AJ McClellan
After finishing the last of the 1982 Pichon we took a moment to reflect on the wine and savor the diminishing finish.
1998 Guigal La Landonne – After the subtleness of the Pichon, the boldness of the Guigal was like a smack in the face. Big beef bouillon and bacon fat with a huge floral display and a spicy cinnamon back. After some time in the glass the Guigal calmed down and started to show off its more elegant side with a light red liquorish and rocky terrace minerality. Super smooth on the palate with spicy chocolate, plum, and peppercorn. Like having a meal of sirloin steak smothered in Au Poivre sauce. Believe it or not I heard Simon say it tastes like freshly bloomed flowers.
1995 Cheval Blanc – We opened this bottle with great expectations, and I’m sure that on any other day this would have been the wine of the night but today it was sorely disappointing. The wine was nice with a dusty earth and cobble stone minerality accompanied by fig and black coco then accented with a slight amount of anise and roasted walnuts. The wine finished with a light barnyard and wet tar feel, and expressed chewy tannins with a firm grip. A good wine but it simply could not keep up with present company.
1978 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti La Tache – When the bottle hit the table we took a moment to take it in – the legendary 1978 DRC La Tache. I opened the wine ever so gently and just as the cork came out the room was filled with a blooming forest becoming more vividly alive with every second. The nose was light and supple with sweet and sour cherry, lightly smoked meats, a slight herb note, and damp forest. Once tasted, the wine wrapped my palate in a velvet robe and showed off a spicy vanilla bean with a slight toast along with cobble stone, dusty cherry, and roasted blueberries. This wine is like a thousand beautiful women taking their clothes off in my mouth. It continued to evolve with every sip showing off new and different facets and intricacies. This was a truly unbelievable wine, possibly the best wine I have had in my life. After we finished the bottle the wine received a standing ovation.
1982 Trimbach Clos Ste Hune – We knew that there was nothing to top the La Tache so we went in another direction. Even so, the Clos Ste Hune was, if anything, a disappointment after the La Tache. It is possible that somewhere along its life the bottle has seen some heat, with a stewed apricot and cooked pear nose. There was still plenty of honey and apple pie in the wine, and the acidity was very prevalent, but the wine was missing something – complexity.
1975 Chateau D’Yquem 375 ml – Now here is a wine that can match up to the lineup the came before it. With toasted almonds and loads of caramel, this wine had complexity and a liveliness that was fantastic. A finish of quince and hazelnut with a booming acidity made me fall in love for the fourth time today. This wine reminds me of Ella Fitzgerald in a glass.
