I posted this over on the “other board” before I joined WB, so I thought I would post it here too to share tasting notes for those who might not have seen them previously.
I held my 50th birthday dinner in November. Several years in the planning, it was a black tie dinner with my wife and 10 friends held at Kendall College in Chicago. I had planned the wines to include those from 1959 along with some from other key years in my life. It was a helluva night, and all the wines turned out great. Here’s the notes, in the order they were served:
1999 Domaine Carneros sparkling wine: Served from magnums with the appetizers. A medium yellow in color, the wine still had plenty of fizz. The palate was fruity with a slight toasty finish. A very nice starter.
1959 Drappier Brut Carte D’Or Champagne: Served with the first course of lobster over a truffled noodle galette. The wine had been disgorged in May 1999. This is a fabulous wine! A medium golden color, with few miniscule bubbles. The palate was big with yeast and bread dough, my favorite flavors in champagnes. Essentially a very rich, aged Chardonnay with plenty of life left.
1979 Klosterkeller Siegendorf Austrian Pinot Blanc TBA: Served from half bottles with seared foie gras. I was concerned about this wine because of the small format bottles and the corks were just beginning to leak when I removed the capsules. My worries were unfounded. The wine was a dark golden color. The nose was that of burnt sugar. On the palate, it was like drinking the top of a creme brulee. The wine was in excellent shape with plenty of life left.
1971 Chateau de Rayne-Vigneau Sauternes: Also served with the foie gras to ensure everyone had enough wine. This wasn’t the strongest Sauternes, but I thought would work well with the course. The wine is medium yellow in color. It starts out slightly dry, but gets sweeter in the glass as the wine aerates. I think it worked very well with the foie gras, probably better than it would have paired with a dessert.
1999 Fernand & Laurent Pillot Chassagne-Montrachet Morgeot Premier Cru: Served from magnum with sea scallop and pork belly. A very nice white burgundy that should have been a little more chilled. The color was light yellow. The wine was buttery, with good mineral notes. I think the wine in this format isn’t quite fully mature yet, but it’s drinking very well.
2001 Domaine du Vieux Telegraphe “La Crau”: Served from magnum with seared duck breast and duck confit. The wine was very good, but I think it’s in a strange place in its development. I opened the magnum 6 hours ahead of service and then decanted it when serving. The wine is either just entering a closed period, or just coming out of it. The nose showed strong cherries, with a medium ruby color. There’s quite a bit of acidity and tannin, as expected, but the fruit isn’t showing much yet. I’m going to sit on the other magnums I have for a while, but I suspect standard size bottles are in a better place.
1959 Chateau Pichon Baron: Served with rack of lamb. These 750ml bottles were all top shoulder fill (I opened three for the course). They were all in excellent condition, because they were allowed to aerate. I opened them 6 hours ahead of service, and then decanted them for service. The color was medium red. The nose was classic Pauillac cedar. The red fruits were still there but are faultering. I think the wine will last a few more years, but that’s about it. Still very good with the lamb. All three bottles were consumed just fine!
1959 Chateau d’Yquem: Served with cabrales ice cream and sticky toffee pudding cake. The wine was dark brown in the bottle and pretty close to that in the glass, a bit darker than other 1959 Sauternes I’ve had, including Yquem. There was no problem however, as the wine was excellent. The flavors were caramelized sugar and apricots. A wine that has earned the reputation it has. It will likely be drinking fine when it hits its 100th birthday. Tremendous!
1989 Prince Poniatowski Clos Baudoin Vouvray: Also served with dessert to provide a little more wine (like we needed that). The color was a medium yellow. It’s a nicely sweet chenin blanc with lemon and pineapple notes. It’s drinking very well and will for a long time, but it was no match for the Yquem. There’s no way it could have shown its best against that competition!
That about rounded out the evening. I was extremely lucky that all these older wines turned out fine, with no corked or other bottle problems.
Thanks for looking!