Below is an article from my good friend Chris Danley. I asked him to write about recent wine events that I hosted with wines from my cellar and I did some minor edits and additions.
Easily the best wine experience of my life. John asked for a write up and here goes, I’m sure my opinions might differ from others but that is what makes wine so much fun!
First night Cabernet in all its glorious forms and great old Bordeaux:
1974 and 1976 Phelps Insignia – This was a nice start to the evening. You can tell the softness from the blend versus the Mayacamas being 100% cab. Soft red fruit, nice complexity. Perfectly mature.
1969, 1970, and 1978 Mayacamas – The powerful cabernet fruit showed. These seemed a little austere and dry relative to the Insignia’s. I thought 78 was best. They all had a great nose and I wonder what would happen with more time – almost as if we should have let them breathe a little more.
1966, 1968, and 1970 Heitz Marthas Vineyard – In my opinion, this was a clear step up from the previous two wines and for me the best flight of California Cabs. Eucalyptus, menthol, fruit, cedar, great aromatics. 1970 was best, then 1968 then 1966. But this was nit picking.
1968, 1970, 1971 and 1974 Ridge Monte Bello – all very similar, very consistent, all still extremely fresh and primary which was amazing. More on the dark fruit side like black currants with faint herbal notes in contrast to the more red and purple fruited Heitz. All of these years were remarkably similar and consistent with the 1974 being the most primary, the 1971 being the most “classic” balance of fruit and secondary flavors with maybe a little more red fruit in it, the 1968 was the most austere
1971 Ridge Eisele – in a single word “fireworks”. Our first unicorn of the flight and showed why. Explosive nose of Cabernet but what made this exceptional was that Eisele spice…almost like a vosne spice. If you’ve had Eisele wines you know what it is, and this wine had it in perfect balance with Cabernet fruit. Magic.
1978 Diamond Creek horizontal – was a very interesting flight for a California Cab fan and a monument to the structure and staying power of Diamond Creek and John’s cellar. Every single wine showed absolutely no sign of fading. And, the Diamond Creeks needed a little more time to wake up as even at 45 years of age they have lots of structure and are very powerful. Lake was most powerful and had most of everything, leather, darker fruit, but very well integrated. John convinced the owner to bottle the Lake and you can read about that on The Underground Wine Letter web site
https://www.undergroundwineletter.com/
Red Rock had more floral notes. Gravelly Meadow had a spice to it and smoothness. Volcanic Hill had a mix of mostly dark fruit but also some berry notes. I held the Lake in the glass until the end of the night and it had barely budged – the wine is immortal!
1929, 1959, and 1961 La Mission Haut Brion – the 1929 had some funk at first, but this blew off and showed nice caramel and tobacco notes. I thought the 1959 was the best as it just had that sex appeal that just grabbed you by the lapels and said check me out! And I did! It still had some primary fruit but was cloying and open at the same time, with an almost Vosne like spice to it. The 1961 was a little more complex and classic but the 1959 spoke to me more.
1934, 1945, and 1961 Trotanoy –John and I looked at each other when we sipped the 45 and both of us had that holy sh-t look on our face. And, even for a guy as experienced as John, he seemed thrilled by the 1945…and I can see why. These were Bordeaux in name only – if you blinded me I would have thought old DRC La Tache (more on that later) or something. This 1945 Trotanoy was the wine of the night for me and one of the best wines I’ve ever had. Flashy, opulent, candied cherries, spice, exotic fruit…all in perfect balance…this was nectar of the gods. 1934 was a fine wine in its own right but this was like looking at a painting after the Mona Lisa. The 1961 was very good but probably suffered next to the 1945. The 1961 had a little more purple fruit to it and was nice and velvety. On any other night this would be a life changing wine.
1950 and 1952 Petrus – the Petrus viscosity shown through, even after 70 years. Both were great but I slightly preferred the 1952. It was almost port- like or chocolate like. Petrus is 100% Merlot and has amazing longevity.
1952 and 1955 Cheval Blanc – The 1952 was really good and had all the aged cab franc character and cherry flavors. The 1955 was like a work of art and really brought some excitement – surprisingly delicate, nice red berry fruit with the cab franc in the background just kind of dancing on your tongue/palate. These two wines represented a really lovely Cheval Blanc experience.
The lunch from heaven…Featuring old DRC wines
1978 Richebourg en mag – so deep in terms of flavor, if you closed your eyes you were almost swimming in great red burgundy. Still young! All of the petit rouge fruit you could ask for with a velvet cloak and muskiness (in a good way) that just enveloped your taste buds, finishing with a bit of burnt sugar on the back palate. This is a very special wine.
Trio of 71’s…
First came the 1971 Grand Echezeau – spice just exploded out of the glass, the wine was in a perfect place and the spice dominated – Asian five spice, cinnamon, mace, clove. Quintessential aged Vosne Romanee.
Then comes the big brother – 1971 Richebourg – spice was there, but more muscle and strong echoes of the 78 riche with a finish that just lasted forever.
Then dad comes in – 1971 Romanee Conti– absolutely packed with flavor and complexity. The violet and purple fruit underpinning gives it away, as well as the sheer amount of different flavors. I kept it in the glass the entire lunch and it just kept unfurling – the best sip was the last. This was truly the king of wines, and the only wine that comes close is the queen – Musigny. Everything else is a prince in comparison.
Even more Richebourg – the depth really showed with the older wines
The 1991 Richebourg was still quite youthful – showing some of the lean character of the 91 vintage but still quite fresh and vigorous…deep red fruits and nice spice.
The 1953 Richebourg really stole the show in the older trio – lots of tertiary flavors that along with the fruit and spice and depth really pulled you in to the glass immediately. Such an amazing combo of fruit and secondary and tertiary flavors. And kept getting better in the glass.
1952 Richebourg was like a sister to the 1953 brother – what a feminine wine. So soft and pretty – hard to believe they’re only a year apart yet such different characteristics with almost the same flavors.
1949 Richebourg was not as striking as the 1952 or 1953, very deep wine and classic Richebourg with the depth, complexity, balance and richness that exemplifies vineyard.
Next it was time for a procession of kings…La Tache in all its majesty. It was hard figuring out favorites since all were so great!
1952 and 1966 en magnum were first:
The 1952 grabbed you right off the bat, probably because it was older and very showy. A kaleidoscope of flavors in the glass was preceded by am ethereal perfume made you want to just smell it all day. But on the palate it exploded with exotic spice and red fruit, sous bois, and very silky with a lingering aftertaste. Can it get any better than this? The 1966 was just like the 1952 except with a little more structure which it shed as it sat in the glass. And both wines were monuments to the magnum format.
Does life get any better than sipping two amazing old La Tache among great food and people that can appreciate these wines…when you’re at John Tilson’s house, the answer is a resounding yes since we had a flight of FOUR more La Tache – 1945, 1947, 1949 and 1962
The 1962 being the youngest (think about that for a second, the youngest wine was 0ver 60 years old) and served at cellar temp took a bit to unfurl but after about an hour showed why its reputation is legendary. Classic La Tache profile amid an embarrassment of riches on the table.
The 1949 was a little more tertiary – if the 1962 was still quite vigorous, the 1949 reminded you of a nice warm autumn day with all the spice, red fruit, forest floor, sous bois all wrapped up in one amazing package that made you want to close your eyes and just meditate on the wine every time you sipped it. The 47 showed a little sweeter profile with a nice kiss of caramel on the finish. And the 45 – for me, wine of the day, maybe the weekend…maybe my life? It was amazing how the two 1945 wines (La Tache and Trotanoy) were both wines of the day…what the heck was going on back then? Could be that god just smiled down on France after finishing a nightmare of a world war and gave everyone a gift. The 45s were literally everything you could ever want in a wine – perfectly ripe, the smell was 100 different flavors in one whiff, with a taste to match. These wines made me want to start bowing down and chanting “I’m not worthy! I’m not worthy!” I could write pages about this wine but words are superfluous. Suffice to say this is why we spend a lot of time and money chasing the dream, the perfect wine, and when you get it – it makes you feel complete.
And there were two more wines after that!
The pair of 38’s en mag – yet another testament to both John’s meticulous sourcing and storage and the power of the magnum format. Both wines put the P in pristine
Easily the surprise of the weekend was the 1938 Echezeaux and how fresh it was..this is “little brother” DRC at 85 years old and it just comes bouncing out of the glass!!! There was a little more spice up front than the La Tache and hints of caramel on the finish like so many of these wines have acquired through age. Just made you feel special drinking it.
The 1938 La Tache, was, if you can imagine it…fresher and more vibrant than any of the 1940’s La Tache we had! This wine felt like it could last another 85 years…was like a 50 year old king walking in to the room – you felt the majesty, and you also felt it had a long way to go after. Still had power with all that age and fruit and everything else. What a fitting end to the great weekend. This is as good as it gets folks! We are all indeed blessed!
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