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For those of you that really pay attention, you will remember The Keymaster, one of the world’s great palates and collectors, a man who realizes that older is better, you better, the best. Every meal that I have ever had with him has been nothing short of spectacular, and this most recent evening was no exception. We drove about 30 minutes outside of his European home to find a Grand Award winning restaurant. We still brought our own wines, of course.

The Keymaster noted, ‘mature pineapple, exotic mango and a lot of sweetness.’ There were orange fruits with a Galliano kiss and some wet rock. There was also some rusty nail and honey drops in its smoky nose. It definitely had a deeper color, but Sebastien was still appreciating its ‘effervescence.’ Its rusty flavors were hammered in by its hard, full acidity. This was a strong wine, almost robotic and violent. ‘Aggressive’ and ‘on fire’ came from the crowd. This was bigger but felt more chemistry than natural science. It was an old release of NV Jacques Selosses Contraste, released in 2008. I love Selosses, but I don’t think his NV cuvees get better over time (94).

The second white had a much oakier nose with a bandaid applied, and it, too, was also served too cold. ‘More Montrachet’ came from one of our quartet, and it did feel richer, but I didn’t think we were in Montrachet land. Sebastien called this wine ‘a real man,’ or perhaps he was just fantasizing out loud lol. There was a lot of tree, forest and log cabin action with a whole lotta potpourri going on. Someone noted, ‘popcorn and caramel,’ in this long, balanced and smooth 1999 Coche-Dury Puligny Montrachet Les Enseigneres. Exotic, perfumed and sexy, this Coche was a ‘mini-Batard’ per The Keymaster. Sebastien came up with a new adjective, ‘pophorny.’ Perhaps he was thinking about that real man again (94).

Even though this ’83 counterpart was also decanted three hours ago, it felt deeper and stronger, but it had to overcome some must/cardboard/wet tree bark thing. Mushroom, ‘wet paper’ and ‘fruity wet dog’ came from the crowd. There was great minerality to its nose, and more acid stick here. The palate was fresh with no signs of must, except the thought that I must drink more of this. There was nice leather to its long finish. Most preferred the nose of the La Tache, and the palate of this 1983 Henri Jayer Echezeaux. Its palate was deeper, sweeter and longer, and the nose improved while gaining a candied twist. It got more LT than the LT got it, if that makes sense (95).

We were told the last wine of the night was a 97 point Burghound wine, so we knew it was Burgundy . It had an open, saucy nose that was full, rich and hearty. There were aromas of bouillon, roasted fruit, menthol and a touch of beef. Leather, rust and autumn were present in this wise yet youthful wine. This was a great wine, with outstanding acidity and zip, with supporting characters of barnwood and earth. It likely wasn’t an original bottling, but this 1933 Pierre Gaunoux Pommard Rugiens was still great (95).