Dinner in a client's cellar!

Last night, wifee and I dined with a good client in the dining room of his wine cellar in his home. A pretty amazing room to eat in, as the house is pretty spectacular as well! His wife is a very good cook and she handled everything, with Lamb being the main dish. Appys included some fresh figs stuffed with gorgonzola and wrapped with prosciutto as well as some shrimp in a pretty spicey broth. Everything was consumed that came my way. On to the wines...

1. 1996 Bonneau du Martray Corton Charlemagne- Opened just before we arrived. Our host, Adam swore it was a premox victim, but reserved judgement until we arrived. He poured me a glass. One whiff, and it smelled oxidized. Then I pointed out that Stephen Tanzer urged all of us to give these btls more time in the glass. I went back to it about 30 minutes later. The wine did indeed still smell oxidized, but it tasted a whole lot better. Still not a great btl, as something was clearly overwhelming the fruit there. Oxidized? Last week, I would have said yes, on this night, with Tanzer looking over my shoulder, not so sure

2. 1999 Gaia Rey Chardonnay- Wow, what a wine, 10 years of age, and it was delicious. A very nice pairing for the figs. I think safe to say wifee's favorite wine of the night. This wine is rare, and not cheap, but I have never had a bad btl, in my limited experience.

3. 1977 Heitz Cabernet Sauvignon Martha's Vineyard- I make no secret of the fact that I am a 1977 baby. I am constantly in search of great wines from that year in anticipation of the WORST 40th birthday party ever! Interesting to note, my best friend's wedding last may was chock full of 1977 Bordeaux being poured and many of the wines are plonk. So I recently bought a case of Martha's 1977 to give it a test run and brought a btl to our guests. This took about 20 minutes to open up (we did decant it) and I really enjoyed this wine. I think Adam did as well. This was the essence of old CA Cabernet. Hints of cocoa filled my glass and there was still a lot of fruit to be enjoyed with each sip. I think this one may hold up until 2017 for us! Interesting to note that the case came in the original cardboard carton.

4. 1990 Mont Olivet CDP Cuvee Papet- After touring the house and cellar, Adam (our host) asked me to pick a btl to go with dinner. The selection is endless. Lots and lots of Barolo and Burgundy. My choice: a 1990 Mont Olivet CDP Cuvee Papet. For those that have never tasted this wine, you ar ein for a real treat if you ever do. Extremely rare, and extremely young. I predict that this wine will be better 5 years from now. We decanted it, but it needed some air to come around. Still it was delicious. A bit rustic at first, that blew off. I did not check the alcohol level, but I did feel just a touch of heat on tasting. Did not bother me, though. I would love to own some of this!

5. 1989 Mugnier Musigny - This was preselected by Adam, and we may have gone out of order by having the CDP first, but the CDP was a perfect match for the lamb. This was a good wine. After 20 years, it has held up quite well. It did not mesmerize me like the Papet did, and my opinion of the wine may have suffered due to that. Good fruit, pop and pour. Knowing how inexpensive this wine was just 5-10 years ago, worth every penny!