By: AJ McClellan
Wednesday was truly a wine extravaganza! We tasted some old favorites and introduced a few new bottles into the hall of fame. It was a special night; we had Xavier Campeny in from Barcelona as well as a few other members. Xavier was the highlight of the night with great stories on just about every subject and wonderful insights on the wines we tasted.
All the wines were remarkable Wednesday but one stood out head and shoulders above the others. The 1961 Jaboulet La Chapelle has been described as one of the best wines in the world. The bottles we tried last night surely stood up to the reputation with amazing characteristics and unequaled depth. A big thank you to Courtney for opening the bottle and allow us to try it!
1982 Krug – A marvelous bottle of Champagne! The nose smelt of honeysuckles blooming next to a fresh loaf of bread smothered with almond extract. The palate had a beautiful fruit note of freshly peeled lemons over crushed limestone.
1995 Lamy Pillot Montrachet – We popped two bottles of this bad boy and the while the first one was excellent the second was even better. A subtle note of honey underlined the fresh apricot fruit with huge minerality and a lovely finish of lilies.
1966 Pichon Lalande – This was the manifestation of mother earth in a glass. Moss and dried herbs with the faint nuance of prunes and raisins. A lovely bottle that was drinking great but was nearing the end of its life.
1989 Haut Brion – It is always a treat to drink this great wine. My first impression on the nose was a kind of campfire scent, like burning firewood. Then the wine exploded; offering massive barnyard with, red roses, clove, cinnamon, haystack, forest floor, crushed rocks, dry tobacco, and black raspberries. It took me a good ten minutes to tear myself away from the nose long enough to take a sip. The palate was as amazing as the nose getting better and better by the minute and after an hour it was astonishing how wonderful this wine had become. Dark chocolate, anises, cassis, and dense smoke evolved in the glass and added to the already overwhelmingly complex wine.
1961 Jaboulet La Chapelle – This is quite possibly the best wine I have had in my life. Even writing this tasting note makes my taste buds tingle with ecstasy as I recall the intricacies of this stunning bottle. The wine started out dubious with a nose full of burnt match stick, smoking tires, and roasted hazelnuts but after a decant and almost two hours the wine flourished turning into a majestic experience that I will never forget. The nose never lost the burnt tire nuance but it evolved to show add character to the expressive nose of budding roses, sundrenched plums, and dried cherries. After diving further into the wine you pull out notes of damp earth and dried herbs followed by crushed dusty granite and burnt hay. This bottle was heavenly on the palate with a soft velvety texture that caresses the taste buds and lingers long after the wine is gone. The notes of hazelnut and almost still linger on my palate today with the memory of freshly turned earth seared on my olfactory senses. This wine was not only a pleasure to drink it was an experience.