Way atop the ICC building on the Kowloon side of Hong Kong some 100 floors high, there is a fabulous and exclusive Japanese restaurant named RyuGin, which is normally closed for lunch. However, when it comes to The Forbidden Cellar, the word ‘closed’ is also verboten. So open the restaurant did, just for us, and we were treated to an exquisite menu personally selected by its chef. We were joined by winemakers and proprietors extraordinaire Jeremy Seysses (of Dujac) and Jean-Marc Roulot (of Roulot, of course).

When it comes to food, he also has an appreciation for the finer things, and the menu included such delicacies as Monkfish liver (the foie gras of the sea), seasonal Matsubagani Snow Crab, Wagyu and tempura of Shirako, which was quite delicious. I couldn’t believe something so soft and near-liquid could be tempura’d, so to speak. I then found out that Shirako is the sperm sac of the codfish. After gathering myself and coming to terms with my first time, I told them if they needed something extra to fry, to just give me five minutes.

Next up was a 1985 Haut Brion Blanc, which had created a bit of controversy in weeks prior, when I wasn’t present. In fact, this bottle was the reason we got together in the first place; I was summoned to settle this royal debate. The HBB was incredibly exotic and gamey in its nose, with aromas of guava, honey and pineapple. This was a tropical, fleshy and sexy white which exuded opulence. The palate was a touch drier, with flavors of glue and straw. This was a yellow, golden wine when it came to the hue of its flavors, and while it was more reserved on the palate, it also seemed fully mature. Its finish was completely integrated and soft. This was quite surprising, as HBB’s can age forever. The kick was up, and the verdict was good (94).

The 1949 Vogue Musigny Vieilles Vignes quickly brought time to a standstill. This was a holy shit wine, the kind the Pope takes lol. Its nose was perfect, with divine aromas of rose, sauce, oil, garden, chocolate and complex BBQ. The Forbidden Cellar found it ‘out of this world,’ and this salt-grilled, Wagyu edge rounded out its evolving nose. The Wagyu came later, by the way. It was in a perfect spot, so mature yet still so fresh. The palate was rich and sensuous, with its acid still there in a big way. It had exceptional strength for a 1949; most ’49 Burgs are fully mature and completely integrated, hanging on to yesteryear as opposed to today. This was a rich, lush and fabulous wine that lingered in that special, ‘waiting for you even though you just met’ kind of way. Perfect appeared in my notes again (99).

A half-bottle of 1953 Petrus snuck out next, and it was a soft, tender beauty. It had a complicated nose of plum, chocolate, dust, garden and spice. The palate was soft yet delicious; it had length without distance. Since it was a half-bottle, I’ll give it half a note (94).

A 2009 Roulot Tessons Mon Plaisir was classic Roulot and absolutely delicious. Man, his wines are so easy to drink and give so much pleasure. This was classy juice, and this vineyard should be Premier Cru. Jean-Marc called it ‘a good introduction’ to Roulot. Nice to meet you again, too (93).

I sampled them in no particular order, beginning with the 2000 Lafite Rothschild. This was an all-around classic, with aromas of cedar, nut, caramel, vanilla and cassis, a Left Bank version of a quintafecta, which my spell-check is telling me isn’t a word. Obviously, it hasn’t been to the horse track. Its nose was perfect, dancing so elegantly, with precision and strength. The palate was a bit shy, though long, showing reticent flavors of wafer, nut and cassis. It tasted as if it had so much to say but didn’t feel like talking much. This will be an all-time great Lafite (96+).

Since December ended so nicely with The Don, and since I have severely missed his company at the dinner table for much of 2012, I made another date with The Don for early 2013 to catch some football and bring the whole family on out. Of course, at the time, we thought we would be watching the Giants together. Ahem, ahem. At least we were still the current defending World Champions for a few more days.

Upon returning upstairs, The Don loved our idea, and the evening was off and running with a 2010 Dauvissat-Camus Chablis Preuses. For those of you that don’t know, the Dauvissat-Camus and ‘standard’ Dauvissat are the same wines, divided up for economic reasons within the family. Its nose was packed with aromas of smoky, scallop-y fruit along with crushed seashells, lime, citrus and a round, intense minerality that carried over to the palate, which also possessed hints of exotic guava. The character of 2010 was self-evident immediately, and The Don quickly commented how he thought 2010 was the better overall vintage, not trying to take anything away from 2009. When it comes to Burgundy, The Don is like EF Hutton, and I listen (94).

It was on to Nick The Pick and the reds with a 1999 Meo-Camuzet Vosne Romanee Les Brulees, which had a tight, pungent nose, especially for a 1999. There was a touch of gas up front with purple flowers and bricks behind. It gave more fruit on the palate, ‘tight but juicy’ The Don noted. There were a lot of ceramic qualities to the Brulees, which also had a citrusy bite. Its acid was long and extraordinary; this wine felt too young. Touches of rubber and leather rounded out its bright finish (94+).

It was another wonderful evening with The Don, five of a kind, both in ratings and family. In the end, everyone was saying ‘Uncle,’ both to the wines, and to the man, the one, the only, The Don.

There was a 1964 Moet magnum next, disgorged in 1995, as Bad Boy was quick to point out. Bad Boy and The Cardinal have always been a bit of an unholy alliance, as Bad Boy has never been one to seek forgiveness, and he didn’t have to thanks to the Moet. It was fresh with great butter and white sugar aromas. Wheat, grain, zip and length all made its nose delightfully complex, along with grilled nuts. The palate unfortunately was not as good, as it was quite dirty despite being zippy and vivacious (91M).

The last Champagne on this night was an excellent but advanced 1973 Roederer Cristal. Bad Boy offered an interesting theory on why more old Cristals tended to be advanced than any other fine Champagne – the clear glass. If they used a dark green glass like Dom Perignon and Krug etc, it would prevent more premature aging. That made a lot of sense. The Cristal’s nose was mature and toasty, and its palate was full of tasty caramel flavors. It was still zippy and got better in the glass, coming across in a lush manner with a vibrating finish. It was too bad that this bottle wasn’t perfect, but I definitely enjoyed it (94A).

The flight of 34s was a fascinating one. The noses and aromas in these timeless classics were magnificent, but the palates did not live up to the noses, delivering a weaker, kinder and gentler experience that one might expect at this age, from a vintage that was very good but not great. The Montrose had the least dimension, while the La Mission kept getting better, actually gaining some strength and showing signature qualities such as chocolate, wafer, cedar, gravel and mesquite. The Trotanoy was just delicious, the ‘best’ of flight per The Cardinale, and it showed the most (purple) fruit on the palate, along with honey, herbs, cassis, tomato and beef bouillon cube. It was initially my favorite as well, but it got lighter in the glass relatively quickly while the La Mission improved.

The young Burg flight was solid, with the three DRC Grands Echezeaux’s battling it out for supremacy. The CEO found the 1991 better than the 1990, and it was more exotic and open than the powerful 1990. The 1991 had a nose with great spice and a mix of cedar, bamboo and mahogany, along with some frogs and mushrooms in that forest. Blood and rose oil concentrate rounded out its nose, while its palate was round and long, with excellent spice and acid. The 1990 was more bloody, with more steak, rubber and rose, a bit of a flytrap of a wine. It lurked a bit, waiting for a future time to pounce. The Echezeaux, by the way, had a great nose, but the palate lagged a step. It had an unusual pinch of Jaegermeister in its nose. The 1988 was big and full of acid, citrusy and cedary, lacking the fruit of the other vintages but still excellent. What stole the show this night was a surprise bottle courtesy of Bad Boy, a 1990 Dujac Bonnes Mares. While I didn’t take many notes at this point, I did clearly write down how I thought it was the wine of the night. It had an elegance to it that the DRC’s didn’t, while still possessing meaty complexity to its fruit. It danced, dodged, zipped and zagged. It was a case of good timing, as the Domaine’s first ever consignment direct from their cellars is coming up this weekend, including legendary wines from all their greatest vintages and rare, large formats.