This is the tale of a fantastic dinner, certainly the best I have ever organised. Will it remain the best ?
After having shared a half 1893 Yquem with the staff of Yquem and had lunch with Sandrine Garbay with a red wine made in the Yquem property and a 1960 Ausone, I tried to take a nap, but many phone calls arrived, as my guests arrived in their hotel.
At 4:30 pm precisely, I entered the small dining room of the castle of Yquem to open the bottles that I had made stand this morning. Some friends were there too as they wanted to see the operations, and a photographer shot all the operations. I began with Romanée Conti 1982 and the cork resisted for more than six minutes. I was sweating as the weather was very hot and the tension of opening the wines was very strong. After 90 minutes to open 13 bottles, I was completely exhausted.
The smells of the wines are very promising, with uncertainty for the rosé of Mouton 1936 and the ancestor of “Y” 1912. We will see. The most fantastic smells are the ones of the 1899 Yquem and the 1845 Cyprus wine.
Every of us went home to dress better, and at 7 pm precisely, we were welcomed by the shining smile of Pierre Lurton, happy and in a good form. We visited the chais, made a small walk around the castle by the sunset, and made a short taste of some recent Yquem. The Yquem 2002 is more dense and powerful than what I remembered. There are heavy fruits in this wine. The Yquem 2003 is incredibly elegant. I pronounced the word “elegant” a minimum of 15 times, which could indicate a lack of vocabulary, but I found that this word describes completely this great Yquem.
When I drank the Yquem 2001, I felt the same love that I had already for this wine. Pierre Lurton smiled at me and said : “you love every Yquem”. I am afraid it is the case. But I consider that 2001 is the greatest ever Yquem. And what is a pure pity is that it is awfully good now. So, too many persons are tempted to drink it now, which should never be done as in 30 years it will be above 1928, 1937 or 1967.
I left the group to go and greet Marc Demund the chef with whom I had already made a dinner by Yquem and to control the temperature of the wines, and I meet the guests in the wooden salon for aperitif.
We begin with champagne Dom Pérignon 1975 as it is necessary to rebuild our palates after three young Yquem. And it is interesting that the remaining taste of Yquem modifies the Dom Pérignon and gives it a sunny taste, not too far from what it should be.
We then go in the nice dining room with a table discretely designed with refinement. The menu that I had decided with Marc Demund is following : gougères / gambas aux cheveux d’ange / Saint-Jacques rôties au jus de betterave et émiettés de pistaches / cannelage de saumon et de bar aux agrumes / carré d’agneau et son jus / paleron de boeuf longue cuisson / comté et stilton / gratin de mangues.
Our group is constituted by very solid friends, as the ones who have shared a Cheval Blanc 1947 with me were there, and one of them was with me when I had shared already a Mouton 1945 ten days ago with my American friend. The origins of the 11 people around the table are French, Swiss, Canadian and American. But our passion has the same origin.
The champagne Moët & Chandon 1945 is one of the nicest bottles of my cellar as the label is fantastically kept. I dreamed when I looked at it. My glass is the first to be poured, and when I put my lips on the glass, I have like a shock and I say “ha”. From the first sip of check for the sommelier, I knew that it is certainly one of my greatest champagnes ever. The colour is of a very brilliant deep gold, the bubble is not clearly visible, but is extremely present on the tongue. If I had to describe all the flavours that exist in this champagne, I would be unable to describe. If I was asked to say why I find it so fantastic, I would be unable to say why. I am struck by the complex perfection of this wine. It reminds me a Moët 1914 which has for long been my best ever champagne. My enthusiasm has not been followed by the entire table, but I must say that I was struck by so much beauty. In the recent months, I have had the chance to drink some extraordinary champagnes like Cristal 1949, Pol Roger 1921, Krug 1964 or this Moët 1945. And it is a chance to have not had any of them together with another one, as it would have been disrespect to compare such wonders which are so different from the others. I had this Moët 1945 for more than 20 years in my cellar. It enters my Pantheon.
The rosé de Mouton 1936 is a very curious bottle. When I have bought it, it was presented with a separate big label, hand written, saying “rosé Mouton 1936”. The capsule says the same. Only traces of an unreadable label still exist. The cork says precisely “rosé Mouton Rothschild”. It is a wine for which there is no reference. The smell is very odd, like an old piece of furniture, or like a bug as Pierre mentioned. It is true. In mouth, the wine expands and gets an unusual charm. Many people around the table appreciated it a lot as it was dense. The beetroot juice (colour with colour) fits with the wine. It is a very exciting wine.
The next wine, served on the same dish, is another enigma. The “Grand vin de Château d’Yquem 1912 , A. de Luze & Fils » is the same title as the title of the label for Yquem, when de Luze could bottle it. But on the capsule, one can read “Graves Royal Sec”. This is the ancestor of “Y” d’Yquem. This bottle has a low fill, but I wanted to have it for this dinner as it is one of the few if not the only one bottle in my cellar from the birth year of my mother. The yellow is rather green. As a divine surprise, the wine in mouth is dense, clear, tasty, interesting. It is a wine that is after its optimum, but it is extremely interesting as a testimony. And to drink it where it was made has even more charm. We explore completely unknown wines.
The next wine is very rare too. It is Montrachet Bouchard Père & Fils 1939. it had dust floating in it, but it did not disturb. This wine was cropped when there was snow in November. It is very strange. I did not find the usual excitement that I have with Bouchard Montrachet. I have already tasted a 1939 which was better than this one. But, let us say, this is a great wine.
After such a start, how the stars will perform? We have in front of us two glasses. One with Mouton-Rothschild 1945 and one with Mouton-Rothschild 1918. I wanted to associate them as they are of years of end of war. The 1918 has a particular story. It comes from the cellar of Nicolas, and Pierre Nicolas certified it on an extra label as this wine was sold in a charity auction in 1972 for saving Venise. And I bought it some years later. What is funny is that this certified 1918 has a label made by Carlu, which is unusual as the Carlu label appeared only between 1924 and 1927. It is strange that when visiting a cellar in Bordeaux only two days ago, I have seen a similar 1918 Mouton with the same Carlu label.
The Mouton 1945 is as great as the one that I drank ten days before. It has the same perfection. But as the surprise does not exist, I had a little less emotion. On the contrary, the 1918, very typed, very unusual, struck me as being in the same league and direction as a Cheval Blanc 1947, as the colour is very dark and the taste is a little torrefied. As I applauded this 1918, we argued gently with Pierre as he did not accept that I applaud a wine obviously at a lower level than the 1945. I agree on that fact, but I had much emotion with this 1918.
We did not argue too long as the Romanée Conti Domaine de la Romanée Conti 1982 put us in a complete agreement. All the complexity of the Romanée Conti is pleasant to discover in this subtle wine, full of charm that the whole table adored. This wine is romantic.
It was a bad service to make to the wine to come to have associated it with the 1982, as the delicious Royal Kébir Frédéric Lung, vin d’Algérie 1945, even if it evokes nice Rhone wines, lacked of complexity, placed near a very great Romanée Conti. It is a great wine, but not at this moment.
Now comes a wine for which I have a special love, as not many collectors have it in their cellar. It is the Blanc Vieux d’Arlay Jean Bourdy 1898, one of my prides. How is it possible that a wine having 109 years can be so lively, vibrant and tasty? I love its enigma. I had tried to put wines that every guest, even including Pierre, had not had the possibility to drink. This fantastic wine is a beloved treasure for me.
It was the first of four wines of the 19th century, but now, it’s time for the stars to come.
Yquem 1889 is an expression of the light Yquem, when the sugar is not too pronounced. Pierre Lurton explained that very precisely with climatology notions which we appreciated for the two Yquem. I am more used than many people to accept such “light” Yquem and enjoy all the suggested flavours.
The Yquem 1899, which is the gift of Pierre Lurton, is a pure perfection. Not as great as the 1893 that we had this morning, but it is the pure definition of what Yquem should be. It is deep, coloured deeply, heavy, tasty, sugared, invading the mouth and delivering a complexity of flavours which makes of Yquem something unique. An Yquem to die for.
We went in the salon that we used before to enjoy the last wine, my beloved baby : the 1845 Cyprus wine. This wine is a bomb of pepper. It invades the mouth for hours. A colour more glamorous than the 1899 Yquem, a nose deeper, and a mouth ten times more pronounced. My baby is my paradise.
It is time to vote. We are 11 for 13 wines and we have to vote for only four wines. Imagine my pride as 12 out of 13 got a minimum of one vote. The only one forgotten is the Algerian wine, whose association with Romanée conti was not good for it. And imagine my pride if we know that six wines were voted as number one by a minimum of one vote.
Mouton 45 got four votes as first, Romanée Conti 82 and Yquem 1899 got two votes as first, and Moët 45, Yquem 1889 and the Cyprus 1845 got one vote as first.
The consensus vote would be ; Mouton 1945, Yquem 1899 and Romanée Conti 1982 ex aequo and rosé de Mouton 1936. Imagine that the rosé of Mouton is in the consensus vote !
My vote is : Moët 1945, Yquem 1899, Mouton 1945 and Mouton 1918. I did not put the Cyprus 1845 which is my beloved wine as I know it too well.
The cook was simplified which I like, the service was motivated and perfect. Pierre Lurton was in an excellent mood, making jokes, and creating a smiling atmosphere. My friends were happy.
I am proud because I have chosen to put together wines that not many people in the world have ever tasted. I have explored many regions and types of wines. May I say that it is my pride as a wine collector?
In the next morning Yquem was under fog and a tiny rain which let the sun explode later. I commented the two Yquem with Francis, the technical director, and I thanked Valerie, who made all this happen, and I went to thank Sandrine. She asked me to check with her some old Yquem of the 19th century that she has for reconditioning. This complicity with the people of Yquem is a gift for me.