Monday Night Football

Posted on | December 18, 2009

I’m staying current for a hot second, as this past Monday night had me at Marea with some of the Angries for a most noteworthy evening, even though it was under the guise of a casual get together. Wine’s original Bad Boy aka the Returner aka the Warden aakkaa was holding court with some bubblies, and he had some great Champagne on tap as well. He was joined by another enforcer extraordinaire, the Hillbilly, and even Big Boy came out of the woodworks of fatherhood to share in the festivities.

I was only passing through, but it was tough to stay on schedule as great wine after great wine emerged. It started with a killer 1982 Cristal. The nose was honeyed and butterscotchy, showered in golden toast. There were lots of yellow aromas and buttery cream ones, and its caramel glaze (again, with a yellow hue) soothed my senses. The palate was fresh and smooth, right down the middle like a 95 mph fastball. There was nice zip and vim, and a long, grainy, spritely finish. It was just flat out delicious (96).

The 1989 Cristal Rose with which it was paired was a bit oxidative in the nose. There were aromas of faded strawberry and a hint of wet wool. The palate was very citrusy and metally without being metallic, something Todd picked up on as well, also calling it ‘salty.’ There were tangy red fruit flavors on its gamy palate; Big Boy called it ‘stewy,’ and it was clear that it was oxidized. I could have still drunk it and probably would have on another night, but with the punches rolling, we let it go (91A).

It was on to the DP’s, beginning with a 1964 Dom Perignon. Todd jumped on ‘oatmeal’ right away. I saw that but found it more stony in the nose at first. Bruce chipped in how ‘it needs a little time to get integrated,’ and how he hates popping and pouring old Champers right away. Big Boy admired its ‘mature’ qualities, and with a little time, exotic aromas of coconut, cream soda, vanilla wafer and milk candy emerged. It was very complex once the stone walls came down around it, just as the Returner had prophecized. Delicious flavors of vanilla and cream soda danced on its long and lush palate. It was both delicate yet sturdy, ie, it didn’t have a lot of fizz but there was just enough to make it outstanding. It was another delicious wine (95).

The 1973 Dom Perignon was ‘too cold,’ per the Warden, who was annoyed he let the temperature of this DP slip past his guard. There was more wafer here, along with light sweetness in a honey, lilac and white honeysuckle direction. It was also fresher than the ’64. This was a classic ’73. The palate was long and zippy, more linear with lots of minerals and much more race in the car. It lacked the fat, decadent fruit of the ’64, however, and the Hillbilly found it ‘thinner and getting crushed.’ I defended the ’73 a bit and its minerally definition, and he conceded he was a bit hard…for various reasons. Its finish kept getting stronger in the glass. Hints of rye crisp rounded out this excellent DP (94+).

It was Krug’s turn, beginning with the 1976 Krug. It was similar to the ’73 DP in its stony and minerally personality, but ‘heavier’ per Bruce and ‘a little dusty.’ It had the signature Krug vanilla cream on top of everything. Its palate was big and rich, heavy being a good way to put it. The ’76 was full, long and in charge with lots of straw and hay flavors. Its power really impressed (96).

The 1979 Krug, batting second in this flight, smelled a kiss mature, masked a bit and closed in its nose. The palate was ‘snappy’ per Todd, and Rob agreed. It was zippy and stony but noticeably simpler than the ’76, squarer on its dirty palate. It was a good dirty, of course. These were both ‘regular’ Krug bottling, not Collection (94).

It was on to a trio of super-heroic Burgundies, beginning with my 1966 DRC Richebourg, which had a great nose. It was ‘sexy and velevety,’ per the Hillbilly, but he might have been talking about something else lol. The nose was super sexy, so sweet and forward with loads of red fruits, baby powder, oatmeal and brown sugar. The palate also had lots of oatmeal and brown sugar, outlined in chalk. The finish was a bit dirty with some bitter citrus twists. This was a ‘take me now’ wine, a quality the Hillbilly likes in many ways. Its flavors were very autumnal and menthol started to take over; there was a lot going on in this mature and tasty Richebourg. It might have been a touch advanced, but not enough to make its way into the score (93).

Everyone got out of the way for the wines that followed. Big Boy was about to put on a production, beginning with a 1962 Rousseau Chambertin. It had a deep nose, brimming with haunted red fruits, forest and a hint of woodsy spice. Chunks of wet earth were also present in its oily nose. The palate was round and rich but satiny smooth like ’62, very elegant and with bits of browned biscuit flavors on its finish. There was also a hint of autumn to its palate, like the beginning of Fall on a late September morning. Some latent grit emerged with time in this classic (95).

The 1978 DRC Romanee Conti that followed put everything to bed. The nose screamed ‘WOW’- it was menthol city, built upon iron, rose and blood. Some garden came in, providing some nice recreational aromas for this budding metropolis. Layers upon layers of every shade of exotic fruit unfolded, and beef satay with hints of peanuts joined the party in its incredibly decadent nose. The palate was smooth and lush, dripping with oil and full of bloody mary flavors. It separated itself from the pack, although we could all see the sibling rivalry with the Richebourg. Big brother won. As I settled in on my score, I had to put this wine in that ‘best wines of my life category’ and one level up from outstanding. At the same time, I felt like this was a wine that was as good as it was ever going to be, and I didn’t see as much long-term potential as in other big-time vintages of RC. It was definitely plateau-ing, but it could possibly do so for another thirty years, to be fair. Big Boy agreed that while extraordinary, it will never be on that mega-level of the greatest RC’s of all time, citing ‘not in the top 10 of the 20th Century.’ So my point is while the ’78 RC is 97 points right now, I wouldn’t be surprised if this slipped to a 96 over the next decade or so (97).

After an unfortunately oxidized 1949 Pommery (DQ), we finished strongly with an excellent 1955 Pommery. Aromas of fresh straw and hints of glue and soap jumped out at first, and when I say sopa that is in a good way, like the soap you find in one of the best hotels when you really need a shower. There was orange marmalade as well, and its flavors were nice and clean, full of white fruits (93).

I am not sure what else was tapped into by these fine gentlemen later that evening, as I finally made my exit, the first one to do so. It was a great Monday, one that would make Hank sing, ‘All my rowdy friends are here on Monday night!!!’

FIN

JK

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