Unauthorized

This was an over-the-top, festive day spent grazing at the Dim Sum of Mark’s Duck House (which, for whatever reason, didn’t seem quite as spectacular as it was on my last few visits). That may have been because so much of my attention was devoted to an extraordinary group of wines that showcased some gorgeous wines with considerable age on them. We began with two outstanding Champagnes made in completely different styles. The fabulous, full-bodied 2000 Louis Roederer Cristal seems to be on a fast evolutionary track. Wonderful brioche, lemon zest, bread dough, and spice notes emerged from this crisp, surprisingly intense wine. However, it takes a back seat to the 100% Pinot Noir cuvée, the 1998 Bollinger Blanc de Noir Vieilles Vignes, which comes from extremely old vines. Very full-bodied, powerful, and rich, it is capable of lasting another 20-30+ years.

Next came some old whites that were still in incredible condition. One of the great vintages for Alsace was 1983, and the Trimbach Riesling Clos Ste.-Hune remains one of the legendary wines from that vintage. Its sumptuous bouquet of apples, lime skin, and other citrus along with notes of crushed rocks and flowers is followed by an intense, well-delineated, super-fresh white wine. Another amazing display of youthfulness, despite its 35 years of age, was the 1973 Delagrange-Bachelet Criots Bâtard-Montrachet. While perhaps not as complex as the Riesling, it exhibits a light gold color, plenty of honeysuckle scents, terrific acidity, and superb fruit as well as density. It is a beautiful example of an aged, but still vibrant white Burgundy. From Bordeaux, the 1964 Laville Haut Brion was absolutely prodigious. Waxy, honeyed citrus notes interwoven with crème brûlée and smoky aromas soared from the glass. In the mouth, the wine possesses fabulous freshness, full-bodied power, and amazing length. As good as the 1973 Laville Haut Brion was, it had to take a back seat to its older sibling, the 1964.

I decided to tackle the reds by doing the French wines first, and then slipping into Italian mode. The rather feeble 1973 J.L. Chave Hermitage was equaled in weakness, dilution, and high acidity by the 1971 Delas Frères Hermitage. All of the fruit appears to be gone in both of these wines. From an estate that is known for producing relatively supple, forward, Burgundian-styled, flowery wines, the 1975 La Conseillante, which can be a great year in Pomerol, revealed the vintage’s unyielding, hard side. While it possessed good stuffing, it was a rather mean-spirited effort, and not nearly as profound as some of the great Pomerols of this irregular vintage. The highlights of the French reds were the two Châteauneuf du Papes. For the 1985 Rayas, it was the second time recently that I have had a great bottle of this wine after it has gone through a dumb stage. There is nothing quite like this exquisite Châteauneuf du Pape. It revealed pure kirsch and licorice notes, and could have easily passed for a great vintage of Château Lafleur. The wine is velvety, full, and intense, but also fresh and lively. That was equaled by one of the legends of Châteauneuf du Pape, a magnum of 1978 Vieux Télégraphe. This has always been a prodigious wine, and it continues to age at a glacial pace. It was the first bottle to be emptied by the luncheon guests, and why not? A smorgasbord of licorice, seaweed, black fruit, herb, pepper, and  meat juice aromas was followed by a full-bodied, vibrant, fresh wine. It remains an unforgettable beauty. A magnum of the 1959 Chasse Spleen displayed more acidity than fruit, but one could see that there used to be a lot going on in this wine.

Before I started the Italian wines, one of the guests pulled out some extraordinary Rhônes, I guess figuring there was not enough wine for the eight of us! Chapoutier’s white 1998 l’Orée was exquisite. It has been a while since I have had this wine, but it was really on form, performing like a great Montrachet, but with more power and honeysuckle. The 1998 Chapoutier Ermitage Le Méal white was much more evolved, and appeared to be on a faster evolutionary track. Readers with any of this wine in their cellars are advised to drink it up. Two great examples from the Master of Cornas, the 1989 and 1990 Clape are made in contrasting styles. The 1990 is softer, more opulent, and richly fruity, and the 1989 is a blockbuster of power, intensity, and richness. It is still incredibly young at nearly 20 years of age. I wish I had more bottles of both these Cornas in my cellar.

It was hard to know how to attack the Italian wines, so I started with what I thought would be the more delicate, fragile, more nuanced cuvées. We began with a magnum of the 1971 Prunotto Barolo Bussia di Monforte d’Alba. Absolutely extraordinary, it seemed to gain even more with aeration, becoming sweeter and more fragrant as it sat in the bottle. From what may be my all-time favorite Piedmont vintage, it was just extraordinary, with a perfume that would make almost any grand cru Burgundy jealous. Truffles, sweet cherries, fresh porchinis, earth, and spice aromas soared from the glass. The wine was expansive, round, generous, and velvety, from the first sip to the last. What a stupendous wine! I don’t recall ever tasting this wine previously.

Next came the 1964 Pio Cesare Barolo, which still displayed its original price tag when I purchased it from A & A Liquors in Washington, DC in the mid-seventies ($6.99 a bottle!). Twenty percent of the wine was sediment, but the nose was classic Nebbiolo - Chinese black tea intermixed with tobacco leaf, asphalt, truffles, rose petals, and sweet cherries as well as currants. It is an extraordinary, still opulent, velvety-textured, fresh wine that demonstrates one of the great pleasures of buying early and storing carefully. It was the “last soldier” in my cellar, so it was a thrill to drink it and see it in such great condition. Another excellent Barolo was the 1978 Valentino. It is from the modern school of barriques, but there is no evidence of wood in the classic Nebbiolo perfume of roses, tar, truffles, incense, black tea, and tobacco leaf. Full-bodied, velvety, and delicious, this is one of the few 1978s that I would put on the fast track for drinking up, although it is still at that magical peak of maturity. Two wines that remain babies are the 1989 Aldo Conterno Barolo Cicala and 1989 Aldo Conterno Barolo Vigna Colonnello Bricco Bussia. Both are dense ruby to the rim, tight with incredible body, power, and richness, and are still years away from maturity. It is amazing that these nearly twenty year old single vineyard Barolos could be this young and fresh, but again, buying wines in pristine condition and storing them at 55 degrees does ensure a slow, but even development. Perhaps the biggest surprise for me was the 1967 Emidio Pepe Montepulciano d’Abruzzo. Extraordinary notes of tar, underbrush, wood fires, black fruits, and incense soared from the glass of this full-bodied red. Italy’s version of a Châteauneuf du Pape, it was powerful, heady, and high in both alcohol and richness. Still remarkably fresh, but oh, so complex and dense, its slightly funky character is alluring rather than off-putting.

The young wines served included the 1990 Soldera Brunello di Montalcino Riserva, an extraordinary Brunello from the master of that appellation. At 18 years of age, it remains an infant in terms of its development. Even younger is the utterly awesome 1989 Quintarelli Alzero a 100% Cabernet Franc that is over-the-top, massively extracted, incredibly dense and rich, and a true blockbuster of fruit, body, and intensity. Its black/purple color is reminiscent of a young Cornas or Napa Cabernet Sauvignon. Amazing notes of animal fur, roasted meats, tar, black truffles, licorice, blackberry, and cassis emerge from this stupendous effort. It should prove to be nearly ageless. I only have several bottles left, and I don’t think I will open another bottle for another decade. It is an amazing, amazing wine!

Sadly, I realized that there was a Lopez de Heredia 1978 Rioja Vigna Bosconia also open on the table, but I never got to it ... that’s how great the company, the wines, and the food were at Mark’s Duck House. As they say, living well is the best revenge!