Zachy's Wine Auction - Late Spring 2015
Le Bernadin Prive
Tasted Thursday, May 14, 2015 - Friday, May 15, 2015 by MC2 Wines with 604 views
Introduction
Always enjoy these wine auctions. Great time to meet up with some other folks who have gone down the same rabbit hole and try some interesting wines and get some good deals. This one was no different.
Typically this auction has been held at Marea or Smith and Wollensky, but this one was held at Le Bernadin Prive (an upstairs room over the Aldo Somm Wine bar, but much longer). While I loved the room set-up - one long, more narrow, room which makes it very easy for bids to be seen, I'm not convinced on the value. $150 for a lunch that was only two courses (while a typical lunch is $80 there and you get 3) doesn't quite make as much sense. But of course the food was quite good as always.
From a wine perspective, the standouts for me were the 1990 Dom Perignon and maybe then the 1994 Dunn Howell Mtn. Of course the 2004 D'Yquem maybe the wine of the two days (a purchase from the last auction).
Flight 1 (13 Notes)
Closing
Overall, good times had and esp as we got later both days some very good deals to be had. I should note wines were a mix of those provided by the auction house and those brought by ourselves or others at our table. The auction house also poured a number of Chablis but as I am not a chardonnay fan I abstained. I understand many were quite good.
Looking forward to the next one.
2004 Château d'Yquem
France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes
(5/14/2015)
Spectacular as always - this worked well with breakfast and lunch at the Zachy's wine auction. Just a fantastic wine.
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1998 Dom Pérignon Champagne P2
France, Champagne
(5/15/2015)
Very crisp, lemons, lightly toasted. This is a very well made wine and it's evident from first sip, but it wasn't quite as entrancing for me as for some others at the table (although the 1990 was and so if this is turning into that in a few years then I'm on board). I find it just a bit bitter though at this stage.
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1990 Dom Pérignon Champagne P3
France, Champagne
(5/15/2015)
This was straight up spectacular. So light and dainty, just almost melts in your mouth. Lightly floral, but more I get this impression of that foam that top chefs sometimes put on food. Really beautiful wine.
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2001 Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc Cuvée Roussanne Vieilles Vignes
France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
(5/15/2015)
Opened and drank over the course of probably 4-5 hours. This needed some time to settle and for some of the oxidation to blow off. Had the '98 a few months ago and that was a 'wow' wine moment for me. This was not that. By the end of the time it was good, giving off some interesting caramel notes and having an endless evolution on the palette, but not heartachingly good. I can't tell if it's done and time to drink up or instead if it's in a bit of a dumb phase and will come out on the other side. Would have liked to see a bit more acidity to the wine for that to be the case, but would be very open to hearing opinions of those more familiar. I'm also not sure how the '01 vintage in Rhone stacks up for whites and so maybe it was just not the same level of vintage and so lacking the staying power. Anyway, enjoyable wine, but not quite the outstanding I'd been hoping for.
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2009 Domaine Dominique Mugneret Echezeaux En Orveaux
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Echezeaux Grand Cru
(5/15/2015)
Very young and fruity and actually drinking pretty easily right now which surprised me. There's a nice funkiness to it that we always enjoy in our wines.
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1999 Louis Jadot Clos Vougeot Domaine Louis Jadot
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Clos Vougeot Grand Cru
(5/15/2015)
This was not as good as the Echezeaux right before it nor as the '98 Chambertin-Clos de Beze right after. It's a well constructed wine though - nice balance between the earth and fruit flavors, but it didn't really do anything for me. I found it be a bit boring.
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1998 Louis Jadot Chambertin-Clos de Bèze Domaine Louis Jadot
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chambertin-Clos de Bèze Grand Cru
(5/15/2015)
I enjoyed this more than the '99 Clos Vougeot that we'd had right before it. Poured from a magnum. There was an almost edamame characteristic to this wine that I found quite enjoyable. Not quite as good as the Echezeaux two wines before, but still tasty.
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1996 Alvaro Palacios Priorat L'Ermita
Spain, Catalunya, Priorat
(5/15/2015)
Going from Burgundy to this was like having all of the senses woken up at once. This was just wonderful - bright and spicy and lots going on. Decanted and poured relatively quickly. This didn't hold up well over an extended period of time although the first taste was one of the best of the day.
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1996 Château Pontet-Canet
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
(5/15/2015)
Drinking super young, the tannins are almost chewy. It's an elegant wine, as previous notes mentioned definitely a cigar box, wood. Very kind of John to share.
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2010 Louis Jadot Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Combe aux Moines
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru
(5/15/2015)
Hard to go back to the Burgundy after the Bordeaux, Spanish, and Dunn. The wines just seem a bit more muted. Again, very approachable in its young age, a bit light and a bit of funk. Doesn't have the same appeal for me as some of the other wines though. Thankfully this was not the day we picked up a Burg habit.
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1986 Château Léoville Barton
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Saint-Julien
(5/15/2015)
This felt like it was on its last legs. Get that old wine flavor that I enjoy, but that was about it. Not a lot of evolution in the glass or on the palette. I think it's about done.
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2009 Domaine Bertheau (Pierre et François) Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru
(5/15/2015)
Nice spiced plum, easy drinking but with a good tannic backbone that belies it can handle some aging as well. Good wine.
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1994 Dunn Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Howell Mountain
USA, California, Napa Valley, Howell Mountain
(5/15/2015)
After a flawed one of these a few months ago I was a bit tentative, but this was lovely. Opened and decanted for a few hours before pouring. Randy Dunn does such a nice job with excellent, ageable wines. He might even have started the conversion process for one of the folks at our table who claimed to be only old world. Wine was flavorful and interesting without being over the top. Still drinking super young. Almost wish we'd given it a bit more time.
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