25th Anniversary (a few days early)

This was our 25th wedding anniversary, and we went big. We stayed at the Charleston Place hotel, and ate dinner at the Charleston Grill downstairs. Five-star elegance and first-rate service was the goal. We got close, and created a great memory, even if all was not the pinnacle of perfection....

• 2007 Merry Edwards Sauvignon Blanc 95 Points

  USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley

  Poured at the Charleston Grill, Charleston, SC., notes from memory a few days later. From a 375. We ordered this to go with seafood appetizers, and wow was this amazing. Pale in the glass, the nose was good, but not stunning - very fruit-driven and seemingly one-dimensional. The palate, however, was incredible. Laser-like focus, with a gripping acidity that nevertheless didn't make you pucker because of a beautiful offsetting sweetness. The wine was pretty much off-dry, but the lemon, lime, and tropical fruits were centered and supported by a surprising mineral backbone that is uncommon from California. The freshness was astounding in a four-year-old half-bottle. This wine tastes like it could last 25 years. The finish was remarkable in that it held up to and enhanced the food. If you sipped the wine without eating, it just went on and on. This was the best bottle of Sauvignon blanc I have ever had, from any region, period. Simply spectacular.

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• 1986 Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande Flawed

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

  Poured at the Charleston Grill, Charleston, SC., notes from memory a few days later. This was the wine around which we ordered our dinner. A 25-year-old bottle of Bordeaux to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary. I had purchased the bottle expressly for this occasion and had commended it to the restaurant cellar a full day ahead to give the wine a chance to settle in. The Maitre d' at the Charleston grill lived up to his reputation and came out with the bottle himself and began the ritual of opening. I could tell we were in trouble just a third of the way into the cork, as I could already see the seepage. The cork was a mess, but Micky is very experienced and managed to pull the entire cork out of the bottle even though it was breaking up. He couldn't save the wine, though. The bricking was obvious as the wine was poured, and both nose and palate were stewed. A complete and undrinkable loss. Fortunately, our marriage is made of more enduring stuff than this wine.

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• 2005 Château Langoa Barton 91 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien

  Poured at the Charleston Grill, Charleston, SC., notes from memory a few days later. After the disaster of a flawed Pichon Lalande, I was faced with making a choice from the extensive list at the Charleston Grill, while the meal waited in the wings. The Maitre d' proposed the '86 Pichon Baron, and while I would very much have liked to go with that, the $325 price tag was too much for me, especially since I was already down a bottle. I went with the 2005 Langoa Barton, instead. Right there with the customer service, Micky suggested a splash decant, which was a must. Even so, the purple color suggested a wine that was too young, and that proved to be correct. The wine was too big, and although it had powerful fruit, it wasn't quite enough to overcome the wall of tannin. After about an hour, the wine started to relax and sing a bit, but of course by that time the entrees were done. It's a very good wine, though, with big cassis, a shot of Rhone-like licorice, great acidity, and a very intense mineral core. It needs another five years, though, and then will no doubt drink well for 20. I gave the wine a 91 score now, but I believe it has the potential to add significantly to that as the tannic wall begins to break down and the fruit mellows with secondary depth. This was a very good bottle, it just wasn't quite ready for prime time. Micky called it "a nice little wine". If only I could afford such wine every day....

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• 1986 Château Climens 95 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Barsac

  Poured at the Charleston Grill, Charleston, SC., notes from memory a few days later. From a 375. I had purchased this wine a few days before and had handed it off to the hotel staff a day ahead. This was my back-up wine, in case the '86 Pichon Lalande was bad, which it was. So the pressure was on. By this time, the Maitre d' had moved on to other things, so the opening of the bottle was left to our server, who obviously had very little experience with aged wines, as she yanked the top of the cork off and was forced to poke the remainder into the bottle and strain the wine into a decanter. She took a sniff directly out of the decanter before pouring me a taste (?!?), and the look on her face was not encouraging. She poured a sample, and I took the sniff. Indeed, the nose was odd. Yes, there was the expected apricot and pineapple, but it also seemed quite dusty. It did not seem flawed, however, and a quick sip confirmed that the palate was just fine. The dustiness did take some time to blow off, and I have to say that decanting in this case proved to be a good move. After 30 minutes or so, the dustiness released itself, exposing a beautiful nose of yellow flowers, apricots, pineapples, and stewed peaches. The palate was intense and yet delicate, with a lingering finish that got better and better (and longer and longer) as the wine was exposed to air. The botrytis was evident, but not overly so, and the wine emphasized a tropical aspect of mango and pineapple, but with a hint of marzipan or almond roca, and the inevitable trace of honey. The wine was definitely sweet, but well-balanced. For a 25-year-old half-bottle, the freshness was amazing. If the cork holds up (or with re-corking), I'll bet a 750 of this could go another 25 years. The wine far outclassed the dessert, which would be regrettable except that we were able to take the decanter and glasses up to our room to continue our celebration. The wine reached as far into the night as we were able to follow.

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