The Inspector and The Don got together soon after Don’s Birthday bash for a small retrospective of 1973 whites. Even though I was a bit under the weather, I couldn’t resist such an invitation. We were joined by Nick and Geoffrey, and it was one of those rare evenings where the whites ended up being older and rarer than the reds. We still started with the whites, of course.

A 1973 Drouhin Montrachet Marquis de Laguiche had aromas of old honeycomb, wax, dried nut, yeast and orange marmalade. Secondary aromas of minerals, ale and white meat joined the party. The palate was round and waxy, old but not bad, with hints of dirt, stone and earth flavors. Geoffrey and Doug noted a touch of botrytis, and caramel did come out with a touch of cotton candy. It was flirting with excellence but missing that extra definition, which seemed to come out after a little food, and it gained in its acidity. It was likened to a ‘dry Sauternes.’ Honey and a hint of floral ‘sexy back’ rounded out this mature yet pretty wine (93).

The 1973 Lafon Montrachet had a big, bold nose, and Geoffrey was immediately preferring it to the Drouhin. There was almost cinnamon in the nose, along with aromas of tree bark, butter, game, smoke, toast and lemon. The palate was richer, lusher, toastier and longer, with a creamy, sexy quality. Geoffrey called it ‘gorgeous,’ and Doug ‘brilliant.’ The palate was round and rich, with flavors of cobwebs and nice texture and length. There was this almost cardboard edge that bothered me a little, but besides that this was a classic – fleshy, buttery and tasty stuff (95).

We had a head-to-head showdown of 1973 Montrachets, an original release versus the recent re-release from the Leroy cellars. The original had aromas of sweet acacia and honey, and then wildflower and lavender, almost like two pairs. Additional aromas of waterfall, morning dew, and more honey emerged. In the mouth, the was rich, big and tasty with great acid. Doug added, ‘lemon spice cake.’ This was long and longer with extended vim and vigor, but it fell off a cliff after about 15 minutes, becoming overly yeasty and full of morning mouth flavors. I couldn’t tell if the bottle was slightly affected or not. It was spectacular at first, but became perplexing shortly thereafter (93A?).

The re-release came across more artificially at first, with aromas of cinnamon and cleaner. Fresh and zippy, there was a hint of the original here but cinnamon dominated. The palate was round and long with nice acidity, and although this was leaner than the original, it did come across fresher. ‘One for the bitch,’ quipped the Inspector. He quickly got a call from headquarters and was instructed to attend sensitivity training the next morning. The re-release kept growing on me; it was clean and fresh, with almost a spritz-like zest, and the acidity was long. In the end, it came across pure and stylish, although it did need some time to find itself (95).

Geoffrey and I preferred the ‘Lalou’ bottling of , while Doug and Nick preferred the Lafon, although I did admit that if a 10 minute rule was in effect, the original might have won.

A 1985 Ramonet Montrachet was a welcome transition to the red wines. There was a yellow pungency to this wine, almost urine-like, but it was also buttery like a sautéed scallop with additional aromas of smoke and corn. Clean with aromas of smokehouse, sandalwood and charcoal, there was a lot going on here. Curdled flavors of rainwater and tang without the vitamin C were on the palate, along with white barbecue flavors. It was excellent but not as thrilling as other bottles of this wine that I have had (94).

A 1991 Grands Echezeaux had aromas of stems and bay water, salty and with additional aromas of dirty rose, beefaroni and lime. The palate was soft and polished, stemmy yet simple overall (91).

I must have been complaining about collections when someone said the following, ‘Whenever your tailor starts bothering you about your debt, order four more new suits.’ I am not sure who said it, but I had to include it!

The 1991 Meo-Camuzet Richebourg had a similar nose to the . Milk, stems, rose were there, along with that tangy, salty bay water thing. There was more definition and substance here, and the Meo was quite earthy. Although 1991 has a bit of a sleeper reputation for the reds in Burgundy, this duo left me a bit under-impressed compared to their usual lofty status (93).

We had to have one bottle of Rousseau to make up for its omission at Don’s birthday party, so we settled on a 1985 Rousseau Chambertin. The nose was classic 1985 with its sweet and nutty profile. Rich and gamy, the fruit was all about the cherry, but pruny as well. It was very aromatic, milky and foresty as well, with good bases of minerals and earth. Round, soft, easy and tender, the wine was gamy and friendly in the mouth, in a nice 1985 spot, but just missing a degree of ‘oomph’ that I was yearning. Nick and Geoffrey found it ‘fantastic’ (94).
It was another nice evening of Burgundy, a reverse night of old whites and younger reds, and a fitting encore to The Don’s birthday bash.

The first celebration of 2009 was a warm, welcome Happy Birthday for ‘The Don,’ the world’s pre-eminent collector of fine and rare Burgundy. If you had to bet on the size of Don’s collection, let’s just say that I would advise you to take the over! It was a milestone year being celebrated, and all I can tell you is that you probably wouldn’t want to drink much from his vintage, but you definitely would want to drink from his collection. He remains one of the most generous and passionate collectors in the world today.

Many of New York’s top wine collectors were invited to gather at Veritas, which closed for the evening in order to celebrate ‘and many more.’ Bottles were coming from every angle, and it was tough to hold down a decent conversation, as everyone’s eyes were wandering around to make sure they didn’t miss the any new bottles being circulated. It could only be classified as ‘Wine Attention Overload Disorder.’ I managed to take 26 notes myself; my problem was that there were many magnums and many seconds; oops, I did it again.

Everyone was welcomed with some 1996 Billecart Salmon Clos St. Hilaire, which was classic as always, racy like Nascar with its seemingly endless acidity. I am looking forward to drinking 1996 Champagnes for the rest of my life (96+).

A jeroboam of 2004 Henri Boillot Chevalier Montrachet awaited. Henri was actually there, in fact. There was great musk to its nose and super aromatics. Very perfumed and nutty, it was also sweet, buttery and youthfully intoxicating. The palate was smooth and lush with nice citrus, bread and mineral flavors and a dusty finish, perhaps a touch closed out of jero (93+J).

Sir Robert Bohr quickly offered up a 1986 Coche-Dury Meursault Chevaliers, which was very yeasty and nutty in the nose, bordering on a Chinese food impression. It was a bit dirty, still white meaty and nice, but starting to fade a bit and definitely very yeasty (91).

The third wine of the night was offered up blind by Fred, and it was an amazing shocker. The nose was similar to the Coche except it was bigger, smokier and more open. There was also yeast here, but more balanced within the nose, as well as butter and game, and a just-right hint of stew. The palate was delicious, full of matchbook flavors, as well as morning dew, milk, earth and toast. We were all pleasantly stunned to find out it was a 1973 Domaine Leflaive Puligny Montrachet! Not a premier cru, just the village wine. It just goes to show you ”“ producer, producer, producer (94).

There was a mystery magnum that turned out to be an outstanding 1992 Sauzet Batard Montrachet, but damned if anyone knew the vintage at the time. It was super spiny, wound and intense per the style of Sauzet, full of acidity and strength in the nose. Classic anise rounded out this behemoth of a nose. The palate was full of spine as well, long and yeasty and full of personality and flavor. 1989? 1996? Those were initial guesses due to the tremendous structure, but it was actually a 1992, and about as much structure as I have seen from this maturing vintage and an amazing feat. Sauzet seems to be the forgotten upper echelon producer in the hierarchy of white Burgundy (96M).

There was one more white wine for now, a 1996 Coche-Dury Meursault Chevaliers, which popped out of the glass as young Coche always does. Aromas of toast, kernel and a touch of cardboard (but not in a bad way) graced the nose. The palate was clean and fresh, tasty and full of kernel flavors and the big acid of the 1996 vintage (93).

I managed a glass of 1966 Faiveley Latricieres Chambertin as I finally headed back from the bar, I believe courtesy of Geoffrey. Old Faiveleys are real jewels, especially the ‘Latriss,’ and this was no exception. The nose was sweet and musky, gamy and ripe with cherry oil aromas. Sexy and sultry, the ’66 had great candied and earthy flavors and was very, very tasty (95).

1985 Roumier Chambolle Musigny Les Amoureuses out of magnum? Sure, why not. Aromas of forest floor, mushroom, earth, game and incredible nut all balanced together perfectly. The palate was also in a perfect spot, as many great ‘85s are right now. Round and succulent, there was still great definition, spine, spice and leather flavors to balance with its deep, deep, dark, dark cherry fruit. Still satiny smooth, I was most impressed by this wine out of magnum (96M).

How about 1964 Pousse d’Or Volnay Les Caillerets out of jeroboam? Sure, why not. Although this jero was reconditioned and a recent release from the winery, it was about as good a job of reconditioning as one could hope for, providing both mature nuances and a fresh impression. The aromatics were great; leather, nut, minerals and stone stood on top of its sweet fruit. The flavors matched up well, and there were still mature game nuances along with excellent vigor, more so than if an original bottle, I’m sure. ‘Exquisite’ still summed it up (94J).

I grabbed a 1971 Roumier Chambolle Musigny Les Amoureuses off the list before I could be accused of keeping my hands in my pocket and on everyone else’s bottles for the evening. What a bottle. The nose was divine, so sweet, so perfect, so 1971, a vintage I have always adored and not because it was my year! The aromas were plentiful and adorable; landscaped garden, sweet cherry, oil and nut were symphonic in their presence. There was still superb t ‘n a, enough to make me sneeze. The lightest glaze of caramel added to its already tasty and sexy palate. Meat, earth and game rounded out the palate, although Big Boy found a minor flaw, calling it a touch beefy on the palate and gave it only, ahem ahem, oooooonly 95 points. Big Mike commented, ‘the nose, you can’t get any better, but the palate is better on the ’85.’ I liked the two vintages equally for different reasons, and saw both sides of this rare coin (96).

Roy threw in a magnum of 1993 Roumier Chambolle Musigny Les Amoureuses to keep the love going. The nose was deep, dark and inky. Iodine, band-aid and rich, deep, dark purple came to mind. The deep and dark trend continued on the palate for this infant of an Amoureuses. There were lots of vitamin flavors here, and the wine still left a round and balanced impression. I am going to love you 1993 long time (95+M).

A white intermezzo slipped its way in front of me, a magnum of 1990 Raveneau Chablis Les Clos. Can’t say no to Les Clos. The nose reminded me of a stony waterfall in the Amazon, with of touch of sweet cotton candy and a twist of citrus. It was also waxy. The mouth was rich and honeyed with great citrus and wax flavors, a continuum of the nose (95M).

The first of a handful of wines was next, a 1966 La Tache. It was a touch dirty at first, which is consistent with most of my notes on this vintage for La Tache, but it blew off and sweetened out into beautiful rose, sweet cherry, earth, musk and a touch of ‘BM’ in a baby goodness way, keeping the dirty in the birdie. There was a touch of celery and stalk in the mouth to go with its rose and cherry flavors, but the wine never completely lost its dirtiness (94).

A 1972 Vogue Bonnes Mares was exotic and tropical, stunningly so. It was extremely open in an apricoty way and had much less tomato than I remember for a typical ’72. The palate was rich and round, tender with a little sidekick, and impressive overall for this vintage (93).

A quartet of Roumier Musignys was next served blind, a group effort. The first bottle had some issues and was a little oxidized. Too bad, as it was the 1995 Roumier Musigny, which some felt strongly would win the flight. Stewed vitamins, meat, iodine and nice leather were about all I could come up with. It was still somewhat drinkable, but not with fourteen wines down and three more Musignys up (92A).

The second Moose was stemmy and complex with lots of forest spice and a nice milk and leather combo, halter-top style. Nice spice, outstanding spice, I continued. The palate was smooth, surprisingly velvety and plush, but it was more polished than I expected. It was the 1996 Roumier Musigny. I could taste the 1996 in it, but very faintly (94+).

The third Roumier of this flight got a ‘big, incredible’ from Big Boy, and Inspector Barzelay was loving the tannins. The nose was very nutty, with aromas of sweet caramel and light, perfect toast that was caviar-ready. There was great fruit in the mouth, which was tart and tender with beautiful acidity and stem flavors. The 1988 Roumier Musigny was in a great spot and really, really good. 1988 was a special year for Roumier and a few others that made indubitably great wine (95).

The final Musigny also got an ‘incredible’ from Big Boy. The ‘killer bees’ DB, RB, and BB quickly crowned it wine of the flight. Anise was the first thing that jumped out at me. Leather, stone, shoeshine, spine, meat and distinctive grape nuts (as in the cereal) all followed. It clearly had the best tannins of any wine in the flight as well as the longest finish; of course, it was the 1993 Roumier Musigny. Many flip-flopped or were divided between preferring the 1988 versus the 1996, but no one could deny the 1993 and its very concentrated personality. WOTN (97).

A 1978 Richebourg appeared courtesy of Airplane Eddie, who decided he had to bring some Conti and order to the proceedings. The ’78 was full of menthol and dripping with oil in its nose, 1978 the right way, I wrote, as some have complained about bottle variation amongst the ’78 s. This one was A-OK. Doug guessed ‘78 RC or Riche.’ Impressive. I guess it was served blind! It was fresh and with a pop to it, but the palate was softer than the nose led me to believe, and there was a touch of almost spritz or CO2 there that was peculiar, not off, but peculiar (94).

A magnum of 1983 Clair Dau Bonnes Mares was excellent, and another solid 1983, which I have been enjoying here and there over the past couple years. Black licorice dominated initially, opening up into nutty, Burgundian fruit. The flavors were also licorice, and the wine was fleshy and tasty with a nice finish, in a good spot and a good showing for this oft forgotten vintage in Burgundy (93M).

Neil pulled out a gorgeous 1982 Henri Jayer Echezeaux. Jayer was a master of the ‘off’ vintages, and this was no exception to that rule. The nose was round and smooth, wine catnip. It was chock full of character, rich, full and complete. Plums and nut danced around the nose, and the palate was ‘wow’ tasty, with the perfect amount of sweetness and game. Yum (95).

What the heck was this, a 1991 Guigal Cote Rotie La Turque? This wasn’t Burgundy, this was an impostor! Ok, I won’t go any further and shame the person that brought it (Michael you know who you are 🙂 ), but I must say that I was actually stunned how Burgundian it was. I am not sure if it was the circle of influence, the actual wine, or the fact that my senses had been drowned in Pinot, but the La Turque actually fit right in and was outstanding (95).

It was getting late, and a few started to trickle out the door. It was time to separate the alcoholics from the men lol. Doug pulled out a rare 1915 Faiveley Bonnes Mares. Aromas of oat, hay, brown sugar and cereal were all there. It had that old, chapitalized feel, toasty and sweet, earthy and still possessing some freshness, still very good and a fascinating trip back in time (92).

I wobbled over to a 1978 Dujac Echezeaux. Aromas of garden, ‘bubble bath,’ play dough, musk, nut, game, black cherry and forest floor were present, and noted as a group effort. There was a nice sweetness to the palate on this excellent wine (94).

There were a couple of big cannons at the end of the night, although they didn’t quite go off as planned. A 1949 Roumier Musigny was unfortunately corked and tough to get into beyond that, although it did have great mouthfeel. What a shame (DQ).

Then there was a controversial bottle of 1945 Romanee Conti. Inspector Barzelay was all over the potential crime scene. First, my observations, in non-sentence form: ‘Aromas of old cherry, old vitamins, old book. Gamy and super old with amazing aromatics and lots of cobwebs. Rose, menthol and mint, all the classic components. Gamy but a touch stewed. Mouthfeel lighter than it should be but aromatically right on.’ Even the Inspector admitted that the aromatics were typical old RC, but he could not get beyond the fact that the mouthfeel was not as thick or rich as his memory served him, nor mine for that matter. It was definitely ‘45-lite,’ but who is to say that it is not bottle variation? I definitely couldn’t say it wasn’t what it was supposed to be. Old wines can be extremely variable, even within the same case. I still thought the wine was close to outstanding, but definitely at the bottom of my ’45 experiences, all other of which have been religious. Rob also felt the bottle was stewed and a bit affected, not in perfect condition but still special (95A?)>/b>

I think we covered most of the major food groups ”“ sacre bleu! No Rousseau? How did that happen? And Don is probably Rousseau’s number one fan”¦encore encore, anyone?
It was another special night, celebrating an even more special man. Happy Birthday, Don.

I recently spent a weekend in Los Angeles hosted by none other than Dr. Bipin Desai, of course. This particular event celebrated the frères Thienpont, Alexandre and Jacques, and their respective properties, Vieux Chateau Certan and Le Pin, two of Pomerol’s brightest stars. It was a magical weekend full of magical wines, and while Le Pin was expected to be great and delivered, it was Vieux Chateau Certan that stole the show, proving yet again that it is still Pomerol’s best-kept secret. Unfortunately, I missed Friday’s session featuring many of the younger VCC’s as I was conducting an auction that night, but I made it out just in time for Saturday’s lunch, where many golden oldies awaited.

We started with a 1976 Vieux Chateau Certan, which had aromas of bean and green stalk initially, gradually becoming more earthy. The tannins were noticeably drying ”“ one could smell the dryness even, but pinches of milk chocolate provided just enough sweetness to still keep the wine interesting. The wine was a touch hot at first; its t n’ a jumped out on the palate. There were more green olive flavors with a hint of carob and a bright, tarry finish. The green olives grew to take over the nose as well, and while the 1976 was somewhat lean and a dry wine overall, it really grew on me and was one of Alexandre’s favorites of this first flight (90).

The 1975 Vieux Chateau Certan had more earth and minerals, but more plums and cassis surfaced as the sweetness came through. It had a bruising but solid, tannic personality that was enjoyable because it had enough fruit to match, but definitely backward, almost backsided. There was nice acidity with a flash of hot pan on the finish, and it also had a gentle touch of green bean. Manny felt it wasn’t ready, and Ed said it was tannic in keeping with the vintage (91).

The 1971 Vieux Chateau Certan had a greener, dirtier nose with a lot of wet earth and ashtray. The fruits were very black and rolled in hay and oat. The palate was leaner with more oat flavors, along with lean citrus and carob. Neal Martin preferred the ‘71 to the ’70, and Alexandre called it more ‘Burgundian.’ It was my table’s consensus favorite and danced like an agile middleweight (91).

The 1966 Vieux Chateau Certan was a touch corky or maybe a glass issue? It was chlorine city in the nose, but the palate was pretty and smooth with a perfect, satiny balance. The ’66 was a rich yet elegant wine that was pure and long with nice plum, citrus and chocolate flavors. It was Bipin’s favorite of the flight, and mine too (93).

The 1970 Vieux Chateau Certan was a la the ’71, but dirtier with more hay and barn, but its red fruits were sweeter. The palate was tangy and flirted with being stewed, say tomato, a bit gamy in a gentlemanly way, still nice. It was Manny and Ed’s favorite, and Bipin’s third place (90).

Alexandre summed up this first flight by saying that ‘the seventies were difficult,’ and while 1971 was his favorite, 1970 was next, and the 1976 was ‘surprisingly good, but like a fire stroke, not long in keeping.’

The second flight began with one of the few magnums of the day, the 1964 Vieux Chateau Certan, which was picked before the rain, Alexandre revealed, while most of the Left Bank didn’t, which is why there is a disparity amongst the two banks in 1964, with the Right Bankers being great and the Leftists not. Its nose was clean and fresh, a bit spiny and almost waxy. Nice black fruits and dark chocolate emerged with additional aromas of leather and a touch of black bing cherry. The palate was youthful out of magnum, giving the wine extra vigor and heartiness. The finish was dry and desert-like with minerals shining through as well as this tangy, apricot kinkiness. Frank found it ‘great,’ and Alexandre deemed it powerful, flirting with outstanding. It really stood out in the flight thanks to the magnum Viagra factor. Ed was loving it accordingly (95M).

The 1962 Vieux Chateau Certan was from magnum as well and had a super chocolaty, very sexy nose oozing caramel and other things like hints of garden and yeasty goodness. The palate tasted sweetly of baked chocolate chip flavors and was round and tasty, a bit warm but still soft yet chewy. ‘This is a wine for wine lovers,’ Alexandre cooed, going on to share, ‘vigor and power is not always equal to quality,’ hailing a 1971 La Tache as the best wine he ever had. The 1964 was pure drinking pleasure, Alexandre’s favorite of the flight, almost Burgundian, and it gained and held well (94M).

The 1961 Vieux Chateau Certan was very exotic and minty, over the top with a hint of crème de menthe and another mysterious herbal liqueur. There were earth and plum aromas behind the kinkiness, and the palate continued these super exotic tendencies. It was so full of sweet flavors it was if the skins of the grapes were going to break. There was a slight dust of tannins on the finish in this delicious and hedonistic wine (95).

The 1959 Vieux Chateau Certan was almost as exotic as the ’61, full of spice and purple fruits. The ’59 was more ‘austere and proper’ per Dave and had great spine and spice in the mouth. The palate became more wild and fruity in a gamy and autumnal kind of way, with its brown sugar and spice indicating it was heading towards its sunset. Frank and others thought it was oxidized while Bipin liked it despite some oxidation. 1959 was also Alexandre’s birthyear, who concurred that the bottle was not 100% (94A).

The 1955 Vieux Chateau Certan was controversial with its very wild and fruity nose that showed some sherry and gingerbread. It wasn’t cooked, but Alexandre again felt it was not 100% pure, but it was still drinkable to me. Toffee and coffee flavors came out with almost a Muscat late harvest note, adding to the rich, creamy and exotic feel (93A).

The 1952 Vieux Chateau Certan had a ratherspiny and stony nose. The palate punched forward with the most vigor in the flight, but the wine was overall dry, lemony and earthy and metallic on the finish. Jacques Thienpont found the ’52 closed and tannic but good. (92).

Jacques Thienpont spoke about this flight and hailed the ’61, ’62, ‘64 and ’52 in that order, but he found the ’59 and ’55 problematic. The Good Lawyer hailed this flight as a ‘huge step up from the last flight and all typical for the year,’ noting the cherries, plums and rich fruits. He also liked the ’61 the best, followed by the ’59, ’62 (‘smooth and silky, as good as it gets’), the ’64, then ’52 (‘a bit lighter’) and then the ’55 (‘still excellent but dried out’). We found out that from 1934 to 1962, Jacques and Alexandre’s grandfather was the winemaker.

The last flight was a showstopper, beginning with the 1950 Vieux Chateau Certan, which had a beautiful, vibrant nose, dusty and full of spices, citrus, what I would call great cabinetry and ripe plums behind all that. Initially very bright, olives crept in the nose. The superb palate exquisitely balanced all the aromas and also showed great vigor with a stony finish. The structure and fruit were in perfect harmony, and this delicious wine finished strongly and solidly. As the Good Doctor put it, ‘there is not a single thing to fault about the ‘50’ (96).

The 1949 Vieux Chateau Certan had a pretty, citrusy, almost waxy nose, a bit more spiny than the ’50. The palate was clean, almost too clean, possibly reconditioned. The finish was leathery, dry and long, enjoyable but somewhat stripped, and it too got metallic. Marshall felt it was ‘restrained and a tad dried out.’ I have had better bottles (92).

The 1948 Vieux Chateau Certan had a divinenose full of olive, fig cake, anise and plum liqueur with a hint of coffee. The palate was unbelievable with a Lafleur-like sweetness and supreme Pomerol kink. This great ’48 became more gamy, and the Lafleur impression continued. I drank this one quickly as it was wine catnip. Alexandre said it was ‘normally better than the ’47’ (95).

The 1947 Vieux Chateau Certan – all I can start with is mmmm”¦good. Jim bowed entering the church of this great vintage. On the nose, chocolate and truffles merged with smoky dust and leather. The palate was sweet and delicious, showing great black and purple fruits. It was sweet and sugary, but delicious with enough spice to match, and the spine was so longgggggg. Ed summed it up best, ‘superb’ (97).

The 1945 Vieux Chateau Certan had great menthol aromas (and flavors) with super spine and spice in its nose. It had a rich, round, long and nutty palate full of great length and spine causing Mary to joke, ‘the war was worth it.’ Henry added, ‘viagra not needed.’ Great olive and toast flavors emerged on the finish. Jacques shared with us that ‘grandpa did not drink it for 15-20 years’ as it was so tannic in its youth (96).

The 1934 Vieux Chateau Certan was so exotic that it was almost tropical, round and delicious and dripping with fat. Mary called it ‘fabulous and port-like.’ There were great mandarin and apricot marmalade flavors. The ’34 was surprisingly delicious with a rich, round palate. It was ‘soft, juicy and balanced’ for Marshall, who gave it 99 points. It was Frank’s first time having the 1934, and for those of you that know the Good Doctor, if you can find a wine that he is only having for the first time, then that is saying something! His other half, Mary, aptly and topically noted, ‘this proves that good things can come out of economic depression.’ Its acidity was excellent and its finish foresty. Alexandre found the ’34 ‘surprising.’ I couldn’t help but think how each of these wines might have been a point or two higher were it not for the fact that they were all served in the same flight. Bravo (95)!

Unfortunately, the 1928 was corked (DQ). Rocky Mountain John was loving the 1950, as well as the softness of the ’34. The ’45, ’47 and ’48 trio stole the show for him, however. Manny loved the ’45 the most, hailing this flight as ‘old wines that are tasting new today. You can’t ask for anything more.’ Alexandre joked how in the 1940s, the way the Bordelais watched for rain was by putting a finger in the sky. He also commented that it is ‘impossible to compare the 2005 to the 1945; we have to turn the page.’ As to the question if people could make wine like this today, Alexandre slyly replied, ‘even better.’

That’s the best news I have heard all year.

The next afternoon we were at Spago doing the Le Pin thing, Le Pin thing. I believe we had every vintage except one; bonus prize to whoever figures out which one that be.
Le Pin is 100% Merlot, with an average Production of 400-600 cases, although in 1982 they only made 250 cases! In 1982, the average age of the vines was only four years, too. So much for that old vine theory, at least for those of you that like it”¦

But I digress. Bipn shuffled the deck of vintages, and the 1996 Le Pin came out on top. Green was the first aroma that came to mind, then sappy fruit behind that, plums and cassis, plums and cassis. There was a lot of stalk and a pinch of dark chocolate rounding out the nose. The palate was soft, round, tender and easy. The fruit was pleasant, still a bit green but very good in its soft, caressing way. It still had vigor and spice, this ‘hot year’ (92).

The 1994 Le Pin had a dirty nose in a leathery way, maybe a bit corky? The fruit was stewed in this earthy nose with a hint of black cherry coming out. There were pleasant green and purple plum flavors, but this was definitely a bit corked with dry tannins, earth and corky leather on the finish. There was a good sturdy wine underneath that gained in the glass, however. It was Jacques’ favorite of the flight, and ‘one of the wines of the vintage for many’ (91+A).

The 1991 Le Pin again had some green beans here but less than the first two, possessing more coffee and sour cherry fruit. The palate had lots of green olive flavors, but the mid-palate was watery. More barn came out in the nose. There was nice definition still on the finish in this pleasant but simple wine, which also had a hint of citrus without the tang (88).

The 1988 Le Pin had a creamy nose; it was easy to detect a step up here. There were more classic Pomerol elements – nice garden, spice, elegant purple fruits, smoke and grilled pheasant. The soft and tender palate had great balance. It was very refined with the lightest of grit on the finish”¦elegant city (92).

The 1986 Le Pin was more open on the nose, a little wild and gamy, with a richer style. There was that distinctive sweet fatness there, showing chocolate and mocha tan lines. The palate was even sweeter, pretty with even fatter fruit, an open knit style with Hollywood Jef admiring its sweetness as well. This was another ‘hot year’ (93).

Unfortunately, the 1979 Le Pin, its first vintage, was corked (DQ).

Bipin remarked how the first flight left him with a cabernet impression.

The second flight began with the 2002 Le Pin, whose young, fresh nose was still loaded with baby fat, plummy fruit, hints ofcoffee grinds and nice t ‘n a. There was also excellent spice, fat grapy fruit and nice structure aromas. This was impressive wine for 2002 – for a less desirable vintage, this wine was pretty desirable! Round and mouthfilling with nice flavors, the 2002 became more hearty after some food (92).

The 1999 Le Pin had a deep, dark nose with lots of black fruits, wax cleaner spice and some black olives. The palate was packed with dense fruit and was big, rich, meaty and lush. I liked the ’99 a lot; it was just delicious with a nice, leathery finish that popped (94).

The 1998 Le Pin had a surprisingly regal and refined nose that was subtle yet long. The palate was super sweet and kinky, more refined. It definitely kissed me rather than shook my hand. Completely different in style than the ’99, the 1998 had ‘incredible tobacco and cigar box’ per Bipin, but was thinner than I expected, although I could see hints of the future in this shy wine. Bipin also questioned whether it was ‘a little vegetal?’ It was Ed’s favorite of the flight (93+).

The 1995 Le Pin was corked”¦badly (DQ).

Someone likened the 1985 Le Pin to ‘basketball shoes.’ Its nose was a cat box, but there was sweet cherry underneath. I liked it, even though it was all cat box and sweet fruit. There was great balance and a great intensity, and while others didn’t care for it, I liked its twisted style but could not tell if it was affected or not (93A?)

The 1983 Le Pin had a sweet kinky nose, full of rich fruit. Its fruit was really great, the purest and most kaleidoscopic with that overripe kink like ’83 Lafleur. The palate was also rich, with nice earth and olive flavors twisting into blueberry and boysenberry jam extraordinaire. Bipin found it ‘seductive, elegant and sexy,’ and Jef kept stressing the sexy (95).

Bipin likened the flights to a ‘strip tease,’ as each flight revealed a different layer of the wine. Jef hailed Le Pin as ‘the epitome of elegance and balance,’ and it was. I couldn’t help but think how ironic it was that most people think Le Pin is some hedonistic fruit bomb. Having had very little experience with the wine myself, I have to say that I was one of them before this afternoon!

The third flight began with an impressive 2006 Le Pin. ‘Baby, baby, baby’ was how my note started. This wine had a great nose, with clean and outstandingly pure, plummy fruit buttressed by minerals. The palate was beautifully crafted with long and fine tannins, and dry flavors of earth, mineral and tobacco. The 2006 was really refined and sexy juice (94).

The 2005 Le Pin lived up to the hype and ultimately was wine of the afternoon for me. It had a great nose, t ‘n a city yet still refined but also with so much stuffing. There was noticeable citrus with decadent fruit ”“ cranberry, blueberry, blackberry, cassis, boysenberry ”“ everyone was invited! There was great spine and length, but the 2005 was still so elegant. Jef called it ‘a lip smacker’ and noted ‘kirsch and strawberry.’ The 2005 was all that and then some (97).

The 2004 Le Pin had a very shy nose that was almost non-existent. The palate was thick and rich with coffee, chocolate and peanut butter flavors. The 2004 was rich, round and easy with a nice minerally finish (92).

The 2001 Le Pin initially had a milky, weird nose, a bit sickly almost. The palate was very gamy, and the nose got richer and more concentrated, and its weirdness became pungent. While still smooth, the ’01 also had richness on the palate, which was a bit wild in a foresty way with bright vitamin flavors on the long finish. Nutty marzipan flavors became more apparent as it evolved in the glass (93).

The 2000 Le Pin was shy at first, but crushed red fruits slowly emerged with an icy edge. Cranberry, currant, strawberry were all there. The ’00 had a nice, clean style with a touch of green bean around the tightly-wound, sweet core of raspberry fruit flavors. Like the ’98, the ’00 was a bit shy, despite some expressive tannins. I wanted more from this heralded vintage (93).

The intense nose of the 1990 Le Pin really stood out, bursting with plums and cassis, along with their trees ready to be plucked from the garden of Versailles. Edges of green beans and stalk rounded out the nose. The palate was rich and lovely, continuing the decadent fruit theme with hints of coffee and more green bean. The 1990 had outstanding thickness and richness, setting it apart from most of the pack in this distinguished flight (96).

The 1989 Le Pin had amazing depth and complexity mixing the elements of ripe plums, cassis, fresh forest, and edges of stalk and milk. The palate was dry and austere, sharing that dry citrus edge of the ’85, but less pungent. It was pretty, pleasant and tangy, but again I wanted more from this vintage as well (94).

The 1982 Le Pin was corked. That was three so far, bummer (DQ).

Jef called Le Pin ‘a lover’s wine’ after this flight, going on with ‘silky, sexy, hot, back of the shoulder beautiful, dresses nicely, and the boobs are real.’ He knows LA. We were also told that there are no more five or six-liter bottle of Le Pin from 1996 on, but that they did make twenty of the 1982 to fill a special request!

The last flight was some of the lesser years, as Bipin believes the best flight should always be second-to-last to avoid any palate fatigue forthe finest wines.

The 1997 Le Pin had a mild nose of stalk, stem, mineral and earth. In the mouth, the wine was soft and tender with a touch of purple fruit, but this was an easy and simple wine and one of the day’s least impressive (88).

The 1993 Le Pin had a creamy and nutty nose, surprisingly and decadently good, with great tobacco aromas. The palate was tasty, round and smooth, delicious with tobacco and earth flavors, beautiful and exceeding my expectations for this vintage (91).

We were in the garden again with the 1992 Le Pin. The nose was kissed by cinnamon, while its palate was milky and a touch sour but pleasant in an average way, but ‘too light’ according to Jacques (86).

There were lots of olives and chocolate in the 1987 Le Pin. There was a dirty goodness here, and flavors of barn and earth seconded that notion. The palate continued the dirty theme, but the wine was very full for the vintage and had a round, sturdy and solid build (90).

It was hard not to love the pruney nose of the 1984 Le Pin. The prunes were complemented by earth, slate and stalks. It was a bit light in the mouth, however, displaying more one-dimensional slate and earth flavors (88).

Last and close to least was the 1981 Le Pin, which had a very gamy, almost horsy nose, definitely barny. The palate was too vegetal for the fruit to really show, but there was good character underneath it all, with flavors of cereal, milk and tomato (89).

There were lots of fun comments at the end. Jef wanted some ‘hip hip hoorays,’ but Ed chided him, ‘not yet!’ Neal Martin commented how Bordeaux and Burgundy are the world’s two greatest wine regions, and how he always flip-flops which region he prefers, and how he finds Le Pin to be in the middleof the two styles. He hailed the 2006 as the wine of the vintage. Paul took my handshake/kiss comment and called the first flight a handshake, the second a kiss, and the third ‘hot, sloppy, wet sex.’ Jef continued his budding winographic career with, ‘if you had to pour a red over your lover’s body, this would be it!’ For those of you on a budget, any Australian Shiraz will do lol.

It was an extraordinary weekend of Pomerol. People need to remember how special this region is.

I have found over the last few years that the best place to be on New Year’s Eve is at the home of the world’s greatest collector of Champagne, aka Big Boy. This year was no exception, and the generosity of our host was on full display with an incredible lineup of Champagnes and wines. In fact, the evening ended up being a little more wine-heavy than I thought, but after what we got to taste, there would be no complaints.  All wines were sabered by our host; therefore you can add an ‘S’ at the end of each Champagne rating if you so choose.

Rob had coined a phrase over the course of 2008: ‘The rats of ’08 will become the bulls of ’09 and slaughter the pigs of ’07.’ This saying relates to the Chinese calendar year and the fact that 2008 is a ‘year of the rat,’ 2007 a pig, and 2009 a bull year, of course. This calendar cycles every twelve years, so that 1996 is a year of the rat, 1995 a pig year and 1997 a bull, etc., going back to the beginning of time. Every wine served on this night was to be from a year of the rat, pig or bull. Game on.

I had gotten there early, and a few wines had already been opened and decanted, so I figured let me get ahead of the curve while I still had my wits with me, at least most of them. One of the wines was a magnum of 1971 Ponsot Clos de la Roche. Of course, since this was a Big Boy production, everything was to be served out of magnum; actually sometimes Jeroboam. The Ponsot smelled like Burgundy and reminded me of the ’71 vintage with its menthol and vivid acid rust. So far, so good. There was gamy fruit behind that, lots of red flowers to its aromatic fruit. The palate was gamy and tasty with lots of flesh and hints of black pepper and cola. Balanced and polished, it was a nice start to the evening and seemed right to me (94M).

We didn’t waste any time with a magnum of strong>1949 Rousseau Chambertin, whose nose was so gamy it was practically chewy, but still overall definitively silky with that ’49 haunt. There were great traces of smoke and old wood to go with its decidedly red and rose aromas. The palate was lush and tender, absolutely delicious with its game, meat and old fruit flavors. There was almost a touch of fig to its finish, something in that ‘senior’ fruit category. Light chocolate shavings rounded out this mature and plateau-ing red that still showed good posture after all these years (96M).

The Rousseau made a nice pair with the magnum of 1949 Jaboulet Hermitage La Chapelle. Slover was quickly drooling, with ‘sensational’ spilling out of his mouth after one sip. The nose was a left turn, with bacon traces to go with its purpler fruit. It was very musky with aromas of band-aids, chocolate and more earth. It had Burgundy in its personality due to its age, ie a softening, but the kink said all Rhone. Light pepper emerged in time. Slover fancied the ’49 to be what the ’61 would taste like in 30+ years, as if the ’49 was in the same quality camp yet an earlier maturing vintage”¦relative to the ’61, of course. Every wine in the world might seem earlier maturing next to a good bottle of that! The palate was classic in every sense of the Hermitage word with its burnt, roasted earth, toast, chocolate, game, stone and white pepper flavors. Still young out of magnum, this long, smoky and rich red was impressive, still possessing hidden acids that proved long in the gut in a sneaky way (96+M).

Next up was a rare magnum of 1900 Lafite Rothschild, recorked at the Chateau in 1986. It was the real deal and about as good a reconditioned bottle as I have had in recent memory. The nose was full of cedar, clean from the reconditioning but still lush with cassis. Cedar was the dominant trait, however. Despite the obvious fact that the wine was reconditioned, it was damn delicious, vibrant and rich in its fruit and cassis flavors, complemented by delicate cedar and earth. Rose and grape also added themselves to the flavor profile, and there was a purity to the wine despite its theoretical impurity. Speez noted ‘a hint of cougar (insert your own body part here).’ Big Boy found it ‘close to outstanding,’ and ultimately I found it so (95M).

The 1985 G. Conterno Barolo Monfortino Riserva was quite young, rockin’ and rollin’ by comparison to the previous quartet. Its nose was full of leather, tar, smoke, truffles and that Nebbiolo goodness. Tar and chocolate flavors graced its earthy palate and rock solid finish. This wine is still an infant, and another sip two hours later had me note, ‘wicked’ (95+M).

There was one more wine for my warmup session, a 1985 Ponsot Clos de la Roche Vieilles Vignes. The nose displayed massive concentration, the most so far, brimming with big and rich aromas of chocolate, game and menthol. Its flavors had a bit of a wild streak to them, especially with its mint, eucalyptus and almost jasmine flavor. Quite gamy, there were fruit flavors of blueberry and acai as well as a hint of cola. Compared to the bottle that I recently had from the Grunewlad collection, though, I found this wine to be polished and hibernating a bit out of magnum, better to drink out of bottles at this stage, even though that could still arguably be too young (95+M).

Not a bad warmup, huh? What did I have to do to get some Champagne already??? Enter 1996 Krug Clos du Mesnil out of magnum, three of them to be exact. Not a bad reception bubbly. Its nose was fabulous, possessing more breed than Churchill Downs, or Churchill for that matter. The nose was raining razors with its searing structure, yet somehow a perfect flash of sweetness came through in the form of fat vanilla cream. Smoke on the water rounded out this golden child of a nose. The palate was long and in charge, full of yellow, lemon and citrus flavors. ‘Fantastic’ summed it up for what will probably be considered one of the greatest Champagnes of the 20th century if not all-time (98+M).

Next up was a 1973 Taittinger Comtes de Champagne, and yes it was out of magnum. Still one of the most underappreciated big-time Champers, the Comtes stood out for its signature butterscotch right away, along with heavy cream, light toast, butter on top and a hint of all good, foresty wood. Fresh, lean, zesty and racy, I might have guessed 1996 if served to me blind as this magnum was in extremely good condition. Its finish dominated its palate, although there were also nice butter flavors and kisses of oak. There was one noticeable flaw, the fact that the flavors seemed short and mono (94M).

The ‘73s continued with a 1973 Dom Perignon Oenotheque magnum. It had a nice nose, classic DP with its granulated sugar and pinch of gingerbread. The palate was a little dirty and gave a sugar water impression despite nice fizz and vim. Dirty and earthy, the palate was long and round with a touch of teabag to it. Its flavors also seemed a bit short, but maybe that was the 1996 Mesnil (93M).

A 1959 Henriot Cuvee des Enchanteleurs was clearly disgorged recently, obviously fresh but not much after that. It was a touch sour on the palate with some notes of corkiness (88A).

It was back to the grill again with a 1973 Dom Perignon, this time from an original magnum. The nose seemed better, more balanced with nice aromas and edge to it, more musky and intoxicating with excellent cream traces. Its flavors of grilled nuts and toast were spot on. Original baby, go ‘head baby (95M).

We continued on the Moet trail with a magnum of 1959 Moet, which had a wild nose with lots of wheat and farm-like aromas. There was a granulated edge that brought back the classic, as well as nice butter along with this definitive cement quality merging with its wheat. The palate was round and ‘not so complex,’ as one noted. The palate was buttery and yeasty but a bit flat, not over the hill but possessing barely any fizz. Its roundness was one of its better qualities in the mouth (91M).

An original magnum of 1973 Krug was ‘dead on,’ as Big Boy put it. There was a lot of seashell and Fulton fish market at first, but that quickly blew off into the signature vanilla cream. The palate was apple cider meets rocket fuel with a razor’s edge of a finish. It had an endless silver streak in the mouth, zippedy doo dah day and den sum. There were good flavors of wood chip and almost a cinnamon without the spice. It was so zippy at first that it almost burned the tongue, although it did mellow nicely over time (96M).

We went back to the reds with a pair of Mascarellos, beginning with the 1961 Cantina Mascarello Barolo. It was glue city in the nose, along with some suburbian leather. The palate had leather as well with a touch of Madeira and bitters, thin in the middle with some paint thinner up front. There was also caramel glaze to this advanced yet solid Barolo (90A-M).

The 1971 Cantina Mascarello Barolo had a richer nose, firmer and with much more red and rose fruits along with leather and cigar. The palate was absolutely delicious, full of rust and rich bronze age action. Long and zippy, there was mucho citrus sex appeal in this flat-out fantastic wine (95M).

The next wine was one of the more discussion-worthy wines of the night, a double magnum or jeroboam of 1899 Latour. We couldn’t tell. At first, questions of authenticity were in the air, and even Big Boy thought it might be fake, despite the fact that was acquired five or six years ago and supposedly was one step removed from Latour itself. It was indubitably reconditioned, clearly showing darker and more youthful fruit, but it still had mature nuances and old qualities. The distinguished Sir Robert Bohr started making some positive observations at first. Olof noted ‘500 flavors at once.’ There was mint and eucalyptus at first. The texture was fleshy, rich and long. The wine remained controversial. Candle wax, earth and cobwebs all emerged, as did some signature sea salt and walnut. I was convinced it was Latour, but it was quixotic in its ‘am I young or am I old’ way. No one could say it wasn’t a reconditioned 1899, and by the end of the night there seemed to be mostly believers. The next day the wine was even better, so soft and supple, and even more decidedly Latour in its flavor profile, still with a purple core. It reminded me more of 1955 than 1899, and I guess reconditioning helps if you want to have an old wine 24 hours later (94D/J?).

One possible jero deserves another, especially when the other is a 1923 Bollinger. It doesn’t get much rarer than that. I had recently had a controversial bottle of this, but after this jero, I can safely say that there is controversy no more. The nose was the essence of white truffle oil, much like the bottle from before. Loreto hailed it as ‘trufflicious.’ Mike noted hints of garlic, and it wasn’t my breath, either. Someone noted apricots, and there were indeed apricots, but definitely on the Turkish side. Rich and oily in the mouth, there was still nice spritz and length here. It was rich and buttery with oyster shell flavors (95J).

More red wine? How about a magnum of 1949 La Tache? Very LT and very ’49, this was about as rich as 1949 can be. It had the oil, the rose, the leather, the meat, the menthol. As Crane noted, it had ‘a feminine style but still manly.’ Everyone noted its greatness, with lots of oohs and aahs coming from the crowd. It was definitely wine of the night so far, and even had Robert asking for seconds (98M).

One good ’49 deserves another, especially when it is a 1949 Vogue Musigny Vieilles Vignes. Old book jumped out of its haunting nose. Rose and a citrus twist helix rounded out this amazingly old yet fresh nose. Robert quickly crowned this as the ‘best wine I’ve had tonight.’ Big Boy cooed ‘amazing and unbelievable.’ Its palate was tender, rich, long and soft, but its richness was what stood out the most. It was in a perfect spot (98M).

We finished off the evening with a trio of Champagnes, beginning with a staggering 1900 Moet. Olof, Scandavia’s version of physical therapy meets sadism, acutely noted, ‘crème brulee, vanilla bean, caramel and espresso bean.’ The Moet had the truffle oil of the ’23 Bolly and the butterscotch ofthe C de C. It reminded me of a Daniel Boulud coconut cake. Insanely rich and exotic, it also reminded me of a great white Burgundy, perhaps a Meursault Perrieres. It was delicious and round, and Robert noted, ‘white chocolate covered espresso bean.’ Paul hailed it as ‘Willy Wonka.’ Speez kicked in ‘ever so nutty and creamy,’ which worked all the more better with the Stimpy impersonation. Crane noted ‘burnt cake.’ The gloves were off, and everyone was all-in for the 1900 (98M).

Three ‘98s in a row, what year was that? A 1947 Bollinger made us forget. It had the same truffle as the ’23; I guess it’s a Bolly thing. There was also chicken bouillon there. The palate was super; long and fresh and amazingly so on both counts. It was long and zippy without the zip, if that makes sense. Its flavors were rich and long, with butter toffee and hard candy flavors. Two distinguished gentlemen noted separately ‘Rolo’ (96M).

There was one more magnum left, a 1971 Cristal, and it was a spectacular one. ‘Really fresh’ came from Slover, and ‘deep and thick’ from Big Boy. It was incredibly rich with a light saber of a finish, zippy and with orange marmalade and corn flavors. Its finish was extended and extensive with a super Sprite bite. Big Boy also noted ‘burnt orange,’ and there were toffee traces on its finish (97M).

I must confess there were a couple of klunkers, but we ended up using them in the sauce of the great cuisine of Chef Gaia Bagnasacco of Milano.

But New Year’s Eve wasn’t over, and I would soon discover that it was just beginning. As previously noted, I came back the next day to have some 1899 Latour again, and we also had a 1926 Bollinger, which again had this super exotic truffle oil aroma, along with a kinky, limy and gamy overall nose. A streak of mint surged to the forefront, Chartreuse-like and edgy. Big Boy was admiring its citric pitch, and there was a lot of life left in this ancient Bolly. I wondered if this and the ’23s of previous mention were disgorged at the same time due to the similarities. The pungency of its flavors was a bit much for me, and it held it back, again for me, but Big Boy was in love and rated it much higher for its freshness and condition (93).

The rest of Friday was dedicated to some cellar management, and Saturday I was in the office, catching up and getting ready for 2009, when I got the call at 5pm. ‘Johnny, I need you to run by my house, grab the following seven magnums and meet us at Balthazar. Now.’ Thirty minutes later I was at the bar of a packed Balthazar, which closed down one end of their bar for Big Boy and entourage. Any complaints of not enough Champagne on New Year’s Eve would soon be off the record.

The crew was already there drinking 1996 Pol Roger Sir Winston Churchill. I took a quick glass of this clean and fresh bubbly. It was full of yellow sunshine aromas. Its palate was long and balanced, elegant and smooth. It was more refined than I remembered, but this had been in the glass a bit before I got there (95).

First officially up was a spectacular magnum of 1949 Pommery Rose in unreal condition. Its color was a perfect light pink. Bobby noted ‘Riesling-like petrol and peach.’ It was very peachy, almost like a Buckingham Palace bellini. ‘Purely elegant, 100% integrated total rose and hard to make better,’ cooed Big Boy. Sweet, clean and pure, the ’49 was all one could want in a rose. Secondary strawberry qualities emerged. ‘That’s why Pommery is better than Dom”¦lacks nothing”¦the forties is the greatest decade for Pommery,’ were all comments from our generous host. Bobby noted ‘sweet tart’ without the tart, almost this powder andacid combination. Paul added ‘Dylan’s Candy Shop,’ to which I replied, ‘more like Fitty’s Candy Shop,’ to which Loreto reminded us, ‘It’s Big Boy’s Candy Shop’ lol. Everyone was floored by the ’49, including our eager bartender. A few glasses made their way around the room, and soon strange women from strange countries came to thank Big Boy for a taste of his magnum nectar (96M).

Wait, there were six more magnums to be had. The next was a (DQ), an oxidized 1949 Louis Roederer magnum, which still had excellent texture and length, and impressive sweetness in the mouth. Were it not oxidized, it would be in rare air territory.

The 1959 Louis Roederer had a perfect nose, clean and fresh, from a magnum acquired directly from Roederer. The disgorgement was clearly within the last few years, as this was fresher than most average 1990s, let alone 1959. It still had mature aromas of nutty, sundried, yellow fruit, as well as this kinky coconut milk meets mother’s milk. It was very buttery once you got past its freshness, almost sauteed. ‘Acid city,’ one remarked. This magnum was so fresh, it could last another 100 years, and one could keep it in the glass 24 hours, and it would still be great. It reminded me of the 1996 Clos du Mesnil somewhat, and while the disgorgement gave the ’59 ‘superpowers,’ it did have me yearning for some of its natural maturity. That was the only bad thing I could say about this 6 star wine from this 6 star vintage. There were long, zippy and tasty granulated sugar flavors along with vanilla lemon finger wafer ones, too (97+M).

The maturity I was looking for in the 1959 came in the form of the 1961 Louis Roederer, which immediately got ‘three cleans and two jerks’ from Big Boy. This original magnum had a much warmer nose, displaying exotic aromas of rye, ‘confectioners’ (Bobby), wheat, corn, wax, minerals and seeds including sesame. In fact, it was everything bagel style. Bobby also noted ‘potpourri,’ and there was, big-time. The palate was almost as fresh as the ’59 despite the original bottling. There was still speed racer acidity, and ‘rare air’ and ‘real deal’ came from the KOB. There was a nice, gamy twist to the flavors, and ‘oceanic depth’ per Bobby. There were meaty, white gyro juice flavors and an hour later, the ’61 was still going strong, o so nutty and ‘acorn-ish’ per Avi. He went on to say, ‘if they served Champagne in Heaven, this would be it.’ Big Boy insisted it was 98 points, and he may have been right, but I was stuck on (97+M).

The Roederers were finished, but the ‘61s paraded on with a 1961 Bollinger. Unfortunately, the Bolly was affected with a kiss of fino. Nutty skins and white cola flavors were there in what could be called a pleasant but flat Champagne. Hints of orange peel and more white fruits grew on me. There were tasty vanilla ice cream flavors, and I liked it even though it was affected. Bob the bartender, having the tasting of his life, noted the higher Pinot Noir content. A perfect bottle would have been a higher score, but the Bolly soon fell apart, and morning mouth joined the party, and that’s not a party one wants to be at (92A-M).

The final ’61 was a 1961 Krug, another original bottling. Bobby the bartender was having a tough time with the cork as it was so tightly in there, and he shared, ‘the best ones are the most difficult ones, just like women.’ Now the Krug was ever so slightly oxidized as well, but it was so great that it turned out being outstanding nonetheless and probably the best ‘affected’ wine that I have ever had, and Rob later said separately the same. It had similar nuances to the Bollinger, but this was way better, much richer and longer even though it shared a similar wine-like quality. It was round, lush, smooth and rich with apple cider flavors. Were this not oxidized, it would have clearly been 98 or 99 points. Its oxidation took on a bouillon essence flavor, and the Krug ‘kept building in the glass,’ as Big Boy observed, and he is one who knows about building. It got more honeyed, and had ‘mind-blowing minerality ”“ that’s why it is Krug,’ Rob also shared. Pretty impressive for a bottle that wasn’t 100% (96A-M).

The final Champagne to ring in the New Year was the 1928 Bollinger. Rob was anxious about the finale as he wanted to end with a bang, but one sniff elicited a ‘Thank you, Jesus.’ The color and fizz were both there and incredible for this ancient wonder. Wheat crackers were the first aroma I noted, followed by a seeping vanilla and touch of apple. Earth, forest, cinnamon spice and Apple Jacks joined in. It had great perfume. It was so sweet in the mouth, almost too much at first. ‘We are in the land of all-time,’ Big Boy pronounced. The palate eventually developed a dry goodness to it, not leather, not earth, but rather a benevolent cardboard, like opening up a Chanel gift box. There were Rose’s Lime Juice flavors on its finish, which had great sweetness and spritz. Pinches of mountain herbs and dried apple had this tremendous bubbly flirting with 98 points (97M).

It was a tremendous start to what will hopefully be a better year for everyone. There are many great collections out there in the world, but the greatest collectors are the ones who share from their cellars, and it is tough to find anyone more generous than Rob.

And on the first, second and third day, he opened them.