A Sommelier's Ultimate Experience

Last Friday night I had the honor and privilege to provide wine service for eight prominent wine collectors at La Toque.  I had spent a week researching the wines and worked with Chef Ken Frank to create an eight-course menu.  This was show time.  These men had dined at every significant restaurant in the world, experienced the best cuisine, wine and service.  Would I be up to the task?  As a sommelier, this would be the most significant night of my career. 

 

I received the wines a week earlier and arranged them upright in the cellar (some of the wines had been upright for over a month, I was informed).  Given the age of the wines, they were in great visual condition.  I was also given the list of the wines in sequence of service with detailed instructions.  Some were to be decanted, some not.  Some were to be decanted in advance but others just prior to serving.  Also the timing requirements were very specific.  All wines were to be poured just before the food was served.  For courses that featured multiple wines, there were specific intervals to be observed before the second wine was to be poured. 

 

I used the cellar as my staging area and opened all of the bottles (except the mature champagne and tokaji) as instructed.  Removing the corks proved to be a messy endeavor (only 3 intact extractions) but I managed to removed all of them and render the wines free of cork.  I have learned that a wine key with a long worm and a broad helix works best.  My objective was to avoid excessive downward pressure as mature corks can easily slip into the bottle.  With mature bottles, I often find the cork fused onto the sides of bottle which renders the prongs of the osso useless.  Miraculously all of the bottles smelled sound. 

 

One of the guests was Francois Audouze, world renown for his incredible collection of old wines and the fabled dinners at which they are enjoyed.  He kindly asked if he could accompany me to the cellar to examine the wines.  I had done some research on Francois and he had a very unique method of handling old wines.  For still wines he likes to open them 5 hours before serving.  If they smell great, he puts the cork back in.  If they seem tight, he leaves them alone, uncorked until service.  He calls this “slow oxygenation” and you can read about his method at www.academiesdesvinsanciens.org.  Three of wines, as he put it, were “being shy”:  ’29 Margaux, ’55 & ’62 Leroy La Romanée.  I followed his  recommendation and held them at room temperature until service.  Earthy truffle notes dominated the Margaux and both of the Burgundies showed a streak of tapenade, but by the time they were served, the earthy/savory notes gave way to reveal beautiful, mature fruit.  It was hard to believe, but true.  These wines were from notable vintages so they may have had an increased ability to withstand the effects of air.  Still it made me reconsider how we automatically assume that air is detrimental to old wine.  Francois showed me how the opposite can be true as every wine improved throughout the evening.  I would never have imagined this possibility had it not been for this encounter.

 

In creating the menu, the Chef and I agreed that the food could not meet the wines squarely, despite the fact that most represented benchmark vintages.  Without the luxury of tasting the wines during menu development, we erred on the side of caution decided that the flavors needed to enter the wines from underneath rather than from above.  Our goal was to nudge the wines into a greater grandeur.  At best, the food would flesh out and elongate the flavors of the wine.  At worst, it would shorten and dry them out.  The task of creating the dishes required great control of sweetness, acid, earthiness, flavor depth and texture.   The sequence of the line up was very instructive.  I recognized that the men had designed a flavor trajectory and my research into the producers and vintages confirmed this.  There was an obvious ascent that would build into a peak, followed by a couple of gentle descents before moving onto the sweet wines.  Below is the evening’s menu.

 

 

1959 Laurent Perrier Grand Siecle (fill level normal)

1952 Krug (fill level normal)

 

Russian Osetra & Potato Rosti

 

This was a study in champagne styles.  As expected, neither showed any effervescence, and the LP showed more color development.  The Laurent Perrier had developed tremendous richness, honeyed, round and generous and it squared off nicely against the briny richness of the caviar.  The Krug was refined, fresh and poised displaying much more cut with whispers of spice and toast.  It accented the oceanic minerality of the caviar.

 

1998 Chateau Haut-Brion Blanc (fill level normal)

1928 Chateau Haut-Brion Blanc (fill level low neck)

 

Rhode Island Day Boat Scallop, Squid Ink Tapioca & Hollandaise Sauce

 

The ’98 showed very fresh passion fruit and fig followed by smoke and mineral notes. It had tremendous weight but was also very articulate.  It aligned with the minerality of the squid ink and its acidity mirrored the acidity of the hollandaise sauce cloaked in butter and egg. 

 

The color of the ’28 was incredibly concentrated, resembling a young Sauternes.  The aromas were dominated by honey, wax and clarified butter, yet it was still fresh!  On the palate, it was massive and oily, with deep honey tones but completely dry.  I had never encountered anything like this.  My best description of the wine is that of a dry Sauternes with development. The wine favored the scallop, paralleling its sweet flesh and the fatty texture.  There was also great textural harmony with the fluffiness of the hollandaise sauce.

 

1929 Chateau Margaux (fill level high shoulder)

 

Alaskan Halibut, Celery Root Mousseline, Parmesan Porcini Broth

 

Despite this highly regarded vintage, my research showed that Margaux was inconsistent and this was confirmed by its placement in the sequence.  When first opened, the wine was dominated by truffle, but following Francois’ recommendation to let it rest in room temperature as opposed to cellar temperature, the fruit emerged 2 hours later.  The neutral flavor of the halibut and the subtle earth and sweetness of the celery root never challenged this elegant wine.  The pungency of the porcini subdued the truffle notes in the wine, while the umami of the Parmesan evoked more fruit.  The method of cooking of the halibut was a very gentle moist bake to retain the delicate texture and avoid the dry caramelization of the outer surfaces.

 

 

1947 Chateau La Mission Haut Brion (fill level mid-neck)

 

Nilgai Antelope, Braised Lentils & Root Vegetables Pearls

 

Everything I had read about this wine turned out to be true.  Some describe this legendary wine to be port-like as it was extremely hot in September, resulting in many stuck fermentations.  The wine displayed inky dark color, immense sweet fruit and tremendous length.  How could a 62 year-old wine still taste like this?  I was alarmed by the sweet fruit and began to panic, as the wine’s sweetness would “hang” over the dish, but this didn’t turn out to be the case.  The natural sweetness of the root vegetables (parsnip, carrot, and turnip) gave the sweet fruit of the wine a place to go and settle down.  Once this was harnessed the wine came into tighter focus and great balance.  The clean flavor of the antelope (not wild, but farmed and grass fed) and the earthiness of the lentils supported the wine to a long the finish.

 

1945 Chateau Latour (fill level low neck)

1945 Chateau Latour-a-Pomerol (fill level low neck)

 

Braised Angus Beef Short Rib, Soft Corn Polenta

 

The course is where the flavors reached a peak and the Chateau Latour demonstrated immense power and authority.  The color was still deep purple and showed generous black fruit on the nose with seductive gravel and dried tobacco accents.  On the palate the wine was full-bodied and the ripeness of fruit was unbelievable.  Many at the table were discussing that this wine was the most age-worthy red wine in history and I now saw why.  The crop was tiny due to frost, but followed by ideal weather the wines of this vintage is one of the most prized in history.  Of course 1945 also marked the end to World War II.  The best Pomerols from ’45 were known to be just as powerful as those from the left bank, but in contrast to the Latour, this particular bottle of the Latour-a-Pomerol was all finesse.  The color was a medium red with slight browning at the rim.  A blend of 90% Merlot 10% Cabernet Franc, the wine showed elegant red fruits, beautiful flavor transparency and brighter acidity through a medium body.  While the Latour had the stuffing to accommodate to the deep flavors of the braised short rib and the mellow sweetness of the soft polenta, the Pomerol was a bit over-matched.  The Chateau Latour with the braised short rib was Mr. Audouze’s favorite pairing.

 

1926 Chateau Cheval Blanc (fill level high neck)

1926 Chateau Haut-Brion (high shoulder)

 

Wolf Farm Quail, Chanterelles & Rich Mushroom Jus

 

The objective of this course and the wines was to initiate the gentle descent from the power of the previous course. The Cheval Blanc’s high fill level was due to its reconditioning at the Chateau in 1994, as the photo above shows.  The cork had been replaced and came out in one piece.  As I served the wine, I was shocked by the color.  It was pallid brick and orange at the center and extended out to an orange/tan rim, by far the least pigmented wine of the evening.  I thought it would be darker, assuming that it would have been reconditioned with at least some young wine.  I grew concerned but when I tasted the wine, the palate mirrored the nose.  Delicate dried red fruits followed by sandalwood, smoldering tobacco leaf, dried flowers, and truffle.  The aroma was so seductive that this wine was more Burgundy than Bordeaux, displaying majestic flavor transparency and a long, lacy finish.  The Haut-Brion was the complete opposite.  The color was inky and opaque.  The wine resembled the ’45 Latour in its ripeness, body and structure, but showed more precision.  The gravelly minerality and the pipe tobacco notes underlined the still plump fruit.  Mr. “S”, one of attendees, informed me that ’26 was a sleeper vintage, given the strength of the vintages of ’27, ’28 and ’29.  The wines entered the quail dish from opposite sides.  While the riper Haut-Brion entered the flavor realm by immediately latching onto the meaty richness of the quail, the Cheval Blanc remained motionless until quail’s flavor gave way to the earthiness of the chanterelles and the mushroom jus, building rhythm toward a very long, impressionistic finish.

 

1955 Leroy La Romanée (fill level normal)

1962 Leroy La Romanée (fill level normal)

 

Chick Pea Ravioli & Classic Micro Mirepoix with Fresh Burgundy Truffle

 

With this course the descent of savory flavors would be completed with the silky texture and gentle fruit of the mature Burgundies accompanied by the mellow flavors and pillow-like texture of the ravioli.  The reasoning of the two-course descent, according to Mr. Audouze, was to not shock the palate with sweetness immediately following the most powerful dish and wine.  The fill levels on both wines were exactly the same and they smelled identical from the bottle – tight with a streak of tapenade and dried red fruits and damp spice underneath.  As Mr. Audouze had suggested with the ’29 Margaux, I took them out of the cellar and staged them in the warmer environment of my service table.  I smelled the wines again just prior to serving (3 hours had elapsed).  The tapenade and earthy notes parted to pure, beautiful red fruit.  The ’55 was served first as it was expected to be more subtle, but the opposite was true.  The ’55 showed an abundance of fruit, perfume and was very open.  The aromas leapt out of the glass, which surprised me because what little information found didn’t hold ’55 as a benchmark vintage.  The ’62 was considered superior to the ’55 but it not as expressive.  However, the wine was greatly improved by the ravioli dish.  The earthiness of the porcini mushrooms and the nuanced chickpea ricotta filling emboldened the wines presence, evoking more fruit and volume.

 

1898 Chateau La Tour-Blanche (upper shoulder)

1921 Chateau Suduiraut (lower neck)

1912 Tokaji Esszencia (lower neck – necks longer on 500ml)

 

Gorgonzola, Honey & Butter Roasted Almonds

 

Initially, these sweet wines were to be served separately with their individual course, but on the day before the dinner, they opted to have the three served together.  They would also forgo dessert and replace it with Fourme d’Ambert.  Even though the dessert never came to fruition, the chef and I went through the exercise.  In pairing wine with dessert, the level of sweetness had to be spot on.  We agreed that the nature of sweetness was just as important.  We concurred that such wines were best approached with a dish that derived its sweetness from honey, brown sugar, caramel and butter.  Sweetness derived from fresh fruit had to be avoided because its freshness would unnecessarily accentuate the age of the wines.  A mellow sweetness and an equally mellow texture was required, such as you might find in a crème caramel, flan or panna cotta. 

 

Fourme d’Ambert is a cheese that the chef has no problem acquiring, but this happened to be the case on Friday.  So it was substituted with an Italian Gorgonzola, also made form cow’s milk with a very similar flavor and texture profile.  I could not find any information on the 1898 vintage in Sauternes but the wine displayed immense authority and power with tremendous depth of color and extremely honeyed flavors.  The texture was fat, unctuous and waxy and finished with a spiced caramel note.  The one hundred and eleven year-old wine was perfect. Unbelievable.  The Suduiraut suffered a different fate.  My research confirmed 1921 as a monumental vintage, but this wine showed fatigue.  The wine was starting to dry out and finished short with a roasted, nutty and bitter note.  The 1912 Tokaji Esszencia was a whole other level of sweetness.  There was no capsule or foil and the cork was covered with hairs of cladosporium caellare.  This was the only wine which was to be uncorked just before service (I imagined this wasn’t because the wine couldn’t handle air, but a safety check to see if a third sweet wine was really necessary).  It was.  The short cork came out intact, steaming aromas of apricot and orange marmalade and flowers.  The bouquet was very pure, free of caramel tones.  Pouring the wine into very small tulip shaped stems required great control due to the smallness of the target, compounded by the wine’s oil-like viscosity.  The residual sugar must have been around 600g/l but the wine miraculously showed balanced acidity.  The alcohol, as you will see below, was 2.5%.  The Esszencia and the La Tour-Blanche possessed the sweetness to harmonize with the deep, pungent, spicy and salty profile of the Gorgonzola.  Texturally they were both right on and had no problem handling the creaminess that came from the 45% milk fat.  The 2 wines worked in distinct manners.  With Esszencia, the cheese became a part of the wine on the finish, while La Tour-Blanche gently folded into the flavors of the cheese on the finish.  While the power of the Gorgonzola washed out the Suduiraut, the honey and butter roasted almonds did very well with the wine.

 

After the gentlemen’s departure some 5 hours later, I sat down and reflected on what I had experienced.  I had the honor of providing wine service to some of the most prominent collectors in the world.  I also had the honor of tasting these rare treasures that reached back into the previous century.  And as if this wasn’t enough, I was intimately involved in the menu creation and had the privilege of tasting these wines in the context of food.   I also learned a great deal from these gentlemen throughout the evening, in addition to the “slow oxygenation”.  For example, the reason for the string of great vintages of the 1920s in Bordeaux could be because it was pre-phylloxera.  And the next string of great vintages would not be seen until the 1980s, when the vines regained their maturity.  I am very grateful for this a once in a lifetime experience.  It was very rewarding to relive it and share it with you.  I hope you enjoyed.