By: Ryan Tedder
As a young man in high school I used to stare aimlessly at a paper on the wall in my English class that spoke volumes about Knowledge versus Wisdom. While people droned on reading whatever the assigned material for the day was, I would daydream about the things a young man at that age does and ponder the difference between the two. The idea has stuck with me over time as I strive for more wisdom. Sometimes it’s nice to be the bull that walks down the hill surveying the entire picture instead of the young buck that sprints down the hill with a narrow focus on a singular goal. In a nutshell: this idea is epitomized in these two stunning wines.
We had the distinct pleasure and luxury to enjoy in a bottle of 1988 Krug Vintage Brut. One of our absolute favorite members brought the wine to the table and reverence filled the room. The capsule was removed, the cork was eased out in just the right fashion-yielding the familiar “shhhhh” of either an angel’s toot or a demure woman’s orgasm…the wine was poured and the juice was beautiful. Just the right amount of light golden hue with extremely fine, persistent bubbles and a pleasing mousse. The taste was like no other Champagne I have ever enjoyed. It had a youthful power and richness to go with the myriad of tree fruits (apples, pears, quince) in various levels of ripeness (just ripe, tart, dried and baked into pie). The floral notes where there too-hawthorne and lillies of the valley. The autolytic bakery aromas wrapped around the wine with a buttered brioche, croissant, marzipan and hazelnut tart complexity. And the finish-DAMN what a finish… The flavor of this wine can still be tasted a few days later. Truly a wine of contemplation, mesmerizing depth and wisdom. I can only pray I have a chance to revisit this killer bottle of wine again in my future.
We followed with the 2010 Tusk Cabernet. This is the newest release from this uber cult producer. The 2010 is from an amazing vintage (one of our recent favorites) with the same pedigree of Philippe Melka making the wine from the absolute best vineyards in the benchlands and mountains of Napa. The wine unfolds like few other and would give Harlan a run for its money in my opinion and is ready to drink earlier. They make a scant 150 cases (so they say) and this was my favorite yet! When I speak of this wine having knowledge versus wisdom, I simply mean that it seemed to write more of a novella of flavor versus the encyclopedia that the Krug had penned. Albeit it might be one of the best novellas I have ever read!!! The chocolatey, toasty, cocoa and hard spice oak notes were prevalent, integrated and sinfully delightful (like eating a whole thing of Ben & Jerry’s Peanut Butter and Chocolate ice cream by yourself). The fruit was a saturated dark melange of cassis, blackberries, black cherries and black raspberries. There was so much power, extract and sweet round tannin that the wine was hard to put down. It was a grown up version of Christie Brinkley in the red Ferrari from National Lampoons vacation. She is now driving a souped up Maybach 62 in an all black leather outfit looking even hotter at this age. WOW