A night of less-than-fine wines...sigh...
A night of less-than-fine wines...sigh...
Gail and I celebrated her birthday a few weeks ago at Mannequin Pis, a terrific Belgian restaurant in Olney (probably the only decent eatery near our house!), but we celebrated again Saturday when both of our kids were home from school.
(Brief tangent - Omaha Steaks are decent offerings but are not worth the money at regular price; however, about once a year or so they offer a package -- via snail-mail -- that's about 50-60% off for a variety of steaks with lots of other things (pork chops, burgers, franks, stuffed baked potatoes, etc.) thrown in and then you get a pretty good deal. It won't make anyone forget Lobel's or Flannery, but a good steak for not so much money. They do send a TON of emails, but I just route them directly to my spam folder...)
We cooked up a few steaks and I decided to open a few 1979's to recall our recent 30th anniversary...the kids had not been in attendance on our actual anniversary date, since Gail and I were traveling in Italy at the time.
I had limited expectations for the first wine, but it performed above and beyond its pedigree. A pleasant if elusive bouquet of forest floor and prune, followed by an aged Cabernet flavor profile, tannins resolved, a bit over the hill but still showing black fruits, wild mushrooms and cigar box/cedar. Quite a fine showing for the Jordan 1979 Cabernet Alexander Valley! This is a producer whose wines aren't expected to age well, so I'd guess that this is more a tribute to the ageworthy vintage in California.
The next bottle was a corked La Mission Haut Brion 1979. This would have been the tragedy of the night had I not returned to the cellar for another bottle. Scanning the racks, what to choose, what to chose? Alors? What is this? Leakage on the rack... Pull the offending bottle to discover the cork has fallen in and the wine is being kept in the bottle by the slightly corroded capsule. Even slightly corroded, it's a distinctive capsule, one I know on sight...Quelle horreur!!! It's our lone bottle of Petrus 1961... Smelled, tasted, I tried to keep a stiff upper, but Elvis had left the building on this one... ... ... ...
Opened an Etude 1994 Cabernet, but hardly noticed what that tasted like in my shell-shocked state. Gail thought it was pretty good, but my inventory suggests this was our last bottle...
Good times!
(Brief tangent - Omaha Steaks are decent offerings but are not worth the money at regular price; however, about once a year or so they offer a package -- via snail-mail -- that's about 50-60% off for a variety of steaks with lots of other things (pork chops, burgers, franks, stuffed baked potatoes, etc.) thrown in and then you get a pretty good deal. It won't make anyone forget Lobel's or Flannery, but a good steak for not so much money. They do send a TON of emails, but I just route them directly to my spam folder...)
We cooked up a few steaks and I decided to open a few 1979's to recall our recent 30th anniversary...the kids had not been in attendance on our actual anniversary date, since Gail and I were traveling in Italy at the time.
I had limited expectations for the first wine, but it performed above and beyond its pedigree. A pleasant if elusive bouquet of forest floor and prune, followed by an aged Cabernet flavor profile, tannins resolved, a bit over the hill but still showing black fruits, wild mushrooms and cigar box/cedar. Quite a fine showing for the Jordan 1979 Cabernet Alexander Valley! This is a producer whose wines aren't expected to age well, so I'd guess that this is more a tribute to the ageworthy vintage in California.
The next bottle was a corked La Mission Haut Brion 1979. This would have been the tragedy of the night had I not returned to the cellar for another bottle. Scanning the racks, what to choose, what to chose? Alors? What is this? Leakage on the rack... Pull the offending bottle to discover the cork has fallen in and the wine is being kept in the bottle by the slightly corroded capsule. Even slightly corroded, it's a distinctive capsule, one I know on sight...Quelle horreur!!! It's our lone bottle of Petrus 1961... Smelled, tasted, I tried to keep a stiff upper, but Elvis had left the building on this one... ... ... ...
Opened an Etude 1994 Cabernet, but hardly noticed what that tasted like in my shell-shocked state. Gail thought it was pretty good, but my inventory suggests this was our last bottle...
Good times!
Re: A night of less-than-fine wines...sigh...
Congratulations to you and Gail on your anniversary.
Fortunately, your marriage has survived better than the Petrus. But why is it ALWAYS the rare, great, old masterpiece which is broken, corked, ruined or destroyed?
~Stuart
Fortunately, your marriage has survived better than the Petrus. But why is it ALWAYS the rare, great, old masterpiece which is broken, corked, ruined or destroyed?
~Stuart
Re: A night of less-than-fine wines...sigh...
Congrats!
Tom,
Not only do you know fine wine, you also know a fine woman.
Tom,
Not only do you know fine wine, you also know a fine woman.
Re: A night of less-than-fine wines...sigh...
Congratulations on your 30th Tom. Sorry to hear of your DOA Petrus and corked La Miss - at least you had great company.
- JimHow
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Re: A night of less-than-fine wines...sigh...
Happy birthday/anniversary!
Re: A night of less-than-fine wines...sigh...
Tom,
Congratulations to you and Gail.
Every wine lover has had an experience such as yours, even if few of us have such wines in their cellar...
It'll sting for a while and then it'll be more of an anecdote than anything else.
Like the bottle of 70 Cheval Blanc I broke on the Paris métro...
All the best to both of you,
Alex
Congratulations to you and Gail.
Every wine lover has had an experience such as yours, even if few of us have such wines in their cellar...
It'll sting for a while and then it'll be more of an anecdote than anything else.
Like the bottle of 70 Cheval Blanc I broke on the Paris métro...
All the best to both of you,
Alex
Re: A night of less-than-fine wines...sigh...
Happy 30th, Tom & Gail!
Losing a '61 Petrus is really tough. Condolences.
stefan
Losing a '61 Petrus is really tough. Condolences.
stefan
- Comte Flaneur
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Re: A night of less-than-fine wines...sigh...
Congratulations Tom and Gail!
Sorry to hear about your '61 Petrus. You must feel like you have lost the crown jewels. I was inconsolable when I dropped a bottle of 1990 la Conseillante on the sidewalk in the South of France. I can't begin to imagine how you must feel.
Sorry to hear about your '61 Petrus. You must feel like you have lost the crown jewels. I was inconsolable when I dropped a bottle of 1990 la Conseillante on the sidewalk in the South of France. I can't begin to imagine how you must feel.
Re: A night of less-than-fine wines...sigh...
Congratulations to Gail and you for your 30th anniversary. What a milestone!
For the 1961 Petrus, I'll try to help :
- it was maybe a fake (if the cork was so weak, maybe the internal product has been replaced...).
- there are still bottle available.
- maybe the bottle would have let you down (nothing sure about that but who knows?).
- you lost a Petrus, but all your family doing good.
- Petrus rarely delivers the goods.
- good thing you lost the 1961 Petrus, it was too young to drink before 2059 (like would say Winedinner).
- if you have recuperate it, you have a red wine vinegar of 5495 $ value, to cook superb recipes.
- good thing you did not have a 1900 Chateau Margaux, as it is always the most rare/expensive bottle that had a problem.
- this is a big lost, so you have now the obligation to compensate by buying a 1961 Palmer, to compensate and have less sorrow.
- and on and on...
Nic
For the 1961 Petrus, I'll try to help :
- it was maybe a fake (if the cork was so weak, maybe the internal product has been replaced...).
- there are still bottle available.
- maybe the bottle would have let you down (nothing sure about that but who knows?).
- you lost a Petrus, but all your family doing good.
- Petrus rarely delivers the goods.
- good thing you lost the 1961 Petrus, it was too young to drink before 2059 (like would say Winedinner).
- if you have recuperate it, you have a red wine vinegar of 5495 $ value, to cook superb recipes.
- good thing you did not have a 1900 Chateau Margaux, as it is always the most rare/expensive bottle that had a problem.
- this is a big lost, so you have now the obligation to compensate by buying a 1961 Palmer, to compensate and have less sorrow.
- and on and on...
Nic
Re: A night of less-than-fine wines...sigh...
Thanks for the comments, folks. I like Nic's approach, with both some fine wine vinegar and the knowledge that it would have been the 1900 Margaux had I had one !
Re: A night of less-than-fine wines...sigh...
Yes, a big congratulations to you and Gail, you two are an inspiring example of a happy, rich, fulfilling marriage.
By the way, I've had the '61 Petrus dozens of time, and it is an over-oaked, hyper-extracted modern monstrosity of a wine, an affront to traditional vignerons everywhere. You and Gail lucked out missing that plonk.
By the way, I've had the '61 Petrus dozens of time, and it is an over-oaked, hyper-extracted modern monstrosity of a wine, an affront to traditional vignerons everywhere. You and Gail lucked out missing that plonk.
Re: A night of less-than-fine wines...sigh...
Nice try, Patrick, but this was Tom's last bottle of his four cases.
stefan
stefan
Re: A night of less-than-fine wines...sigh...
Well, that just makes it worse, much worse! FOUR cases of '61 Petrus?!!!? I'm not gonna feel sorry for Tom, I gonna kick his ass (unless he invites me over promptly for one of his presumably 100+ bottles of '61 Latour)!stefan wrote:Nice try, Patrick, but this was Tom's last bottle of his four cases.
- aimeedogdogdog
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Re: A night of less-than-fine wines...sigh...
Happy Birthday, Gail!
Happy 30th Anniversary, Tom and Gail!
Werner
Happy 30th Anniversary, Tom and Gail!
Werner
Re: A night of less-than-fine wines...sigh...
Happy anniversary Tom and Gail, happy birthday Gail, all the best from Jill and me.
Best
Jacques
Jacques
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Re: A night of less-than-fine wines...sigh...
congrats. If it's any consolation, your 6 bottles of 2006 Meyney are ready for delivery.
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