Here are some of the “also-rans”:
First, the good news:
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2020 Domaine Henri Boillot Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Clos de la Mouchère - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru (8/9/2023)
Lemon, lightness, gunflint and stones. Everything in balance. Delicious. (94 points)
Now the less good news: The Chambertin was shut down hard. I’d brought it home from a trip in the previous week, so maybe it was um,…bottle shock. Yeah, thats it, bottle shock. (rationalize, mutter mutter 
)
Oh well. At least it was expensive…
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2009 Domaine Trapet (Jean et Jean-Louis) Chambertin - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chambertin Grand Cru (8/8/2023)
TART. Tar and red cherries. Stiff tannic grip. If there is any of that ripe sun-kissed 2009 fruit here, it’s locked away behind a wall of acid and tannin. Bodes well for the long haul but today? Fuggedaboudit.
Try in 2033. 13.5% Alc
A few more pictures of worthy bottles:
And to close, a few thoughts on “Ingredients for a great wine gathering”
1. Make it special, a fun quest. In our case, the theme of “Duckfest”
For another example, @Mark_Golodetz describes an “Over-The-Top Luncheon” this way:
“When you pull that extra-extra-special bottle from the cellar and hear a little scream…its you”
2. Goldilocks group size: 4 is too few, 12+ is too many. ~ 8 seems to be just right.
3. Generosity primes the pump: It all started with a generous @rob_klafter saying “I’ve got a bottle of La Tache to share”. “Well,” said @Mike_Evans , “I might be able to excavate a Gentaz…” and voila!
A wino’s Stone Soup story.
4. Good Eats matter: Good food can elevate everything while even the best wines won’t show well with lousy grub. We were lucky to have some gifted cooks in the crew stepping up.
5. Don’t forget the blowtorch…
