DINNER WITHOUT CHRIS - Chez Mike, East Greenbush, NY (10/2/2026)
New Orleans wine aficionado Chris Caire planned to visit us in the NY Capital Region. Unfortunately, he had to cancel due to a funeral. Being the troopers that we are, we soldiered on without him.
Seared Scallops with Eggplant & Zucchini Caponata and Basil Aioli
2016 Weingut Keller Abts E® Riesling Großes Gewächs - Germany, Rheinhessen
[Double-decanted at 2pm for one hour.] Nose of mild citrus and minerals. Rich complex. There are hints of petrol and citrus, but the overwhelming flavor is minerality. A terrific Riesling not quite like any I've had before. Should drink well for another 20 years. (96 points)
Entrée
Lamb Feta Burger on a Toasted Baguette with Garlic Aioli & Pickled Onions, served with a Smashed Cucumber Tzatziki Salad
1990 Bouchard Père et Fils Beaune 1er Cru Marconnets - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Beaune 1er Cru
[Pop & pour.] Gorgeous red fruit nose. Red and black fruits with some licorice. Medium length. (93 points)
1990 Bruno Giacosa Barbaresco Riserva Santo Stefano - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barbaresco
[Double-decanted at 3pm for 3.5 hours.] Stunning nose of red fruit, fruitcake, and licorice. Huge and expansive in the mouth, yet delicate and light on its feet. Great structure and harmony. Cherries, tar, licorice, iron. Classic Giacosa SSR. (97 points)
1990 Château Cheval Blanc - France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Saint-Émilion Grand Cru
[Decanted about 7:15pm. Tasted about 9pm.] This needs a lot more time or a much longer decant. Tonight, it is rich, massive, and withholding. Loads of dark fruit. A touch of green, but the rich fruit overwhelms it. With my lamb burger, it shows a little more of what the future holds. In 10-20 years, this could easily be 98-100 points. (95 points)
Dessert
I didn't order dessert. This wine was plenty for dessert.
Yeah, this was a blast. My full notes are below. But the tl;dr is that all of the wines were amazing - the Giacosa SSR was my favorite by a hair or two, but no duds at all. I thought the Bouchard was really terrific - I found myself liking that a bit more than Ken did I think. Easily the most convincing wine I’ve had from Bouchard, from whom I’ve had a few disappointments and misses in the past. The Cheval was amazing. Still shockingly young, but just stellar. And the Abtserde was great, a really terrific showing and I’m excited by how well it’s drinking now (with a bit of air).
2016 Weingut Keller Abts E® Riesling Großes Gewächs - Germany, Rheinhessen
Double decanted at 2 PM for an hour. This is starting to develop into something spectacular. Last time I had this (in 2018) it was very primary and seemed to be holding something in reserve. Now it seems to be showing all its cards; there's a core of tart pear and citrus fruit alongside sweeter peachy and melon-like notes. Bright floral and mineral accents frame the fruit, along with a light smoky accent. Real power and richness on the palate, with the weight matched by bright acids. Fantastic wine and I may not wait too much longer to open another as it's drinking wonderfully right now. (96 pts.)
1971 Mayacamas Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Mountain - USA, California
Very pretty; gentle red fruits augmented by leather, mushroom, warm earth, and cedar. It feels as if its on the decline - the fruit has a dusty feel to it, not the freshness I imagine it may have had some years back, but still very enjoyable for those of us who like the tertiary side of Cabernet. The structure here is fully resolved and it’s drinking nicely now, perhaps falling off slightly on the back end. (91 pts.)
1990 Bouchard Père et Fils Beaune 1er Cru Marconnets - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Beaune 1er Cru
I’ve had some hit and miss experiences in the past from the Bouchard reds, but this is by far the most convincing one I’ve had. This is terrific. Wow aromatics - really rich and deeply fruited, red fruit with some of the darker fruit/slightly roasted character of the vintage showing, along with sweeter floral and baking spice/fruitcake-like notes, and savoury earthy all coming together into a wonderful scent. This keeps expanding and getting more fragrant with air, and the palate’s just as impressive - rich, perfectly balanced with the tannin mostly resolved and bright acids giving it good lift. Terrific wine. (95 pts.)
1990 Bruno Giacosa Barbaresco Riserva Santo Stefano - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barbaresco
Double decanted at 3 PM for 3.5 hours before dinner. Oh hell yeah, this is spectacular. Such an incredible aromatic presence here - an array of red fruit, leather, iron/rusty notes, and a darker, sweeter spice and fruitcake-like character all coming together seamlessly. The palate presence is hard to describe - I just wrote down “WOW” and “OMFG”. Power and finesse in equal proportion, such length and intensity here but also so elegant with an incredibly clear, almost crystalline quality to the flavours on the palate. This is really special. My WOTN. (98 pts.)
1990 Château Cheval Blanc - France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Saint-Émilion Grand Cru
Popped and immediately decanted at the table - I wonder if a longer decant may have helped this, as it showed really primary at first and the developed flavours were still only emerging after a couple of hours. The greener Cabernet Franc notes are quite prominent initially - there’s a fair amount of pyrazine/vegetal and forestal herbaceousness at first, and a core of rich dark fruit beneath, with savoury earthy, cedar, and faintly leathery notes emerging with more air. It still feels very youthful with a sappy intensity to the fruit on the palate, still plenty of fine grained tannin beneath (though this was a perfect match with the short ribs), and impressive length. Terrific wine and a real treat. (96 pts.)
2011 Weingut Jakob Schneider Niederhäuser Hermannshöhle Riesling Beerenauslese - Germany, Nahe
Consistent with the last bottle that I opened nearly a year ago. True to the pradikat there’s plenty of botrytis here - lots of honey and spice accenting a core of rich fruit that ranges from sweeter citrus to the deeper cherry flavours that Hermannshöhle shows so often. It’s intensely rich and sweet but there’s wonderful lift and freshness here thanks to a firm spine of acidity beneath, and the overall balance is outstanding. Great wine. (95 pts.)
Such great notes on what was clearly a great evening. Glad everything showed so well. The Keller (from this former Riesling agnostic) sounds dreamy.
I opened the 08 Giacosa at my cellar depressurization event in August and had my taste a day later. Out of 104 wines…
2008 Bruno Giacosa Barbaresco Santo Stefano
Some tar, some cedar and lots of red fruit. This loves being drunk a day later—deep and refined with gorgeous berry and cedar and light, light game. Super-complex yet delivers tons of pleasure. #5 overall and best of the reds for me.
. Beautiful note.