Old Huet, B. Mascarello & Chave at Dougherty's.

So, last month Dougherty calls me up last and asks if I wanted to come over and help him decide if he should buy some more older Huet. I struck gold! Old Huet and Joe’s cooking…you just don’t pass that up. Aside from being assured good wine and great food, one’s horizons are always broadened with Joe as he’s a wealth of information. Why, who but Joe would know a quaint Easter Island expression that goes “your mother’s flesh sticks between my teeth.” That’s a keeper.

Joe cooked up a delicious supper of spiced duck breast, roasted beets and fingerling potatoes sourced from Bouley that, simply prepared, may be the best potatoes I’ve had. Just earthy, creamy and fully satisfying. He also served the best Comte cheese I’ve ever had. It was from Artisinal also via Bouley, as the transaction was described. I must’ve eaten almost the entire chunk myself.

Notes are in order tasted, but I think I’m forgetting a couple of starters.

• 2005 Ameztoi Getariako Txakolina

  Spain, País Vasco, Getariako Txakolina

  Much talked about in some geeky circles, it was nice to finally try it. Really nice, zippy stuff. A touch of youthful and vivacious spritziness with a bracing hit of acidity. Imagine sunning yourself all afternoon and then jumping into a cold pool. A sudden shortness of breath and then ahhhh…refreshing! Crystalline with mineral and lime flavors and a pleasing brininess some of the better Txakolinas show. A-/B+.

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• 1961 Domaine Huet Vouvray Demi-Sec Le Haut-Lieu

  France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Vouvray

  From a recent (past few years) release. Best bottle of four that I’ve had to date. Showed a nice freshness other bottles have lacked. The wine is a little reticent on the nose, only showing some mineral and persimmon aromas. The palate is where the action is. Rich in the mouth with nice structure and much more of a mid-palate than other bottles have had. Nicely minerally, with persimmon and bergamot notes. It has a pleasant spicy character, something I occasionally pick up in older Huets, with a dash of shoe polish and a briny note that someone at the table compared to a feminine sweaty armpit. There’s a bit of a bitter note on the finish. Get more, Joe. A-.

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• 1962 Domaine Huet Vouvray Demi-Sec Le Haut-Lieu

  France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Vouvray

  A little darker than the ’61, a little sweeter and a bit shorter on the finish. While there’s nice earl grey tea, apricot, nutty and mineral flavors aromas, there’s no denying this bottle seems a little advanced. Be that as it may, however, and while there is also a light oxidized note, the acidity remains fresh and it is still a delight to drink. I have had a better bottle, though. Still a buy. B+.

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• 1980 Cantina Mascarello Barolo

  Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo

  A great example of disconnect between the nose and palate. The wine smelled terrific. Effusive and perfumed, full of roses, red cherry, beef blood and sassafras/root spices. Yet the palate shows none of the complexity and elegance the nose did, let alone any fruit. The wine was really coarse, dominated by tertiary elements with a massive acidic streak that longed for something of substance to stand up to it. The spiced duck breast did a great job of doing that, but without it, the wine just isn’t that pleasurable. I keep hearing folks say the wine often shows really well, but this is the third dud bottle I’ve tried. Low B- without food, B+ with.

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• 2000 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave St. Joseph

  France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, St. Joseph

  The estate bottling, not the “Offerus.” A really fun wine. Has beautiful sweetness and purity to the red, spicy fruit. Touch of licorice and earthy notes with enough acidity to keep things balanced and interesting. Not a complex wine, but thoroughly enjoyable and a great match with the duck breast. A-/B+.

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• 1906 Blandy's Madeira Malvasia

  Portugal, Madeira

  I didn’t really pay too much attention to this wine, though it was excellent. But, it’s more of a rainy evening in December kind of wine, rather than a thunderstorm-filled August night wine. Nutty, plenty of burnt sugar and volatile acidity in spades. Just how a Madeira should be. A-.

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