Been several weeks since I’ve had either lunch or dinner at Marea which is very unusual for me. Met a friend there yesterday who just returned from one of his two month long sojourns to Florence.
1995 Charles Heidsieck Blanc des Millénaires - off to a great start with great vibrancy but with some mature oxidative - in a good way - flavors. Plenty of yellow fruits with lemon being the dominant one. Good acid and structure, Certainly enjoyable today but seems to have 15-20 more years of prime time drinking left. Excellent over discussion, better with discussion along with oysters and crudo. Excellent Plus.
2014 Francois Carillon Puligny Montrachet Les Combettes - drinking very well at the young age of five. Some smoke and pale colored fruits. Nothing profound here, but very enjoyable from the initial pour to the final glass 4+ hours later. Excellent.
1976 Gouges Nuits St. Georges Les Pruliers - brought two bottles in case there was an issue with the first one. Good thing I did. First bottle had a slightly lower fill, but great color. Not horribly oxidized but certainly not what it should be. Second bottle was a huge step up. Not surprisingly, due to the producer, this bottle was not close to being on its downslope. Excellent red fruit with some iron. Along with the other two bottles this gave pleasure throughout the balance of our five hour lunch. Excellent Plus.
This!
Also, you’re hurting the reputation of those of us accused of drinking way too many bottles in one five hour session. We’ll be out soon for an intervention.