I recently poured wines for my client, Joe and his wife at their private wine dinner. While Joe and I planned the dinner and discussed the wines, the food and who would be attending, I wasn't sure what to expect. But when Joe exclaimed, "I have an outdoor wood-fired pizza oven, we will do it at my house!" I knew this was going to be the experience of a lifetime.
I arrived at Joe's house nestled in the mountains of PA, with my dog and seven amazing wines carefully selected to accompany what was about to be one of the most delicious backyard BBQs I'd ever experienced.
Immediately, I put all of the reds into decanters to let them open up and show their full potential. And then I popped 2002 Louis Roederer Cristal which Joe's wife paired with a beautiful spread of cheeses - a perfect entre into the rest of the evening. As toasts were being said, and we discussed the nuances of the Cristal, I prepared the next wine for the guests.
2007 Bonneau du Martray Corton Charlemagne is by far one of the most amazing white wines I have tasted. Neil Martin from erobertparker.com rates this wine 97-99 and for good reason. Full of life and flavors of peach and white fruits, the wine puckers the back of your cheeks in true terroir fashion.
Once everyone had fully whet their palates, I announced to the group, "On to the reds!" Joe's dad much appreciated this, as he was waiting patiently for the reds to start flowing. Not to be out done by my claims, I hear "ONE IN THE HOLE"! I look over and Joe is firing his first homemade pizza into the oven.
Perfect timing as we were headed to Italy to try Gaja's 2001 Barbaresco Costa Russi. This masterpiece was every bit of the 94 point rating it earned by Robert Parker. The color was bold and the palate followed suit. Dark cherries encompassed with oak and a subtle hint of tar at the tip of the tongue rounded out this soft and subtle creation by Angelo Gaja.
Next up was a classic - 1986 Mouton Rothschild. Although this wine is 24 years old it is still a baby. Jam-packed with flavor and verve, the 1986 showed why it continues to hit triple digits...need I say more?!
Sticking with 100 pointers and Bordeaux, we moved along to the rising star that is 2003 Montrose. Of course this wine is still very young but the time in the decanter favored this stunning liquid. Inky blue colors swirled over the glass and sparkled in the setting sun. Showing flavors of saddle leather, hints of vanilla, tobacco, and all sorts of black fruits this is certainly a wine for any serious collector.
Another one of the fine gentleman at the event, Lee, kept telling me he couldn't wait to try the CDP we had in store for us. With good reason. The 2007 Saint Prefer CDP Reserve Auguste Favier received 96 points and it was no joke. As I swirled the decanter it was plain as the nose on your face that this was going to be a monster. I couldn't believe how much this wine smelled like a fresh cut of filet mignon, meaty indeed. Following the nose crushing front, the graphite and camphor protruded through onto the mouth and blueberries and black fruits finished up the taste. Blended with Grenache and old vine Cinsault this wine was nothing short of awesome.
I would feel guilty if I didn't mention Chris in this article. Chris and his wife joined us a few wines into the evening. When he arrived, he asked if I saved anything good. Well, of course I did! I gave him the full run down of wines we were tasting and told him, "You are going to especially love the last wine of the night, the 200 pointer, 2001 d'Yquem!" "No way" he says to me "I do not like Sauternes." I laughed openly and said, "You are going to love this wine, trust me."
A bit later as we were racking the extra bottles in Joe's wine cellar and after I forced him to take a glass, Chris says to me...YOU WERE RIGHT.