Craig was celebrating his 39.96th birthday (as he will be away on his 40th), a nice crowd gathered at Sarah’s spacious midtown west apartment to celebrate. Lovely apartment, cool cat, good group. Food was a barbecue smorgasbord - brisket, beef ribs, pulled pork, and pork ribs- plus baked beans, potato salad, broccoli, and more. I was not taking extemporaneous notes, and probably missed quite a few wines (and maybe some designations). There were still quite a few dessert wines to be opened when Mark, Nancy, and I exited a bit before midnight.

More impressions than notes:

Bubbles
1979 Lanson (mag)- fresh, complex, though with a little cheesy note that put off some. I quite liked. A-

1990 Laurent-Perrier Grand Siecle
This was perfectly correct, but didn’t really grab me. B

Bordeaux (blanc and rouge)
1985 Domaine de Chevalier blanc (mag)
One of my wines of the night, and a reminder of how good white Bordeaux can be. Wax, lemon, fig - deep and complex. A-

1970 Pichon Lalande (3L)
Lovely wine- and plenty of it! Cassis fruit and cigarbox, this is elegant and long. A-/A

1970 Magdelaine
Two bottles of this, the first excellent, the second very very good. Deep, full, and long. A-

1982 Magdelaine
Double-decanted before I left home. Full, pretty, but a tad more mature than I think a perfect bottle should be, and without the depth and elegance of the ‘70. B+/B

Rioja (red)
1970 Marques de Murrieta “Ygay” Gran Reserva (mag)
a bit of VA on first pouring, but calmed down nicely. Cherries and earth, pretty high acids.. Others liked less than I did. B+/B

1976 Lopez de Heredia Bosconia
As good a bottle as I’ve had of this classic, showing quite nicely, smoky and spicy. A-

There was a good not great 1989 Rioja, missed label.

Burgundy (blanc and rouge)
1972 Roumier “Les Amoureuses” Chambolle-Musigny 1er
Sadly this was quite decrepit imho. C+
1988 Faiveley “Close de la Marechal” Nuits St. George 1er

Others seemed to like more than me. The combination of vintage, appellation, and producer combined to a sum of clunky and a little funky to me. B-

1998 Lafon Volnay-Santenots du Milieu 1er
Pretty, fresh, a little sandalwood note, but overall oak is quite integrated. A-/B+

2005 H. Boillot “Clos de la Mouchere” Puligny-Montrachet 1er (mag)
Young, rich, exotic. Barring premox should age, but I quite enjoyed it young. B+/A-

Other Reds
1962 BV “Beaumont” Pinot Noir
A bit of a longshot, I just carried this to average out to 1972 for Craig’s birthday. PnP, this still has some fruit but it’s more “generic old wine” than anything interesting. C+

1972 Ch. Musar
VA, a touch of barnyard, and fruit a bit reticent, but I actually liked more than others. B/B-

1988 Ch. Musar
This seems a bit mute, the dominant aroma is polish, others like more. B-

1994 Ch. Rayas
I’ve liked this better before, it seemed more overtly Grenachey than most Rayas, everyone else loved. B

Other Whites
1978 Trefethen Chardonnay (mag)
This is actually shockingly lively, though I didn’t find the complexity that others found. B

1982 Trimbach “Clos Ste. Hune” Riesling
Ginger and grapefruit, a little softer than some CSH vintage, but nice length. There was also a 89 CSH (VT I assume) which I recall liking my tiny pour, but I was apparently distracted.

There was a lovely bottle of one of the Lambruschi Vermentinos, but never got chance to check vintage and bottling, but quite a nice wine. The only dessert wine I tried was a 1971 Burklin-Wolf BA (I think, and didn’t get vineyard) that was dark, deep, and delicious.

Fun night, glad to be there to help Craig celebrate, very generous of Sarah to offer her apartment, and for the group for bringing interesting wines and conversation.

Grade disclaimer: I'm a very easy grader, basically A is an excellent wine, B a good wine, C mediocre. Anything below C means I wouldn't drink at a party where it was only choice. Furthermore, I offer no promises of objectivity, accuracy, and certainly not of consistency.