It’s always a bit of a conundrum. Lately I have found it’s better for me to pick out a few wines to focus on rather than trying to taste everything. I know I missed several delicious wines (Gros, Pegau, Lanessan, etc.) but it allowed me to focus on a select group, and when there was ample wine left to even re-taste a few of my favorites.
A close friend does events of this magnitude many times a month (sometimes many a week). He’s always try to convince me to join him. This fine gathering, and its first iteration last year are about all I’ve done in recent memory and that’s fine with me. They make me feel like the cartoon character whose legs are speeding but going nowhere. No disrespect intended for those who like this format.
Our NY events are much larger and more chaotic than this one was. You just have to stay focused in that type of event and not try to drink everything.
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I normally prefer gatherings of about a dozen people and a dozen bottles. This is an exception. As the theme is wines that might be past their prime (or no longer drinkable), it’s not a stretch to go past a bottle a person, but for next year I think we should try to keep the number a little lower. By my count, we opened 31 for 20 people and had 11 left over. Maybe 25 - 30 for twenty people makes more sense. There were some wines that were still drinkable but past their prime that did not get finished… that’s fine. But some people (including me!) missed out on some gems simply because there were too many wines opened too quickly.
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Adding some of my notes/impressions:
Favorites (in no particular order). Amazing to me how long this list is:
-1975 Lanessan - balanced, still well-fruited and lovely, much preferred to the mostly tannic Cantenac Brown from same vintage.
-2002 M. Gros Vosne 1er Clos Reas - still some tannins to resolve but beautiful fruit. It made the 02 Bouchard Corton seem brutish.
-1986 Montelena Cabernet - agree with prior notes. Terrific and still young. I thought the ‘82 was thin and tired.
-1990 Pegau - I liked this more than Dan but I’m not crazy enough to argue with him on this wine.
1999 Brundlmayer Gruner - remarkably viscous yet fresh & lively.
2011 M. Morey Chassagne Blanch Dessous - I liked this Chassagne which was lost a bit in the lineup. Still some tannin to integrate.
1976 Pichon Lalande - a real success for the vintage. I was shocked by how much fruit and vitality it presented. An astringent finish was only detraction.
1979 Haut Brion & La Mission - I enjoyed drinking these side-by-side and appreciated both. I found the HB more fruited and loved the nose but I give a slight advantage to LMHB for its enhanced expressiveness.
-1989 Beringer Cabernet Reserve - perhaps the biggest wine of the night and not my style but I was impressed.
-1966 Martini Zinfandel Reserve - I only begin to enjoy Napa Cabernet after 30 years from vintage. Maybe it’s 50+ for Zin. This was fresh, lively & delightful
-1969 Yquem - the greatest pleasure of the evening for me.
-2001 Yquem - nuff said
-1988 Yquem - first time for me with this vintage. It was less expressive than 69 but I enjoyed it nonetheless.
-2001 Climens - really good but boy did it ever bring a butter knife to a gunfight
A shout out to 2 wines that I think suffered most in this setting. Both were seriously delicate. Over the hill? For sure, but contemplated quietly and one their own over dinner, I think both would have revealed some subtle charms and pleasures:
-1976 Clos des Papes
-1953 Bilbanis Rioja Reserva
Disappointments - based on the notes of others so far, I’m alone in my opinions on the first 2:
- 1982 Branaire Ducru - blind, I would have thought this was 10-20 years older. I found it one-note (and not an interesting one) and astringent. I was looking forward to it.
2001 Rieussec - I had it 8 years ago and was hugely impressed. This time it was too much sweet and nothing else of interest.
Lastly, my 2 Jasnières from Gigou. I brought these in the hope of sharing Chenins that when they are right, can be mind-bending. The 1988 was corked. The 1986 ok. Even though these are staunchly acidic wines, that element dominated too much in this case. Sorry!
Dan, while I agree with your proposition, we will endeavor to attend this event each year - regardless of the format.
Greg,
That’s great. You and Mayda are always welcome.
It was a Louis Martini Zinfandel, not a Martinelli. I don’t know when Martinelli started bottling and labeling their wines, but I think it was quite a bit later.
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I’m more with Michael on the Rieussec. I was thrilled when I saw the bottle was still 2/3 full after I had finished my initial pour.
My thoughts on the Grüner
- 1999 Weingut Willi Bründlmayer Grüner Veltliner Alte Reben Kamptal - Austria, Niederösterreich, Kamptal (10/25/2025)
Served as part of a large group dinner, this bottle stole the show for me and a few other participants. Long-aged Grüner Veltliner isn’t something a lot of people have tried, so it was a bit of an unknown quantity for most. With a rich, almost to the point of unctuous palate presence, warm spice, classic white pepper, and still a touch of that green, cress-like freshness, this was about as complete a bottle as I have ever tasted in my 30 years of drinking the grape.
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Did you have that Gruner when it was just released? I’m just curious what the development curve was over the life of the wine. Did it start super acidic or closed for example?
It was never super acidic, but it did shut down for a while. It’s been largely mature since 2016 or so, but clearly has the stuffing to keep going.
Current editions of the wine are built differently from the 1990s renditions IMO. Much higher acid now.
This is a wonderful wine. Had it with the late great Joe Dougherty a number of times and one time he brought it to dinner at my place when it had 10-12 years of age on it to go with a winter squash risotto I made and it was a revelation to me how great Gruner with some age on it pairs with winter squash. Really one of the best food and wine pairings in my book.
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The only problem with that is the winter squash.
I thought it went great with taramosalata, fava, octopus and lemon potatos.
A great wine.
It was outstanding with those potatoes.
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That sounds wonderful.
The gruner was really good. I’ll post some more notes soon.
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A look back in time at a few almost 50 year old wines.
1976 Clerget Volnay 1er Clos de Verseuil
The cork immediately pushed into the bottle on trying to open this with the Durand, so I decanted the wine through a metal filter. Initially this had some faint cherry fruit and a lot of savory and herbal elements including wet leaves and forest floor, as well as some clove. There was only faint fruit on the palate and a ton of acid and the fruit evaporated after a half an hour. This wine may have been better a decade ago, or if it’d been better stored, still interesting.
1976 Pichon Lalande
This was very much alive, with some dark fruit, leather, cedar, and a bit of off-putting astringency. I thought this was sound, as did my wife, but a few people thought it might be lightly corked. That said I thought it showed very well for the age; if not for the acrid/astringent element this would have been a very nice wine.
1976 Clos des Papes
This was incredibly light colored, with some initial VA that blew off, and left a pretty wonderful, light bodied wine with a surprising amount of fruit left as well as many savory elements including garrique, oregano, clove, and some currants. The palate had more acidity than fruit and the finish was a bit clipped. Another wine that would have been better 10 years ago, but probably the best of this brace.
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Count me among those who thought the PLL was slightly corked.
Great notes and thoughts everyone. I’m glad the 2nd anniversary of this event was so much fun and engendered so many sips and thoughts. I’ve only had the 88 D’Yquem once, but it was dazzlingly good. The 01 (lucky enough to have had it a few times) has, once in its early life, been only one of two perfect bottles of wine for me. But your lurid descriptions of the 69 are mouthwatering. Also lots of fun to see e.g. Sociando Mallet once again stride forth with confidence onto the stage.
Bravo to all
2002 Bouchard Le Corton
This had that sort of plasticky note I often get with Bouchard, not sure what causes it; unfortunately it marred what was otherwise a nice nose with some dark currants and soil. The palate was a bit more pleasant with some other dark fruit and acidity but the plastic was hard to get past.
2002 Michel Gros Vosne Romanee 1er Clos de Reas
This was a wonderland of aromatics with star anise and all spice on the nose, along with some red currants and plums. The palate had beautiful acidity and some more lovely plum fruit. The finish was long and beautiful. This didn’t have the depth or power of some grand crus but was hauntingly beautiful. Michel Gros is sort of overlooked because they didn’t have any grand cru holdings until 2022, but he’s making excellent wine!
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Completely agree on the Gros Vosne, but did not get anything plastic-like in the Corton. To me it was a really good wine, just rather four-square and clumsy compared to the beautiful Gros. I have most of a case of Corton left, will not open another for at least a year. I think it’s a long distance runner and could improve considerably with time in bottle.