WTN: Iconic wines - Cristal, DRC, Tokay etc.

Notes from the much-anticipated dinner at Cicou. The highlight wine being a Royal Tokay Co. Aszu Essencia 1993 but with lots of pre-highlight goodies to match.

Roederer Cristal 1988 - Light gold. Medium weight. Deep, complex flavor of nuts, lemon peel and marmalade.No toasty elements showing up on initial pour but it did develop the toasty, bready character after over an hour of exposure to air. Extremely long and bursting with life. This could go on for another decade without too much trouble. Exceptional Champagne approaching perfection.

Rolly Gassmann Gewurztraminer Kappelweg de Rorschwihr 1999 - Classic lychee nose with roses following through in the mouth. Oily texture. Quite sweet but with a very dry finish and good length. A particularly good match for the extremely rich but excellent pork rilettes and terrine.

Leeuwin Estate Art Series Chardonnay 2004 - Aside from the Tokaji, the only non-French wine. Mandarin oranges on the nose. Rich wine although the use of oak here is quite well-judged. Long, spicy finish. A young wine but already very good to drink. A good partner for the mussels and cream soup; the creaminess of the oak matching the weight and creaminess of the soup.

Didier Dagueneau Pur Sang 2002 - Currants on the nose. High acidity. Very clean and dry. Perhaps this suffered a bit by being served after the Leeuwin. Unfortunately, this wine didn't really do anything for me.

Domaine de la Romanee-Conti Grands-Echezeaux 1997 - We were all getting rather rowdy after the first four wines but a reverential hush fell over the table as this was poured. Some browning at the rim but the core is still very dark. Not much of a bouquet at first but after two hours in the glass things started to get interesting. Unfortunately, by this time most of us had drunk up their glass which left only three of us with the wine. Leather, fresh grapes and caramel scents started coming out. This should have been decanted and left alone for a while. Rich wine with ripe, sweet fruit. Seemed a bit closed and monolithic. I guess there's a lot of buildup when drinking wines at this level so the expectation is very high. This was certainly a very good wine but didn't live up to my expectations. If I ever get to drink DRC again I'll remember to have it decanted or I'll bring my own large Burgundy glass.

Chateau de Beaucastel 1998 - Very dark. Sweet raisins. Dried herbs. Complex. Berry syrup. No hint of the stink this house is famous for. A real pleasure to drink now but still has room to improve. It's all primary fruit at this point but I'm pretty sure a few more years in bottle will give this even more complexity. Outstanding wine.

Chateau Lynch Bages 1986 - Very dark, hardly showing its age as far as color goes. Dried herbs on the nose. The group was split on this wine. The majority seemed to think it was very good but the minority (which included me) thought the fruit had faded and that the wine was starting to hollow out. I personally would have preferred to have this maybe, at most, 5 years ago.

Chateau Pichon-Longueville Comtesse de Lalande 1979 - Still dark. Classic Bordeaux nose of cedar and pencil shavings. Very dry but young and vibrant although quite soft. If made to guess, I probably would have said this is no more than 15 years old rather than the 30 years it really is. Excellent wine and perfect now.

Royal Tokay Company Aszu Essencia 1993 - This was the evening's much-anticipated highlight. I even brought Riedel Sommelier Sauternes glasses to show off this wine. Extremely dark olive/brown. Lots of orange marmalade and espresso coffee liqueur. Rich and very sweet but it has a lightness in the mouth thanks to the high level of acidity which keeps the wine quite fresh. Endless finish. I'm not sure there's any use in discussing about how this wine will age as it seems to me this is probably close to immortal. Outstanding wine.

A most enjoyable evening with some iconic bottles and good food and, most importantly, great company.

You lead a difficult life, Jay, but I guess someone has to be you.

Sounds like a great evening!

Whoa, Jay, good stuff!
Thanks for sharing.

[Jenise]

The Pur Sang was definitely served in the wrong order, I'd have put it right after the Cristal. That said, though these wines do age well, I prefer the Pur Sangs younger when they're more nuanced.

Re the Lynch Bages, no chance that it was just going dormant again to emerge later more like the 79 Lalande?

[David M. Bueker]

I think it would be impossible for a 1997 to live up to expectations for any DRC wine. It was not a good vintage for keeping, and none of the wines (from anyone - not just DRC) can live up to the myth that surrounds them. I have not had a single exalted 1997 Burg that lived up to its producer's reputation because it was not a vintage for that.

Thanks for the notes on 1986 Lunch Bags. I'll have to try one from my cellar soon.

-Paul W.

The Pur Sang was definitely served in the wrong order, I'd have put it right after the Cristal. That said, though these wines do age well, I prefer the Pur Sangs younger when they're more nuanced.

Re the Lynch Bages, no chance that it was just going dormant again to emerge later more like the 79 Lalande?

I looked up an older note I made for the Pur Sang 2002:

One of the more interesting expressions of Sauvignon Blanc I've tried. The nose is quite strong and suggests overripe, nearly rotten, fruit. There's a hint of the sickly-sweet smell of decay about this wine. Soft, with good fruit, but quite dry. Despite the nose, there's a greenish, grassy quality to the flavor. A little bitter in the long finish. Good and very interesting.

Seems I liked it a lot better a few months back.

On the Lynch, I guess it was just a matter of personal taste since most at the table seemed to like it.