The Krug was consumed at Per Se with the oysters and pearls dish and the others with the menu at Masa.
1988 Krug- This just seems to get younger with age. Great structure and piercing acidity. There is a nice underlying richness of fruit here with yeasty biscuit notes. The nervy acidity runs throughout the palate. Nice contrast pairing with the oysters and pearls.
1982 Salon- Deep gold in color. I was worried that this was going to be oxidized. There is a hint of oxidation on the nose, but it blew off quickly revealing gobs of ripe chardonnay fruit. Golden apple, pear, pasty, and tremendous depth. A wine where you can sense the power and depth on the nose. Great stuff.
1999 Roulot Perrieres- This came off as flabby and premoxed. With a few minutes of air it picked up a lot of acidity and minerality. Butter poached apples and pears. It could have used a little more acidity, but drank very nicely.
1997 Lafon Montrachet- This was killer. The nose kept changing and intermingling a gunflint/match stick note with layer upon layer of rich tropical and orchard fruit. The wine is so rich that you automatically take small sips and savor the layers of flavor and complexity. Dense, rich, well balanced and delicious.
1978 Clos des Lambrays (forget producer, but it wasn’t domaine lambrays). We took to calling this ODB for old dirty burgundy. I absolutely loved it. It had a little brett and funk, but it balanced so seamlessly with the fruit. Really beautiful wine that reminds me why mature burgundy is so special. All the flavor and structural components become one leaving a harmonious and delicious wine to enjoy. Going to have to chase the dragon to get this experience again.
1990 Grivot Richebourg- This showed very well. Elegant and powerful with dark fruit, iron, and earth. Some of the older grivots that I have had have been more rustic in style. Not so here. Just beautiful well richebourg that ranks up there with DRC for me.
It’s not really fair to pick the most expensive restaurant in the country as indicative of corkage fees in New York. If you’re willing to pay $800 per person for the food (which is what it cost the one time I went – though I was a guest), the $95 corkage is a relative bargain.
There are plenty of good places to eat in NYC with reasonable corkage.
To be fair, the whole point of starting the night at Per Se and finishing it at Masa and opening bottles of Montrachet is conspicuous consumption, which is as “NY NY” as the skyscrapers. And I say that as a born and bred upper east sider.
