Patrick was in town and a nice group gathered at Fabio’s in midtown to greet him. Restaurant is in a new space, and we were seated in a raised alcove. Fabio offered a different table, but we stayed where we were. Some whites made the rounds as folks gathered
1989 Zind-Humbrecht “Turckheim” Riesling
Dry, stony, and smoky, apple and ginger, good length, I like this B+
1989 Zind-Humbrecht "Heimbourg" Gewurztraminer VT
Big and balanced, honied apricot tones over tropical fruit. Great acids. A bit sweet for apertif, I should have revisited at end. A-
2012 Rhys “Horseshoe” Chardonnay
Pear, green apple, balanced acids, Really one of the nicer CA Chards I’ve had in a while. B+/A-
I had a nice appetizer of roasted chickpea cake with an avocado salad.
1966 Beychevelle
Minty nose that integrates nicely into a complex herbal nose, dark fruit, really quite elegant. B+
1966 Calon Segur
Nose of shoe polish/VA and char, better on palate but this is clearly an off bottle.
1966 Domaine de Chevalier
Lovely from start, herbs and cigarbox, classic mature Graves. A-/B+
A little tasting of pastas- cheese ravioli with lobster sauce, another pasta with fresh tomato sauce, and one with a sausage and truffle.
1995 Grand Puy Lacoste
Sweet cassis, cedar. Some tannic structure, but approachable with a long future. B+/A-
1995 Trotanoy
I thought this smashing, lush and exotic with a great mouthfeel. Red fruits, incense, anise, A-
I had short ribs with polenta
1970 Leoville Poyferre
Someone called celery, but the greenness was more weedy to me. Fruit way in the background, a bit clipped, though I thought it improved a bit. C+
1970 Canon
Red fruit, elegant/balanced, some coffee and floral notes. Very good though I’ve liked a couple other bottles a bit more. B+
1970 Magdelaine
I’ve loved this wine, but this is best bottle I’ve ever had. Just textbook classic RB - beautiful giving fruit framed by cedar, leather, and tobacco. Gorgeous. A-/A
1947 Clos Fourtet
My first 1947 RB I think. Nose is a little daunting- some VA and decay. But palate is pretty good and nose cleans up quite a bit. Red fruits, meat, earth. I quite enjoy though Josh said earlier bottle was better. B+
1982 Beychevelle
Black fruits, lots of tobacco, ripe and full but with a backbone of both tannin and acid. Long future. A-/B+
1959 Beychevelle
Red fruited, floral, earthy, another elegant wine. A-/B+
We did our usual 3-2-1 voting (Mark had to leave before voting).
70 Magdelaine 17 pts
66 DDC 7 Pts
82 Beychevelle 4 Pts
59 Beychevelle 4 Pts
95 Trotanoy 2 Pts
66 Beychevelle 2 Pt
There were some stickies to end. We should have taken the alternate table, our alcove got uncomfortably warm as night went on. And all the ice in ice bucket melted, and first go round these were too warm. Some ice replenishment and we tried again:
1971 Prinz von Hessen (Landgräflich Hessiches Weingut) Johannisberger Klaus Riesling Beerenauslese
Dark, honied, this was cloying when warm. Better when cold but there’s a musty/clay note, and more sensitive declare this corked.
1985 Zilliken Rausch Auslese Auction (375 ml)
Crisp and pure, laserlike in its focus, honied botrytis and floral honeysuckle notes over bright citrus fruit. A-
1986 Rieussec
Apricot, orange marmalade, honey. Good length, Quite nice. B+
Quite a fun night with an outstanding group
Grade disclaimer: I'm a very easy grader, basically A is an excellent wine, B a good wine, C drinkable. Anything below C means I wouldn't drink at a party where it was only choice.Furthermore, I offer no promises of objectivity, accuracy, and certainly not of consistency.
. 1966 clarets went through a long dull period in mid life but many seem to have come through it to turn into delicious wines in a robust old age.