A group of 6 met at Bern’s 2 weeks ago, for a fantastic dinner. We established a budget for 6 bottles and I called my Somm contact Brad to discuss the plan. My wife and I dined there a year ago, and Brad took great care of us, especially with a 1974 Franciscan Charbono that rocked my world. We all agreed that the best approach was to let the experts pick out the wines. The only details I gave him were:
Quantity
Budget
We want some aged wines
1 Champagne
1 White Burg
1 Red Burg
I reminded him about my love for the 1974 Franciscan Charbono that was a ridiculous price.
And that was all, he went to work and brought out some gems. He said he didn’t go too deep with the Champagne and the White Burg pricing, because he found some reds he wanted to use the funds on. It worked out quite well. Here is the lineup in order:
Champagne: NV Billecart Salmon Brut Reserve
White Burg: 09 Chassagne-Montrachet Domaine Michel Niellon
Cali: 74 Inglenook Charbono Napa Valley
Red Burg: 96 Corton Renardes Domaine Michel Gaunoux
Cali: 76 Clos Duval Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley
Bordeaux: 61 Chateau Verdignan Haut Medoc
I am not a big tasting note writer, so I am not going to try. I can tell you that each bottle was fantastic. There was a consensus that the Chateau Verdignan won the night, it was so incredibly elegant and lively, beautiful fruit and secondary flavors like leather and an earthy component. Tons of life left in that wine. 2nd place really varied. I think between the 6 of us, all 5 other bottles were mentioned as a 2nd favorite. My 2nd place wine was the Charbono, so funky, with herbs and menthol mixed into the fruit flavors. It wasn’t quite as amazing as the Franciscan version, but was still a joy to drink. The Clos Duval was sensational, and fun to taste side by side with the Verdignan. The Red Burg was a baby still (though some nice bricking), just giving hints of mushroom and forest floor behind the fruit.
We love dining here, 2 years in a row and it may become an annual pilgrimage. The service was amazing, we couldn’t have asked for a better time.
Thanks! I have a limited wine budget, so I don’t buy much in the way of Bordeaux and Burgundy, and I certainly don’t have enough wine to age for a long time. So a Bern’s trip is so much fun for me - drinking wine I never otherwise get to try.
Stuart, yeh - pretty amazing, a 61 and a 74 that probably will drink well for decades to come. They weren’t tired in any way, just nicely mature!
In the cellar, I took a picture of a magnum of 1947 Bordeaux that was behind bars, they said it was their most expensive bottle at $30,000.
I feel this.
Nice night Scott.
I love being at Berns and having the CdV and Inglenook type experiences you had. We had a '77 Ridge Zin blind last year that rocked the whole table. Wine of the night amongst some heavy hitters.
Cheers.
I’m a local, I don’t agree with that off-quoted statement. Pretty much everyone on this site knows about Bern’s, so it’s not like you are disclosing a secret. My philosophy is, if it’s on the menu, it’s fair game. The Somms have only asked me not to post on special wines that are not on the list. I happily honor that request.
I’d rather read about the joy than try to horde the experience.
Will be dining there solo for my first ever visit, on 10/26. I’ll be in town several days for a conference. If anyone has back channel suggestions for interesting half-bottles of Cali cab or Italian reds, I’d be appreciative.
Well done…never heard of this bordeaux and the charbono is an interesting grape I would like to try more of…think I have only tasted Foley’s …can’t say I am a huge fan of '74 inglenook…way too medicinal, seemed laced with iodine and mecuricome when I tasted it.
