When we had a charity dinner in November, we were a bit oversubscribed.
So we asked some friends who were a tad too late signing up to join us
for dinner Sunday night. After a balmy week (for January in NY) it had
turned bitterly cold, but hot food, cool wine, and good friendship
warmed up everyone.

As folks arrived, we had the NV Francois Pinon Vouvray Petillant. Nice
appley Chenin fruit, a light hint of Parker House rolls, fine mousse. A
little light, but nice as an apertif. B

As we were seated, we started with an amuse bouche of Yukon Gold Potato
with American Sturgeon Caviar and Crème Fraiche (yes, we had done same
thing last Wednesday, this was using up the caviar I bought for New
Years Eve since we went to bed at 10 NYE jetlagged). Wine was the 1999
Vincent Girardin"Le Champ Gain" Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru. Served
WAY too cold (I was using the time-honored "back steps" refrigerator
method, and forgot to bring it in when I intended). As it warmed it
showed lots of that Girardin toasty oak over a body of pear fruit. Good
acids and some minerality on the finish made it more Burgundy than
California Chardonnay. Nice wine, and a good value for a 1er Cru. B+

The primi course was linguine fini with assorted mushrooms (morels,
cepes, cremini) in Madiera. We had two wines :

1995 Caparzo Brunello di Montalcino
Double-decanted two hours before serving. Clean cherry fruit. Not a lot
of concentration- if it wasn't for the slightly scratchy tannins, one
might mistake for a so-so Chianti Classico Riserva. Not awful, but not
sorry this is last one. At least two others liked better than I did.
B-/C+

1993 Bouchard "Clos de la Mousse" Beaune 1er Cru
Opened three hours before serving, this was surprisingly fruit-driven
for a '93 at opening. At service the raspberry and black cherry fruit
was still clear without being overwhelming; it supported a Burgundian
nose of earth and mushrooms. Wine showed good acidity without being
the least harsh, an excellent match for the pasta. This was not just a
favorite for me and my idiosyncratic taste- popular around the table.
So it's not only the Grand Cru '93s that are showing well. A-/B+

A short intermezzo of a Meyer lemon sorbet, then we moved to the
main course, lamb shanks with French lentils accompanied by Brussels
sprouts with pancetta (I missed the opportunity to ask our Belgian
guest if they call them Brussels sprouts in Belgium).

1990 Lagrange (St Julien)
I expected this to be WOTN, and for me it was. Slightly more advanced
than bottle at 1990 horizontal a couple months ago, with deep
concentrated blackcurrant fruit, some cedary oak, and beautiful tobacco
and leadpencil notes. Ripe tannins, long finish. A-

1970 de Pez (St. Estephe)
Uh oh, this cork is pure sawdust. Dry, crumbles to nothingness with
each touch. I punch a hole through and pour through a funnel with mesh.
Hey, not so bad. Fruit profile is more red than black, there's some
leather and smoke. Fully resolved tannins, soft acidity. Not quite as
good as bottle Mark Golodetz brought to a Midnight Run benefit (along
with all the components of the blend), but decent for a 35 year old. B

A short break for a green salad with asparagus/strawberry/hazelnut
vinaigrette, then we moved to the cheese course- Stilton, Delice de
Bourgogne, and Mimolette.

Along with the reds, we had a bottle of the 1987 Martinez Vintage
Port. Bottles of this have been highly variable (and highly volatile-
some unattractive due to high VA). This one probably shows best of the
lot- medium bodied, light tannins, with a deep base of blackberry fruit
with some chocolate notes. Quite nice, B+

Annabelle had brought a delicious series of desserts- citrus fruit with
mint, almond madeleines, and tarte tatin. I opened a bottle of the 1998
Heiss Trockenbeerenauslese . I went back and forth for a moment - the
botrytis was making it hard to make a clear determination, but
eventually I threw the yellow flag and gave it a 15-yard penalty for
TCA. Some of the others detected no problem, and enjoyed it (and I
can't complain, as it was a gift from Emily at www.winemonger.com). In
meantime Referee Dale opened the 2001 Heiss "Akazien Barrique Sauvignon
Blanc" Beerenauslese. Heady floral and honey nose, sweet pineapple and
peach fruit. This is apparently aged in acacia barrels, but I don't
have enough experience (well, zero) with acacia barrels to know if it
imparts something unique. This is a nice dessert wine with plenty of
body, however, and gets the nod at A-

Nice evening, nice folks, nice wines, great food,

Grade disclaimer: I'm a very easy grader, basically A is an excellent
wine, B a good wine, C mediocre. Anything below C means I wouldn't
drink at a party where it was only choice. Furthermore, I offer no
promises of objectivity, accuracy, and certainly not of consistency.