Wine Media Guild is a members only NY press club, and at the end of the year, we usually have a BYO party. This time, we decided to do a lunch instead of dinner, and we ended up with a full house, and some really interesting wines. We did the lunch at our usual haunt, the private room at Felidia, and with a slightly raised budget, they came out with one of the best meals I have ever eaten there. The highlight was their signature spinach and ricotta ravioli with a sage butter sauce. This can be a slightly greasy concoction, but Felidia really gets this right, and the result is far and away my favorite non truffle pasta dish. And BTW, the most perfect match with Salon.
Salon 1996
My wife’s favorite wine. Brilliant showing, and it really deserved its own separate drum roll. Quite ready, with a tightrope balance of richness and freshness.
Jadot Musigny 2007.
The nose far more expressive than the palate, with that bright red fruit and floral nose of great Musigny. Palate though was strange, rather thin, and in a low acid vintage, came across as distinctly sharp and ungenerous. Medium finish. Expected more.
Swan Zinfandel lot 1 1972 from magnum.
Old Zinfandel can be brilliant, but I have been to a number of tastings, where we searched the cellars and pulled out bottles only to have our hopes dashed, and the wines showed old and lacked balance. Only two producers seem to be the source of reliable wines, Ridge and Swan. '72 wasn’t on my radar, but i managed to buy this recently and thought it would be an intriguing wine to share with some really close friends. 13.7% alcohol, a powerful robust and hefty wine, but with the most extraordinary aromatics of fig, blackberry, mushroom and earth. Finished long and a touch sweet, at least initially, the sweetness had gone and what was left was pretty profound. Not my wine of the day, but close.
Pichon Lalande 1970
Among the Lalande pantheon this has always been a favorite, and tasting it alongside the 1989 was one of the more interesting pairings of the day. For me, the wine of the day, but it was interesting that the table split evenly as to whether they preferred this or the 1989. Bright fruit, the telltale herbal component, lavender and leather. Beautiful wine, my WOTD.
Pichon Lalande 1989 from magnum
Took its time to meld, and initially all over the place. Really would have benefitted from a hour or two in the decanter. After half an hour in the glass, a slightly darker fruit than the 1970 emerged, but with most of the other aromatics. Still very young, began to stretch nicely and a really strong finish.
Haut Brion 1981
Ready and certainly at its peak. Soft, easy and balanced, telltale brick dust, harness leather and cedar. Fruit beginning to fade. If you are buying, plan to drink it quickly, but you will enjoy a really good mature Bordeaux.
Jaboulet La Chapelle 1985
Another really good wine, and probably the most underrated of the great La Chapelles of the 1980s. The nose has lost some of its young perfume, but still carries dark fruit, woodsmoke and a gunflint character. The finish though belies the rest of the wine, so incredibly long is it.
Graham Port 1970
One of the nice things about having a few experts around is that they come out with slightly under the radar wines. I have had this wine a number of times, and it has always settled comfortably among the top Ports of the vintage, but today it was all in perfect adjustment with clear flavors and an almost absurdly long finish. Certainly minutes. Lovely stuff.
This is all from memory, there were a few other notable wines, and when I dig up my notes, I will add them to the thread.