WTN: 1929 Margaux, 1899 Sauternes and lots of Burgs

Richard’s much-anticipated birthday dinner finally took place this June after a few false starts. The star bottles of the evening would be a 1929 Margaux and an 1899 Sauternes and Chef Cyrille Soenen’s Impressions at Resorts World was the chosen venue. Too bad Jojo couldn’t make it due to a sudden client’s visit to Manila so there were six of us who got to taste these rare wines. Richard provided the bulk of the wines but most brought some back up bottles just in case the older wines proved undrinkable.

Menu by jaylabrador.winesteward, on Flickr
As it took a while for everyone to show up due to some unusually bad traffic, we started the festivities with a bottle of Dom Perignon 2003. Rich and rather ponderous for DP. White chocolate and orange marmalade dominate the palate. Very good if you like heavy champagne but lacks some complexity. Might possibly gain some with age as it is still quite young.

Dom Perignon 2002 by jaylabrador.winesteward, on Flickr
A Louis Jadot Puligny-Montrachet Champ Gain 1er Cru 2001 followed. The coppery color indicated something not quite right which was confirmed by the sherryish note on the nose. Oxidised, unfortunately.

Puligny-Montrachet Champ Gain by jaylabrador.winesteward, on Flickr
Dinner proper started after the first white with a tuna amuse bouche. This was followed by a Crispy Soft-Boiled Egg, Puree of Watercress Cauliflower Vichyssoise, Squid Ink Tempura of Anchovies and Herring Caviar. A very pretty and intricate dish where all the components have to be taken together to get the complete effect. I wish there was a bit more anchovy, though, to give it a bit more kick.

Amuse Bouche by jaylabrador.winesteward, on Flickr

Crispy Soft-Boiled Egg, Puree of Watercress Cauliflower Vichyssoise, Squid Ink Tempura of Anchovies, Herring Caviar by jaylabrador.winesteward, on Flickr
Another Jadot, this time a Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru 2004 also made an appearance. This was more like it with gentle creamy oak, sweet spice, pear and pineapple flavors.

Louis Jadot Corton-Charlemagne 2004 by jaylabrador.winesteward, on Flickr
The first red was a Michel Olivier Chambolle-Musigny 1989. A fairly rich wine; very dry and showing all the signs of maturity with dried fruit, leather and tea leaf. There’s a touch of spice and some meatiness on the finish as well. About perfect now. Maybe a little tough to drink by itself as it was so dry but went very well with the food.

Michel Olivier Chambolle-Musigny 1989 by jaylabrador.winesteward, on Flickr
The next dish was a Cream of Porcini Soup, Raviolis of Duck Liver and Truffle Cappuccino Foam topped with some Spanish Ham. Earthy and full of flavor, this was perfect the way it was. This was served with another Michel Olivier wine, this time a Gevrey-Chambertin 1989. In contrast to the Chambolle-Musigny, this was ripe and sweet; full of red berries. It was a fairly fleshy wine as well and seemed far younger than its 20+ years. Perhaps not as complex and structured as the Chambolle-Musigny but more charming to my taste.

Cream of Porcini Soup, Raviolis of Duck Liver and Truffle Cappucino Foam by jaylabrador.winesteward, on Flickr

Michel Olivier Gevrey-Chambertin 1989 by jaylabrador.winesteward, on Flickr
Another Burgundy was also opened, this time Faiveley’s Latricieres – Chambertin Grand Cru 1992. This was another ripe and sweet wine with raspberry, cherry and strawberry fruit. Some time in the glass also revealed some earthy and barnyard character. Another very good Burg.

Faiveley Latricieres-Chambertin 1992 by jaylabrador.winesteward, on Flickr
My favorite dish of the evening was served next. Golden Sweetbreads with White and Green Crispy Asparagus. A nice play of crisp and chewy textures with strong flavors and beautiful plating made this dish perfect for me. Unable to resist playing a little game, Richard served a mystery wine. Very dark, sweet black berry and plum. Asphalt and wood. Soft but monolithic even after a 4 hour decant. Possibly Bordeaux. Alex hazarded Lynch Bages. At least he got the appellation correct. It was a Chateau Latour from the extremely hot 2003 vintage. I’m not sure what to make of this. Maybe more time in bottle will bring out some character to complement the fruit as it seems pretty unyielding now.

Golden Sweetbreads with White and Green Crispy Asparagus by jaylabrador.winesteward, on Flickr
To prepare us for the main event, we had a Martini Champagne Sherbet with Olive Crumble. Although this was very good, I thought it was a little too sweet for a palate cleanser.

Martini Champagne Sherbet with Olive Crumble by jaylabrador.winesteward, on Flickr
The main course was a Roast Chicken Breast Demi-Deuil, Truffled Boudin, Turnip, Carrot, Mashed Leek and Duo of Sauces. A quick Google search informs us that demi-deuil means “half-mourning” and refers to dishes with black and white ingredients. In this case, the white chicken was stuffed with black (I’m not sure what) ingredients. The boudin was very good and should be made to star in its own dish.

Roasted Breat of Chicken Demi-Deuil, Truffled Boudin, Turnip and Carrot, Mashed Leek and Duo of Sauces by jaylabrador.winesteward, on Flickr
The most anticipated wine of the evening accompanied the chicken. The Margaux 1929 had a torn and faded label and had a level clearly below the shoulder. There was some difficulty extracting the cork but Noel, with the aid of a metal skewer, managed to fish it out cleanly. The wine was still quite dark although the rim was clearly orange. The nose on this was fabulous and exotic. Cocoa powder and something floral. David thought chiclets. I said I’m not sure about chiclets but certainly something candy-like. And finally a pervasive, powerful mushroom aroma. You could spend quite a bit of time trying to dissect the nose on this. It seems like all these things shouldn’t work together but I think they harmonized quite well. The taste, however, was another matter. At first, not unpleasant but clearly not particularly enjoyable. After a few minutes, the acidity just overwhelmed everything and turned the wine quite harsh and even difficult to swallow. However, even over an hour after pouring it in the glass, the aroma was fairly consistent. It was a real privilege to try something like this. It was especially interesting to me as 1929 was my father’s birth year.

Chateau Margaux 1929 by jaylabrador.winesteward, on Flickr
Good thing we had a drinkable red on hand on the form of Chateau Palmer 2002. Classic Bordeaux. Very dry with pencil shavings on the nose. Quite closed and needs extended decanting to open up but at least it was drinkable.

Palmer 2002 by jaylabrador.winesteward, on Flickr
A selection of Spanish cheeses followed. We were supposed to have French cheese but the quality of what was available that day was not up to Cyrille’s standards so he substituted Spanish. We had a blue Valdeon, a 12 month old Manchego and a Manchego con Merlot. To go with the cheese was another much anticipated bottle, a Chateau Le Mayne Sauternes 1899. The wine was bought from the Chateau and topped up with a more recent vintage. There is no vintage indication on the label, the year being stated on a small strip at the back of the bottle. There’s a strong orange tinge coloring the wine. The nose is quite good, smells like Sauternes. On the palate the wine is quite light with a very gentle sweetness. It seems like the ghost of a Sauternes. There’s some pineapple but it doesn’t have the apricot/marmalade flavors you expect in Sauternes. Still, for a wine over 100 years old, it’s in remarkable shape. 1899 was a momentous year in Philippine history as the Philippine-American War started this year.

Spanish Cheese Platter by jaylabrador.winesteward, on Flickr

Chateau Le Mayne Sauternes 1899 by jaylabrador.winesteward, on Flickr
Although I offered a Niepoort 2007 LBV for dessert, everyone declined since we were still well supplied with leftovers in the bottles and glasses. The last course was a dessert of an excellent Pear Tart Tatin Flambé, Masala Tea Gelato, Walnut Brittle and Chocolate Rum Sauce. The dessert was actually made by Noel’s niece, Nicole, who works the dessert station at Impressions. She also made the friandises of macaroon and a really delightful mint meringue.

Pear Tart Tatin Flambe, Tea Gelato by jaylabrador.winesteward, on Flickr

Mignardises by jaylabrador.winesteward, on Flickr
Since it was a birthday party, the restaurant sent over a chocolate birthday cake complete with sparkler for the birthday boy. Although stuffed to bursting, tradition demanded we each have a slice of cake. I’m glad I did as it, too, was excellent.

Richard's Birthday Cake by jaylabrador.winesteward, on Flickr
Many thanks to everyone for sharing your company and great bottles and especially to Richard who shared so many of his treasures with us. Happy Birthday!

David, Richard, Bernie, Noel, Alex by jaylabrador.winesteward, on Flickr

The Birthday Boy by jaylabrador.winesteward, on Flickr

Jay, thanks for that TN and the, as always, mouth-watering pics. It's always moving to get a taste of a venerable wine from a legendary vintage like 1929. I guess that the chances of having a good bottle nowadays are quite slim unless it comes from a cellar like Glamis Castle's. I had the privilege of tasting a 1929 Burg, a Corton, at a millenium tasting; it was in superb condition and I would have guessed a well kept bottle from a fine vintage of the 60s or perhaps 1959. It helped a lot that the bottles had never been moved from the cellars of Bouchard P&F under the Beaune ramparts.

My only experience of a 1929 claret was of a second growth, I forget which, at a London restaurant in the late 50s or early 60s; only a 30ish youngster at the time (the wine not me; I was much younger!). I recall a smooth ripe wine.