All wine, no poker

The Boston Wine & Poker gang gathered in Lincoln, Mass., for a birthday celebration -- all wine and no poker.

• 2015 André Perret Condrieu Clos Chanson

  France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Condrieu

  Served with puff-pastry tarts with goat cheese, rhubarb, honey and thyme: The first of three bottles purchased at auction. A complex mineral wine, with a flavor of cooked apricots, but with low acidity that makes the wine seem a little underpowered. Unctuous, with hints of petrol, and some nuttiness. I can't tell if this is a quiet adolescent or a well-behaved senior citizen, but I am inclined to guess that it is declining rather than maturing and that the remaining bottles should be consumed sooner rather than later.

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• 2013 Domaine François Cotat Sancerre Les Monts Damnés

  France, Loire Valley, Upper Loire, Sancerre

  Served with a Sicilian salad, with radicchio, orange, ricotta salata, and pistachios: This wine seems fully evolved, all mineral up front, with tropical fruit flavors following behind and some petrol (so it was surprisingly similar to the 2015 Condrieu that preceded it). Low acidity. The wine may last for a while, but is probably better drunk soon.

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• 2011 Domaine Bitouzet-Prieur Meursault 1er Cru Charmes

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Meursault 1er Cru

  Served with asparagus with tahini and rose, and with shrimp in a garlic-butter sauce (thanks to Karl): A mellow, balanced wine, with muted fruit, some hazelnut flavor, a little spiciness, and a suggestion of something like suntan lotion.

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• 2018 Girolamo Russo Etna San Lorenzo

  Italy, Sicily, Etna DOC

  Served with a cannelini-bean and lemon puree on toast: Light-bodied, high acid, with a strong spicy, almost prickly quality.It is quite lean for the moment, probably too young, but I suspect that it will gain richness over time.

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• 2017 Tenuta delle Terre Nere Etna Prephylloxera "La Vigna di Don Peppino" Calderara Sottana 94 Points

  Italy, Sicily, Etna DOC

  Served with cannelini-bean and lemon puree on toast: We drank this right after the Girolamo Russo San Lorenzo 2018, and this wine has everything that the Russo wine has -- the light body, the high acidity, the spiciness, the slight prickly quality -- and much more. It has another layer of richness, it has a structured depth, and particularly a dry cherry-floral fragrance. It may get even better with more time in the bottle, but it is delicious right now. I am always a bit disappointed to find that a producer's most expensive wine is also the best wine, but I believe that is definitely the case with this Terre Nere bottling.

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• 2005 Nicolas Potel Volnay Vieilles Vignes

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Volnay

  Served with spanakopita (thanks to Kyle): I waited a long time for this to reach drinkability, but now it seems as though there was a sharp peak, and the wine already seems fully evolved and perhaps even past its prime. The brightness is there, coupled with a slightly decadent ripe cherry flavor, and an attractive spiciness. More elegant than profound.

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• 1999 Nicolas Potel Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Aux Malconsorts

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru

  Served with morels on toast: This was a gift from Karl Wee, ridiculously generous, and much appreciated by the assembled hooligans. A very elegant wine, with restrained fruit, some spiciness, brightness.

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• 1999 Spring Mountain Vineyard Reserve

  USA, California, Napa Valley, Spring Mountain District

  Thanks to Michael Malinoski: This is an amalgam of the classic Bordeaux varieties, but the wine is still a venerable Napa red, with a blast of mint up front, and then an array of dark fruit and leather flavors in a nicely balanced package. Compared to some of its fancier peers, it is a little underpowered in the finish, but it still provides a lot of pleasure, and it shows absolutely no signs of old age.

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• 1982 Barbeito Madeira Boal Frasqueira

  Portugal, Madeira

  Thanks to Karl Wee: A zing of lemony acidity, followed by moderate sweetness, and a complex Christmas-pudding spiciness. Bottled in 2012 after prolonged aging in partly-filled oak casks in relatively hot storage -- it's amazing that something so fresh could emerge from that treatment.

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