Open your last bottle

The theme was to open your last bottle, and you had to have bought multiple bottles. A bittersweet theme for sure. I believe the unanimous Wine of the Night was 1983 Montrose, but there was a not a slouch in the lineup.

• 2018 Vice Versa Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer Las Piedras Vineyard

  USA, California, Napa Valley, St. Helena

  This was a bonus half pour while waiting for people to show up. Full-on in your face modern napa cab with a lot of fruit, spice and earth. This had been open for a few hours and the alcohol seemed to be peaking out. This is a powerful wine and I can appreciate the quality, but it isn't my preferred style.

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• 2004 Bollinger Champagne La Grande Année 92 Points

  France, Champagne

  My last bottle (per the theme of the tastng). This was interesting and complex. There was a vegetal funkyness that for a second made me think it might be corked. But it obviously was not. The wine is slightly oxidized but not overly still, it is still quite enjoyable. The finish ends a little flat, as though the wine is fat and needs a bit more acid at the end.

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• 2009 Marcassin Chardonnay Marcassin Vineyard 97 Points

  USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast

  This wine is so aromatic. The nose is lively with ripe peach and tropical fruit, pineapple in the foreground. This really was fantastic and I drank a little more than my fair share (no one was finishing it!). While this wine falls in the full-bodied california category, it does it so well, with unctuous mouthfeel, spicy complexity and enough lime/acid to keep it balanced.

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• 1970 Château Figeac 93 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru

  Pop and pour, drank a good sized glass over 2 hours. This is fully mature, maybe past that. This wine is all about the tertiary components. The main layer is scorched earth, with lots of other textbook bordeaux components.

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• 1970 Château Trotanoy 92 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol

  Pop and pour, because this wine was a substitute that was opened at the last minute. It took some time to open up and really blossomed around the 1 hour mark. This was easy drinking with friendly red fruit. It was so resolved, complex and integrated. That combination seemed odd to me, but there it is.

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• 1983 Château Montrose 96 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe

  The nose is leather, fertile soil, cedar and mushroom. This seemed like a classic well-aged bordeaux, extremely well-integrated and hits all the correct left-bank notes.

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• 1989 Château Cos d'Estournel 94 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe

  Decanted 1 hour, then back into the bottle for a few hours, before pouring a good-sized glass for myself that I drank over 2 hours. Perfume, funk, tobacco, sandalwood, tar, black fruits, orange rind, old leather and a bit of funk. I wished that I'd decanted this 2 hours, but at least I left myself a note from the previous bottle to decant at least an hour. Sadly, my last bottle, since that was the tasting theme.

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