WTN: White Burgs (and more) at Jacques' pool

Today I spend afternoon and early evening at Jacques and Jill Levy's place (Betsy had to work). Fabulously generous hosts - a great spread of food, a lovely giving attitude, nice wines provided. The guests reflected the hosts- nice attracts nice- and also brought some nice wines. Some fun with whites beside the pool (accompanied by hummus, guacamole, chips, etc):

2002 Michel Niellon "Clos de la Maltroie " Chassagne-Montrachet 1er
Midweight, little tropical (pineapple/papaya) but with a good streak of minerality. Some flowers and a bit of oak. Exotic without being over the top. B+/B

2002 Guy Amiot et Fils "Les Caillerets" Chassagne-Montrachet 1er
A bit more obvious oak, good apple and pear fruit. B

2001 Jadot/Duc de Magenta "Morgeot:" Chassagne Montrachet 1er
PreMox! PreMox! D

2006? Rozak Chardonnay (Santa Maria)
Fig, ripe apples, a bit short. B-/C+

At this point Jacques brought down the first of a pair of great seafood trays: Striped bass, lump crabmeat, lobster, scallops, crabmeat, and shrimp, along with cocktail sauce, curry mayo, and thyme mayo.

1999 JN Gagnard Batard-Montrachet
Very rich, ripe exotic fruit, some oak, long. B+/A-

1999 Pernot Batard-Montrachet
More austere than the Gagnard, but also more focused. Clean, elegant, smoky, minerals. A-

1998 Niellon Batard-Montrachet
Premox! Premox! Old apple skins with a little fish oil. Arrrrgggghhhh!! D

1998 Bonneau du Martray Corton-Charlemagne
Whew. I brought this praying for no premox. I've been running about 1/3 oxidized on these. This one is fairly fresh, good pear fruit with a little lemon curd and vanilla, good length. A-/B+

2005 Radio Coteau "Savoy Vineyard" Chardonnay
Big, fruity, just a little oak. B/B+

We dragged all the stuff up the hill, and Jacques started preparations for his steak-feast. By this time (hey, I had been there almost 5 hours!) I needed to head home to meet my wife, so didn't get to try many reds, but got quick tastes of:

1982 Ch. Rouget (Pomerol)
This is quite mature, rather tired, a bit of caramel over the fig, prune,and blackberry fruit. B-/C+?

1983 Chateau Ste. Michelle Cabernet Sauvignon
Sorry I missed vineyard on this one (though I think Mark said it was first Washington wine to get a high WA score). Seemed a little tight on first opening, but very young fruit for 25, black plum and cassis. B++?

1989 La Fleur du gay (Pomerol)
A bit too cold (John D opened it because I said I was leaving) . Ripe fresh black fruit, some earth, but needs some warmth. ????

There were some great wines waiting in the wings (Guigal C-R, Radio Coteau and Pax, '73 Mastroberardino, '69 Heitz!!!!) but I needed to get home to my tired wife.
Thanks to Jacques and Jill, the ne plus ultra of hosts.

Grade disclaimer: I'm a very easy grader, basically A is an excellent wine, B a good wine, C mediocre. 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.

Thanks for the notes, sounds like a wonderful time was had. Sorry I missed it and also sorry about the premoxes.

When we were bitching about PremOx, Mark said there were 3, I only tried two, but in any case it's a sad percentage- almost 30% if I'm right, worse if I missed one. Really hard to justify buying 1er or GC WB till know problem solved.

Thanks Dale, it was quite an awesome collection of reds that you missed; the 1969 Heitz was everyone's WOTY, not a Martha's Vineyard but was as good as any California Cab we ever had. A big Wow! The 1973 Taurasi was also special as were a Pax Syrah, a Jamet Cote Roties, a couple of Radio Coteau.

It was really nice to see everyone again, I need to talk to you about the vinegar, Dale; it looks like a great idea and just smelling that bottle is putting me in the mood for making my own special batches. Thanks for that fun gift. See you soon.

.... I need to talk to you about the vinegar, Dale; it looks like a great idea and just smelling that bottle is putting me in the mood for making my own special batches. Thanks for that fun gift. See you soon.

Sounds like a fantastic party Jacques. Some time ago, Dale kindly posted this link about vinegar making, an activity I keep meaning to get to but so far have not.

http://www.gangofpour.com/diversions/vi ... egar1.html

Hope you like the vinegar, it's "rustic." Unlike true makers, I don't try and balance the acidity, so can be rough to some people. But it's fun to have different blends. Bob's link is to some good info.

Oh and Dale, just as an incentive to stay longer next time, Gio brought a 1995 and 1996 Dom Perignon for compare and contrast purposes. Refinement and elegance (1996) versus sweetness and richness (1995)

I already felt back about the reds. Actually, I don't usually care for Champagne later in the evening. Thanks again for super hospitality!