1 magnum per lot
Details
THE LAST WORD IN FINE WINE
Often in wine auction catalogs, hyperbole is bandied about with reckless abandon. Wines are "superlative" and from "important" and "extraordinary" collections. How many vintages are the "greatest" of the decade? How many wines are the "most desirable wines in the world?" Just because a critic gave an old wine 5 stars or 100 points, does that mean the wine I'm buying will be similarly transcendental? Critics, headers, ornamental photos. To find the promised land of wine, the reason we're all in this business, is a very personal journey. One can't rely on the experience of critics.
A few months ago, the consignor of this collection took several Christie's specialists out to dinner. Though some wine auction specialists are known to go gallivanting about the globe, drinking ancient Krug and pre-phylloxera La Tâche by the gallon, waking up in a pile of empty Romanée-Conti bottles and working off their hangover with Montrachet for breakfast, the reality, for most of us, is a far cry from this sort of thing. A day in the life of a wine auction specialist can be monotonous, but it's not the long hours appraising cellars and days spent in dirty, cold cellars that make uslove this job: it's the unknown. The chance that, on a cellar visit, you'll find something amazing. What makes it worthwhile is the once-in-a-while glimpse into vinous perfection. This dinner was one of those.
We drank 1996 Salon, 2002 Cristal Rosé, 1955 Bâtard-Montrachet (Clerget), a magnum of 1978 Vosne Romanée Cros Parantoux (Jayer), 1966 Romanée-Conti (DRC), 1962 Musigny Vieilles Vignes (de Vögué), a magnum of 1962 Chambertin (Rousseau) and 1961 Trotanoy.
There's no need for tasting notes or for hyperbole. They all showed magnificently, from the richness of the Clerget, an obscure négociant white that no one ever would have put at over 50 if served blind, to the ethereal perfume of the Romanée-Conti. And they all came from the collection listed below.
In sum, there's no fancy header here. No over-the-top tasting notes. No comments as to how these wines are better than what the other guy's got. We prefer to let the list speak for itself. This collector has compiled something amazing; if you don't believe it, see below.
Hermitage, La Chapelle--Vintage 1949
Rhône, Jaboulet
Level: 6.5cm from cork and above neck label; capsule cut to reveal 'Mis en Bouteille dans nos chais' branded cork, bin soiled label
1 magnum per lot
Often in wine auction catalogs, hyperbole is bandied about with reckless abandon. Wines are "superlative" and from "important" and "extraordinary" collections. How many vintages are the "greatest" of the decade? How many wines are the "most desirable wines in the world?" Just because a critic gave an old wine 5 stars or 100 points, does that mean the wine I'm buying will be similarly transcendental? Critics, headers, ornamental photos. To find the promised land of wine, the reason we're all in this business, is a very personal journey. One can't rely on the experience of critics.
A few months ago, the consignor of this collection took several Christie's specialists out to dinner. Though some wine auction specialists are known to go gallivanting about the globe, drinking ancient Krug and pre-phylloxera La Tâche by the gallon, waking up in a pile of empty Romanée-Conti bottles and working off their hangover with Montrachet for breakfast, the reality, for most of us, is a far cry from this sort of thing. A day in the life of a wine auction specialist can be monotonous, but it's not the long hours appraising cellars and days spent in dirty, cold cellars that make uslove this job: it's the unknown. The chance that, on a cellar visit, you'll find something amazing. What makes it worthwhile is the once-in-a-while glimpse into vinous perfection. This dinner was one of those.
We drank 1996 Salon, 2002 Cristal Rosé, 1955 Bâtard-Montrachet (Clerget), a magnum of 1978 Vosne Romanée Cros Parantoux (Jayer), 1966 Romanée-Conti (DRC), 1962 Musigny Vieilles Vignes (de Vögué), a magnum of 1962 Chambertin (Rousseau) and 1961 Trotanoy.
There's no need for tasting notes or for hyperbole. They all showed magnificently, from the richness of the Clerget, an obscure négociant white that no one ever would have put at over 50 if served blind, to the ethereal perfume of the Romanée-Conti. And they all came from the collection listed below.
In sum, there's no fancy header here. No over-the-top tasting notes. No comments as to how these wines are better than what the other guy's got. We prefer to let the list speak for itself. This collector has compiled something amazing; if you don't believe it, see below.
Hermitage, La Chapelle--Vintage 1949
Rhône, Jaboulet
Level: 6.5cm from cork and above neck label; capsule cut to reveal 'Mis en Bouteille dans nos chais' branded cork, bin soiled label
1 magnum per lot
Brought to you by
Katie Jacobs