Mike, the Ritz's Wine Director...

Thanks for the great night out Clyde!

It was a wonderful treat to head over to the Half Moon Bay Ritz and drink some good old wine on on August 12th. The fog was in, but the barometer could not get the wonderful line up of wines down or discourage the enthusiasm of K&L’s tasters. We started out with an old time K&L favorite, the Laurent Perrier Grand Siècle, from the 1996, 1995, 1993 multi-vintage batch (still on Navio’s list at the much more attractive pre-increase price!) and it showed very well—effortless, delicate and long finishing. The Grand Siècle never seems to have to try hard, and any meal that starts with it is bound to be a good one.

The evening's Lineup

After the aperitif, we headed into the dining room to dive into the fantastic spread at the Ritz’s “Navio Seafood Experience.” This feast happens every Tuesday night, and you can learn more at Ritzcarlton.com. They had very good sushi, fantastic smoked salmon, crab legs, scallops and too many other delicacies from the sea to mention. In addition they had slices of New York and Rib Eye steak (perfect for all the old cabs!) on offer and a lovely assortment of breads, salads and even Brussels sprouts cooked with bacon—a huge personal favorite!

With a small sushi course on my plate, I settled into the first flight: the whites. From the list, Clyde had ordered 2004 Didier Dagueneau Pouilly-Fumé “Pur Sang” in magnum. This wine was a racy, young, perfect example of sauvignon blanc, and I thought it went extraordinarily with the sushi. Dagueneau ferments this wine in a variety of barrel sizes, but I could not detect any oak flavors, just a lack of stainless steel sterility. I have always loved neutral oak on my white wines—from the Mosel to Chablis and from the Loire to Champagne! We also had a small splash each of the 1996 Raveneau Monte de Tonnerre Chablis, which was a very generous gift from a great customer and friend of K&L. This was an absolute baby, and those of us who saved some for the end of the meal got a glimpse of how great it will one day be… This color still has a flash of green after 12 years, and the nose is all clean Chablis earth and flint. On the palate it is angular and refreshing, but also has a lot of texture and, at this early point in its development, there is still plenty of tension between the two characteristics! I would love to try this again in 2016!

We then had a flight of pinots—all from California and all from the ’60s, before I was born! All three served to dismiss the notion that California pinot has to die an early death. They were all fresher than some of the big name southern California pinots from the mid-1990s that I recently had the misfortune to taste… I suspect that the lower alcohol levels and corresponding higher acidity were responsible for keeping them fit at this advanced age. I nibbled on some salmon and bread with these three. The Wente Brothers (from Livermore) that we had was non-vintage, but the bottle was made in 1965, so it had to be from before then. It was browning a little, but had a good fig and mushroom nose and a pleasant slap of tang in the mouth. It was not a long wine, but certainly a tasty one. I wonder if they blended vintages or just didn’t bother to put the year on it? I will have to ask a Wente. By contrast, the 1967 Louis Martini California Mountain Pinot Noir was much darker, full of Redwood barrel spice and still plenty tannic. The last wine of the flight was also a 1967, the Mirassou “2nd Harvest” from Monterey. Mirassou was one of the original pioneers of viticulture in Monterey, and even they had not been there that long when they made this wine! Although very brackish, the nose was definitely pinot, without the veggie artifacts that plagued the Monterey wines of this period.

The 1954 and 1960 BV...

After heading back out to the buffet and getting some lovely Israeli couscous, we tried two zins and a blend. First was the 1973 Beualieu Vineyards Napa Burgundy, a blend that contained the kitchen sink—even some pinot noir! I have to admit that I always lose my objectivity when faced with a good bottle from my birth year… I found the wine to be a lovely, light, easy-drinking red. Perhaps it did not gain a lot from 34 years of bottle age, but it certainly was not fading. Keith (our Burgundy buyer) and I both agreed that a little bit of pinot noir is key to making a good red Burgundy! Next was the 1974 Sutter Home Amador Zinfandel, a strong candidate for red wine of the night. Again, I have to admit bias since this comes from the same vintage as my lovely wife Cinnamon. Ruby red color, a classic, developed zin nose of brand new Band-Aids and wild blackberries, and a lovely medium-bodied texture charmed me easily. Sadly, the final wine of the flight, the1980 Boeger California Zinfandel was tired.

I returned to the buffet and fetched myself a claret course—rib eye steak, pilaf and Brussels sprouts. First to pair with it was the 1974 Lafite, which was a pleasant old tipple for a moment, but then quickly faded. Then onto the 1969 Haut-Brion, which impressed me with its strict minerality and unapologetic Graves earthiness. This was not a Bordeaux for the sweet California cabernet lover, but I thought it was great with the rib eye.

With food still on my plate, we moved on to the California cabernets, starting with the 1967 Freemark Abbey. I have always liked the classic valley floor style of this producer, and I applaud them for not following the fashion for sugary cab even to this day. This wine was a survivor, and still had a nice currant core. The next bottle was one of the favorites of the group, the 1963 Charles Krug Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. Still dark, even tarry in color, this wine was a suave 45-year-old, its tannins cast off like boyish habits. This wine had depth rather than power and the first real finish of the night. We followed it with the 1960 and 1954 BV Private Reserve Cabernet Sauvignons, both of which Clyde admitted to paying too much for in a case of “paddle fever” at the property in 2000. It was very kind of him to share these, because as is often the case with older BV Private Reserves, they were great. The 1960 was minty, ethereal and quite bizarre aromatically, but on the palate it still had so much sweetness and soft, caressing texture! The 1954 was the fresher of the two, and for me the best of the cabs. The color was a strong brick red; the nose was full of mushrooms, classic currants and complex little hints—too many and too fleeting to commit to paper. The mouthfeel was completely tanninless, resolved and delicate and the aftertaste fanned out—a classic peacock’s tail finish. Wow!

Our group got up to get some dessert, which the staff was kind enough to save for us even though we had overstayed the buffet, and then we sat down to enjoy a pair of dessert wines. The first was the famous “Blue Nun Label” Liebfraumilch Auslese from 1959, which Clyde thinks actually came from the real Liebfraumilch vineyard next to the cathedral at Worms. The 1959 vintage was a great one, and the Joh. Jos. Prüm Wehlener Sonnenuhr Auslese from that year is the greatest still white I have ever had. The Blue Nun, sadly, was past its prime. We finished the extravaganza with 1964 Tokaji Azu Essencia, from communist Hungary. Although maderized, it was full of honeyed, apricot fruit and quite a pleasant way to finish.

K&L's Keith Wollenberg and the lovely Betsy share a toast...

Thank you Clyde for such a fun evening of old bottles!

—Gary Westby