Been hitting the sauce pretty hard over the past few days and there won’t be any letting up for at least three more days so I figured I’d post a few highlights in no particular order -
’89 Taittinger CdC - one of, if not my favorite '89. Bright and clean yellow fruit. Sweet lemons. Some buttered popcorn with a touch of cream that finishes with crisp acidity. CdC’s are still a bargain for what they deliver. Excellent plus
’82 Pol Roger Sir Winston Churchill - still extremely youthful and vibrant. Pale color. The palate delivers with big red fruit, surely pinot dominated but with no heaviness. Not a hint of oxidation, but there are some complex and mature flavors of nuts and toffee. Great stuff. Staggering minus
’66 Taittinger CdC - Initially the nose is a bit off putting with some dirty sweat sock aromas. However, after it sits in the glass those notes blow off to reveal a classic CdC. There’s a definite tie to the '89 drank a couple of days ago in the butter popcorn and sweet lemon profile. Excellent plus.
’76 Taittinger CdC - Solid example of this classic CdC. Still vibrant with excellent acidity but with mature notes of toffee and a hint of coffee. The popcorn flavors are still there along with the lemons but they’re no longer in the front seat. Excellent
’64 Dom Perignon - although the fill on this was a touch low it was an outstanding example of one of my favorite champagnes. Lively effervescence good structure with some white chocolate, caramel, coffee and almonds. Yellow fruits peeking through. Staggering minus
’96 Krug Clos du Mesnil - this just keeps getting better and better and better as it steamrolls anything drunk alongside it. Rapidly gaining ground on the '79 and '88 CdM, I’m becoming more and more convinced it will pass them by with some more bottle age. Drink it now or drink it when it’s 60+ years old, either way it’s only a matter of when it moves into Killer/Killer plus territory. Currently Killer minus.
’93 Dom Ruinart Mag - What an eye opener! Hands down the best '93 Champagne I’ve tasted and can easily stand up with top champagnes from '90 and '96. While it shows its youth and the acidity is there, its elegance belies that this comes from an off vintage that is only 16 years old. Excellent yellow fruits with a touch of smoke. Excellent plus.
’16 Chateau Cantemerle - bought from the Graham Lyons sale. A wonderful wine that not only delivers history in a glass but an excellent wine in a glass. Old book/library aromas with touches of brambly fruit. Very soft like a delicate flower, but not over the hill whatsover. Excellent plus
’90 La Mouline - typical showy and sexy nose of viognier. Dense red fruits with a thick but not soupy texture. Creamy palate coating with a very long finish. A better than usual showing for this wine. Staggering minus.
’95 Petrus - screamed chocolate on the nose with concentrated fruit on the palate. Still has some tannins to resolve that take away some of the current pleasure. Excellent.
’01 Leroy Beaux Monts - served blind most people that it was at least twice the age that it was. Vivid fruit, but very approachable which is what threw people off. Had the signature Leroy style but in a very understated way. Elegant. Staggering minus.
’80 La Mouline - Unfortunately when this was delivered to my hotel room the bellman must have been standing on his head and put the box with the big black arrow pointing down. When served, still cloudy but the textbook La Mouline notes were all there. Bold fruit but unfortuantely some sediment with every taste. Might have been in Killer minus territory, but still Excellent plus.
Plenty of other excellent wines and I’m probably forgetting a standout or two as well.
And to quiet those cynics out there -
'82 Krug, '75 Taittinger CdC, '59 Vogue Musigny bottled by Moillard-Grivot, '71 Giroud Richebourg, '71 Charbaut BdB all significantly underperformed and/or were undrinkable.
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