WineLovers Discussion Group

Last night, I met a friend for dinner at the excellent NYC restaurant, La Grenouille.

The wine was decanted and showed alluring and lovely aromas of black cherry and spice. The first thing that hit me was the tannic structure, but as it sat in the decanter, it began to soften allowing the fruit to emerge. While the fruit was not juicy, it retained a freshness showing black cherries, with black tea and minerality in the background. It needs food to show best, and we had it with lamb. It did not weaken or fade during the course of our dinner, from the time we first sipped to the last glass 3 hours later. If I had another bottle, I would hold it for a couple of years.

I'll hold mine, then, thank you for the note.

True story: the very first offline I ever went to was an out of town one, and I had to buy wines locally for it. I went to a very highly regarded wine store and asked one of the pros for advice. He suggested the '95 Ducru Beaucaillou. This was in early 1999. And he suggested I buy two bottles for 10-12 people, no less, which I didn't object to since I'd never been to an offline before. Could I have looked more naive and inept? No wine symbolizes how far I've come more than this, though of course I still haven't entirely figured out how to not look inept.

Jenise, I think most of us have embarrassing first offline stories.

My friend said she would only wait a year to open another 1995 Ducru Beaucaillou. However, neither of us owns any.

Had I been drinking nonkosher wine in 1999, I would certainly have indulged strongly in the '95 Ducru Beaucaillou. I'm sure it would have been wonderful. Nothing wrong with drinking a baby. Honestly, don't know why Jenise would be embarassed. Presumably, the vast majority of such wines are consumed upon release, so someone else must enjoy them too.

Craig Winchell wrote:Had I been drinking nonkosher wine in 1999, I would certainly have indulged strongly in the '95 Ducru Beaucaillou. I'm sure it would have been wonderful. Nothing wrong with drinking a baby. Honestly, don't know why Jenise would be embarassed. Presumably, the vast majority of such wines are consumed upon release, so someone else must enjoy them too.

Craig, nothing wrong with drinking a baby if you engineer the moment right, that is you KNOW just how much a baby it is and introduce it as an academic exercise. But I didn't do either, it did not show well, I had no idea how wrongly steered I'd been until the wine was in front of me, and no one brings two bottles of the same wine to an offline vs. two bottles of two different wines--all the pours are small tastes. Everyone else brought properly aged wines. And that's why it was embarrassing.

I think bringing two bottles of the same wine to an offline is one of the most honorable things one can do (in case one is corked). You just don't open them both (unless one is corked).

Matt Richman wrote:I think bringing two bottles of the same wine to an offline is one of the most honorable things one can do (in case one is corked). You just don't open them both (unless one is corked).

Sure, and I do that these days if I have redundancy. But unfortunately, back then that's not why I did it. Under the guidance of the wine pro, I thought we were supposed to DRINK both.

Pretend it was on purpose. Most of the best things in life are accidents.

Craig Winchell wrote:. Presumably, the vast majority of such wines are consumed upon release, so someone else must enjoy them too.

For what its worth, I'm not sure I agree with this.

Tom Troiano wrote:

Craig Winchell wrote:. Presumably, the vast majority of such wines are consumed upon release, so someone else must enjoy them too.

For what its worth, I'm not sure I agree with this.

Me neither. Take the word "such" out, though, and I'm okay.

I have no problem drinking (other people's wine) too young!

Hey Jenise - if you open a 1995 I'll open a 1979......

Bill Spohn wrote:I have no problem drinking (other people's wine) too young!

Hey Jenise - if you open a 1995 I'll open a 1979......

Didn't Drew bring a 95 to lunch recently? I'm fairly sure that's where I got it in my head that I should pick up the 94's I recently acquired.