Unauthorized

This was another brilliant bottle of 1990 Clos de Goisses Champagne from Philipponnet. I had expected better things from Domaine Leflaive's 1989 Chevalier Montrachet as previous bottles tasted scored 2-3 points higher. This wine was certainly exceptional, and was drunk with great pleasure, but it seemed fully mature, although it is capable of holding up another 5-6 years.

The highly maligned 1975 Bordeaux vintage did produce some spectacular wines in Graves and Pomerol as well as a handful of brilliant successes elsewhere. The 1975 Le Gay is just hitting its plateau of maturity. A big, earthy, truffle and spice-scented wine, it has muscle and tannin to burn, but there is loads of fruit. The profound, fully mature 1975 l'Evangile is more evolved, yet is capable of lasting another 10-15 years. It reveals plenty of amber at the edge, but its striking aromatics and succulent, full-bodied flavors are about as good as Pomerol can get. It can be a 100 point wine, but this bottle of 1975 Lafleur was totally maderized. I remember buying several cases at $125 a case at the now non-existent Harry's Liquors in Baltimore in 1979. Every bottle I have drunk has been pure perfection. I opened another one several weeks later, which was the real deal. As the old saying goes, when wines hit 25 or more years, "there are no great wines, just great bottles". The youthful 1976 Yquem, even from half bottle, tasted like a 5-6-year old Sauternes. It will undoubtedly last another 50-100 years. A memorable, great Yquem, it is one of the two finest vintages of the seventies (the other being 1975).