You know you’re having a memorable evening when a 2000 Ducru Beaucaillou is struggling to finish a distant fourth in the Wine of the Night competition. But that’s where my kismet-kissed self landed on Wednesday, when six of us gathered for food, fellowship and fermented grape juice on a gorgeous patio in, of all places, Frogtown.

The mmmm’s and aaah’s came early and often, but at the outset — actually, just after a sublime 1995 Bruno Paillard N.P.U. Champagne — there was a distinct chorus of ewwww’s. The initial pour of a 1991 Calera Mt. Harlan Chardonnay provided a seriously stinky nose. We finally landed on “Granny’s closet” as the best descriptor for this amalgam of soiled, sweat-soaked laundry and a touch of mothball on the nose.

Blessedly, the wine tasted swell and intriguing, and within a few hours it was a transcendent, Meursault-like experience. Another old white also improved mightily as the night went along: a 1993 Nikolahof Wachau Gruner Veltliner. Steely at the outset, stunningly soft-in mid-palate and bracingly acidic (in a perfect way) on the finish, this wine was perhaps the best pairing for the lush, lemon-laced leeks at dinnertime.

There was one more wonderful white to come: a vibrant, Sancerre-like 2005 Dog Point Section 94 Sauvignon Blanc. And one utterly transcendent one: a 2005 Chateau de Beaucastel Vielles Vignes. I’m not nearly a good enough writer to do justice to this wine, but “sensual” and “supercalifragilisticexpialidocious” might begin to cover it. I can still taste it this morning, and can’t say whether that’s an indelible memory or the finish hanging on for dear sweet life.

Beaucastel also supplied the unforgettable evening’s top rouge experience, my first opportunity to try the Hommage. This 2003 wine had dirt and wild herbs and dried fruit and kick-ass tannins and smoke and … well, absolutely everything one could want in a wine. Plus it paired spectacularly with the grilled kangaroo tenderloin and mushrooms gracing our plates.

I’ve often said that the 1989 Beaucastel CDP would be my dessert island/last meal wine, but I’m afraid I’m gonna have to upgrade to the Hommage. Or the Vielles Vignes white.

My friend Joe talked about how there are white and red Burgundies that could provide the same kind of ridiculously sublime experience as these two Beaucastel wines, but you never knew if you would get that the way you do with these. Amen, my brother.

This entry was posted on Thursday, July 23rd, 2009 at 10:55 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.