A 50th to Remember (If Only My Memory Hadn't Faded in the End), aka "How I Met Your Maya"

Some close friends took advantage of the birthday's boy's having purchased a charity dinner of impressive pedigree, names omitted to protect the innocent.

• NV J. Lassalle Champagne Premier Cru Préférence Brut 89 Points

  France, Champagne, Champagne Premier Cru

  From a magnum. Full bodied and fresh, with notes of tart apple, lime and saline. Good minerality. An enjoyable Brut.

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• 2009 Robert Mondavi Winery Fumé Blanc To-Kalon I Block 93 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  A beautiful accompaniment to the lobster salad with beets and a lemon caviar dressing, this beauty wowed with its balance and finesse. Complex citrus flavors, notably lime and verbena, Crisp minerality, but lush as well, especially in its finish, due I suspect to the well-integrated oak. Second only to the Lail Georgia to my when when it comes to Napa SB's.

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• 1998 Dalla Valle Maya 96 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley, Oakville

  In perfect balance, featuring lush layers of coffee, herbs and dark berries, with a touch of caramel a la Pomerol. Sweet tannins throughout. Very long finish, with many, many years to come.

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• 2009 Dalla Valle Maya 96 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley, Oakville

  Still a baby yet very approachable, at least until it seemed to shut down after 90 minutes or so. The palate is dominated by dark fruit: black cherry, espresso and Asian spices. I detected some herbaceous notes (in a great way, like with a Mouton), but the hostess took umbrage to that a bit.

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• 2010 Dalla Valle Maya 97 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley, Oakville

  Dense, powerful and full-bodied, displaying rich and impressive waves of dense berry and oak flavors, along with touches of mocha, tar and spice. A stunning wine, barely beginning to strut its stuff. Even richer than the 2009.

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• 1966 Château Lynch-Bages 92 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

  A beautiful bottle, evidencing great tertiary characteristics and wonderful typicity. Some bricking on the edges, and a touch of madeirization on the nose and palate, but nothing that distracts from the balanced and lovely leather, cedar and soft berry flavors. Gentle and inviting, without the apparent fragility others have observed in recent tasting notes.

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• NV Black Maple Hill Distilling Co. Premium Small Batch Bourbon Aged 16 Years

  USA, Kentucky

  I was a bit too woozy at this point to do much more than savor this textured, smooth and rich beauty: caramel, candied pecans, cinnamon and clove are about all I can recall.

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• NV Tesseron Lot #90 XO Selection

  France, Cognac, Grande Fine Champagne Cognac

  Just a quick sip before calling it a night, so not much I can do apart from memorializing it for posterity's sake. My fuzzy recollection is of caressing waves of sweet heat. I've had this once before, remember it fondly and hope I get the chance to savor it again.

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I won't soon forget these marvelous Maya, which seems to be back on its game in a big way after some disruptive replanting. Few Napa luminaries are so aligned with my palate.