Last night, we had a wonderful July 4th/ belated 50th pandemic birthday for my partner Jeremy at a dear friend’s house down in Montecito. Fog meant no fireworks, but we made up for it in food, wine and company. We had a few beers earlier, and being a relatively light drinking group, we opted to skip the '06 Billecart Cuvee NFB and '95 Kalin Chardonnay Cuvee CH that I also brought down, and went straight for the '70 Mouton that I had been saving for the occasion. I spent most of the day roasting 2 ducks (5-spice and tea glazed), and served them with anise-and-vanilla poached apricots, herbed roast carrots, balsamic radicchio, candy-like snap peas with shallots, and polenta.
Recent reviews suggest that it was likely to be past it’s prime, but sometimes you get lucky and get a great bottle. It was a nice surprise after an underwhelming '01 Margaux and oxidized '53 Petrus from 2 weeks prior. We finished it with a 1970 Guiraud which was a bit past its prime, but still a wonderful way to celebrate and a nice pairing with a yogurt parfait with the aforementioned apricots and toasted pistachio crumble.
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1970 Château Mouton Rothschild - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac (7/4/2021)
Low expectations from this auction bottle with a high shoulder fill and light signs of seepage. But Sometimes you catch lightning in a bottle. Cork is soaked through and broke in half with the Ah-so but managed to extract fully. From the first whiff you can tell that this is going to be great. Powerful and complex aromas of flowers, library books and cherries. A faint overtone of balsamic adds depth and character. Brilliant ruby-garnet colored, with barely the slightest hint of bricking at the edges. Palate is archetypal Mature Pauillac and utterly seamless (an overused word, but completely appropriate here). Effortless sophistication, medium bodied, with youthful and vibrant and sappy cherry/raspberry fruit, and a broad supporting cast of savory secondary and tertiary leather-sofa-graphite-black-tea-cedar-mulch characters. A caress of the tiniest bit of unresolved tannin is like a brush of raw silk on the cheek. (98 pts.) -
1970 Château Guiraud - France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes (7/4/2021)
Amber colored bottle. Holding up very nicely at 51, but probably passed peak a decade or more ago. Quite sweet and unctuous, with not quite enough acid to match and the fruit drying out a bit. Apricot frangipane, toasted hazelnuts, light botrytis, bitter orange marmalade. Opens up a touch after 2 hours with more citrusy aromatics. (89 pts.)
Two weeks prior, we had been at the same friend’s house for his 80th birthday, where he popped a surprise proposal to his very elegant partner of 11 years. It was a secret kept from everyone, except the bride-to-be’s 12 year old granddaughter, who had the ring hidden in her hair. It was a hoot.
They served some fantastic wines:
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2000 Maison Leroy Savigny-lès-Beaune Blanc - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Savigny-lès-Beaune (6/21/2021)
Slightest touch of oxidation, but still vibrant and fresh - almost astonishingly so. Unctuous but perfectly balanced with good acid, ripe pear fruit, honeysuckle and steely minerals. Plenty rich and although not quite the depth of the 2002 Leroy Mersault, it has an exuberance that is kind of irresistible. Hazelnut and Faint spearmint. Long finish of brûlée pineapple. (93 pts.) -
2002 Maison Leroy Meursault - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Meursault (6/20/2021)
In an excellent place - rich, laserlike clarity. Still some flinty reduction and showing no signs of oxidation at all. Richness of scallops, lemon acidity, and a fistful of finely crushed rock. Very fine-boned despite the oak and creaminess. Perfect with roast seabass. 92-93
By day 3, the reduction has vanished and it has come into perfect balance but has not diminished in its focus at all… Such depth and persistence from start to finish. 94 (94 pts.)
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2005 Château Latour à Pomerol - France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol (6/20/2021)
Rich, soft, sexy Pomerol with tons of plummy fruit. Nice kiss of integrated oak, with warming spice and a creamy texture. A nice slightly leafy swipe of ripe pepper pyrazines and wet-earth minerals add tension and complexity. Excellent structure that has softened a touch. Really lovely and beat out the 2001 Margaux tonight. (93 pts.) -
2001 Château Margaux - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux (6/20/2021)
From a double magnum. Starts with some unintegrated oak on the nose that mars the otherwise wonderful and classic nose of peonies and cedar. Oak is better integrated on palate; just starting to show some sous bois and delicate red and black fruit. Wonderful precision and elegant profile, if lacking a bit of concentration in the midpalate. Sweet and fine tannins on the finish. Seems in a slightly awkward place, and hopefully will show more integrated with another few years. (92 pts.) -
1953 Pétrus - France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol (6/20/2021)
Sadly, maderized. Low shoulder fill, and cork dropped into bottle. Still get a sense of wonderful texture and presence, despite the wine being dead.
Posted from CellarTracker
My first taste of Leroy and Petrus!
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COVID wrecked my 50th birthday plans last year, but I’m glad to see someone is making up for lost time, literally. (Jay Miller and I discussed recently reviving our birthday plan. Him 60, me 50, albeit a year plus late.)