First Growth that rock

A special night where the food and wines all showed their best with a truly wonderful group of people in a special setting. A very small dinner hosted by a well known NYC auction house with some heavy hitters. I was quite lucky to be in attendance. J, K, BB, SK, JR and me. Chef Roland was on top of his game too. Everyone brought a great bottle.

• 2004 Ruinart Champagne Dom Ruinart Blanc de Blancs 93 Points

  France, Champagne

  Rich and mineral driven with dense firm white stony fruit. Balanced with nice ripeness and fine precision. Well made.

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Sautéed Alaskan Halibut with truffled mousse, fregula, bok choy, water chestnut salad, foie gras broth and citrus foam

• 2011 Domaine Leflaive Bâtard-Montrachet 93 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru

  From magnum after hour decant. Gorgeous massive aromas of brioche, lemon oil, and wet stones. Quite fresh with a lovely salty sea air quality. Palate comes across with dense fruit purity and a soft texture featuring a clean lemon citrus edge. Quite feminine and sexy, and already drinking well with a long rich finish. A pretty wine.

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Jumbo French whire asparagus, Iberico ham, morels, truffle sauce
Roasted Rack of Lamb, freek wheat, Brussel, sprouts, white asparagus, timid pepper sauce
Rye crusted venison loin with kobocha squash puree, fresh morels, carrot, Swiss char, juniper sauce, apple espuma

• 1982 Château Lafite Rothschild 96 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

  Surprisingly fresh ripe red dusty fruit driven aromas with classic pencil shavings, gravel, and lively floral scents. Flavors are bit more restrained and show tense edgy dirty cherries, good rocky minerality, and a touch of cocoa. Amazing length with a dry spicy finish. Overall quite good and just a bit briary.

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• 1982 Château Mouton Rothschild 98 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

  Wow, wet earthy aromas blow off quickly and give way to a massive beautiful black sweet ripe fruit core with a grilled toasty bouquet. Mouth coating silky dense texture. A wall of dark pure rich ripe black fruits dominate in a succulent showy way. Lots of spices and layers develop and continue during the long finish. Good muscle and depth with lots of density with a pretty texture. A real dazzler. It did close up a bit in the glass after an hour or so. Long life ahead still!

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• 1982 Château Cheval Blanc 97 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru

  Sweet caramel aromas with wet earthy appeal. Pretty sexy and ripe with good length in a more delicate feminine style. Dark with a solid core of fruit and baking spices. Great length. Mature with good underlying sweetness.

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• 1996 Château Latour Grand Vin 97 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

  A great wine still drinking young, but tons of personality and purity a real treat. A big dense aromatic profile showing sweet cedar, black ink and intense dark cherry and plums. Amazing purity of fruit with great concentration and depth of flavors. A classic iron fist in velvet glove. As so much power, yet silky and smooth. So elegant and nuanced with a wonderful mouth coating texture. A sexy wine with loads of black minerality and long spicy finish. Wow. As good as this was, I would be surprised if this does not have upside in time.

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• 1995 Château Lafleur 96 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol

  Dark smoky earthy aromas with some graphite qualities. Long rich sweet espresso flavors with a great finish. Sleek texture with ripe black fruits. Lovely purity and depth, although seems quite young and just beginning to show.

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• 1998 Château Cheval Blanc 97 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru

  Beautiful dark rich aromas of cocoa. Dark rich sweet fruit flavors with sexy smooth texture. Elegant and focused with real depth. Long finish, comes across young and serious potential to even improve form here. This is special.

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• 1995 Château d'Yquem 93 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes

  Classic aroma of young Yquem, with an intense high toned tropical crème brulee aroma. Rich long creamy and lush on the palate with an apricot honeyed brioche character. Good length, perhaps a hint of VA.

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Still I do not know how I got included with such an esteemed group, but man was it fun. A night to be remembered for a very long time!