We dined out recently at bouchon and it happened to be their 21st anniversary since opening which we had attended 21 years ago. We were treated and served royally and enjoyed an exquisite dining experience. We abided by our usual MO in having a bottle of champagne and a fine Burt made Williams Selyem Pinot Noir:
2008 MOET & CHANDON GRAND VINTAGE BRUT ROSE- 46% Pinot Noir, 32% Chardonnay, 22% Pinot Meunier aged 7 years on the lees; dosage of 5 gpl which could allow for it to be labeled Extra Brut; disgorged 03/ 16; I love that this info is provided on the back label; the color was a dark copper red and as the color suggests, there’s some serious stuff forthcoming; this bottle was atypical among many I`ve had in that it was pretty big and bold with lots of burnt cherry, red raspberry, clove and spice from the nose through the tail; previous bottles have been much more elegant with much more finesse, but this was a Brut and we just backed off a little and sipped accordingly.
1994 WILLIAMS SELYEM SONOMA COAST PINOT NOIR- 13.2% abc; as the photo shows, the fill was high neck, but there was enough ullage to cause doubt since Burt filled all of his wines to the cork; not to worry, this bottle was superb; it had the requisite spicy, cinnamon lighter red fruit profile which on the palate translated into red raspberry, strawberry and a touch of red cherry; the wine was steady throughout the evening and the last taste was as good as the first taste. This was a fabulous bottle and at age 26, its shining ever so brightly. Thank you again and again Burt is what I texted to him.
Cheers,
Blake
