Unauthorized

This stunning meal, prepared by Baltimore’s finest chef, Cindy Wolf, and orchestrated perfectly by her husband, maitre ’d Tony Foreman, was a charity event held to benefit The United Way. My favorites of the sensational courses included the crispy cornmeal crusted oysters, the Springfield Farms rabbit loin risotto, the pan seared Scottish salmon, and the seared foie gras with green lentils and Andouille sausage.

With respect to the wines, since I can barely afford the price of the 1996 Dom Pérignon Rosé, my favorite rosé is the 1996 Deutz Cuvée William Deutz Brut Rosé. Deutz has always made good champagne, but recent vintages have risen to a new level of quality. Under the ownership of Louis Roederer, Deutz is pushing the envelope to higher and higher levels.

The champagne was followed by two flights of Chardonnays. In the first flight, the Marcassin Gauer Vineyard and the Peter Michael Mon Plaisir were generally preferred over the Chevalier-Montrachet Les Demoiselles from Louis Jadot, although a handful of the guests (including this writer) thought the Jadot had more minerality and complexity. However, it was hard to ignore the gorgeous opulence and fruit of the California bottlings. The second flight was all California chardonnays and all three were spectacular. I had a slightly preference for the Marcassin 2001 Marcassin Vineyard.

We next moved to a flight of red Burgundies. The 2003 Méo-Camuzet Clos de Vougeot was stunningly rich and exotic. One of the Burgundy collectors at the table thought it was slightly over the top and preferred the Gros Frère et Soeur 2002 Richebourg, but for me the 2003 Clos de Vougeot is one of those freakish Burgundy vintages that will be a legend in 15-20 years when the wines reveal more terroir and minerality. At present, the vintage’s fruit, fat, and succulence clearly dominate.

The next flight was domestic Pinot Noirs, including Beaux Frères 2002 Upper Terrace. Since I am a part owner of that estate, I will not comment on the wine. The sensational 2003 Kistler Pinot Noir Cuvée Elizabeth demonstrates Steve Kistler’s move to more complexity and perfume as opposed to power. The 2001 Marcassin Three Sisters Vineyard also acquitted itself well, but was somewhat over-whelmed by the Kistler Cuvée Elizabeth.

Flight five and six consisted of older California Cabernets as I wanted to prove how well these wines age, and in fact, not one of these wines was close to full maturity. The favorite wine in flight five was the spectacular Joseph Phelps 1994 Cabernet Sauvignon Backus Vineyard. I couldn’t believe how youthful the 1994 Dalla Valle remains. The 1994 Ridge Monte Belloperformed well, but the wood was still rather intrusive. The least impressive of this group was the 1992 Stags Leap Cask 23, which was made one year after the last of the great Cask 23's, the 1991. Shafer’s 1992 Hillside Select is still drinking fabulously well. Still youthful at age 14, it is just beginning to reveal some secondary nuances, but it has another 20 years of life remaining. Flight six was a brilliant selection of California Cabernets. While still an adolescent in terms of its development, the complex 1993 Peter Michael Les Pavots offers notes of earth, cedar, tapenade, blackberries, and cassis. The elegant 1990 Château Montelena Cabernet Sauvignon was the youngest wine of the flight. It comes across like a St.-Julien with additional minerality and power. The blockbuster of the group, the 1990 Seavey Cabernet Sauvignonwas dense, rich, young, and somewhat monolithic compared to the other wines, but frightfully youthful and unevolved. The black/blue-colored 1991 Philip Togni Cabernet Sauvignonexhibited classic crème de cassis, licorice, and bay leaf notes. It displayed little evolution even though its 15 years old. The surprisingly good, fully mature 1995 Pahlmeyer Proprietary Redrevealed plenty of coffee, roasted herb, black currant, and plum-like notes.

We finished with Alois Kracher’s Trockenbeerenauslese Nouvelle Vague 2003, a wonderfully fresh, crisp, decadent dessert wine that I just forgot to taste.