Thursday a nice group gathered on covered patio at Harvest on Hudson. It had been years since I had been there, and I had a bit of culinary trepidation. But apparently they?ve had a new chef last couple years and food was quite good (and the view amazing, a rare combo). We shared calamari, then 2 apps each (I had excellent baccala with saffron-chili aioli, and very good octopus with olives & potato), then shared 2 pizzas (4 cheese and meatbal), then for the 10 of us got 3 porterhouses for 2, with sides of fries and spinach.
1996 Salon Wow, so young. Clean bright Chardonnay fruit (pear, apple) with fresh bread, but you can feel more potential lurking. B+ now, sure an A when ready.2013 Pierre- Yves Colin-Morey En Remilly Saint Aubin 1er Lovely white Burg, Meyer lemon and apple blossoms, a little vanilla, long chalk/mineral finish, A-
2019 Atlantida Not on market yet, from a grape I had never heard of (Vijiriega, and no I won?t try to pronounce it), this was a delicious taut saline wine B++2005 Boulay ?La Comtesse? Sancerre Still plenty of life,but not as nearby as last bottle, a but round and slightly lactic. B
2014 Boulay ?La Comtesse? Sancerre Taut, powerful, wet rocks. A-1945 Ch. Olivier Blanc (Graves) Served blind, clearly quite old, caramel and pineapple, others liked it more than me but fun to taste. C+
1983 Pichon Lalande Double-decanted before going to restaurant, maybe 2 hours before serving. Intoxicating nose of black fruits, tobacco/cigarbox, and spice. Elegant on palate, cassis and cedar. Long finish. For my palate this was at apogee, and no danger of sliding down soon. One person thought it faded after a bit but I took a repour at end and thought still delicious.A/A-1983 La Mission Haut Brion When served seemed a little clumsier than other bottles I've had, but it was just opened at restaurant and was coming along with some air. At end pretty lovely with black currant & plum, smoke, and cedar. B+/A-
1995 Togni Cabernet Sauvignon Lovely though still young and a bit tannic, cassis, black olive, mint. Structured and balanced, very long. With time a bit of (pleasant) bell pepper adds to complexity. A-1998 Vieux Chateau Certan Served blind, there was a mint/eucalyptus note that took some towards CA, but we agreed Bdx. Lush texture, exotic, herby and long. My initial guess was Figeac,others got VCC. A-
1985 Leoville Las Cases Approachable for LLC, black fruit and leather, maybe a little blocky, table liked more than I did. B+/B1986 Beychevelle This is a wine I?ve liked a lot in past, but there was a wet cement/damp cardboard note here that made me say corked. One person kept arguing it was flawed, but not TCA, but even he didn;t want to drink. NR
1986 Pichon Lalande Opened as a replacement, corked as well!1996 Leoville las Cases I?m not a big LLC fan, but this has always been a favorite, long and complex, though it?s still a long long way from maturity. B+/A- with improvement likely over decades.
1996 Pichon Lalande This is much more approachable, balanced and long. Cedar/pencil shavings, tobacco, and mushrooms over a fine black plum and cassis foundation, A-2009 Puffeney Vin Jaune Quite complex, but I?m just not a vin jaune fan, so no rating,
Fun night with nice people. I was spitting some but still had to wait in parking lot for an hour before driving home.
Grade disclaimer: I'm a very easy grader, basically A is an excellent wine, B a good wine, C drinkable. 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.