5 of us got together for a Friday dinner in Austin at Aquarelle. Corkage was $10 a bottle and we sent the wine list a week or so ahead and had the chef pair them with the wines. What ensued was crazy good wines and some I might never get to try again. All notes are off memory as one of us intelligent guys left his notes at the restartuant.
Pre dinner at the hotel - 1995 Haut Brion Blanc - Was actually tight when opened and but after 20 minutes gave a great bright citrus flavor with maybe a touch of honey. One gentlmean described it as magic. My favorite white of the pre dinner.
1985 Fiorano - This just tasted old. Fruit was muted and while I have no experience with this wine - this seemed well past peak. What did come through was muted grapefruit. Not my cup of tea.
2001 Sine Qua Non Albino - I was really excited to try this and them someone mentioned Roussanne and I said - oh sh*t - as i just do not get or like the honeycomb flavors of this grape. The other guys loved thie wine and might have better descriptors - but for me it tsasted like Theraflu Honey version (BTW - dont ever get this theraflu- it was awful). My least favorite wine of the night. Sorry Cody. Again just not my cup of tea.
Appetizers - asparagus mouse and sourdough bread and butter
1976 Dom Perignon Oenotheque - Holy crap - this wa sstill extremely fresh. The guy that brought this was worried about it and I do not know why. This was exceptional. Bubbles had dissapated some and this was extremely rich and lush for a champagne. The more I drink age champagne - the more I fall in love with them.
1988 Salon - best “younger” champage I have had and a complete opposite for Dom. Bright and fresh acidity. Lots of freshness and incredibly citrus nose. I loved this too. I was the only one who preferred the Dom to this. Incredible start to the evening.
1st course - Snapper server over a risotto cake and escargo. Which by the way was freaking incredibly good and paired unbelievably well with the food.
2004 Kongsgaard “The Judge” - Only Cali wine of the night and this held up very well to the other wines. Lot of oak to this thinking it was opened a hair too early. Very Burgundian. Still excellent , excellent wine and almost an even match for the…
1998 Leflaive Chevalier-Montrachet - all of use preferred this to the Judge but very close. This had a brilliant nose and a green apple freshness to the front palate. Not as much oak as the Judge and a longer finish gave this the edge.
2nd course - Rack of Lamb - another knockout pairing and a brilliant course. I wanted to pick up the bones it was so good (but refrained).
1996 Guigal La Mouline - Wow. This was absolutely incredible. Bit of dist and dirt on nose but this was well rounded, smooth and classic Cote Rotie. I wish I had better descriptors as I just remember loving this wine and killing every drop in my glass - and then getting a second splash (my first wine I went back for seconds for). My #2 WOTN.
1990 Chapoutier La Pavillion - this was unfreakingbelievably tight even after a 3-4 hour decant. Hard to get much from this on this night but an incredible finish with maybe even a touch of vanila. However, we tried this 18 hours later and wow what a transformation. This was balanced, luch and a hint of peperry. Incredible and worth of the 100 pt RP rating.
3rd course - Pork Napolean - very nice dish and unlike something I really have had.
1989 Aldo Conterno Vigna Colonnello Bricco Bussia Barolo - Another tight, tight wine but still tadted like light cherries that kept transforming. A very good Barolo that still needed time.
2004 Patrolo Galatrona - A “value” wine of the night. Again tight even after a few hours of decant time. Dark, dark wine and incredible nose. After 18 hours this really shined. Rich plum, a tough of heavy oak that hopefully will settle in and nice integrated fruit. Spectacular and I wish I had some of this given the price point of $80-100.
1999 Masseto - Another extrmeely tight wine I could not get much from. The two Italian wines were very close with the slight edge going to this wine due to the lighter oak (could be age??). I heard this really came around the next day and I said I bet it would be special - I just didnt get to experience it - which is ok because …
4th course - Filet with Rubarb sauce - ( I did not much partake in the sauce but this dish I did not pay much attention to due to attention to wines). Still I enjoyed the dish from what I recall.
1995 Petrus - I know we opened early and all of that but this was a Top 3 wine for me. All the hype in very well deserved. I mean this was crazy good. I kept trying to write notes and I just couldn’t. I just wanted to keep sipping. this bottle went lightning fast for the 5 of us. This was in perfect balance and I remember plum with a bit of vanilla finish that just would not stop. I mean I would take a sip , have a bite of steak - and still taste the wine a minute or so later. Indescribable. Out of sight good and easily the wine of the night which is saying something.
1998 Mouton - A bit harsh compared to the Petrus and more red fruits at this stage. Good but not in same atmoshpere as Petrus. However, we went back 18 hours later and this was awesome. Much cloer to petrus and red fruits moved to dark blueberries. In perfect balance and a very , very good wine.
Dessert wines were :
1845 Cossart Gordon Madeira
An incredible rich and thick Tokaji that I did not get name of. But crazy rare and crazy good.
Overall an extremely good night and a glimpse on how the other half lives.