The Second Annual Bruce the Returner’s Birthday Bash went off in fine form due to the incredible planning and generosity of the host/birthday boy as well as the almost as insane generosity of many of his guests. Great food and service from Grissini’s and great wine service from the two busiest sommeliers in the world on that evening.
Due to it being a holiday weekend it took me 1 1/2 hours to go from the UES to just over the GW bridge - a total of 11 miles - so I missed a few bottles early in the evening. The wines kept coming fast and furious, so I also missed a few during the evening. I will keep my comments brief due to the amount of wines consumed as well as I don’t feel like typing up a novel.
Some of my ratings for wines that normally might warrant a higher classification may be knocked down a bit due to the class of wines that were drunk on this night.
In no particular order -
’42 Krug - first time having this vintage of Krug which along with the '34 Krug that’s two virgin vintages for me in less than a month. More youthfully colored than most examples of 60+ year old champagne with still some effervescence left. Big and oxidative in typical Krug fashion with good acidity to balance it out. Still a fair amount of yellow fruit to go along with the nutty flavors and touch of caramel. Killer minus
’29 DRC Romanee Conti x 2 - how often do you get to drink two different bottles of a wine like this side by side? One bottle was purchased over 20 years ago from known provence, so it was great to have it as a barometer. I didn’t see the bottle, but I heard the ullage was around 8cm on one of them. Both bottles had a very similar profile. The fruit is still there but it is now in the background with leather and autumnal flavors in the forefront. One bottle slightly fresher than the other. Not sure which was which. Staggering and Staggering plus.
’34 DRC Romanee Conti - lacked the oomph of the '29’s. otherwise, similar tastes to it. Staggering minus
’62 DRC Romanee Conti - did not taste
’23 Liger-Belair La Tache - while this was extremely enjoyable, others seemed to like it a bit more than me. The fruit is still hanging in there but the aromas are more like walking through the woods in late November. Excellent plus
’62 La Tache - did not taste
’64 La Tache - did not taste
’57 La Tache Jero - not many '57’s are worth searching out other than LT and RC. A mini version of classic LT. It had the La Tache profile, but just not as pronounced as it can be from better vintages. A very good example of this wine, but not the best I’ve had. Staggering minus.
’53 DRC Richebourg - smelled like rancid crayons and didn’t taste much better DQ
’69 Rene Engel Grands Echezeaux - nothing wrong with this burgundy but it just can’t hang with the company. A bit too straightforward. Very good plus
’69 Hudelot Musigny - A step up from the Engel, but still a step down from the DRC’s. Excellent minus
’69 Rousseau Clos de la Roche - Rousseau is one of my favorite producers from this vintage, and while not in the league of his Chambertin or Beze, this was a very pretty wine. Floral aromatics and delicate fruit on the palate. Staggering minus
’85 Bartolo Mascarello Barolo Mag - did not taste
’89 Bartolo Mascarello Barolo Mag - did not taste
’70 Giacosa Rionda - served blind it was obviously Nebbiolo but I was surprised by how old it was. Excellent
’82 Giacosa Rionda Riserva - Also served blind this wasn’t as obvious as the '70. Antonio thought it was slightly off, but it still drank well. Excellent minus
’55 La Mission Haut Brion Dbl Mag - lots of smoke and hickory with some brambly fruit mixed in. Thick wine. Excellent plus.
’61 Petrus Mag - did not taste
’61 La Mission Haut Brion - did not taste
’66 Palmer Mag - very perfumed with violets. Seemed a bit softer than it normally is out of 750ml which is a bit unusual. Excellent
’29 Rauzan-Segla Mag - from Wolfie’s cellar so it shouldn’t have surprised me how good this was, but it did. Classic mature bordeaux, with still plenty of fruit and some library/old book aromas that I love. Staggering
’45 Lafleur Mag - DQ
’47 Petrus Mag - did not taste
’66 Guigal La Mouline - did not taste our one Rhone entry for the evening.
’62 Vega Sicilia Mag - Recent Release - this really stood out for both its youthfulness and its oak. After drinking so many mature burgundies, this really hit you over the head with its power. In a different setting, this would have been more enjoyable then it was. Excellent
’64 Krug Collection - Tough to decide which I liked better between this and the '64 DP Oeno. Initially a touch of funk on the nose that blew off within a minute or two. Obviously much fresher than the couple of bottles of regular '64 Krug recently consumed but tremendous complexity to it. Staggering plus.
’69 Krug Collection Mag - did not taste
’79 Krug Collection Mag - did not taste
’90 Krug Mag - you know that your being spoiled when a champagne like this can get lost in the mix. Not sure how, but when sabered this broke off clean about 4 inches down the neck. Excellent
’96 Krug - did not taste
’79 Krug Clos du Mesnil - Corked
’82 Krug Clos du Mesnil - did not taste
’95 Krug Clos du Mesnil - this has really improved over the past year or so. The austerity has left and the fruit is there with just touches of mature flavors peeking through. Excellent plus
’96 Krug Clos du Mesnil - did not taste
’85 Krug Clos du Mesnil x2 - My favorite “young” bottle of champagne from the evening along with the DP jero. I love that it has so much powerful fruit and acidity, but iis also rich creamy and light as a feather. Staggering plus.
’45 Ruinart Jero - was great immediately out of the gate. However, by the time the wine made it around the room, it seemed as if the wine had added 40 years of oxidation to it and it just died. I checked back on it an hour later (there was still some left in the bottle) and it was undrinkable. Initially Staggering, then Good, then DQ
’69 Clos Tarin Le Mesnil -from what became Clos du Mesnil this was I believe the first time I’ve had this champagne. this bottle was a bit past its prime but still had enough fruit and not overly oxidized to still be fun to drink. Very good plus.
’51 Salon - DQ
’28 Pommery Mag - power of the vintage shows though even at 80+ yrs of age. A touch of effervescence discernable to the eye, more so on the palate. Tasted like roast beef - and I don’t mean that as a negative. Excellent plus.
’26 Bollinger Jero - overwhelming notes of truffle oil on the nose not dissimilar to the Bollingers from the same era that we drank a few months back. A hint of effervescence on the tongue with a golden color with brown hues. I can’t get past the truffle oil notes which are too intense for me. Good minus
’64 Philipponnat Clos des Goisses Mag disgorged in '00 - this was consumed right after the '66 mag below and the extra three years of post-disgorgement really helped it gain complexity to go along with the fresh fruit. Staggering minus
’66 Philipponnat Clos des Goisses Mag disgorged in '03 - Sounds funny to say, but this 43 yrs old champagne is too young to drink; meaning it will get far better in a few more years/decades down the road. Extrememly primary, but the components are definitely there. Excellent
’90 Philipponnat Clos des Goisses - I think this was the last wine I drank from the evening, so, I dunno, let’s say it was Excellent ![[truce.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/d/d33e712b50d5efc2425bf219c404fbdb7ed0ba50.gif "truce"){kind=small}
’90 Billecart-Salmon N.F. - very crisp with firm acidity, but has the fruit to balance it. A long term keeper for sure. Excellent plus
’49 Veuve Clicquot Jero - DQ
’90 La Grande Dame Mag - a lot of red fruit and quite youthful still. Probably a combination of the format and the champagne company it was drunk with.
NV Pol Roger Jero (believed to have been from the '70’s) - very fresh and youtful out of this format, it was surprising good especially amongst its competition. Another good thing about it was that I was able to saber this jero without any pressure.
’90 Cristal - did not taste
’88 DP Mag - did not taste
’64 DP Oeno - orignial green label but unlike some other late release DP’s from years ago, this had “Oenotheque” across the label. A lights out bottle from my birthyear, this had remarkable freshness due to its late disgorgement and also the complexity of a 45 year old champagne. Staggering plus
’90 DP Oeno - did not taste
’95 DP Jero disgorged in '06 - there needs to be a blind throw down of '95 DP Jero vs DP Oeno out of 750ml. Presumably the same wine, this was flat out great with its smoky aromas, wealth of yellow fruit and creamy DP style. Staggering
’90 Taittinger CdC Mag - Classic Taittinger CdC with sweet citrus fruit especially lemons. Still very crisp. Excellent plus
’89 Taittinger CdC - very similar to the above wine with a bit more maturity both presumably showing the vintage and format differences. Excellent
Hopefully JK’s and Antonio’s writeups will include the wines I didn’t get a chance to drink.
Looking forward to next year’s Version Three and well as Version Forty-Three !
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