1900 to 1990

Dinner at 8½ Otto e Mezzo.

1990 Marc Colin Montrachet - sweet, buttery, toasty oak, flint, a little nutty, fragrant and lovely nose.  Very well-balanced on the palate, which is what makes this such a great wine.  The palate might taste lighter or flatter compared to the Chevalier-Montrachet, but its smoothness makes it a better food wine... although I'd suggest not drinking it with tuna or bottarga...

1988 Domaine Leflaive Chevalier-Montrachet - sweeter and riper on the nose, but this was a little tight at first.  Nose of toasty oak, a little straw and slightly sharp.  Fairly well-balanced on the palate but a teeny bit more acidic compared to the Montrachet.  Another lovely wine.

1975 Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin Brut Rosé - loads of salty plum (話梅) which is something I love from old Champagne, especially rosés.  In fact, I think this smells like the result of dipping salty plum into Chinese Huadiao (花雕) wine , and my friends agreed with me.  Plenty of salty minerals, too.  Very nice.

1980 DRC La Tâche - lovely floral nose, roses, sweet fruit, a bit of leather, orange, a hint of herbal medicine.  A voluptuous and opulent wine.  Well, it IS La Tâche, after all!

1980 Ponsot Clos de la Roche Cuvée Vielles Vignes - initially pretty closed.  A bit oxidized and plummy, with smoked meats.  Smooth on the palate but more concentrated than the La Tâche.  Opened up later and softened, showing lovely raspberry notes.

1990 Beaucastel Hommage à Jacques Perrin - well, I remember telling George that his wine "smells like shit"... but if there ever were a wine that perennially smells of manure, Hommage would be it.  In addition to that lovely fragrance, which can be described somewhat diplomatically as "barnyard", the nose was also a little medicinal with brett.  Pretty sharp and alcoholic.  There was plenty of sweet fruit underneath the cloak of barnyard, with herbs, pine needle and tobacco emerging gradually.

1900 D'Oliveiras Moscatel - I volunteered to bring something from the "dessert" category, and I thought I'd pull this one out of the cellar.  It's not often that I get to open an old Madeira, as you need people who would really appreciate it, and I thought it'd be a treat to open something from the start of the last century.  As it was being decanted before dinner, the fragrance of prunes and nuts traveled the distance to reach me and I reveled in it.  Some 3 hours later, I was hit by an initial dose of sharp alcohol - as expected - followed by notes of ripe rock melon, pine needle, potpourri, raisins, prunes, Medjool dates and nuts.  I think the rest of the crew found it interesting...

Full post on dinner is here.