10/25/2019 - JeffO Likes this wine:

Wow still just a tannic monster. All seemed good and balanced on open and decant. One hour later I smelled a sour cellar smell and worried. But now 3 hours later and midway through the decanter, it is just a monster, well balanced and firmly right and still tannic as hell. Decades to go. Sweet Jesus.

8/3/2005 - JeffO wrote:

Beringer Private Reserve Chardonnay vertical from 1996-2000, plus the 98 Sbragia Limited Release. All of these Beringers were showing the usual rich, honeyed character. All of them were in beautiful shape. Consensus among the guests was that the 96 and 98 Sbragia were the winners of the event. The 97 appealed to me, but was really "out there" in all aspects of its character: rich thick butterscotchy, so I was somewhat in the minority.

4/21/2005 - JeffO wrote:

A perfect magnum in perfect condition filled with perfect wine. Dinner at home with the lads from Ireland. Turns out you can ask a question like "Who's the greatest footballer in the world--or all time" and they'll talk all night long (while the host sips his way thru the magnum!).

4/17/2005 - JeffO wrote:

Birthday dinner with the kids at Cafe Juanita. Holly made a special Tre Latte cake. It was wonderful. This particular bottle of the Haut Brion has started to turn the corner, with slight sour hints of madeira around the edges. Still a joy to drink with all that earthy leather and sweet spice, and still an amazing nose. But methinks the rest of my stash will get uncorked this year lest I wait too long.

4/15/2005 - JeffO wrote:

I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this. It was well rounded with lots of fruit, very smooth.

3/29/2005 - JeffO wrote:

I've had this wine twice before and never thought much of it. In fact, I've often called it the dog of the vintage. No there there. But tonight, a different story. This bottle was in the league of 53 Lafite and 59 HB, fully mature, fully perfumed, earth essence and cedar, concentrated fruit so solid at the core, a blast, an explosion, and a finish that lasts and lasts. Wow. I should rate it 99 or 100, but based on past experiences, I'm saying the wine has yet to prove itself. This bottle was magnifique! At Cafe Juanita with colleagues from Korea, Japan, and Ireland. We started with a WA State Chinook Merlot, which was a lovely lead-in to the Petrus.

3/26/2005 - JeffO wrote:

One note here to summarize the "Early 90s Leonetti" tasting of Easter weekend 2005. The line-ups were: Leonetti Merlot 93-95, Leonetti Cab 93-95, Leonetti Sangiovese 95 & 97, and the Leonetti 92 Walla Walla Select (blend of Cab & Merlot he only does about once a decade).

The clear winner of the night was the 94 Merlot. I had my doubts as to how well many of these wines might be holding up, but overall they showed satisfyingly well. The 94 Merlot was quite alive, plenty of fruit but gaining earthier dimensions, almost Bordeaux-like. A real treat that I'll give 92 pts.

The second best was either this 92 Walla Walla Select blend or the 95 Cab. Throughout the eve, the merlot overall showed better than the cabs, which did surprise us. The Sangiovese has held itself together with aplomb.

But there's no question the glory days for these bottles are past. I recall the 93 Merlot and 92 Select in the mid- to late-90s, and not being able to keep my hands off them. Iron fist in velvet glove. They had it!

3/25/2005 - JeffO wrote:

I love this wine! There's something unique about it; it startles the palate. Big fruit, racy tannins, great balance, but also something flinty, mineral-like. And still so very well balanced and so youthful. The fruit and tannins are lovely now, but should live long & prosper by it.

10/17/2004 - JeffO wrote:

Cork shredded on removal. I've been having such bad luck with older wines lately; I thought I'd bombed out once again! But happy to say this bottle did not disappoint. Color is brickish red, softly fading at edge. Nose is pure Bordeaux all the way, cedar and leather, soft and multi-dimensional. Plenty of fruit and firm tannins, supple cigar box, medium-long finish just drying out slightly at the 30 sec mark. Fully ready to drink, but seems to be hanging on like a champ.

9/19/2004 - JeffO wrote:

Tonight was the night I opened the "stock market exuberance" bottle mentioned in my prior note. I've waited 20 years for this. 750 ml bottle (from BWL, London, purchased 2001) is in excellent shape, label faded, but no signs of water damage or other mishandling. Ullage at lower neck, color inside bright red and clear, bountiful crystallized boulders in a pile at the bottom (bottle was stood up 2 days ago), original capsule and cork. The cork was snug but ominously shredded like dry pate on removal. I managed to remove it all without hitting the wine, and then decanted the moment of truth.

Cooked. Sour medicinal Madeira. Shades of burnt brown color from meniscus to core. Too-sweet tar on the nose, sour maderized medicine invading the corners of my month and sending the rest of me recoiling. What a bummer. Kool Karma turns out to be Cruel Fate.

"There are no great wines. There are only great bottles." Someone somewhere sometime in the past 55 years murdered this Mouton. Alas.

6/25/2004 - JeffO wrote:

Deep garnet going brick-red at the edge. Not much nose. A little alcholocic and thin going in, but then plenty of sweet tannins take over, and quite an impressive finish that lingers for 20-30 seconds with undertones of earth, cedar, and pencils. This makes it past the 90 pt barrier for the finish alone. This is much softer and better integrated than a bottle I had 5 yrs ago, but could still use a few more years.

6/13/2004 - JeffO wrote:

Having enjoyed the Dunn 96 Napa Cab twice in the last two weeks, I thought I would see how Dalla Valle is doing from the same vintage. Surprisingly, the Dalla Valle seems far less ready to drink than the powerhouse Dunns. This bottle was bought direct from the winery and cellared since. Bottle, fill, cork, etc all in fine shape. Color is deep reby red with just a tinge of orange brick showing through the edge. Nose is subdued, but what's there is heady with alcohol and black fruits. Medium-soft tannins, menthol and blackberry (?) on the palate, with a steady but drying finish. Well integrated and good structure, but seems a little closed down at the moment. Recommend hold for another 5-10 yrs.

5/30/2004 - JeffO wrote:

Tasted twice in the past two weeks, both from 750ml bottles direct from winery and cellared since release. Corks and fills in great shape. I was pleasantly surprised at the accessibility and sheer pleasure of this (thus the 2nd bottle a week later) because I have it in my head that Dunn is a 15-50 yr wine. But this 96 is certainly a pleasure today, readier than the 92 and 93 for certain. The color is deep and dark, cabernet red. The nose is still a bit restrained but opens nicely with herbacious notes of eucalyptus and tall grass. Tannins are very well balanced and smooth with plenty of blackberry fruit. Not an eye-popping, cheek-puckering mouthful at all. Very smooth and refined. Finish is reasonably lengthy and clean. Very very nice quaff.

3/1/2004 - JeffO wrote:

Half bottle at El Gaucho on L's 11th birthday. This was a spontaneous birthday dinner (we thought she would pick MacDonalds), just the 3 of us and me the only wine drinker. But wow, what a treat this CdP was! Big fat jammy fruit and great structured tannins in the finish. Nose was a bit closed, giving up some fruit and pepper, but not a big bouquet. Thoroughly enjoyable though. I was at Freddy's in Totem Lake tonight (3/2) and bought their last two bottles. Yummy.

2/22/2004 - JeffO wrote:

Owned and cellared since release. Leonetti Cab 11 yrs later. Hmm. Quite heavy sediment with some small crystallization. Good fill, good cork. Good red color, but very watery at the rim. Nose has hints of tar, burnt tobacco, and vegetation. Rather forward nose, just not very pleasant. Certainly not inspirational. Nice balanced mouthfeel, tannins are quite well integrated and there's a certain small explosion of fruit all the way to the corners of the mouth. But the vegetal thing is most present, dominant, leading to a bit of a sour finish. Leonetti young is like the classic "iron fist in velvet glove" but Leonetti past a certain age seems more off than on with only vague hints of glories past.

2/15/2004 - JeffO wrote:

I'm giving this 95 pts on sheer potential. I've cellared this since release. Light sediment in bottle. Nice long tight cork. Deep red color going red-pink at the rim. A little bit of pencil on the nose, but overall the nose is quite restrained. Upon opening, this exploded in the mouth with flavor of cherries. Not Black Cherry soda, which is a flavor I find quite common in many wines, nor cooked cherries like cherry pie. This is more like the crushed meat of a fresh Rainier cherry just off the stone. I let it breathe for 5+ hours in decanter. Later, the dominant cherry had subsided somewhat and I get softer fruit coming through. The tannins are still very tight and dominate the finish. Overall, it's well-balanced. I suspect it needs more time. Lots of intense fruit that should last, but the nose is dumbed down and the tannins tight at the moment. Surprising. I kept thinking 8 yr old Merlot. It's gotta be ready!

2/8/2004 - JeffO wrote:

From the winery. Pretty heavy sediment for a 6-yr old Merlot. Still deep red throughout and going violet at the rim. Medium forward nose, minty and a little alcoholic. Very smooth on the palate, better balanced than many Leonettis, with not so much vanilla and oak wrapped around the fruit. Sweet. Slight tannins and a nice lingering finish. I generally think I could identify any Leonetti blind, but this one would be a challenge. Very nice.

2/1/2004 - JeffO wrote:

Ramey has been our favorite Chardonnay (made anywhere) since we first ran into the 97 Ramey Hyde Vineyard. Although it may not be fashionable at the moment, we love our Chardonnays big and in the California style, with plenty of buttery richness and toasty oak wrapped around the fruit. This 2000 may not be quite up to the 97, but it is very good. Lots of toasty toasty oak on the nose, like toasted coconut. Big rich explosion on the palate with undercurrents of caramel, med-long finish. A meal in itself (tho even better with Larry's crab cakes and sweet-pea salad!).

1/31/2004 - JeffO wrote:

I've been buying Pietre Rosse, Dalla Valle's Cabernet/Sangiovese blend since the early 90s. Gustav Dalla Valle brought the first jugs of Sangiovese juice over from Tuscany (his hometown as it were) to mix with his Napa Cab. They are always delightful, but this 96 vintage in particular was a bad shipment. Every bottle I have has this weird, gunky, floating sediment that sits suspended in the wine. It won't float to the bottom. Some error in the winemaking process. Just adding this note in case anyone else has ever seen such a thing. Not rated.

1/31/2002 - JeffO wrote:

Jan 02. Glen, Silvia and I drank a bottle of this at El Gaucho in Nov, and it was incredible! Calif Cab turning into mature claret (whodathunkit?). So I was excited about opening one of my own, and did so with the Donlans on Xmas Eve 2001. That bottle wasn't as impressive, but still very good. Subdued nose (too cold? Cooked in youth?). Paul drank his own 92 the next day (xmas day 01) and said it was better than the 91, and really ready to go!

1/31/2004 - JeffO wrote:

The only 100-pt wine in the "Great Porto book" and Wine of the Year (Spectator). First tasted this at the Georgian Room of the Seattle Four Seasons with John & Christy in 1995. Other wines were '85 Veuve Cliquot, '89 Corton Charlemagne and 1949 Ch. Latour in magnum. We contrasted the '77 Fonseca with a '55 Graham's (both poured by the glass). With 22 years on it, the Graham's was in its high prime--simply lovely perfect porto. (If I could find another 55 Graham's, I'd buy it in an instant.) The Fonseca exploded with youthful fruit and vigor, tasting like it was just out of the pipe (even tho it was 18 yrs old at the time). Soon after, I found a bottle at City Cellars and snatched it up. Then found a bottle in Heathrow, very authentic with the original little card hanging around the neck with decanting instructions on it. Then found 3 pristine (looks like new capsules so maybe suspicious? These were imported by BWL.) bottles at Larry's in Bellevue. New note 4/2/01: Decided to open one of the Larry's bottles last night with the Krepkys and Fishbaks. It was still red through, with a slightly watered-out (just a hint of sienna) rim, no sign of maturation. The nose was subdued, some warmth and some fruit, but closed in. On the palate, soft and very smooth, hardly any alcoholic edge or bite. Very sweet, bright, almost like a sugar-charged pinot noir. Pleasant, but unremarkable finish. Verdict? This baby has closed down, not in a hard tannic way, but soft and subdued. It tastes almost light compared to all the 40yr tawny I've been drinking lately. April 2001 says wait, wait, wait. New note: Xmas Eve 2003, opened another of the "Larry's" bottles. Again the mouthfeel is much lighter than one would expect, the nose is not big but nice, and the flavor is soft and lingering. These last two "Larry's" bottles have been very good, but not as spectacular as I expected. The next to open will be the bottle I bought in the UK, the old dusty original one, and then we'll see if it is markedly different. If it is, I cry counterfeit on the others. (Rating withheld until then.)

1/31/2004 - JeffO wrote:

Fonseca Guimaraens is still run by decendants of the founder. In the early 1950s, the firm created a second vintage Port under the Guimaraens label in non-declared years. Guimaraens Vintage Port is produced from the same three vineyards, or quintas, which provide the backbone of Fonseca's vintage Ports: the Quinta de Santo Antonio, Quinta do Cruziero and Quinta do Panascal.

1/25/2004 - JeffO wrote:

Bought direct from winery and cellared since. Less sediment than the 94 Fisher I opened a few nights later, a pretty clean pour. I don't have it in front of me at the moment, but I do remember being quite pleased with the promise of this. It was quite a lovely drink, rich and complex, soft and fragrant. But the key memory is that Silvia's eyes lit up, and these days she is as unrelenting a Bordeaux Bigot as one can find. This is the stuff I've been hoping to see come from Napa (now that I have a basement full). We'll see how its teen years go, but I can tell twenty is gonna be getting great.

1/29/2004 - JeffO wrote:

Fisher Vineyards. If you've ever stepped into a late-model GM car and seen "Body by Fisher," that's the money behind this vineyard. Bought direct from the winery upon release and cellared since. Medium-light dusty sediment in bottle. Color still dark red goign to black, not purple. Somewhat watery meniscus with just the faintest hint of amber. Nose quite dull, upon opening and still several hours later. Pull and pull and just a faint cabby nose comes forth. Strong fruit exlosion on the palate and big big mouthfeel, followed by a dry dry flat dry so dry finish. Tannins are very strong but mellow out over the evening, not to the point of a perfumed saddle-leather Bordeaux finish, but more like a firmly-structured slightly-racy backbone of CA cab finish. Debated long and hard between 89 and 90 pts. Gave it 90 in the end for the quality of the '94 fruit, not the talents of the winemaker.

11/23/2003 - JeffO wrote:

Our "house wine" the past several years. :-) Tasted close to 20 times since 1999, 3 times from magnum, it has never failed to impress (well actually there was 1 bottle that was corked). I wondered with the first few bottles if it would last, as it seemed to be at its height and fully fully mature, but it seems to be settling into an easy plateau that I hope will last for some time. It's soft going in, but has plenty of structure, well-integrated tannins and fruit, a nose that blooms and blooms, and a finish that lingers so you slow down and sip and swirl and sniff and make that stuff last all night long.

11/23/2003 - JeffO wrote:

Very little depth or complexity compared to other 82 Bordeaux. Rather light with some pleasant fruit, but not much to write home about. The 92 rating may be less than it deserves, but it takes a hit based on both price and reputation.

11/23/2003 - JeffO wrote:

Read my entry on the 45 Mouton to understand why this bottle is so important to me.

11/23/2003 - JeffO wrote:

Read my entry on the 45 Mouton to understand why this bottle is so important to me. This bottle was cellared since bottling in Bordeaux by the Bordeaux wine merchant Mahler-Besse and released to the Trade in 2001. I bought this through Bordeaux Wine Locators. It is in perfect condition.

11/23/2003 - JeffO wrote:

Tasted over a dozen times since 97. First had this at Charlie Trotters in magnum the night before my 20th HS reunion in 1997. The sommelier recommended the magnum and 85 vintage as appropriate for the time and company and it was perfect (as was everything else, incl the stop at Havanas for cigars and cognac after). The following year, we had another magnum at Everest in Chicago for my 39th birthday with the whole family. Then purchased a case as part of the big Bordeaux buy of Dec 99 from VCA Vintners. Next to the Lynch Bages, I've been most aggressive with these, breaking them out for the 60-Years of Mouton dinner (paired with the 55), 2 btls at Thanksgiving 2000, and at the first big AWS party at my house, not to mention countless Sunday evenings. Always a treat, a reference point for people who don’t know what good, fully mature but still fresh Bordeaux smells and tastes like. Opens with air, so give it some breathing time for full enjoyment. 85 Mouton--it's always a good thing.

11/23/2003 - JeffO wrote:

Tasted 3 times since 1999. This wine is just beginning to hint at what it will become, so hold 'em I say, hold 'em. I shared the last bottle with my friend Paul, and the bottle disappeared in about 30 mins. It went down like water through a parched throat. So clearly the wine has passed through its tough and tannic stage and is really quite approachable, but there are still many layers within waiting to bloom. Drink it now and enjoy the heck out of it, or hold it another 5-10 yrs and let it send you to that special place. In any case, open it well ahead of time and let it breathe.

11/22/2003 - JeffO wrote:

Silvia and I first drank this wine at Restaurant Laurent in Paris the night we became engaged (notably her birthday as well-9/20/99). The Haut Brion was recommended by the sommelier, who strictly forbade Silvia from having the boeuf ("No Madame, No. It is a businessman's lunch. Not like americaine boeuf. No!") The Haut Brion was transportive. Sublime. Telling secrets of the Earth. The following evening we shared a pristine magnum of 53 Lafite at Lucas Carton with a bunch of softies. These are two wines at the top of any game. The Lafite was brighter, younger almost, with a forward lovely Gallic nose. The Haut Brion was richer, smoother, with a finish that lingered like blooming trees on damp Spring afternoons. Since then, I snatched a single bottle passing through Heathrow and then, in a moment of savvy I never hope to enjoy again, I traded 9 bottles of '82 Petrus (which is actually the dog of that vintage) for a full original wood case of 12 bottles of 59 Haut Brion packed in honest-to-goodness 40-yr-old yellow straw (something I've never seen before--those were the days!). It's now our tradition to open a bottle each year on our anniversary. (When the case is up, we'll move on to the '82s.) We've had 4, plus the Heathrow bottle, at this point. They have all been magnificent. It's a reference wine, and such dreams it refers to I cannot begin to describe.

11/22/2003 - JeffO wrote:

Boulders. Giant ruby crystals slowly turning and tumbling into the neck, softly falling out of the darkness into the light. That's what I remember the first time I met a Mouton 45. I was 22 and in graduate school. I placed a "cellar requisition" with Schaeffer's Wines of Skokie, IL for 2 nice--but modest--bottles of Bordeaux: 1961 Beychevelle and 1966 Lynch-Bages. It was 1983. My friend Jack and I drove down to pick up my order, which was packed in a flat winebox with my invoice taped to the top. We paid and left.

In the car, Jack opened the box. There were 3 bottles inside! ("Must have tossed in a bonus bottle of some interesting vin d'ordinaire" we thought.) The bottles were each wrapped in a cardboard sleeve and packed in straw. Jack slid the sleeve from the first bottle. A 1966 La Mission Haut Brion, wine of the vintage! Right year, wrong (but much better!) wine--that's weird! Jack went to bottle #2: '61 Palmer! Wine of the vintage and a superstar of the century! Another correct vintage, but quite the upgrade! What the heck? Jack moved on to the center bottle, the last of the three. As he slid the sleeve down, a large golden "V" took shape stamped triumphantly above: 1945 Chateau Mouton Rothschild. "Drive, just drive!" Jack stammered as I turned out of the parking lot...

Later that day, having decided all schemes for retaining my bounty would only lead to ill, I called Schaeffers and explained their mistake. Seems a wealthy gentleman from Milwaukee was due in town the next day to pick up *his* 66 La Mission HB, 61 Palmer, and 45 Mouton. I was due for many more years of student poverty and off-vintage plonk, and not even a "thank-you" from Schaeffers, but I tried to live well, took heart in karma and always believed that one day after some insane fit of stock market exuberance, I would find myself once again staring into the dark, waiting and waiting for the crystal glistening boulders to tumble into the ruby light. And now, 2004, I do, having acquired a single 750m bottle in 2001 from BWL in London that appears to be in fine shape. When will I drink it? Someday soon, someday soon, but in so many ways, I already have.

3/1/2001 - JeffO wrote:

Purchased one case as part of the big Bordeaux buy of Dec 99 from VCA Vintners. Highest rated 86 Bordeaux. Drank one at home in March 2001 the night after trying the 86 Mouton. They were both drinking young, but very well. Lots of life left in these, but approachable now. Best to let them grow…

11/22/2003 - JeffO wrote:

Purchased one case as part of the big Bordeaux buy of Dec 99 from VCA Vintners. 7 of the 12 bottles had a different capsule (one large "Mis En Bouteille" instead of two small ones) than the other 5 and slightly heavier line weight on the etching on the label. I sent digital photos to the Chateau and they confirmed a change during bottling and said they have both types in their cellar. (Of course, they have no interest in verifying the existence of counterfeits in the market either.) I have yet to detect a difference between the two though, so I now assume they are genuine (if a counterfeit tree falls in the forest, does *it* make any noise?). This has always been a lovely, mature Bordeaux with all the balance and fragrance and smooth long finish that implies. I've been drinking these rather aggressively since purchase (slaking the Bordeaux thirst!), as they are probably the least renowned of all my 99-Big-Bordeaux-Buy wines.

10/21/1996 - JeffO wrote:

During my California roadtrip at the end of my sabbatical in Oct 96, I had dinner at the John Ash & Co. restaurant outside Santa Rosa in the Sonoma Valley. They had an 82 Leoville on their list ($190), so even though I was intent on drinking Californian, I couldn't pass up the research opportunity here. The 82 has a long way to go. Lovely, yet hesitant nose, brilliant clear color, not purple, but quite youthul, lots of fruit apparent though masked by still significant tannin. Soft texture going in, no perceptible finish. Time will tell. Dinner was outstanding: sonoma foie gras with corn salsa, tomato mozzarella salad (best ever) with these amazing yellow "Lemon Boy" tomatoes (as well as giant red and green toms)--like eating mangoes, not tomatoes, and then lamb chops with a (not sweet) blueberry sauce, and the usual chocolate "thing" (this one resembling and named after stonehenge!). Terrific meal. The tomatoes had me in solitary rapture sitting there alone in the corner. (new note: 11/03): Fun to note here my first encounter with Heirloom tomatoes, which I live on now during the summers. Life is good (and obviously keeps getting better)!

11/22/2003 - JeffO wrote:

Parker sez: "Best Las Cases ever!" I've had 3-4 of these since 96 and every one of them cried out: "too soon! too soon!" It's a lovely drink to be sure, especially with plenty of time, but it has the character to mature into a 59 Haut Brion. Give them time. Let it be.

11/22/2003 - JeffO wrote:

Looks like these were re-released or something. Larry's picked up about a case and put them out. Drank the first with John & Christy at our communal veggie dinner in Sept 96. Classic Las Cases: great perfumed nose, bright color, explosive flavor. Maybe I'm overstating things, but really, it was quite a fine bottle. Bought 3 more, 2 for my JOD dinner at the end of Sept 96, and one more for cellaring. Always nice to have mature claret in the cellar that one can drink without having to make an event of it. (new note, 11/03): All gone now. If I still had one, I think I'd drink up and enjoy!

11/22/2003 - JeffO wrote:

Drank a bottle of this absolutely superb wine with EricP and AnikoS in Dublin after the Stockholm vendor summit in July 96. A magical evening. We were supposed to pop out for a quick pub meal and then meet GlenPo and his friends at a Blues festival in St. Stephen's Green. Somewhat by accident, the 3 of us ended up at this fine little restaurant instead ("McGratten's on the Lane"), drank Premier Cru Chablis, the 55 Lafite, Irish coffees, lbv port, and cognac, dined on Lobster and Lamb, made requests of the piano player, and ended the evening around 2:00 AM name-dropping our way through the 20th Century with a 70-yr old Irish writer we invited to join us for cognac. Blues festival? I guess we missed it. (Sorry Glen!) The Lafite was barely mid-shoulder, and I almost told the steward not to open it, but the color was still good, a tad siena but clear, and when I first stuck my nose into the decaner, I knew it was going to be great. Long complex nose, no spice, all fruit and flower, sweet. Same on the tongue, long finish, complex evolutions, fruit, flower, sweet. Just loved it! The only Lafite I've had (admittedly few) that I can say that about. So 2 months later, in Chicago to visit home, I took the opportunity of grabbing this one from Schaefers Cellar, where they have owned it since release, and where it was topped off and recorked by the maitre de caves of Lafite in the late 80's. (New Note 4/5/01): This is sitting empty on my mantlepiece right now. When did we drink it? Ah yes, sometime in 99 or 2000 when glenpo was in town. I felt I owed it to him for skipping out on the blues fest. Don't recall much specific about it at the moment. I'm sure it was lovely and the talk was lively.

11/22/2003 - JeffO wrote:

The evening after our engagement, Silvia and I shared a sparkling magnum of this terrific wine at Lucas Carton with friends. I had to talk my friend Eric into it (took about 3 seconds). The magnum was in beautiful shape. The wine was more youthful than the 59 Haut Brion Silvia and I had the evening before. Bright, racy, fruit, and spice. Unfortunately we accepted the recommendation of the junior sommelier and followed the Lafite with an ill-advised '75 Mouton, which was hard and unyielding, like getting mugged and thrown to the concrete after spending a jazzy evening at a piano bar. The next day I found and purchased this bottle at a very tiny wine shop off the Place de Madeleine.

We popped the Place de Madeleine bottle in 2003 on my 44th birthday at Cafe Juanita in Kirkland. It was classic old Lafite, more pencil and leather than the racy magnum we had in Paris. Of all the hours I've spent in the quiet corners of Cafe Juanita sipping and sighing with Silvia, these were certainly 3 of the best!