I had a great time at the "Peter Lugeresque" luncheon at Peter Pratt's
Inn yesterday. After an unsuccessful attempt at trying to negotiate
corkage at Peter Luger's, some folks from the Squires/eBob board
arranged for Peter Pratt's Inn in Yorktown to obtain some Peter Luger's
shortloins, and prepare a "Lugeresque" menu. Jay Miller organized the
Burgundy table, which had a very nice lineup:

1990 Krug
Rich, creamy, and full, but this big oxidative style just isn't what I
look for in Champagne. A- for quality, but a B from me.

NV Selosse "Substance" Champagne
I find this oaky Champagne a bit too wierd for my tastes. Ripe apple
fruit with an overlay of hazelnut, and spice, again obviously quality
stuff, just not my taste. B-

Now for the mystery wines:
Mystery Wine #1
My favorite of the flight, ripe cherry fruit, damp earth with a hint of
leather. I guess Oregon Pinot Noir (knowing Jay brought it I even guess
specifically a St Innocent 7 Springs), but I'm wrong- the 1999 Arcadian
"Pisoni" Pinot Noir. Nice wine. B+

Mystery Wine #2
A bit thin at first, then some riper red plum and raspberry fruit shows
through. Low acid and short finish. Not my cuppa. It's a new producer
to me, the 2003 Domaine d'Ardhury "Chaillots" Aloxe-Corton 1er. B-/C+

Mystery Wine #3
Obviously older, I get some tar and leather over slightly tired black
cherry fruit. I guess older Barolo. Nope, it's a shocker- the 1978
Hanzell Pinot Noir (Sonoma) B

Ah, the red Burgundies:

1999 Fourrier "Cherbaudes" Gevrey Chambertin
Gorgeous perfumed nose. Elegant, with clean raspberry and dark berry
fruit, earth. Really tasty now, but possibly better in a few years when
the last tannins integrate. A-

1998 Groffier Chambertin Clos de Beze
Slightly lifted nose at first, but that blows off. Quite tight at
first, opens to show some nice black fruit, but a little overwhelmed by
oak at the moment. B

1993 Drouhin Clos de la Roche
At 7:30 in the morning this was tight and acidic, but some extended air
time did it a world of good. Great nose of spice and black cherry, nice
palate (for those that don't fear a bit of acid) and nice lengthy
finish. A-/A

1998 Dujac Clos St. Denis
I seemed to like this better than most, once it had some air. Has that
Dujac Spicy Oak™ over a nice body of dense black plum and black
cherry fruit. B+

2000 Drouhin Romanee St. Vivant
Medium-bodied, some oak over a nice base of red fruit. Balanced, clean,
pure. B+

2000 Potel Romanee St. Vivant
Ripe and modern, maybe not my preferred style but this was certainly
seductive. Not flabby like some modern Burgs, nice length to the
finish, a very nice showing. Some thought this needed time, I thought
it fine though it will certainly last. B+

Al Chaby brought by the 2001 Ogier (I think!) Cote-Rotie, but I
neglected to take notes. Clearly really young, but lots of potential .


With the meat, I thought I'd branch out from Burgundy, so we sent
around a couple of Pessacs, the 2001 Pape Clement and the 2002 Pape
Clement. Unsure of the decanting status of the 2001, the 2002 had been
double-decanted at 9 that morning. Both showed a lot of oak, at first I
preferred the 2002 but the 2001 gained complexity in the glass. Still,
enough oak here to make judging hard. I'd say B+ for the 2001 & B for
the 2002.

1989 Leroy "Les Beaumonts" Vosne-Romanee 1er Cru.
Rich earthy nose, bigger wine than I expected. Dense palate with long
finish. B+/A-

1998 Mugnier Bonnes Mares
This was my biggest disappointment of the Burgs. I thought it corked at
first opening, but then decided it was fine- but only fine in the sense
of no TCA. I had liked this on release, but this showed rather flat and
disjointed. Possibly just closed, but nothing much even seemed to be
lurking under surface. C+

1997 Mugnier Musigny
Ready, willing, and able. One of the best '97s I've had. Delicate
without being weak, bright strawberry and cherry fruit woven in with
earth, spice, and even a hint of grenadine syrup/pomegranite. Some say
this isn't a great showing,but fine by me. A-

2000 Drouhin Musigny
Good, clear clean fruit, a tad less complex than the Mugnier. B/B+

Someone brought over a pour of the 1982 Conseillante (Pomerol).
Beautiful showing, ripe black plum and cassis fruit, some mineral and
cedar notes. Even from a small taste a gorgeous wine. A-/A

1991 Amiot Montrachet
A bit of an oxidative note, nice honied fruit but I'd say drink up
fast. B

1989 Drouhin Folatieres Puligny-Montrachet 1er
This on the other hand was quite young, with intense minerality and
rich butterscotch and pear on the palate. B+/A-

John Belden brought by the 1986 Rieussec. Not the stunner of say the
'83, but a nice mature Sauternes with apricot and pineapple fruit,
boistered by hint of orange zest. B/B+

1977 Tokaji-Aszu 3 Puttanayos
No producer listed that I could see, I assume Communist co-op. This
didn't appeal much to me, no notes. C

1983 Warres Vintage Port
My palate was about shot, but this was rather nice with a fig and
raisin palate. B+

Roy Hersch brought a mystery dessert wine, which I though was a little
hot and a lot oxidized, yet with a nice caramelly core. I thought it
was a very old Port, from other notes (I left before unveiling) seems
it was a 1968 Madiera, which makes it my biggest miss of the day.

Peter Pratt's Inn did a very good job. With the complexities of
setting up glasses, opening wines, etc I didn't give adequate attention
to the openers of quesadillas, spring rolls, and lamb rib chops. I
quite enjoyed the porterhouse steak, as well as sides of caesar salad,
roasted potaoes and creamed spinach.

Kudos to the staff at Peter Pratt's, and to organizers Andy Raffle and
Mark Franks. At our table, thanks to Keith Levenberg for assembling a
great cheese tray (I especially like the Citeaux and Hoch Ybrig, as
well as the deliciously stinky Affidelice &
Epoisses ). And thanks to our table for their generosity and good humor
(especially Bill Lawrence, who did a better job than I did of paying
attention to not being too geeky for Betsy!).

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.