WTN: DDC charity lunch, plus Prum,. Haut Brion,& Taylor

Mark very generously set up a benefit lunch for the non-profit I run at MP Taverna Saturday. All were vintage from the pre-Dererencourt era. Mark supplied all wines except one port and the white.

While we decanted the wines
2019 JJ Prum Graacher Himmelreich Kabinet (magnum)
Lovely floral nose with some peachy aromas, but soft and not so long on palate. B/B-

Let’s go!
1989 Domaine de Chevalier Blanc
Full, with fig, pear, and coconut, stony finish, at least one person thought tiring I just thought mature and complex. B+/A-

Pheasant and duck terrines
2000 Domaine de Chevalier
Young, plenty of oak aromas, a little Graves earth,ripe and forward, fairly low acid. B/B- for now, B+ potential
1990 Domaine de Chevalier
Complex nose with mocha and pencil lead, ripe but not roasted red fruits, nice.B+
1989 Domaine de Chevalier
Elegant and complete, cassis ahd scorched earth, long. A-
1988 Domaine de Chevalier
Black fruits, coffee, iron filings, still a little tannic. A-/B+

8 hour roasted Lamb risotto
1986 Domaine de Chevalier
Tannic, dense fruit, lively but not as long or as complex as the 88/89/90 run. B/B-
1985 Domaine de Chevalier
Overall we were lucky, but this bottle apparently cork compromised, maderized.
1983 Domaine de Chevalier
Elegant and old school, redder fruits, classic. B+/A-

Lamb chop, loin and kebab.

1982 Haut Brion - as the 82 DDC is a noted underachiever (hail damage), Mark with Sarah’s help threw in a 1st growth! Classic Graves earthiness, red fruits, refined. While this was great it wasn’t quite as fresh as a couple of bottles over last few years, but still totally delicious. A-/B+
1981 Domaine de Chevalier
Light and delicate, a pretty wine. B+
1979 Domaine de Chevalier
A sentimental favorite of mine, and it showed very well. Red fruit, cigarbox, walnuts, long and complete. A-
NY strip steak
1975 Domaine de Chevalier
OK, not so refined, still a bit tannic, but solid dark fruit. B/B+
1970 Domaine de Chevalier
Sweet and easy, but without the freshness and complexity of best bottles of this. B
1966 Domaine de Chevalier
Almost 60 years old and so vigorous, with delicious fruit accented with black truffle and cocoa. Long finish with graphite and cigarbox, Complete, complex, and elegant. A-/A

Cheese from Second Mouse (Nancy’s camembert, Challehocker, Pleasant ridge)
1994 Taylor Vintage Port
Rich figgy and long. A-/B+
1995 Taylor Quinta de Vargellas Vigna Velha
First vintage of this. Rich, nutty, dates and figs. I put slightly behind the 94 VP, but others (who know port better than I do) preferred this B+

Really extraordinary afternoon. Mark did a poll of favorite DDCs (no votes for Haut Brion or port allowed), with 3 pts for fave, 2 for 2nd, 1 for 3rd. I voted ‘66, ‘79, ‘89

Ground results
1966 36
1983 13
1989 12
1988 7
1979 7
1970 4
1990 2
1981 1

Thanks Mark for the generosity of spirit and cellar. We got a great look at a classic estate and raised lots of funds to support the needy.

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.

[David M. Bueker]

An amazing lineup. Appreciate the update on the 2019 Himmelreich. Wonder if it’s a bit shut down.

Would love to taste that many vintages of DDC. None of my local Bordeaux buddies ever collected it.

Wow! What a lineup of wines. And kudos to Mark for being such a generous patron of your cause, Dale. I am quite shocked that the '66 was the group favorite, as I'd have expected one of the '80s vintages to win out. Most likely there's some selection bias going on in who came to your event.

Great stuff. In my (limited) experience, I think the 78 and 79 are my favorite vintages of DDC rouge, although someone once brought a 66 to the old new Fabio’s that was pretty great.

I scored some pristine bottles of the 88-90 from the UK that Mark found and my preference mirrors yours, with my favorite the 89 and my least favorite the 90 (which is still a nice wine).

I like the 98 and 00 quite a bit as well, and I hear the 02 is solid.

Wow! What a lineup of wines. And kudos to Mark for being such a generous patron of your cause, Dale. I am quite shocked that the '66 was the group favorite, as I'd have expected one of the '80s vintages to win out. Most likely there's some selection bias going on in who came to your event.

Very likely. Many of attendees drink a lot of wine with age (writers, wine bar owner, cellarmaster of clubs, guy who runs wine dinners professionally).
But, actually, there was lots of fruit and vigor in the '66, even a couple of relative newbies were wowwed. And of course company matters - some loud opinions!