Why just drink wine when you can really know wine?

2011 Premium Rare Wines Event

Thursday, November 10, 2011 at Vintage 1891 Larchmont Wine Lounge

CHAMPAGNE

Domaine Louis Roederer made Champagne’s first prestige wine. They created Cristal in 1876 for Tsar Alexander II of Russia and supplied, at his request, in a clear crystal bottle – better to detect poisons. It was first made available commercially in 1945. Louis Roederer is one of the largest remaining independent champagne houses owned by the same family since it was founded in 1776.

Writing in the Wine Advocate, Antonio Galloni states, “The 2002 Cristal is a gorgeous, sculpted wine of extraordinary elegance. Graceful, well-delineated aromatics lead to ripe pears, spices, flowers, minerals and mint in this precise Champagne.”

at Zachys $295

MONTRACHET, COTE DE BEAUNE, BURGUNDY

Arguably the best white wine of France and perhaps the world comes from two of France’s most famous vineyards: le Montrachet and Bienvenue Batard Montrachet, both located principally in the commune of Puligny-Montrachet in the Côte de Beaune. The wines of le Montrachet are known for their unparalleled concentration of the qualities of white Burgundy: “more…scent, a brighter gold, a longer flavor, more succulence and yet more definition; everything about it is intensified – the mark of a truly great wine.” (Hugh Johnson, World Atlas of Wine)

These two wines, one 6 years old and other 13, give us the chance to observe the storied capacity of white Burgundy to become more concentrated and more complex with age. Remoissenet Pere et Fils is a negociant in Burgundy. It has regularly sourced its Montrachet grapes from the Domaine Thénard.

1998 Montrachet unavailable, but the 2005 is, at Tribeca Wine Merchants $295

MOSEL, GERMANY

Find out why they say that Riesling is one of the greatest aging wines in the world. This wine is Germany’s most famous grape, Riesling, from one of Germany's finest producers and one of the world's great vineyards. Wehlener Sonnenuhr. Weingut Joh. Jos. Prum’s wines are extraordinary and have a record of exceptional longevity. Wehlener Sonnenuhr Wehlener Sonnenuhr is a precipitously steep and rocky vineyard which yields some of the most elegant and sophisticated white wines in the world.

at Grapes the Wine Company $180

GEVREY-CHAMBERTIN, COTE DE NUITS, BURGUNDY

What’s the big deal about red Burgundy? Here is the answer – a wine from Gevrey-Chambertin, regarded by many as the flagship region of the Cote de Nuits. Gevrey-Chambertin’s “…combination of ‘grace and vigour, firmness and strength, finesse and delicacy…the summit of Burgundy’s potential’ has inspired writers to exotic prose.” (Norman & Taylor, The Great Domaines of Burgundy) Latricieres-Chambertin is one of its nine grand cru vineyards. This wine’s maker, Louis Jadot, is among the greatest wine producers in Burgundy. The Wine Advocate (Rovani) writes that, “The exceptional 2002 Latricieres-Chambertin bursts with tarragon, red cherry, raspberry, and iris aromas. Medium to full-bodied, powerful, and mouth-coating, it is gorgeously ripe, lush, and intense. Sweet red cherries, candied raspberries, earth, roasting spices, and cinnamon can be discerned in its complex character.” It is at its peak now.

the 2002 is not available retail; but the 2003 is at Park Ave. Liquor: $160

CHATEAUNEUF-DU-PAPE, RHONE VALLEY

Clos des Papes has been one of a handful of outstanding Châteauneuf-du-Pape wines over the past 40 years. In 2003 it was the No. 2 wine in Wine Spectator 's Top 100 of 2005; and in 2007 its 2005 was No. 1. More recently, its 2007 was rated 99+ by Parker. Parker wrote of the 1995 : « …possibly the best wine made at this estate since 1978...should keep for 20 years.”… Prior to 2003, the 1995 was the highest rated Clos des Papes by Wine Spectator, 96….and it is now ready to drink! The domaine is run by the Avril family which has been making wine in Châteaneuf-du-Pape since the early 1700’s. In the 1970’s and 80’s Paul Avril was a staunch traditionalist who firmly believed in the principle of ‘one estate, one wine’, and resisted the pressure to bottle high ticket super-cuvées. He felt that it would take away from the style and character of the wine his family had produced for over 100 years.

at The Rare Wine Company $130

MONPRIVATO, BAROLO, PIEDMONT

The estate of Giuseppe Mascarello e Figlio is one of the greatest Barolo producers. This traditionally-styled winery is now run by Mauro Mascarello, who is the fourth generation of the family to head the domaine. The Monprivato vineyard is recognized as one of the greatest vineyards in all of Barolo (it would be a grand cru on par with a Chambertin or a Richebourg if this were Burgundy), with the name of Mascarello always tied to the greatest expressions of Monprivato.

There are no new French oak barrels or roto-fermenters to be found in the Mascarellos’ cellars, as the wines continue to be made in the old Slavonian oak botti (very large casks) purchased by Mauro’s father in the 1950s. With bottle age Monprivato produces a beautiful, red fruity, truffley and soil-driven Barolo, redolent also of autumnal notes and roses.

“One of Piedmont's perennial stars, particularly in top vintages, Mauro Mascarello's 1997 Barolo Monprivato exhibits a dense ruby/garnet color as well as a sweet nose of cedar, black fruits, earth, tar, and rose petals. The explosive perfume is followed by a rich, seamless, full-bodied, unctuously-textured wine. One of the most precocious and accessible Monprivatos I have ever tasted, the 1997 is the finest since the glorious 1990. Anticipated maturity: now-2015. 92” RP

at Park Avenue Liquor $200

HAUT-MEDOC, BORDEAUX

Wonder what a great classified Bordeaux wines tastes like with eight years of aging? Ducru-Beaucaillou is one of the most expensive second growths reflecting the high demand for the wine and its high quality. Many of its vintages “could challenge any of the Médoc first growths…The wine of Ducru-Beaucaillou is the essence of elegance, symmetry, balance, breed, class, and distinction. …The meticulous attention to detail, the brutal selection process – whereby only the finest grapes and finest barrelos of wine are permitted to go into the bottle – and the conservative viticultural practices follwed, all play major roles in the success of this wine.” (R. Parker, Bordeaux, p 261)

at Westchester Wine Warehouse $223

BAROSSA, SOUTH AUSTRALIA

Called by many the greatest wine of the southern hemisphere, Penfolds Grange has long been considered one of the flagship wines of the wine world. Located in Barossa Valley, it is named after Dr. Penfolds who emigrated from England in 1845, bringing along with him some vine clippings from the south of France, believing, as was common at the time, in the medicinal value of wine. He and his wife built a cottage that they named “The Grange”, after his wife’s family home in England. “Penfolds’ renowned 2000 Grange is only the fifth vintage to be made from 100% Shiraz (the others being 1951, 1952, 1963, and 1999). It is also, atypically, 100% Barossa fruit…and is much more accessible than usual. One of the top wines I tasted from this vintage … its dense ruby/purple color is followed by a big, sweet nose of blackberries, cherries, chocolate, and earth. With decent acidity, ripe, silky tannin, superb intensity, wonderful equilibrium, and a more open-knit, softer, accessible style than usual, it can be drunk now or cellared for 15-16 years…. drink 2005-2020 93” RP

at Winfield-Flynn, Ltd. $310

NAPA VALLEY, CALIFORNIA

What do the best of Napa’s cult wines have to offer? Joseph Phelps is considered among America’s best red wine producers. Insignia is Phelps’ top wine and perhaps its greatest expression is the 2007. One of the pioneering Napa Valley wineries founded in the 1970’s, Joseph Phelps was the first to recognize that a blend of grapes could be better than a single varietal cuvee. His 1974 Insignia, released in spring 1978, was the first Bordeaux-style blend produced in California under a proprietary label. “The 2007 Insignia (a blend of 88% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Merlot and 4% Petit Verdot) looks to be one of the greatest wines yet produced at this historic winery…. Already complex and approachable, it should evolve for three decades or more, but who can resist it now? It is a staggering, complex expression of Napa viticulture…. 98” Robert Parker at Westchester Wine Warehouse $177 MADEIRA, PORTUGAL Barbeito Bual Madeira 1978 WA (Neal Martin) 97 Madeira was the drink of our nation’s founders and now you have the chance to taste great Madeira. Barbeito is leading Madeira’s climb back into worldwide prominence. Last year Jancis Robinson called Barbeito “the Lafite of Madeira,” for the “delicately vivid” wines winemaker Ricardo Freitas is crafting. Neal Martin referred to winemaker Freitas as Madeira’s “game changer”. This wine could last a century, but why wait!

at the Rare Wine Company $125