la Roche had a melange of the full spectrum of fruits — black, red purple and blue. There was great forest floor and tree bark complexities, and fresh floral notes, a true cornucopia of outdoor goodness. This was deliciously stylish and good, flirting with a higher score (97+).

The 1978 DRC La Tache was as good as it gets. It resided in menthol city with any and every fruit readily apparent in an amazing, smorgasbord fashion. It was a kaleidoscope of colors: red, purple, blue and even more. There was great earth and leather, too, accompanying the spectacular mint notes. It was in the perfect spot at age 42 (99).

Bordeaux came next with a flight of the historic 1959 vintage. 1959 and 1961 have often been compared over the years, but as time goes on, I find myself more and more in the ’59 camp overall. Not every wine, not every bottle, but just in general, at least for the Left Bank. This flight didn’t disappoint. First up was 1959 Chateau Haut Brion, which had a spectacular nose of chocolate and tobacco. There was plenty of zip left in it with some band-aid, charcoal and gravel aromas to add complexity. I could sense how long the palate was before I tasted it, and it was terrific and sensual, full of chocolatey, creamy and tasty greatness. There was lots of gravel on the finish, and Hamburger found a ‘particular freshness to it’ (98).

The 1959 Chateau Lafite Rothschild was shy and a bit dark, cloudy and murky. It was not a great bottle, showing mostly peanuts and a little earth. It was the most mature of the flight, and while not an ‘off’ bottle of this wine, it wasn’t an ‘on’ one either. This wine often wins 1959 challenges but not on this night (95).

The 1959 Chateau Latour was deep, dark and brooding as Latour often is. It had hints of chocolate and smoke with lots of grit. There was a touch of twang and charcoal with tremendous length. It was a little chunky and still felt too young, give it 20 more years, at least this bottle needed it (97+)!

The next flight brought out more legends, this time honoring the Northern Rhone and Piedmont. We began with the headline act also known as the 1990 J.L. Chave Hermitage. I’d recently tasted two magnums of this in January that remained at the forefront of my brain, but that didn’t take away from the thrill of this bottle. There was great minerality, and it was consistent with my most recent, previous tastings. The Chave was like a full meal with its vegetable, animal and mineral components — WOW. It was long, fine and meaty, with flavors of iron, bacon and violet. This wine pretty much had it all (98).

The 1990 E. Guigal Cote Rotie La Mouline was darker, deeper, chunkier and blacker. Vinivici found its ‘acidity ringing,’ and it was definitely rich, decadent and heavier than the previous glass, but not as stylish (96).

We finished this flight with a 1990 G. Conterno Barolo Monfortino Riserva, which was not the best bottle ever of the wine, but it was still outstanding. It was a bit shut down and shy, but still with loads of length and leathery zip. There was a touch of tar, open road and tobacco on its finish. I generally like this vintage of Monfortino a bit more, or maybe the Chave just stole the show (96).

I was running out of steam, but we had one flight to go, a series of 2001 California Cabernets. The 2001 Colgin Cariad was noticeably heavier in style (93), while the 2001 Harlan Estate was a bit richer and still quite heavy as well (94). The 2001 Opus One had the most Bordeaux-style elegance (95), and we finished with the 2001 Heitz Cellar Cabernet Sauvignon Martha’s Vineyard (93).

Start curating now! And in the meantime, stay safe. By staying apart as much as possible, we’ll get through this together. All the best to everyone, I hope these notes can provide a bit of respite for each and every one of you.

Everyone ready for flu season to be over? Some weeks are worse than others, and this last week sure felt like one of the worst of all time. It felt like an Atomic bomb hit all of the US simultaneously, and that everyone will be staying home a lot more these next few weeks. But is your glass half-empty or half-full? I try to keep my glass at least half-full, and I say the best part about staying home is getting to drink more of your wine! As far as fine and rare wine goes, it has been a great year, and drinking great wine is the best bet to make your year even greater, in case you forgot. Consider me here to remind you with a recap of another exhilarating evening of delicious and decadent wines.

Much better than an Atomic bomb is an Atomix bomb, with Atomix (pronounced like attaboy, I believe) being an exciting and relatively new restaurant in New York City. It is definitely an experience, and many of New York’s most sophisticated collectors gathered recently on one evening to experience the restaurant exclusively. The wines were even more exclusive.

We started with a superlative magnum of 1988 Salon which was pretty much perfect in every which way. It had a rich nose full of vanilla aromas that Big Boy quickly gave 98 points. It was long and scintillating with a nice sweetness and powdered goodness to it. This was rock star stuff with great acidity and still on the upswing. In the end, I agreed with Big Boy, which is always highly recommended (98M).!

The second Champagne was 1973 Dom Perignon. Big Boy was hating on it, but it was still good, perhaps a touch mature as many old bottles of Champagne are prone to be. There were cream soda flavors and a rich, dry finish. It was sadly served too warm (93).

We got into the white Burg zone with a 2007 Coche-Dury Meursault Perrieres. It was a bit yeasty for Coche, more waterfall and milk on the nose than the usual Coche kink. The palate was minty and long with lots of spice, some ginger kisses, but it was on the root vegetable side. This leaned out a bit with air, more the vintage than the wine (95).

The 1996 Coche-Dury Meursault Perrieres was buttery, honeyed and very gamey. It was rich and decadent but in a too flamboyant a fashion. There were tapioca flavors and a touch of nutmeg to this wild bottle. Some seaweed in a food course lifted it up, but I felt like this wasn’t a perfect bottle, perhaps a touch heat affected (94?).

The 1996 Coche-Dury Corton Charlemagne had a similar story. It was very tropical with super apricot and orange aromas. This was quite honeyed once again, but richer than the palate of the previous wine. Someone remarked that they ‘didn’t know if either of these wines were great.’ This was very tropical and coconutty with loads of rum and the butter. Either this vintage for Coche has turned the corner quickly, or we had a couple of outlier bottles (94?).

We changed gears with a bottle of 1985 Domaine Leflaive Bienvenues Batard Montrachet. It had a smoky and toasty nose with rich yellow fruits, classic Leflaive. This was pretty exceptional with its great richness and balance. It still felt youthful and on the ascending side of its life. The palate was delicious was great floral components and a touch of game to its fruit. An outstanding bottle (96).

We kept the vertical going with a big, brawny and smoky 1999 Domaine Leflaive Bienvenues Batard Montrachet. This was another great Leflaive BBM and a powerful, classic example of the 1999 vintage. It had terrific length and an earthy undertone that I was diggin’ (pun intended, waka waka). I was very impressed (97).

The 1996 Leflaive Bienvenues Batard Montrachet felt a touch ‘flat’ to the Curious Gourmet and maybe it had reached maturity, though it was not bad. A few people were saying that they had drank better bottles (93).

The red wines began with a bang thanks to a strong bottle of 1985 Rosseau Chambertin Clos de Beze. It was outstanding from the get-go, with great length and zip. It was still on the tight side and young for an ’85. It kept unfurling and lingering on the palate, with great cedar and a flash of fruit on the strawberry city side. This was an amazing wine still with a long way to go (98).

The ’85 parade continued with a 1985 Meo Camuzet Clos Vougeot. This was one smoky, sexy “JAYER” Clos Vougeot, I wrote, because I have long been under the impression that Jayer made all the Meo wines from 1985-1988. Meo later corrected me that he didn’t vinify all the wines, such as the Clos Vougeot. It sure tasted like he threw two cents in there! It was packed with sexy, purple fruits and lots of spice. This was rich, decadent and floral with a nice leathery spice and a saucy finish (95).

The 1985 Dujac Clos de la Roche had a melange of the full spectrum of fruits — black, red purple and blue. There was great forest floor and tree bark complexities, and fresh floral notes, a true cornucopia of outdoor goodness. This was deliciously stylish and good, flirting with a higher score (97+).

We moved on to a spectacular bottle of 1985 Ponsot Clos de la Roche. It was rich, decadent and super concentrated. This was a perfect bottle of this wine, and it was clearly nestled in the strike zone of Ponsot’s best vintages. It is an outer-worldly wine in the context of the 1985 vintage, a bit of a superhero amongst mere mortals, although we had two other superheroes in this flight already! There was a lot of boss to this sauce (98+).

A 1978 Dujac Gevrey Chambertin Aux Combottes quickly stole the show from the 1985 flight. This was a perfect example of a wine punching above its weight class. ‘Wow,’ started my notes. It was close to the Clos de la Roche with a sappy, sexy nose full of musk, along with great concentration, pitch and a leathery finish. There was not a lot of spitting once the reds came around, and the notes were getting sloppy. I wrote something about putting something to bed, in bed, I can’t quite tell, maybe I was referring to myself lol (97).

An exhilarating magnum of 1964 Cheval Blanc was next. This was a deep, dark and smoky wine with loads of fruit, make that black cassis and red currant. It was rich and decadent with a touch of coconut and black raspberry flavors. This was exotically good, that old Cheval kink on full display, especially after all those Burgundies. (97M).

There was an after party chez Wild Bill’s, and there were five wines that I remember, everything was 97 points for the rest of the night, you gotta problem with that? They were pretty damn fine wines, and I was in a pretty damn fine place!

This, too, shall pass. Be safe and pull a few more corks than usual this month, I promise it won’t hurt!