Our over the top lunch

[Musigny 151]

For many years, the first Friday of the year was set aside for our Over the Top lunch. it was a chance to pull out those bottles that were too precious or expensive to drink on a weekday, and the pain would be less if shared with friends.
We were younger then, with far greater capacity, or hollower legs, so we all brought two bottles, one the special one, the other something interesting which allowed the geek in us full rein. With 30 plus bottles, lunches tended to go on for five hours or so, either that or until they kicked us out. They petered out; a logistic and time sink hole.

Last Friday, an internet friend celebrated an early fiftieth birthday, so I put together an OTT tasting at a local restaurant, MP Taverna in Irvington NY. Although owner chef, Michael Psilakis grumbled about us making him cook French dishes, he did a stellar job, crowned by a brilliant Scallops in a Beurre Blanc sauce.

The wines were in good shape, but as many had serious bottle age, there were a few out of condition. We began with Champagne.

The Krug 2002 Clos de Mesnil was magnificent , my first Clos de Mesnil, and a very different animal to standard Krug, with its slightly oxidative signature. Here there was a powerful fruit component, a little grass and a finish for the ages.

The Ulysses Colin was a fine bottle, but stood little chance against the more precise yet joyous Krug.

The next flight was White Burgundy. I stopped buying it after too many premoxed bottles, but good as many of the reds were, the first two wines made me realize that I might perhaps have been a little hasty.

The 2001 Raveneau Clos was superb, very rich for a Chablis, showing mineral, apricot and grass. Made me wish I had bought some when it was affordable.

The owner of the Coche Enseigneurs 2009 had generously brought two bottles, with my nod going to the second one. Both though were showing beautifully, archetypal Coche, tangerine and floral, pairing perfectly with the scallops.

The 1962 Leroy Mersault Charmes was not in great shape, already old when first poured, and it then collapsed in the glass.

A 1972 Drouhin Corton Charlemagne showed very well at least initially, with notes of barley sugar and fruit but even this began to turn quite quickly.

Finally a friend opened up a bottle of Carillon Referts 2013. I had mentioned I had recently tasted and enjoyed the 2010, so he kindly opened a bottle. Essence of peach. While not as elegant as the first two wines, it did show well.

There was a lot of discussion as to whether to drink the Bordeaux before the Burgundies, and that is what we ended up doing. Served with a risotto of confit duck and oyster mushroom, again a fine match.

Lafleur 1998 was for me the clear winner, a really fine showing for a wine once described as too tannic for its own good. Whatever tannins there were, had integrated very well, and although the wines might have used a few more years, it was undoubtedly a great bottle approaching a three figure score.

Lafleur 1988 was also very fine, a little more measured than the 1998, and a lot less concentration.. It showed some of the dry tannins of the vintage, but unlike many 1988s I have had, there was plenty of fruit acting as a counterweight.

Lafite 1989 was delicious, subdued initially but pairing it with the risotto gave it a chance to shine. A very layered wine, it combined with the earthy mushroom and duck flavors, ending up just behind the 1998 Lafleur.

A mystery flight served double blind, almost a homage to previous OTTs.

Chave 1983
Fairly controversial, although identified by one of the tasters as a Chave. Some complained about a slightly bitter greenness, not something I found, as I thought it a typical example of the wine. I think other bottles should be drunk soon.

Ridge York Creek Petits Syrah 1974.
I know this wine well, and it was a total brute for the first thirty years of its life. Now a glorious complex wine, still large boned and a little sauvage, it was among my favorite wines.

The 1975 Trotanoy proved the old adage it’s not the wine but the bottle. Unfortunately this particular bottle was DOA.


The first Burgundy flight served with simple lamb and a very concentrated jus.
I reversed the order beginning with the older wines, as they had been double decanted, and I was concerned that they had not held up.

Pierre Ponelle Bonnes Mares 1959 bottled by Bourrey. Ponelle I know, but was unfamiliar with Bourrey. A good wine, a little lost in the flight with the other two. A problem with the OTT format is that perfectly lovely wines that would grace any table can go missing, and this one did.

DRC Echezeaux 1986. A soft interesting fully mature Burgundy. Lovely and a good example of a DRC in a slightly minor key,

Not so the 1972 La Tache. Everything blazed with this wine, flavor, finesse, power and yet supremely elegant culminating in a long, easy finish. Our guest of honor did not disappoint.

The next flight of four featured Dujac and Mongeard Mugneret.

Dujac Bonnes Mares 2001 and Clos Saint Denis 1996.
If I had a metaphor for Dujac, it would be Sophia Loren. Upfront, generous and extremely beautiful with some pretty serious substance underneath. Both wines showed their Loren qualities, the 2001 bigger, rounder, showing bright red fruit, a hefty mid palate and a long easy finish. I have always loved the 1996, with its haunting perfumed nose, power on the palate and none of the shrill acidity that so many 1996 Burgundies have.

Mongeard Mugneret Richebourg 1993 and 2001
If you wanted a little extra acid, I would look no further than the 1993 Richebourg. More of a characteristic than a flaw, this was all about fruit and spice, an abundance of clove and licorice. Bright medium to long finish. The 2001 was still a little backward, but again it had a good deal of fruit, a spice overlay and a very long finish. One of the few wines along with the 1998 Lafleur that, I felt, was not fully mature.

Dessert wines
There were three; the middle one so volatile that I did not want to taste it (and never noted what it was) for fear of ruining my palate for the Yquem.

Royal Tokaji Essencia 1999 and Yquem 1988
The Tokaji is something totally different and if you have not tried, I would urge you do so. You don’t need much, historically the serving vessel was a spoon. The texture is thick and unctuous, pure raisins highlighted by sparks of apricot. It’s delicious, but my small glass was more than enough.
The Yquem was fresher and quite lovely. Still very young, and surprisingly fresh. Quite lovely.

Tried to add photo but file too large

[Comte Flaneur]

That is what you call a proper lunch! A good way to consume a lot of wealth.

Lafite 1989 is of course a legendary wine in BWE circles but the wine that made me most green with envy was La Tache 1972. Never tried Krug Clos Du Mesnil 2002 either. I hate to think what that costs in the open market these days.

[jckba]

I can surely relate to when great wines get overshadowed in a large scaled wine dinner and inserted below, please find a link to Dean’s Instagram shot of the lineup.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Ce81hFWrinB ... JmNzVkMjY=

[DavidG]

Wow, what a fabulous array of wines. Very nice notes. An annual OTT lunch with friends sounds like a great tradition. Glad you could revive it.

[Nicklasss]

Very nice report Musigny, on many exceptionnal wines.

Of course, hard to comment as all these wines aren't the regular stuff for the masses.

All i can say, is tbat i had the 1998 Chateau Lafleur once (was in 2005 or 2006), and at time, it was still closed. Bested easily that night by the 1995 Chateau La Fleur-Petrus.

I has been tempted many times to buy the Echezeaux (regular or VV) from Mongeard-Mugneret, but never did.

My only question: would you be able to do an OTT dinner, after an OTT lunch? If so, congrats!

[Musigny 151]

Definitely wanted nothing more than Alka Selzer after the lunch. Dinner was never an option.
One of friends was entered into a ballroom dancing contest that night and drank several cups of espresso after mostly spitting (apart from La Tache).

[ericp]

Amazing line up, thanks for the great notes. A number of wines in there I can only hope to taste someday, including and not limited to the La Tache. If you could do OTT dinner after that, you'd be a super hero!

[SF Ed]

Great lineup! Sounds like lots of fun.

I like the idea of having big events like this during the day. I do not sleep well or feel great the day after big wine events - I am an earlybird. What a drag it is getting old.

SF Ed

[JimHow]

Amen my brother Ed.

[stefan]

Really a great selection of wines you drank! Glad you liked the unheralded '86 DRC Echezeaux, which is a really good wine to drink at lunch and was not unreasonably expensive if you bought it early. But at your lunch, it might have been overlooked among the heavy hitters.

[JimHow]

Sigh, I'll never forget that 1993 DRC Echezeaux I bought for an even $100 from Premier Cru back in the day, it was a complete revelation and one of the 20 greatest wine experiences of my career. Blew my mind.

Nicola, I have a 2005 Mongeard Mugneret Echezeaux, I'll hold it for some day when we meet again....