Last night three of us decided to head downtown to Jack’s Luxury Oyster Bar on the LES to drink a bottle of bubbles and a bottle of burgundy. Brandon McHale, the chef at JLOB turns out some spectacular food from a kitchen that could be kindly described as minimalistic - there isn’t even a proper stove! We all agreed that our dinner was one of the more enjoyable and well executed meals we have had this year. Highlights were the fluke with chili salt, roasted oysters with ham and home fries(an awesome dish) octopus wrapped in potato, clams with chorizo, sweetbreads and the goat. I can’t recommend this restaurant highly enough.
We had brought a bottle of 1973 Heidseick Dry Monopole but sadly it was dead on arrival. Still craving bubbles we decided to go for a bottle of 1998 Taittinger CdC off the list since none of us had tasted it yet. The bottle was a perfect match for the food and showed very well. Lovely although relatively quiet nose. The palate had solid acidity and good poise with enough minerality to keep me happy. The wine opened up nicely over the course of the meal and gained weight. A very good to excellent CdC that should age nicely over the next 15 years, maybe longer.
I was pretty excited to try the 1991 Ponsot CDLR and it did not disappoint. Right out of the gate this was stunning. A truly ethereal nose. Earth, sous bois and smoke with just beautiful fruit notes. Jumps right out of the glass. One of those Burgs you just want to keep smelling all night. Great mouth feel that wraps your palate in its Pinot love then hits you with tons depth and complexity. The finish was long and satisfying. Nearly perfect balance. Every smell and sip seemed to provide even more pleasure then the previous one. Ian said maybe another three to five more years for this to be in a perfect place and he is probably right but oh my, this was drinking nicely last night. A real privileged to drink.
Chris,
I really like the 98 Comtes. It isn’t quite at the level of the 95 or 96, but it is still very tasty and as you said, will age well for a good while.
Hey Brad,
It has occurred to me I can not think of a taittinger CdC, Rose or Blanc, I have not at least liked if not loved. 95 and 96 are rocking, last bottle of 95 I had seemed to be just about ready to turn a corner but the 96s need to sleep for awhile longer I find.
Cheers!
Chris
Chris,
I can’t think of a bad Comtes either. I liked their 94 BdB and 91 Rose - both excelled in less than great vintages.