D. Zylberberg
David Zylberberg
One of the more interesting nights of wine I can remember -
1969 Huet Le Mont Demi-Sec - Michael and Corey liked this way more than me, but I have issues with old Huet. It's smells overwhelmingly of green tea to me - like walking into that Ito-En store that used to be on Madison Ave. before it closed. I think even if you can handle the green tea / "wooly" aromas, this isn't the best bottle, as the sweetness is sort of awkward in a now-you-see-it, now-you-don't way and, while unbelieveably fresh for a 43 year old white, it's not particularly complex, even a bit short - there's more stuffing in the Leflaive, tasted alongside. Very interesting, and worth trying, but I wouldn't be running back again for more. Michael assures me other library release bottles of Huet he's tried have shown much better.
1995 Domaine Leflaive Puligny-Montrachet - A seeper under the capsule (which is a matter for another post), this still showed fresh and wholly non-oxidative, but with fierce, unintegrated acidity. More butter than I would like on the nose, and not much fruit, this was basically a ball of spice-scented acid. Nevertheless, this shows underlying quality, as it's very savory and has plenty of extract - almost tannic seeming. Not a very pleasant drink right now, but I don't have a ton of experience with white burg aging curve. Judgment reserved.
1991 Domaine Montille Pommard 'Rugiens' - A beast of a burg, dark fruit and mint and licorice and plenty of rustic tannin. Primary and arguably shut down, even now. This is very very good, and improves over the 3 hours in the glass, but it's about as powerful as I've ever seen Pinot be while retaining balance. Query whether this has "pinosity", but I guess it's reflecting the terroir transparently. Quite an experience. Much better with meat than on its own.
Blind 1991 Burgundy - Corey brings a burg in a brown bag, tells us its from 1991, but wont tell us what it is, even at the end of the evening. I think Corey misses the point of the "blind" ringer, but, whatever. This is probably the best burg I've ever had, as it has all the power and mintiness of the Pommard but with fragrant red fruit and space and, in place of the rough structure, the silkiest goddan tannins you ever saw. Unbelievable umami, this has a deliciousnes that's hard to describe, and is one of the few burgs I've ever tried thats better in the mouth than on the nose. Whatever the hell this is, it's a privilege to taste it.
1971 J.J. Prum W-S GKA - A total fucking disappointment, this is OK but totally lacking in excitement. Very botrytal to my palate, with a creamy-lactic thing going on and plenty of burnt sugar. There's intensity on the attack, but it sort of flops into this diffuse blah thing after that first millisecond, and it finishes a bit short and watery. Where's the acid I was expecting? I took home the remains (we didn't finish this!) and on the morning after it was more of the same, but even a bit cidery, so query if this was a correct bottle.
1969 Huet Le Mont Demi-Sec - Michael and Corey liked this way more than me, but I have issues with old Huet. It's smells overwhelmingly of green tea to me - like walking into that Ito-En store that used to be on Madison Ave. before it closed. I think even if you can handle the green tea / "wooly" aromas, this isn't the best bottle, as the sweetness is sort of awkward in a now-you-see-it, now-you-don't way and, while unbelieveably fresh for a 43 year old white, it's not particularly complex, even a bit short - there's more stuffing in the Leflaive, tasted alongside. Very interesting, and worth trying, but I wouldn't be running back again for more. Michael assures me other library release bottles of Huet he's tried have shown much better.
1995 Domaine Leflaive Puligny-Montrachet - A seeper under the capsule (which is a matter for another post), this still showed fresh and wholly non-oxidative, but with fierce, unintegrated acidity. More butter than I would like on the nose, and not much fruit, this was basically a ball of spice-scented acid. Nevertheless, this shows underlying quality, as it's very savory and has plenty of extract - almost tannic seeming. Not a very pleasant drink right now, but I don't have a ton of experience with white burg aging curve. Judgment reserved.
1991 Domaine Montille Pommard 'Rugiens' - A beast of a burg, dark fruit and mint and licorice and plenty of rustic tannin. Primary and arguably shut down, even now. This is very very good, and improves over the 3 hours in the glass, but it's about as powerful as I've ever seen Pinot be while retaining balance. Query whether this has "pinosity", but I guess it's reflecting the terroir transparently. Quite an experience. Much better with meat than on its own.
Blind 1991 Burgundy - Corey brings a burg in a brown bag, tells us its from 1991, but wont tell us what it is, even at the end of the evening. I think Corey misses the point of the "blind" ringer, but, whatever. This is probably the best burg I've ever had, as it has all the power and mintiness of the Pommard but with fragrant red fruit and space and, in place of the rough structure, the silkiest goddan tannins you ever saw. Unbelievable umami, this has a deliciousnes that's hard to describe, and is one of the few burgs I've ever tried thats better in the mouth than on the nose. Whatever the hell this is, it's a privilege to taste it.
1971 J.J. Prum W-S GKA - A total fucking disappointment, this is OK but totally lacking in excitement. Very botrytal to my palate, with a creamy-lactic thing going on and plenty of burnt sugar. There's intensity on the attack, but it sort of flops into this diffuse blah thing after that first millisecond, and it finishes a bit short and watery. Where's the acid I was expecting? I took home the remains (we didn't finish this!) and on the morning after it was more of the same, but even a bit cidery, so query if this was a correct bottle.