TN: Birthday Dinner with Rousseau Chambertin/Beze and some surprise guests

WINE TALK
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Had a great dinner with the boys last night to celebrate my birthday. Main theme was Rousseau Chambertin/Beze, but we threw in a couple of birth-year BDX. And the guys really took out all the stops with some other surprise bottles. It was a very generous evening!

ANDREW'S BIRTHDAY DINNER 2025 - (7/31/2025)

Openers

Corton Charley

  • 2015 Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey Corton-Charlemagne - France, Burgundy, CĂ´te de Beaune, Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru
    Decant 2 hours. Still very reduced and didn't ever quite open up like previous bottles. This bottle seemed to have gotten an extra hard hit of sulfur.
  • 2017 Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey Corton-Charlemagne - France, Burgundy, CĂ´te de Beaune, Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru
    PnP. Precise and integrated. Levels of depth with acid and a finish that lingers. In a great spot. WOTF.
  • 2022 Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey Corton-Charlemagne - France, Burgundy, CĂ´te de Beaune, Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru
    Decanted 2.5 hours. Soft and open with the air, but lacking a bit of pop. Probably just in a shut down phase and needs more time to come out of its shell.
  • 2022 Jean-Claude Ramonet Corton-Charlemagne - France, Burgundy, CĂ´te de Beaune, Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru
    PnP. Rich and unctuous. A very nice showing of this new cuvee. Good, but lacking a bit from being great.

Monty

  • 2013 Domaine Ramonet Montrachet - France, Burgundy, CĂ´te de Beaune, Montrachet Grand Cru
    PnP. Tropical nose with lychee. Super exotic and intoxicating. Rich and voluptuous on the palate. Drive and finish that goes on and on. Truly amazing. (99 points)
  • 2017 Marquis de Laguiche (Joseph Drouhin) Montrachet - France, Burgundy, CĂ´te de Beaune, Montrachet Grand Cru
    PnP. Tight and linear. Would have benefited by some air to let it shine. Did continue to improve in the glass, but needs a healthy decant right now.
  • 2018 Marquis de Laguiche (Joseph Drouhin) Montrachet - France, Burgundy, CĂ´te de Beaune, Montrachet Grand Cru
    PnP. Nose bursts out of the glass immediately. Soft and subtle palate, but in a very balanced place right now. I doubt this will improve with more time, but it's in the zone for early drinking, as many '18s are right now.

82 BDX

  • 1982 Château Mouton Rothschild - France, Bordeaux, MĂŠdoc, Pauillac
    Double decant 3 hours. Wonderful nose, soft tannins, a very good wine, but this particular bottle was a touch clipped and off from previous excellent bottles.
  • 1982 Château La Mission Haut-Brion - France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-LĂŠognan
    Double decant 2 hours. Deep and layered. Wonderful nose, lifted palate with drive. Perfect pairing with the Wagyu steak.

Rousseau

Rousseau Part Deux

Tache

  • 2012 Domaine de la RomanĂŠe-Conti La Tâche - France, Burgundy, CĂ´te de Nuits, La Tâche Grand Cru
    Double decant 2 hours. Wonderful nose with lots of tar and roses. Continued to improve with air. This vintage is one of my favorites that was great on release and every bottle continues to show better and better. Still so young, but lots of depth and effortless power.
  • 2014 Domaine de la RomanĂŠe-Conti La Tâche - France, Burgundy, CĂ´te de Nuits, La Tâche Grand Cru
    Double decant 3 hours. Can feel the whole cluster on the nose and the cooler vintage. Fruit is a bit backwards right now, I think this vintage may be shutting down. Still sexy Tache and a wonderful drink, but second to the '12 tonight.

Dessert

  • 1983 Château d'Yquem - France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes
    Rich and beautiful, layered and deep. Perfect pairing with the sea salt creme brulee to end the evening.
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ISO: Friends like Andrew’s
Jokes aside, wow, what an evening! I agree with the (only note that I can agree with) note on the 2012 Rousseau Pere et Fils Gevrey CSJ, indeed a treat to drink! Happy birthday!

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Nice notes!

I mostly think 14s haven’t as much shut down as not really opened up yet, in my experience.

I’ve been a fan of the 2000 and 2001 beze and Chambertin. I do agree that the 2001 may need a little more time.

That said that 14 ruchottes was really good.

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Nice work. Happy Birthday Andrew.

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Such a great night Andrew. Happy Birthday. The 2013 Ramonet Montrachet is SO exotic. Lychee fruit. Multilayered. A fantastic treat. I like your note there. Nothing to add to your great notes. Thanks for the invitation and the ride home. . Wonderful food too at Avize. A nice celebration.

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Glad to see someone snuck in a couple of good wines to that tasting!

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Would have loved your perspectives, Michael. Particularly on all this Rousseau. Missed your company :saluting_face:

It was really wonderful to celebrate Andrew. With Surprises, especially :heart_eyes:. (That Ramonet was especially singular & incredible).

I will write up longer notes when back home in NC. I was very grateful to see Andrew at the head of such a warm table :pray:. 5 years go by quickly. Through his tenacity, incredible lineups come together. Don & I are Benjamin Button-ing our way through life, so every celebration where Don can join has its own poetry. In another 10 years we’ll cross over into the same age.

And, yes, @Mikko_Tuomi You motivated us to find some acceptable wines. Thankfully our birthyear is conducive :smirk:.

What a treat to continue being spoiled in Atlanta…

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GPT Estimate of market values consumed in one evening.

Adding everything:
• Champagnes: ~$1,500
• Corton‑Charlemagne: ~$2,300
• Montrachet: ~$9,050
• 1982 Bordeaux: ~$2,000
• Rousseau: ~$16,500
• La Tâche: ~$10,800
• Yquem: ~$700

≈ $42,850 total market value

My favored local charity makes sure that children receive supplemental food without questions or forms to fill out. They and their families get these for months an. Today’s comparison for you to consider!

  • $25,000 funds the Community Bag Program for the school year
  • $20,000 sponsors 1 month of Pantry Snacks and Toiletries for the Pantry Program
  • $10,000 runs the entire Share Table program in all schools for one year
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@ToddFrench Need your help here. Dan’s post needs to be shifted to a separate thread in either the Asylum or Politics.

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Seriously - very poor form

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Stepping over the mess to wish you a happy birthday and tell you it’s great having you around!

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What’s the consideration? Drink cheaper wines? Open fewer bottles? Send your entire cellar to auction and donate to charity?

Kind of an odd premise as supporting your favorite causes and drinking good wine are not mutually exclusive to me.

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Just a thought that runs through my head every time I see these notes. No more, no less.

My own consumption causes similar thoughts fwiw.

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Dan,

  1. You’re being tasteless, and your implied moral superiority is boorish and likely misplaced.
  2. I drink quite well (and with Andrew a lot). I can assure you my charitable contributions exceed the value of my wine consumption in virtually all years. The behavior of many of my friends is consistent with that ethic.
  3. This is a wine board, and celebrating wine is one of it’s primary attributes.
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The poster has the right to spend his money the way he sees fit.

However, the note for Mouton 82 rubbed me up the wrong way because it implies the poster has it often, putting most of us into the hopelessly plebian category.

My own personal preference is to lead up to great wines to give perspective and a framework, not cram two dozen of them into a single dinner.

Best regards,

Alex R.

PS: My comments are not a “fox and the grapes thing”. Even if I had the kind of money the poster has, I wouldn’t go into overkill, just wouldn’t.

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I have lost two wine friends in recent weeks. Their deaths have shaken me. My father, who shaped my wine interest, can no longer drink wine with me due to his health & memory loss. He gave me the Bordeaux we drank last night.

To be taunted by this guy in the midst if a wonderful celebration & in the aftermath of a very difficult few weeks of emotions…

I am demoralized.

Alex, those 82s came to me from my father. If I’m talking to my wife about a difficult travel experience to Asia or Europe, and you crossed the room to tell me how entitled I am to dismiss the glorious luxury of oceanic travel: I would tell you to get the fuck away from my wife & me.

Shame on you both. And you’ve let me down, Moderators. Deeply.

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So what if he has it often? It’s not like 82 Bordeaux are rare.

I have come to enjoy drinking wine more in larger dinners with other wine lovers; there’s typically much better discussion and the pace is usually great for it.

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My sincere condolences my friend. Sending positive thoughts your way

ecab0aef353e8967ac68edb99ccb695b

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Personally I enjoy reading posts like this where great wines are being enjoyed and shared. For me it is much better that the wines are being appreciated by knowledgeable folks than disappearing into the cellar of some billionaire who has 1000s of bottles of trophies that probably never get drunk.

I have a suggestion for @Dan_Sch and @AlexRychlewski. If you find reading posts about dinners like this distastful or objectionable, then don’t read them. It is really that easy.

Cheers Brodie

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Nice post