I don’t really keep up with all the wines I drink. Not sure if that is a problem, I kind of look at it as a pleasure. Writing gives me joy, but sometimes joy is best kept behind closed doors lol. Not sure if I am getting wiser, but I am definitely getting older, but as long as there is wine on my dinner table, it’s all good.

So September saw me taking two trips to Asia in the same week. I am the worst travel agent, by the way. By the time I came back and gave birth to October’s HK sale, Fall was in full swing. Everyone was back in New York, and my first official week back had me seeing a few familiar faces such as The Don, The Rev, The Inspector and The Queen. Yes, if you don’t have a ‘The’ in front of your name, then you aren’t the one lol. I have a new one on the way, by the way, my fourth and final chapter. Thinking about naming him Kareem Abdul Kapon, has a nice ring to it.

The 2007 Lafon Meursault Perrieres was smooth and direct like NFL Sundays. It had clean fruit, white with a touch of yellow along diamonds and minerals. There was nice flex to its muscle in this cut and fit white (94).

A stellar bottle of 1986 Leflaive Bienvenues Batard Montrachet made one of my nights. It had just the right amount of sweetness, not over top like many siblings from the vintage, ‘deelish’ came to mind. This was an impressive and lingering ’86, still young and still tight, just how I like it (95).

A 1999 Roumier Bonnes Mares was another ballgame, delivering a game-winning hit. This was still young, hinting at its wealth, but it kept its wallet in its pocket. There were cascades of red, purple and black fruit but none on obvious display. It had flesh without being fleshy, and flavor without being fruity. Earth and cedar sprinted up and down its sidelines, trying to get in the game. I loved the wine, but it still felt way too soon (95).

We began with the Rhone, so let’s end with it. A 1995 Chateau Rayas Chateauneuf du Pape was a bit shut down, simpler than I expected, not the usual extrovert. It didn’t get better over a long evening, either. Hopefully this was just any given bottle or any given phase, it just wasn’t any giving wine on this night (92).

It was a busy week, indeed, although no Bordeaux, but The Mogul would take care of that rather quickly and in the finest of fashions…

Burgundy is a nice place to be. Food, wine, friendship, it really seems to all come together in Pinot harmony. It is even nicer when the friends at the dinner table are some of the great winemakers and representatives in all of Burgundy. They all brought their own wines, of course, and we brought a few others from both inside and outside the region, as we figured they could use a change of pace. We served the wines we brought blind, to add a bit of fun and test the experienced palates of our guests and their spouses.

There were a couple of whites, and neither was a Chardonnay. After some discussion, Sylvain, aka ‘The Scholar,’ deduced that this was a white from Didier Dageneau. Impressive! It was, indeed, a 2009 Dageneau Pouilly Fume Silex. This was full-bodied and heavy for a Sauvignon Blanc, reminding me of a Montrachet in its unique way. The flavors of the grape were not pungent or overstated in this big and classy white (93).

The next white was easily identifiable as a Riesling; it was a surprisingly good 1994 Fritz Haag Braunburger Juffer Riesling Spatlese. Why surprisingly? Well, it was 1994, a vintage I don’t remember meaning much, and it wasn’t destructively sweet. Time had mellowed its sugar. I love Riesling, but dry Riesling, so I tend to shy away from Spatleses and Ausleses, preferring the younger ‘GG’s aiming for a drier style. However, with age, the Spats and Ausleses start to dry. Perhaps twenty years for a Spat, and 30+ for an Aus? I don’t confess to know 100%, I should do an older Riesling tasting soon. Back to the wine, which had aromas of wool, sweet petrol and peach. Its palate was full with sweet flesh but a dry finish. There were nice flavors to this ‘still young’ wine (93).

We were back to mystery territory, which happened to be the same terroir. This wine was clearly more mature, also gamy but similar with its wheaty nose. Eric found it ‘very elegant,’ and everyone was loving the extra age and resulting blossoming. This 1989 Drouhin Bonnes Mares was rich, creamy and long, but in the end, the Vogue surged past it ever so slightly (93).

We ended with a pair of ambassadors from some of those ‘other’ regions in France. Sylvain admired the first wine’s ‘Burgundy nose’ and continued ‘old yet fresh.’ There was a lot of chocolate to its creamy nose. The palate was rich and heavy but a touch clumsy. There were flavors of wheat, earth and mushrooms in this 1947 Rouget, a Pomerol. It had fairly nice acidity still for the hot vintage of 1947 (93).

In the end, the 2002s were still bottle strong and showing even better, just a small addendum to this wonderful evening. It will always be a good night when in Burgundy with friends.

What followed was supposed to be theoretically the better bottle, the 1985 Krug Collection . This was a recently released bottle, resting all these years until recently in the cellars. It was milky and yeasty with citrus and bread aromas. The palate had more wood but was flatter and surprisingly softer. There was more vanilla and perfume here, but it was less polished and vigorous than usual – was it bottle variation? Bipin found the Collection ‘more exotic,’ but everyone ultimately preferred the original. I think the Collections will age longer, but a lot depends on the date of disgorgement versus release, too (personally, I think ten years in the bottle is required after disgorgement before a bubbly becomes approachable again)(94?).

Same producer’ was our next clue for this flight of four. The first had rye and caraway aromas in its clean and classy nose. Cedar and spice lightly frolicked around. This was a smooth, soft and easy wine, simpler in a way but solid. Bipin admired its ‘leather.’ It was a 1995 La Mission Haut Brion, although the X-Man later confessed it was supposed to be a 1955 but an error was made pulling the wine. No comment J (92).

The 1975 La Mission Haut Brion brought more plums to the party, along with more honey. Its nose was quite open with vanilla soda aromas, and its palate was lush and creamy, but it was definitely in third place. I have recently found this vintage on more than one occasion to be maturing and not as thrilling as it was a few years back. That being said, it was still outstanding (95).

The last flight had the same clue with a twist, ‘Always Last.’ I was thinking DRC, but the flight referred to Burgundy in general. The X-Man feels that Burgundy should always be served after Bordeaux, even though many do the opposite. I can’t argue with him. The first had a gorgeous nose, made all the more gorgeous by the fact that it was something new. There was great fruit, nut and smoke aromas, along with some what I called ‘good pig,’ and a touch of sake and soy with green pitch. There was lovely lushness and a nutty kick to this edgy Burgundy, and a touch of lemony spritz on the finish of the 1961 Comte de Vogue Bonnes Mares (94).

As the night drew to a close, and all of Bipin’s merry men cheerfully slipped into the night, he gave me a look and a smile, and without saying without a word, told me, ‘This is how we still do it.’

You can always count me in for a dinner with Bipin.

A 2011 Dujac Romanee St. Vivant stood up for the viability of the vintage. There were many charming ’11s on my recent trip to Burgundy. While not necessarily a great vintage, it reminded me of how there seemingly aren’t any bad vintages anymore. Whether it is man or nature, I cannot answer. All I know is the last decade in Burgundy is probably its cumulatively finest…ever…ok, the ’40s probably wins but then this last one is second then! Back to the Dujac, one of Burgundy’s top ten producers without question, and the RSV supported that opinion. It was stylish and elegant, with pleasant earth tones and a gritty underside. Black cherry was the fruit, but restrain was the order in this young court (93).

That was enough for lunch, n’est-ce pas? And after lunch, there were wonderful visits to two other elite producers with lots of wine, but we still had to have dinner, of course. We drove to Dijon and its two-star restaurant, Chapeau Rouge. The only thing that struck me as odd was the fact that it was in a Best Western. That definitely doesn’t happen in America. The last time I stayed in a Best Western was…well, let’s just call it a long time ago, but I would be happy to stay at this one again and again and again.

We were joined by The Assassin, who brought a quartet of 2008 Coche-Durys, that’s one of the reasons why he is The Assassin. There are very few who kill as many great wines night after night all over the world, leaving a trail of empty bottles behind without a drop of evidence, as he always finishes the last drops! On this night, we began with the 2008 Coche-Dury Puligny Montrachet Enseigneres. There was great freshness and fat, rich fruit in its nose. Its icy and citrus fruits were long and tasty, and this showed the opulent, attractive and robust style of ’08 white Burgundy well (93).

It was on to a duo of Meursault, beginning with a 2008 Coche-Dury Meursault Caillerets. It was fatter and smokier with a rich, heavy cream palate. Its palate was also sweeter and fatter, more luscious than the Puligny, showing the sexy, plump side of Meursault (94).