Jacques and Jill arrive in Maine....

[JimHow]

I have known Jacques and Jill for over 20 years.
Today they made it to Lewiston, where we had a splendid lobster dinner on the back deck.
We drank 2008 Dom Perignon and 2018 Jacques Carillon Puligny-Montrachet Les Champs Canet with the lobster, and Jacques uncorked a fascinating 2010 Troplong Mondot, 16% alcohol, with the whoopee pies.
The wines matched spectacularly with the soft shell lobster on the pleasant end of July night, but, as ever, BWE is about the people, not the wine. What a night! Off to the coast tomorrow for more lobster and fun.
These are two of the best friends you will ever meet, I'm really, really glad they could make it to the Great State of Maine!

[Nicklasss]

Superb! I would have liked to be able to go by car...

[JimHow]

2008 Dom Perignon
This wine never seems to disappoint.
Still very youthful but I still say it is offering up a lot now.
I'm no expert on Dom Perignon but I've been lucky to have my share over the years, this one was right up there with the stuff that Stuart has brought to various dinners, and the 1996 that Winona Chief brought to the back deck a few years back.
We had it with the lobster, wow, it was absolute heaven. The Maine soft shell lobster was in absolute midsummer peak form, so sweet.
I got six of them for the three of us and they did not go to waste!
Rating: 95 points.

2018 Jacques Carillon Puligny-Montrachet Les Champs Canet
Jacques uncorked this and we drank it with the lobster and then segued into the French cheeses, Selles sur Cher and Tomme grise de chèvre, what was the third one? What a treat! Balancing a lightness on its feet with ripeness and honesty to its terroir, it was an absolute midsummer's night dream with the lobster and cheese.
Rating: 96 points.

2010 Troplong Mondot... That's crazy, yo!
SIXTEEN percent!
I had my eye on this for purchase in NH when it goes on sale, they've still got some bottles in stock.
Twenty-ten is a behemoth of a vintage, holy shit!
We had it with cheese from France and Le Whoopee Pie for dessert. Holy cow.
It started off amazingly rich and structured and the alcohol was "hidden."
I said to Jacques and Jill that 16% is like those Dal Forno Amarones that I pick up every now and then.
At first it tasted like a right bank super rich Saint-Emilion. By the end, though, it tasted like an Amarone.
I'm not saying this is a bad thing, we actually got two different ones in one:
2010 Troplong Mondot, table wine, 2010 Troplong, dessert wine.
I actually loved it despite (because of) the wild ride, I'm going to pick up some more!
Thanks for bringing it, Jacques!
Rating: 95 points.

[jal]

Jim's hospitality is becoming legendary. These lobsters were the best we've had in years, the champagne was amazing as usual and the Carillon with the great cheeses was excellent.
I also had my first ever whoopie pie but the surprise of the lovely late afternoon was the Troplong Mondot; a bruiser of a wine with so much concentration and yet a good balance. I usually get massive headaches from high alcoholic wines but not from this one. However, let me just add that this is not a wine to ever serve to Blanquito, Comte Flaneur or Orlandobob.
Today, more Maine fun with Jim, with what is looking like a gorgeous day

[SF Ed]

Sounds like a great time. Fresh local lobsters with 2008 Dom sounds mighty good. The 2010 Troplong Mondot not so much, but maybe its the perfect pairing for whoopie pie.

SF Ed

[jckba]

Nice and certainly enjoy the weekend up north!

[AKR]

That Troplong Mondot sounds like a zinfandel from our hot zone here

[dstgolf]

Sounds like fun as always. Great people/wine/food...and nice weather to boot sounds fabulous. Pouring rain here so you may get this front in the next day or two so enjoy the day.

[stefan]

Sounds like you guys are having a fabulous time. Wish we were there.

[robert goulet]

Wow...those Lobsters and whoopie pie were slammin'


The Troplong...ughhh...not so much

[DavidG]

I think good Maine lobstah is a sure-fire hangover preventer and cure.

[Nicklasss]

Jim and Jal loving the 16 % alcohol 2010 Troplong Mondot? I'm finally ok with the fact that the border was still closed. I think i need a break from that BWE site.

Please, tell me Jill hate it...

2008 Dom Pérignon and 2018 J Carillon Champs Canet are more my thing.

[JimHow]

I first met Jacques in 2001 in midtown Manhattan, we had a lunch in the back room at Le Bonne Soup on West 58th Street.
Whuzzup__ was there, and a young financial guy from the neighborhood by the name of Arvin Rao.
It was a magical lunch, and I thought it might be appropriate to celebrate the occasion 20 years later on the back deck with a 2001 Lafite Rothschild. It was a 99 point wine, absolutely classic cedar elegance, 12.5% alcohol. Wow. Absolutely blow you away wowness.
It was stunning, magical. We had the 2007 Taittinger Comtes -- immense -- 2000 Pichon Lalande -- a stunner -- and 2006 d'Angerville Volnay Champans -- another stunner, in top form -- with steak, cheese, and vegetables... and one last whoopee pie that Jill and I divided up.

It was a spectacular day on the coast, with a trip out on the rocks at low tide at Popham Beach, and then on to the Five Island Lobster Company for lobster rolls that were to die for.

What a great weekend! The Levys off to Bah Habah, lucky them!

[JimHow]

2007 Taittinger Comtes
I think we all agreed this wine was in a really, really good place.
I'm sure I must have had it on prior BWE occasions but I do not recall it as splendid as this.
I think the consensus was it was even better than the 2008 Dom from the night before.
At least it was drinking better at this point. Balanced, no rough edges, apples, great bouquet.
Distinctive rich yellow color in the glass. Absolutely loved it.
Rating: 95 points.

2001 Chateau Lafite Rothschild
OMG, I'm not kidding you, this wine brings tears to the eyes.
It was in such a perfect place. 12.5% alcohol, so, so balanced and elegant.
The classic Lafite cedar emerged quickly from the bottle. Lafite Ruby -- it should be a Crayola color -- deep and rich with ever so slight lightening at the edge. In the mouth it was heaven... Medium bodied, we matched it with the tenderloins and Jacques's baked vegetables, it was a great celebration of the twenty years I have known Jacques and Jill. Wow.
Rating: 99 points.

2000 Chateau Pichon Lalande
I pulled out a half bottle of this, Jill and I split the final remaining whoopee pie.
I think this may have been the first time I've had this, at least since the early days of its release.
It was brilliant. I didn't really catch much of the green notes it is famous for, maybe a little bit.
It is a pretty good sized wine, rich and powerful but quite stunning.
Rating: 97 points.

2006 d'Angerville Volnay Champans
We closed out the night with this wine that Jacques and I have had numerous times.
When it is on, it is on. I've had it probably a dozen times with some variability.
This night it was singing. We popped and poured, and it just kept blossoming with black cherry heavenliness.
Absolutely lovely.
Rating: 95+ points.

What a great weekend! We'll see you guys again in October!

[JCNorthway]

Sounds like another fabulous BWE of Maine gathering. The descriptions of those wines makes my mouth water.

[JimHow]

And now, sadly, I go into a two month fast as I prepare for the first of four murder trials beginning on September 13th...
It was a great final bash, though!

[s*d*r]

[jckba]

It def sounds like you all had a wonderful midsummers weekend and I am not sure what has got my mouth watering more, the wines or the food (lobster, lobster roll and filet) …

[DavidG]

Great to see you guys living it up! Good luck with the trials Jim, and JNJ hope your road trip is smooth sailing.

[JimHow]

"Lafite Ruby"

[jal]

What a spectacular weekend, Jim in great form, tremendous wines, the best lobsters I've ever eaten, a filet cooked perfectly by Master Chef Howaniec, sunny skies and gorgeous weather. We couldn't have asked for a better two days. Huge thanks to our BD and founder for his hospitality. We will see you in October in DC.

And before I forget, that Lafite was tremendous. The best wine I've had in 2021 so far. Thank you Jim for opening this little Northern Medoc as you were calling it all day.

[Comte Flaneur]

Another BWE gathering in Maine to go down in folklore. One of my biggest regrets when living in CT was not getting up there. When I see pictures of Jim’s back deck I always half expect to see a big brown bear wandering out of the woods.

The reason why we collect these wines is not to drink them on our own, or to share with immediate family, but to share with life-minded friends from different walks of life. BWE. I cannot believe we have been this community for 20 years. Jim when your schedule settles down maybe you should write a book about BWE?

What a fabulous line up of treats. Lafite strikes again! Alex kindly opened a bottle of this 2001 when I visited him in 2017, when it was quite reticent. Glad to learn that it has opened up in all its majesty. Another example of Lafite smashing it out if the park, like the 1995 I drank with Jacques and his Chappaqua pals a decade ago, though that analogy is somehow inappropriate for such an aristocratic wine.

That Troplong Mondot is the sort of wine that would normally have you wake up in the middle of the night screaming, in a cold sweat. However since 2016 they have a new winemaker, Americ de Gironde, and dispensed with the services of Michel Rolland, and they have dialled it down. Recent vintages are apparently sensational because this is amongst the best terroir in all St-Emilion, though we have to accept that 14.5% is the new normal on the right bank.

[Nicklasss]

2001 Chateau Lafite Rothschild
OMG, I'm not kidding you, this wine brings tears to the eyes.
It was in such a perfect place. 12.5% alcohol, so, so balanced and elegant.
The classic Lafite cedar emerged quickly from the bottle. Lafite Ruby -- it should be a Crayola color -- deep and rich with ever so slight lightening at the edge. In the mouth it was heaven... Medium bodied, we matched it with the tenderloins and Jacques's baked vegetables, it was a great celebration of the twenty years I have known Jacques and Jill. Wow.
Rating: 99 points.

2000 Chateau Pichon Lalande
I pulled out a half bottle of this, Jill and I split the final remaining whoopee pie.
I think this may have been the first time I've had this, at least since the early days of its release.
It was brilliant. I didn't really catch much of the green notes it is famous for, maybe a little bit.
It is a pretty good sized wine, rich and powerful but quite stunning.
Rating: 97 points.

This is more the Jim (and Jal) that i know!

Very nice weekend and pictures. Everybody look in great shape!

[jal]

Everyone deserves love, even that Troplong Mondot, it may have been 16% alcohol, rich and concentrated, chocolate and vanilla, but it also had balance and acidity and didn’t burn my throat or give me a headache like a lot of New World reds.
In short, I loved it, I’ll try to buy some more, don’t judge me please.

[robert goulet]

One day Jim is going to come home and see me relaxed drinking on his back patio

[JimHow]

Loved the 2010 Troplong Mondot, a beast, a fascinating, complex wine, but, like Jacques said, balanced nonetheless. It evolved into something different late into the evening but was delicious in a different way.

[OrlandoRobert]

One day Jim is going to come home and see me relaxed drinking on his back patio

Bear warning, Jimbo, Marc has been known to pass out on outdoor decks, in chairs, zipper down. I don’t know why. It’s quite disconcerting. I assume he and Niclasss will be fast friends!

[JimHow]

The back deck is welcome to all BWEers, OB, from Quebec to Florida, and all lands beyond.

[JoelD]

This looks like a fanatastic weekend. All wines that I've had or very much want to try. That 2010 Troplong is one that I've been eying in my cellar as an experiment once I saw the 16.2%. I have 3 bottles, highly likely that I sell them though. If I ever make it up your way Jim, then I'll be happy to bring some to trade!