What a crazy good night it was last Friday. The front room was packed with great friends and of course, great bottles of wine. The tables were a different field this night with Italian wines dominating the glasses compared to the usual Bordeaux and California stars. But whether it was from Bordeaux, Italy, California, Burgundy or Champagne, this was a night filled with favorites… but I should have foreshadowed the bottles to come as this night started with 30 year old bubbles of Dom Perignon. Classic Dom Perignon… Can Ah-mazing be my descriptor? ~Because it is. Deeply colored, cherry pith, baked apple and pear with a touch of honey, yellow flowers and layers of toasted nutmeg spice with hints of deep flinty minerality and sweet lemon rind. Like I said… Amazing.
1988 Mastrojanni Brunello di Montalcino- I died and went to wine heaven and the angels pour this by the glass. Dried plums and preserved red fruit, soft leather, dried rosemary and herbs with intricate layers of rich spice and hints of savory balsamic notes all perfectly woven with seamless tannins into a beautifully refined Brunello.
1989 Mascarello Barolo Monprivato- My favorite of the night! Ridiculously delicious. There was no dominant layer here- all of the flavors have bonded in complete delicious harmony.
1990 Gaja Barbaresco- The baby of the bunch with incredibly fresh and juicy black fruit, graphite, licorice, and dried floral tones, spice, and cedar with a touch of smoke. All were showing perfectly and lusciously and was great to try next to Marchesi di Gresy’s single vineyard Barbaresco.
1997 Marchesi di Gresy Barbaresco Martinenga Gaiun- Another favorite of the night! Wild flowers and aged spice, loads of star anise, wild herbs, roasted cardamom, mocha and cigar all locked flawlessly with its plump cherry and dark plum fruit. This was the wine I kept going back to all night and each taste was a like a new experience with different flavors weaving in and out as I revisited this glass.
1995 Louis Latour Chevalier Montrachet GC Les Demoiselles- A wonderful treat! It showed its full power yet with elegance and charm. Intense golden apples, bruised pears, ripe melon and hints of wild honey rocked out the mid-palate while white and yellow flowers, candied ginger and sage with loads of toasted spice lingering in the extended finish.
1978 Remoissenet Pere & Fils Volnay Clos des Chenes- I feel like every other wine is described as a ‘favorite’ of mine, so let’s proceed and call this red Burg a favorite too! Dried black berry and red cherry preserves, soft earth, dried rose and spice. Wonderfully savory, yet beautifully polished and the lively minerality and acidity kept the wine deliciously fresh to the end of the night.
1994 Chapoutier Cote Rotie La Mordoree- Heavy hits of blackberry, raspberry, smoke, gravel and black peppered meat struck the palate with each taste along with silky layers of violets, herbs, olive tapenade and sweet tannins softening its blow. This was a perfect flavor pendulum of savory and fruit, continuously striking monstrous flavors without a hint of being ceased.
1966 Ducru Beaucaillou- This was the curve-ball of the night that shot a home run towards the end. (I clearly have never played baseball nor have I watched a single game from start to finish.) This ’66 Ducru was just waiting to be opened as it expressed power, depth, and grace with its proud deep herbaceous notes, preserved plums and black currant, dark pepper spice, cedar, and rich tobacco.