Years of the Ox

Dinner at Forum Restaurant.

1997 Salon, degorgée en 2020 - very fragrant and absolutely floral and really perfumed. Already beautiful right from the start even though it was served a little too cold. A little toasty. Nicely balanced on the palate, even though it was a little more ripe than expected. After an hour there was some coconut, also sugar cane and water chestnuts. Very lovely.

1961 Ducru-Beaucaillou - WOW! Soooo beautiful, soooo fragrant and open just 15 minutes after decanting. Plenty of bacon fat lots of toast, smoke, and lots of sweet fruit. After an hour this seemed to have faded, becoming leaner and showing more brett, more like a classic claret. Good acidity still. After two hours this seemed to improve and fruity notes like cherries were still around. Very, very happy with how this bottle drank tonight.

1985 Faiveley Chambertin Clos de Beze - lovely and fragrant nose, with bacon, leather, and toasty notes. Soooo floral and elegant. So clean and perfect.

2009 Joseph Drouhin Montrachet Marquis de Laguiche - decanted about 3 hours prior to serving. Nice with just the right amount of caramelized ripeness, with a nice amount of flint, a little sugar cane, vanilla, and coconut candy. Plenty of legs left in this wine.

Full post on dinner is here.