TN: A Good Monday, Vol II: '03 La Tache, '69 Faiveley, '91 Gentaz, '00 E Pepe, '15 Valentini, '55 Bourdy, Ulysse Collins, '14 Chevillon, '09 Trapet

[Dennis_Atick]

Yep. Wonderful surprise. Apparently consistent, too!

[Dennis_Atick]

@Mike_Evans

@rob_klafter

point is the more i think about it, the more I think about it. And that makes it a legendary dinner.

This really resonates with me, as I’ve been thinking about it all day with different facets flashing at different times. You would think that with terrific bottles of La Tâche and Gentaz that the wine of the night would at worst be a tough two-way race, but almost every bottle was the wine of the night in its own way. I’m hard pressed to recall an evening when the selection of great wines was not only so diverse but also suited the food so well. I suspect we will be talking about Duckfest for years to come.

Yes to all of this!

[Brad_England]

Well done guys! What happens on Thursdays?

[Jeremy_Holmes]

Nice work Dennis.

[Kent_Comley]

Lovely Monday. Those old Faiveleys are the bomb.

[Steve_McL]

Here are some of the “also-rans”:

First, the good news:

• 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…

• 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…

[Mike_Evans]

The Boillot was drinking nicely and worked well with the rilletes. While the Trapet was pretty tight on the palate, it was more approachable when I got to it later in the evening and smelled great.

I’ll add one more ingredient to your list: finding a group of people who are serious about food and wine, but not so serious that they let it get in the way of having a good time.

[Dennis_Atick]

Great recap!

[Dav3_Dyr0ff]

@Steve_McL

IMG_2988856×544 136 KB

“Oh, you said DUCKfest???”

[dcornutt]

Super nice notes on what sounds like a fun Monday night. All the guys in this group can really cook too!