On a recent evening in New York City, dozens of collectors gathered to celebrate the 40th birthday of Dapper Dave. It was a who’s who of wine loving New Yorkers, all coming together to celebrate the one and only Dapper Dave’s 40th birthday. Vintage Tastings alumni in attendance included Big Boy, Jetski, Sir Robert, Big Mike, The Inspector, Diamonds, Tom Terrific and many more, even a Comte.

While the theme of the evening was 1979, there were a few other wines from other vintages that snuck in the party, beginning with a magnum of 1996 Raveneau Chablis Les Clos. Its nose was very smoky, a little fatter than I expected, toastier and richer with more oak showing out of magnum. Its palate was super citrusy, tangy and again woody. Honestly, I expected more from this theoretically phenomenal wine, which was a bit awkward out of magnum (94M).

The Delagrange-Bachelet was a bit funky and mature, with some tea qualities. It felt advanced and felt like 92 points even if it were perfect. The Lafon was an outstanding wine, smoky, rich and toasty. This was a buttery classic, smooth and creamy wine that was still very fresh. This bottle showed the greatness of the vintage for white Burgundy, and the greatness for older Comtes Lafon. Old Louis Latour CCs have always been pet wines for many Burgnuts, and this bottle showed why. It was tasty and sweet, with lots of corn, honey and stalk flavors. It was on the sweet side, and the Comte found it ‘good for cooking’ lol. The Perrieres in our first flight was also smoky and toasty, with some nice mint complications. The is was a very nice wine, tasty and with great balance, elegant and long.

We were pleasantly interrupted by a Jeroboam of 1999 Roulot Meursault Perrieres. The Roulot was lemony and zippy with great tang and rich and creamy flavors. There were kisses of hay and honey in this oh so tangy wine (95J).

Sir Robert brought another Jero, this one being an incredibly rare 1979 Marc Colin Montrachet. I ended up having at least four or five glasses of it; it kept getting better and better and better. What a great nose. Melted butter with that old, mature honeyed and musky sex appeal. There was also vanilla bean , more butter, more musk and some tasty caramel flavors. The Colin family is a historical one when it comes to Chassagne. I think many people overlooked this wine in the beginning, but after towards the end of the night, there was no doubt this was one of the wines of the night (97J).

We went back to Roulot with a 2007 Roulot Meursault Perrieres. I was a bit perplexed by this magnum, which was a bit tinny and served a bit too warm (92M?).

The Inspector had somehow gotten his hands on my 1979 Jadot Chevalier Montrachet Les Demoiselles, and I am pleased to say that it passed inspection. This was a rich and hearty white with great verve and edge. There were smoky, caramelly corn flavors in this outstanding white (95).

I’m not a huge fan of Pommard in general, and this Pousse d’Or didn’t do much to change that opinion. It was rich and taut ‘but still Pommard’ I wrote. The D’Angerville had lots of orange, autumnal action in its nose, and it was also fleshy, beautiful and excellent. This was in a perfectly mature spot. The M-G was big and rich but seemed so young in comparison to the previous two wines. There were lots of black fruits, but this bottle felt reconditioned and was very, very rocky and a bit square.

I was lucky enough to get a taste of a magnum of 1979 DRC La Tache. Arabian nights was the first thing that came to mind with its exotic spices. It was rich with nice autumn flavors, excellent earth and red fruits. It was towards the end of the magnum, so I didn’t feel like I got the full picture. That wasn’t an issue, because out came a Jeroboam of the same wine thanks to the one and only Big Boy. He immediately declared that his Jero crushed the magnum and was 105 points lol. The Jero definitely felt richer and had more of that classic minty spice. There was great vim and great balance to this spicy, dusty and heady Jero (97J).

There was a Jero of DRC Richebourg that followed courtesy of the Bassmaster, and it was another ‘wow’ Jero. Of course, Big Boy was constantly reminding everyone how superior his La Tache Jero was, which it was, but ever so slightly and not quite as far apart as Mr. Boy would have everyone believe. There was a touch more dirt in the Riche, but there was no doubting its greatness as well. It was quite consistent with the LT jero, actually, with a touch more tootsie pop. The leather, the oil, the citrus, the rose, all were there (96J).

We had a flurry of more wines, and everyone started to get up and mingle around, so my notes became quite brief, especially after some healthy servings from the Jeros. Wines tasted include:

The Arnoux was friendly and flavorful, showing lots of citrus and iron. The Chave was a bit on the dirty side, showing lots of animal and leather. The Conterno was ‘punchy’ per the Comte, and its usual combination of tar, leather and zip did not displease. The Bordeaux were all solid, with Lafleur leading the way. It had the most concentration and great plummy fruit. Its finish was in a different league. The Petrus was delicious but more elegant, an excellent showing for this forgotten vintage. The Giacosa, which was a white label/non-Riserva, really stole the show. It was so damn delicious, so open and expressive with lots of tangy and fleshy fruit, showing all the hues of red and brown. Great saddle leather and tobacco added just the right amount of spice. This wine was a real lip smacker. Don’t sleep on old Giacosa white labels!!!

Happy Birthday Dapper Dave, don’t worry, it’s all downhill from here ; )

Three months and no tasting notes, I know, but I assure you that there have been plenty of tastings, an absurd amount of great events come to think of it. January flew by, and so did February, but before February came to a close, I paid a visit to a special collection, one of which you might have heard, The Chalet Collection. I have said before and often that I have been treated to some great dinners by the owner of the Chalet Collection, and here are some of the wines I had this past year from him. I needed a kickstart to get going, nothing like a spectacular auction this weekend to get me in the writing mood again : )

On one occasion, actually every occasion with the Chalet Collector, we began with a great vintage Champagne; this time it was a 1964 Krug. This was rich and apply with a great swathe of oak at first, along with honey flavors and strong acid. This was so rich and ‘foamy in the mouth.’ It had great apple juice mousse on the loose and rich buttercream on its nose (96).

The 1955 Louis Roederer (not Cristal just Brut) had more rust and lanolin and was deemed ‘much older.’ There was big apple and rainwater elements with ‘nut’ and rich, waxy, sweet toffee flavors, but the apple juice still stayed on top. This was quite close to the Krug in quality and ultimately kept it close. The old ‘regular’ Roederers are one of vintage Champagne’s great secrets (95).

The wines were served blind, as our host enjoys the sport of tasting, and our first white had a toasty, smoky Leflaive-like nose. It had yellow corn and citrus aromas, and if it wasn’t Leflaive, then it was definitely Coche. I tasted the toasted kernels and thought it was so elegant but still intense with super length. Then I learned it had been double decanted 8 hours ago! Like wow. Soon thereafter I would debate with Mr. Chalet the amount of air time on some older reds, but I had no objections here. This was a perfect, super bottle with rich, creamy, white ice flavors. It tasted like diamonds look on the perfect neck, and I was stunned to find out this was a 2001 Coche-Dury Meursault Perrieres. Why, because it didn’t have the botrytis that ’01 usually has. Strong showing (97).

The next wine the French Paradox initially thought was Clos Ste. Hune with its minerals galore, but I considered the possibility of white Bordeaux with all its very waxy guava flavors. The wine came from old vines, not late picked and not touched by phylloxera. Hmmmm. Clues, clues, clues, ok we gave up! It was a 2002 Didier Dagueneau Asteroide. This was super exotic and the richest Sauvignon Blanc I’d ever had with insane acidity (95).

We then got into old Burgundy, at least I knew that much. The first red had plum on the nose and coffee in the mouth but maintained its freshness. There was wet forest, ‘leather,’ and pine needles with rich stalky flavors and great minerals. The finish was intense and I learned it had been opened at 5PM, and we came to it four hours later! The Paradox found ‘menthol,’ and I saw some cedar with a touch of bell pepper. This was a 1971 DRC La Tache! The bottle was still outstanding, but I could not help but think it would have been the usual two points higher if not opened so long ago. To each their own, I still finished every drop (96)!

We then got into another bottle that had withstood the four hour double decant, this time an even rarer 1952 DRC La Tache. This had more brown sugar with rich, decadent, spiny mahogany spice. Mr. Chalet found ‘sous bois and forest floor like old DRC.’ I’m not sure if that was a clue or an affirmation, but he definitely said it lol. This was oily and a little warmer on its finish than the ’71, with a kinder acidity profile, and lots of cola and root beer flavors. There were ‘faded flower and rose’ qualities per the Paradox. Ultimately, I preferred the ’52 ever so slightly, and I think this could have been a 99 point experience without the excessive air. It is a legendary vintage for DRC for the few that know. Still, 97 points is not so bad, and I finished every drop of this one, too (97).

The next wine was Bordeaux for sure, Left bank, I thought, but I was surprised to learn it was, in fact, 1953 Petrus (I guessed La Miss!). This had dark cassis, deep ocean and was super sexy. The French Paradox was transforming into his alternate identity, aka the Dirty Frenchman, as he said it reminded him of the ‘red light district at 3AM.’ Will take your word on that one buddy lol. Alexander the Great chimed in and thought it was even ‘dirtier.’ Not sure if that was the wine or the district. Check please. Personally, I found it delicious, with so much sexy Pomerol chocolate and even a touch of tootsie pop. Old Petrus never gets old (96).

I was convinced the next and last wine was an old white Bordeaux, and Mr. Chalet commented that it was full of ‘rainwater.’ I was convinced I tasted a certain Sauvignon Blanc richness. In fact, it was 1971 Raveneau Chablis Butteaux. Doh! This was rich and round with not much on the mineral front, but it was a very delicious bottle. It towed the line being fat but still tasted lean in the glass, and it showed lots of cream on the nose. It was an impressive wine, and a rare look into super old Raveneau (94).

Why, thank you, Mr. Chalet, may I have another?

The next night we had together was at a 3-star Michelin place that shall remain anonymous. The meal was amazing; however, there was not enough food! I was starving like half the meal, only amplified by the eleven bottles amongst the four of us. That is what I call being ready for dinner, but the dinner not being ready for us!

The first wine we had was a delicious bottle of 1971 Lanson Red Label. This had an old, apply, sweet, tangy, cola, sugared goodness to it. Is that too many adjectives? The Paradox noted ‘dry, refreshing acidity,’ and I loved its vivacious, zippy palate. ‘Layers and toast’ came from Mr. Chalet, and I agreed, also finding crème brulee flavors on its finish. Maybe it was a touch too sweet if anything was wrong, but it delivered (94).

The next wine we plucked off the list, a 2014 Keller Rielsing G-Max. Mr. Chalet had never had one, so I had to pop his G-Max cherry! Ok, that probably came out wrong lol, let’s get into the wine…the G-Max was so sweet in the nose, more so than usual, but it still possessed an amazing fruit medley. ‘Passionfruit,’ noted Mr. Chalet. It was round, lush and sweet with all the orange, peach, apricot, mango and ‘mochi fruit.’ The wine was super smooth and satiny but the acidity was buried alive by its fruit. This was a rich, decadent and round G-Max, perhaps a vintage that will give more pleasure sooner, although every bottle of G-Max gives pleasure. There’s another joke to be made in there somewhere (95).

‘Rainwater’ came from Mr. Chalet, and that should have been a clue already, given how many bottles of this producer I have had with him, and the fact that he probably says this every time for one. I got wet corn first thing on a sunny morning after a rainy night. Who grew up in Iowa, are you with me? There were delicious, nutty flavors with a kiss of banana, what could it be? A 1993 Raveneau Chablis Valmur purchased on release! I drank it like water, although it still had a touch of minerality. Someone noted, ‘some similarities in elegance and finesse between the two whites.’ There was signature citrus and oyster to this ‘more refined’ Raveneau (95).

There were two more whites, the first being so smoky and so toasty that it was a veritable tub of buttery popped corn. Mr. Chalet agreed, admiring its ‘rich nose.’ The palate was very citrusy by contrast, with lots of character, minerals and hot stones. The palate was spectacular at first, although it lost a step with some time in the glass. That was ok, it was a 1996 D’Auvenay Meursault Narvaux with a touch of a lower fill (like 4cm). So good and so delicious appeared in my notes, and while I gave it a gushing 96 points upon first kiss, I settled for 95 points and a cab ride home lol (95).

The next wine Mr. Chalet was just fucking with me, but it was damn good, I will confess. No one could figure it out. It had a smooth nose, with much more perfume. There was white spice and a delicate, floral tanginess. There was a tropical twist to its fruit, so tropical I wrote again. The Paradox noted, ‘candy on the nose,’ and its smooth, icy flavors reminded me of sorbet. This was a Loire white, a 2014 Guiberteau Saumur Blanc Clos des Carmes or something like that. It was a Chenin Blanc Monopole from Breze I was told. All my Somms out there put your hands up (94).

The French Paradox picked up on ‘pickle’ right away in our first red, while Mr. Chalet noted ‘green herbs and dill.’ There was a deep nose to this young wine, and the Paradox came back with some ‘fresh pepper.’ This was clearly a young, intense Burgundy, very shy and tight. There was an herbal style and ‘green pepper’ to this 2013 Bizot Echezeaux. Only 1047 bottles were made. I should note that I had a 2016 a couple days prior that was absolutely smoking, I think 2013 is not representative of this Domaine’s budding superstar status (92).

The second red was also a 2013 Red Burgundy, but in a different weight class. There was much more rich, decadent fruit in this better wine. There was a great mélange of fruits: red, purple and blue. Of course, it was from the modern master of Echezeaux, the Comte, but not even his own Domaine wine. It was a 2013 C. Marey Hospice de Beaune Echezeaux Cuvee Jean-Luc Bissey. Type that twenty times. I am still waiting for Louis-Michel to make a bad wine – ain’t gonna happen. I should know I have had at least a couple hundred bottles of his delicious juice (95)!

For fuck’s sake, 2014, 2013, 2013…what the hell was going on? Had Mr. Chalet come down with a fever, what was up with all these very young wines?!! The next wine calmed me down and had me saying ‘mmmmmm.’ One or two more m’s possible. Aromas of band-aid and gravel gave way to a smoky nose with rose and citrus. And lots more gravel. There was a bit of bamboo and forest to its tasty and balanced palate. This was fresh and pure, drinkable and smooth. ‘Delicious’ and ‘fantastic’ came from the crowd, and the Somm even jumped in with ‘incredible.’ I wish he jumped in with a basket of bread ; ) Delicate and floral, there was ‘carob’ and ‘bacon fat’ in this special bottle of 1953 DRC La Tache! And it was from a 6cm bottle. Like whoa….it’s all about the color for those old Burgundies, all about the color (96).

The next bottle was an equally rare, old Burgundy, a 1952 Rousseau Chambertin. This is the third time I had a bottle of this batch thanks to the Chalet Collection, the second of which we had with Cyrielle Rousseau in Burgundy on one rainy afternoon. The first bottle, however, was the most memorable: epic, legendary, insert your own superlative here. This bottle was still outstanding, but it did not achieve the heights of that first time. It’s all about the bottle for those old Burgundies, all about the bottle. There was similar sweetness to the LT, but the Rousseau was more autumnal. It was smooth and nice with good brown sugar and earth flavors. ‘Tasty’ came from the crowd, and I concurred (95).

Mr. Chalet noted ‘light mint’ in the next red, followed by ‘tobacco and soil.’ There was a maturity to this wine, and its flavors were full of coffee with a touch of egg cream. This was a perfect bottle of 1967 Vega Sicilia Unico. It was salty in a great way with lots of cocoa butter on its finish. Yum (96+).

There was one more bottle ordered off the list, because I’m a ‘just one more bottle’ kind of guy. ‘Rosemary, super dark, balanced and elegant’ came from the crowd. This was a great red for cheese, full of black raspberry flavors. It was a 2002 Henschke Hill of Grace. It was an Aussie wine to make one say ‘oy oy oy’ (95).

There was another night with Mr. Chalet, but it’s past my bedtime. I’ll save that one for the archives. The Chalet Collection is one built on a true love for wine by a gentleman who loves sharing and caring for it. I hope you have a better glimpse into his heart and soul, which are as big as they come. Let’s recreate some Chalet magic after this weekend, I am happy to participate again and again, buyers please note!

In Vino Veritas,
JK

Ok, so my theoretical 12 Days of Christmas was only six. I hear everyone likes half-price lol. Well, let’s now officially call it seven, as I just had to get one more article out in 2018, and there will never be an article as appropriate as this for New Year’s Eve. It’s funny, I was telling someone the other day that if someone doesn’t like wine, I do not know how to even talk to them. It’s like they are some backwards, inbred alien race that needs centuries of evolution before I can relate to them. Or they can just fall in love with wine, much easier. Suffice it to say, Bad Boy and I have been getting along for almost two decades, and while he has a head start on me, I told him I would handle the finish lol.

There are lots of great wine events throughout any given year in many given places, but there is one event that is always the fine wine party of the year. The Bad Boy has seen a few things over the years from his lifetime in the music industry, and he has found the translation when it comes to fine and rare wine. Every year he invites a few friends (he tries to cap it at fifty), and everyone must bring a couple of bottles or a magnum…at least. He set the table this year with five magnums of DRC Montrachet…and a Jero. Go big or stay home lol. And on this incredible day, Bad Boy was the only one who could do both.

Those that know Bad Boy well know to get there a little early. I thought I was early around 130pm, but the Punisher was already holding court. He brought the Lobster Club sushi guy with him who was fantastic, and that held us over for the afternoon. Well, that and the kilo of Caviar, the few pounds of white truffles and the thirty pizzas, and that was before dinner. There were a lot of Hungry Men in the room:. The afternoon also saw a who’s who of Vintage Tastings lore, such as the aforementioned Punisher, Big Boy, the Rev, Alexander the Great, the Attorney General, Pitts, the Hillbilly and even the one and only King Angry. I think he has decided to finally reclaim the throne lol. I took 51 tasting notes over the course of the afternoon and evening, although the last ten or so got a bit snippy, as in shorter than I would theoretically like. I did spit a bit, mainly for the young Champagnes, but as usual, it was not enough.

The 2008 Cristal Rose started our day. Bad Boy had been talking about this wine for a while; he is one of the most knowledgeable Champagne guys out there, so when he says something is one of the greatest, I listen. The 2008 Rose was like a rocket ship with a zippy, endless finish. Strawberry and citrus were King and Queen of this prom, and while young, there was no questioning its greatness (98).

The 1996 Cristal Rose magnum had a great nose and was more open with the same leathery edges as the 2008 but smokier fruit. This was another rocket ship of wine with the acidity poppin’ like synchronized twerking. It was tough to get the red out of the Rose, but the intensity felt like it took 2008 up one notch (98+M).

The 1996 Taittinger Comtes de Champagne Rose was showing off its full-bodied greatness with all the acid of the vintage and more fruit than one could imagine present in a 1996. This was full of rich and zippy strawberry flavors and a touch of garden goodness (95+M).

The 2008 DRC Montrachet was the first of our multiple Montrachet magnums, and it was ‘so stylized with botrytis,’ the Punisher noted. This was pure pleasure and one of the Punisher’s favorite DRC Montys for drinking now. It was rich and creamy but not too over the top. There was nice yellow fruit, straw, and golden flavors to this delicious and creamy wine (96M).

Bad Boy always brings the Soldera, as he knows this is one of the world’s great, unique wines. We began, as one should, with the very rare 1978 Soldera. This was clearly an older wine with great leather, spice, and dried red fruits. There was that Sauvage goodness in a dried leafy way. Underneath, there remained a core of sugar, sweet and delicate on a plateau, but it still had a slap of rocky goodness on its finish. There was nice dryness, and both the Attorney General and Bad Boy blessed it as ‘great,’ and I found it incredibly Burgundian. What was so amazing about the 1978 was the fact that when I came back to it an hour or two later, it was even better (97).

The 1982 Soldera was so voluptuous and full-bodied with great chocolate and smoke aromas. There were ripe, rich blacker fruits and twangy blackberries along with round sweet cherry and citrus flavors. This was perfectly plump and Sims’ favorite for now (96).

We interrupted the Soldera vertical, as Bad Boy wanted to try the Jero of 1985 DRC Montrachet. it was corked FUCK! Corked bottles always hurt, but they definitely hurt a lot more when they are 30k bottles OUCHHHHHHH. I tried to look past its corkiness, which is always difficult, and it had gamy, creamy, waxy and honeyed flavors on the palate, which was far superior to the nose. There was some mesquite on the finish. It was definitely mature, on the older side versus the younger side and more than unfortunate (95A-J).

The 1985 Soldera was a bit glue-y on the nose with more leather and citrus tanginess. The wine was rich with a bit of herbal goodness but a monstrous finish, but I couldn’t quite get past the glue-y element. Chocolatey and caramelly flavors began to emerge with lots of tobacco (95+M?).

The 1987 Soldera was milder and easy drinking with a brighter and lighter style. There was more citrus and autumn action here, along with nice garden, chocolate and jerky flavors (93).

The 1990 Soldera was phenomenal and still my favorite Soldera of all time after all these years. It was so exotic and creamy with great richness. There were smoky, nutty and rich chocolatey and caramelly flavors with some tobacco at the end, like a great dinner unto itself. This was so thick and so delicious (98).

The 1995 Soldera Intistieti was solid; it was dry and crispy but I couldn’t pay it much attention. Things were starting to heat up (93).

The twelfth wine I tasted on this glorious day was a 1988 DRC Romanee Conti. Only the Punisher could punish in RC fashion! It had an autumnal nose with forest floor, lots of leather and a tangy, smoky sweetness with a drop of honey. This was smooth and satiny stuff with nice citrus and a bit of good dirty to its flavors like a mouth full of…insert your own word here lol. The tannins of the vintage still shined through (95).

It was time to check out the bevy/assortment of 1996 Champagnes. There was one table set up with all the magnums of the best of the best of the best, sir! I powered through them quickly for the sake of Academia, as despite my affinity for 1996 and Champagne (it may be the greatest vintage ever), there was just too much going on even older and rarer. The following is my summary:

The Taittinger was butterscotch city, with sweet yellow fruits and a creamy, honeyed deliciousness. The Krug was leaner and a little tight. It was great, but not showing as well as the others. The Cristal was rich with more fatness and a yellow goodness. It was zippy with rich butter flavors and dense minerality, nipping on the heels of the Rose sampled earlier. Roederer definitely killed it in 1996, an opinion I have held for twenty years. The Clos des Goisses was ‘so Pinot’ per the Attorney General, and I found it very bready and full-bodied. It had that gamy, Pinot Noir thing going on, for sure. The Dom (Ruinart) was creamy and classic with a sprinkling of herbs, while the Salon was like diamonds cutting through a rock (star finish). Very appropriate for a Bad Boy production! Lastly, the one and only Clos du Mesnil was very rich and creamy with tasty, vanilla cream and honey flavors. However, it was a bit clumsy and oaky with maybe too much of that there for me. It had a great mouthfeel but awkward flavors, and I usually rate this higher, usually the highest as a matter of fact. Perhaps the magnum wasn’t ready yet.

Hello again! It’s been a while. It’s been a busy year in quite the good way, and equally as good when it comes to all the great wines I have tasted this Fall. Now that the 2018 season is officially over as of today, I have been struck by some Christmas spirit, and I am ready to commit myself to something other than my family and my work: my writing. So here goes the first of 12 articles in 12 days, and I hope you enjoy the fruits of my labor, and that it encourages you to drink many great wines this holiday season.

So where to begin? Well, December in New York makes one think of summer, and when it comes to summer, one of my mandatory stops (or two) is ‘The Boat.’ There’s lots of boats out there, but as far as wine lovers go, there is only one, the Mogul’s, of course.

The Mogul and I have lots of busy friends, so we jammed a couple handfuls of couples together for a full day and night of fine wine and friend appreciation as summer started to wind to a close. We kept it simple during the day with magnums of Champagnes and White Burgs, beginning with a magnum of 1982 Dom Perignon Rose. It was full of strawberries but a touch dirty with a bit of wheat germ and whiskey. This was round and dusty but meaty, elegant and regal at the same time. There were red fruits and dark chocolate here, too, but honestly I am usually a bit underwhelmed by DP Roses (93M)

Next up was a 1982 Krug magnum, which was super zippy and intense, very rustic and powerful. The zippy, long intensity of this wine left me more than impressed, as Krug is prone to do. While Jetski found it ‘tart,’ I found it statuesque, quite appealing and still very young (96+M).

The 1988 Roederer Cristal Rose magnum was rich and buttery with nice zip and fruit. There was great, sweet fruit, full of strawberries again, with great length as well. This was a long and stylish Champagne, round and creamy on its palate. Big Boy found it ‘a little soft on its edges,’ but I thought it was crisp and larger than him. I guess that made me a Bigger Boy lol (95M).

The 1979 Krug Collection magnum was full of rocks that held gemstones and waterfalls that could compete with Niagra. Such length and intensity reminded me of razors, rocket fuel and an angry woman. There was real precision here. This had a crazy minerality and became delightfully slutty after I coaxed it out of its anger. I’ve had lots of practice lol (97+M).

We broke into White Burgundy with the first vintage of Roulot’s Clos de Boucheres, the 2011 Roulot Meursault Clos de Boucheres, again in magnum. This was a fantastic white from a vintage that is great to drink now for White Burgundy. There were white fruits, icy fruits, and star fruits as well. It had that Roulot style of great and unique smoke flavors, as well as fantastic length and acid (95M).

The 2000 Raveneau Chablis Les Clos magnum was steel and flint central. It smelled like it could build a small city. ‘Insane flint,’ I wrote. This was clean and fresh but ‘perfume-y’ on the palate per Jennie P. It kept getting fresher with a ‘lick stone’ limestone quality; i.e., one would want to lick the stones in the wine, literally. The Raveneau was mellow and round with milky, lemon chiffon flavors. There was great richness here in a unique Chablis way, still keeping that classic stony, oyster shell finish (94M).

Wild Bill found the 2005 Leflaive Chevalier Montrachet perfect for lobster, and he was right. This was a rock solid wine, full of minty, white fruits and crystals on its finish with a nice minerality as well. It’s all coming back to me, everything on this glorious day was served out of magnum (95M).

And that was it for lunch. We meandered to dinner at 11 Madison, the pop up in the Hamptons, and we started fresh with a spectacular 1971 Krug Collection magnum. This had lots of vanilla and nuts with a tangy, musky and honeyed nose. This was well-rounded on its palate, a little dusty and tangy yet vimful. I was starving at this point, so it was not surprising that it got better with food (97+M).

We kept the Krug and Cristal theme going with a 1982 Roederer Cristal magnum, which was round and easy with a slightly dark color. This had orange blossom and caramel flavors with a creamy and toasty finish. Big Boy thought it to be affected, and ultimately I agreed with him (93A-M).

No surprise, we came back to Burgundy, with a surprisingly profound magnum of 1990 Ramonet Batard Montrachet. It was full of corn, menthol and zippy BBQ grilled rub. Mmmmm. This was a minty magnum with superlative complexity. What a rich, decadent wine! There was great length and a rich spiciness here that made zippy play with its dusty, minerally notes. There was also a great lemony spank and twist, and I was pleased to meet this ravishing Ramonet, likely the best Ramonet Batard that I have ever had (97M).

There was another Batard, a 1986 Domaine Leflaive Batard Montrachet that had a slight musty or chemical note. There were some nice corn syrup, orange marmelade and honey aromas and creamy, honey and orange blossom flavors. It was so creamy but not a perfect bottle, I mean magnum (95A-M?).

We headed into red, red wine territory with a magnum of 1995 Dujac Clos Saint Denis. This was a fragrant Burgundy with lots of complexity. Aromas of forest, citrus, red cherry and a sweet core of fruit penetrated my nostrils. It was a musky wine with a palate full of acid and a sappy finish. This had a touch of cedar and olive, but one thought it was a tiny bit ‘dry,’ a typical knock on 1995 (94M).(94M).

The magnum of 1993 Rousseau Chambertin Clos de Beze was so rich, so decadent and so oily. Multiple people called it the ‘best wine so far,’ including myself. This was so fragrant and so intense with such clear red fruit and hearty flavors that it was the perfect wine to kick off 12 Days of Christmas lol. 1993 Rousseaus are always near the top of my any time, any place wines (98+M).

There’s only a handful of places to go after Rousseau, and DRC is one of the better ones. The magnum of 1985 DRC Richebourg was as good as this wine gets. Jetski immediately cooed that ‘they killed it,’ and Wild Bill smothered himself in its ‘velvet.’ It was musky, sexy and possibly better than the La Tache in ’85 some wondered. Jennie P called it ‘GREAT’ with lots capital letters. This was a rich, decadent and spectacular Burgundy, indubitably better due to its magnum format, as older DRC’s are very prone to be (97M)

Big Boy immediately found ‘spice box’ on the 1990 DRC La Tache magnum. This had all the cedar any forest would need. It was a soupy, sexy city, still so young but oh so good. It was much, much better than a recently had bottle. There was so much spice it made me sneeze. It was a truly great magnum, as good a wine as there is. So young, so long and so good kept reappearing in my notes (99M)

Bordeaux had last licks, even though Burgundy before Bordeaux is definitely a topic of conversation. I am generally not a fan of 1982 Pomerols, but this magnum of 1982 Lafleur made me feel warm and fuzzy. It was full of Pomerol chocolate and purple fruit. This was a rich and sexy Bordeaux with great smack and lots of swerve on its chalky finish (97M)

The magnum of 1982 La Mission Haut Brion had decadent cassis aromas with rich, buttery and purple fruit. There was gravel, toast and leather flavors. I was running out of words (96M).

A spectacular magnum of 1961 Chateau Latour finished the night in fine fashion and was one of the best experiences I have ever had with this wine, if not the best. This was a classic claret in every which way and kept gaining and gaining and gaining in the glass (99M).

On the first day of Christmas, may your true love give you magnums. See you tomorrow : )