Some old school Bordeaux for 70th birthday dinner

[rdaytonjr]

Details to follow.

[rdaytonjr]

Ahhh.... 1982's. So seductive . So smooth. So balanced. So soon gone. Made for a meal. Meat is a great foil for the perfect ripe fruit nature delivered. Wine meant to be part of a leisurely French dinner.

[rdaytonjr]

Second thought. 80's Sauternes are some of the best wine values. BUT you got to like Sauterne.

[JimHow]

Now that's what I'm talking about.
Happy Birthday, Mr. Dayton, many more.
I remember drinking a 1982 Calon Segur in Chinatown with Pappa Doc, Arv, and Gio, it would have been the summer of 2003, Pappa Doc liked it so much he bought three bottles the next day at Zachys.

[rdaytonjr]

Pappa Doc....
Pulling on heart strings

[JimHow]

By incredible coincidence I was just cleaning out some of my old documents and stumbled upon this Gio post from 2002 that I somehow had saved from the old site:

Sent: 9/3/2002 6:26 PM
Chat Cellar
Pictures
The Howmaster braved upper deck downpour and a 1 1/2 hour rain delay in full support of his BoSox @ Yankees.
RecommendationsCut to Mr Tang's (Chinatown 6:30)... PoppaDoc, Arv and I share
Documents
Retailer Links
Auction Links
Wine Magazines
Online Resources
some dumplings, sliced fish soup & tea as we anxiously await the king! The anticipation made us thirsty so we cracked the first bottle:
1. '98 Mondavi Fume Blanc Reserve "Tokalon Vineyard" - Smoked Tea, papaya and kiwi in the nose. This wine fell a bit short of expectations with a weak acid/fruit balance. The melon, fig and citrus flavors were lost in the wines flat personality.
Bordeaux Links 2.
BWE Trading Post
'96 Jean Marc Brocard Chablis Grand Cru "Les Clos" - a
lively, crisp, clean wine with lots of minerals and stone.
Tools
"Hail Hail the King" Sporting his Red Sox hat and a thirsty smile Jim had finally arrived. Now we could get down to some serious drinking.
3. '90 Louis Roederer Cristal - an absolutely amazing wine, rich with apples and yeasty, cookie dough aromas and flavors. Caramelized walnuts and toasted hazelnuts permeate the extra long finish.
Cibo: Dungeoness Crab Cantonese, Shimmering Scallops in Clay Pot, and elegant Sauteed Flounder Fillets.
4. '96 LeFlaive Puligny Montrachet "Les Folatiers" - this wine is sheer Chardonnay Perfection. Oozing with flavors it reveals something different with each sip moving taste by taste toward something more interesting. Sesame, coconut and oaky vanilla notes. A lush and creamy mouthfeel with pear and lemon overtones. The empty glass still sings.... "Sesame..... Sesame Mucho!...
5. '82 Les Carmes Haut Brion - The beautiful brick and spicy/ smoky nose laced with truffles and earth was like a warm blanket on a cold winter night. Medium bodied with soft fruit on the midpalate. There was a distinctive cherry candylike flavor which I could'nt quite nail. Prunes, figs & currants.
6. '82 Calon-Segur - An amazing wine with all components well integrated. Big black cherry and cassis notes. A mouthfull of tobacco and cedar. Currants and bark.
Cibo: Jumbo Shrimp with Green Beans, Beef Kew

Reply Recommend Message 1 of 9 in Discussion
7. '89 Pichon Longueville Lalande (375ml) - stewed mushrooms, dark fruits and cedar.
At this point we were pushing the drinking envelope... but let us continue...
Prunes, figs & currants.
6. '82 Calon-Segur - An amazing wine with all components well integrated. Big black cherry and cassis notes. A mouthfull of tobacco and cedar. Currants and bark.
Cibo: Jumbo Shrimp with Green Beans, Beef Kew
First Previous 2-9 of 9 Next Last
Reply Recommend Message 2 of 9 in Discussion
Sent: From: Kevin O 9/3/2002
Wow, not quite red hots and beer. Great notes Gio! Kevin
11:06 PM
7. '89 Pichon Longueville Lalande (375ml) - stewed mushrooms, dark fruits and cedar.
At this point we were pushing the drinking envelope... but let us continue...
8. '93 Marimin Grunhauser Abstberg Auslese Riseling - This wine was so full of flavor yet so light. Ripe with apples. No filtration & no yeast. Every time Poppa turns me on to a German wine I shake my head in disbelief.... always a showstopper and a great finale to the equally amazing fare.
I don't know if any of you are keeping track but by this point we have reached bottle #8, one of which was a split, making that 7 1/2 bottles for 4 gangsters.
I say gangsters because off we now went to Little Italy (Mulberry St.) to indulge in some dessert, cafe and believe it or not......
Two more selections of wine:
9. '97 Suduiraut Sauternes - lush and full (that's all I remember) 10. '98 D'Arenberg Vintage Fortified Shiraz - at 18% alcohol this
was a high octane mouthfull.
Wine of the night: '96 LeFlaive & '90 Cristal
What a night! Loads of wine and loads of fun. Jim, always an honor to sit at your table.
Arv, always a wealth of knowledge.
Poppa, always my brother.
Gio

[Nicklasss]

Priceless that old Gio post! 2003, when BWE was still a young star…

Happy 70th Rob, and happy the wines delivered. Miss you my friend. And take care of Susan.

[stefan]

Welcome to the septuagenarian club, Rob! It's a good one to join. Unfortunately, I have to exit it in a few weeks.

Keep us posted on how Sue is doing. We wish you both well.

[DavidG]

Glad to see you are enjoying those classics.