I spent eight and a half hours eating and drinking with Ron and Bev today! I really don’t know how they do it. The occasion was a visit by Allan from Hart Davis Hart, a wine auction house in Chicago. We began with lunch at Capital Grille, and then went to The Bull and Bear at The Waldorf Astoria for dinner with Linda and Dani. There were some excellent wines, but the stunner was my 1934 Clos du Roi, one of those magical old Burgundies that only seem to come along once very few hundred bottles. The wines:
Capital Grille
Ron, Bev, Bruce, Allan from HDH, Andres Montoya from Wine Barn
98 Laville Haut Brion
Tight chalky stone wax toasty citrus flowers melon vanilla candy
96
2006 Aubert Ritchie Chardonnay
Butter citrus acidic
Not as good as the last bottle I had
92
1969 Nuits St Georges Bouchard Pere & Fils
Cherry dried flowers, fading, didn’t stand up well against all the young wines
89
2000 DRC Echezeaux
Fruity mushrooms dried roses
93
1977 BVGDLTPR
Fruity caramel earth coffee
I don’t think anyone else liked this, but to me it’s what BVGDLTPr is all about
98
1995 Leoville las Cases
Tight tannic
89
1982 Lynch Bages
Fruity vanilla soft
92
1981 Ridge Montebello
Youthful, chewy, excellent fruit and structure
97
Bull & Bear
Ron, Bev, Allan from HDH, Linda, Dani
1993 Haut Brion Blanc
Rich, buttery, chalk, licorice, violet, mineral spirits
98
2000 Etienne Sauzet Chevalier-Montrachet
Lemon, silky
93
2006 Ramey Ritchie Vineyard Chardonnay
Butter, oak
95
1934 Clos du Roi Chanson Pere & Fils
Great color, Mineral spirits, bacon, cherries, earth
It’s been a while since I’ve had one of these magic bottles. This is why we have cellars.
98
1934 Corton Maison M Doudet-Naudin
Vanilla, sawdust, acidic
90
1970 Ch Mouton Rothschild
Youthful, gravel, coffee, mint, greens
93
1978 Ch Margaux
Figs, coffee, tight, feminine, coffee, mushrooms
94
2001 Chateau Suduirat
Honey, citrus good acid
95
Allan from HDH provided me with a list of good restaurants in Chicago and New York:
Chicago restaurants
Schwa
MK
Kiki’s bistro
Spiaggio
Les nomads
Topo lobampo
Blackbird / aveck
Nomi at the peninsula
Customs House
New York restaurants
Veritas
L’express 24 hr bistro