Mark Lipton was in town, so Matt, Ramon and I welcomed him last night at dinner at Apiary in East Village. As we were seated and started pulling out our wines (almost 2 bottles per person average) we were told while it is BYO night, the limit is a bottle per person. That's a new policy, fair enought, it's just I wish they mentioned on website or when I confirmed with reservation person that it was Monday No Corkage night. So we made a couple of choices and opted to go with 5 bottles, and pay the $25 corkage on the extra bottle. In the end, the sommelier waived that charge. I will say the wine service was very good, he consulted about glass choices for the whites, which was thoughtful.

We started with the 2006 Pernot Bienvenues-Batard-Montrachet. Big, full, good length, this tended to reinforce my impression of 2006 as a vintage to drink on early side (not even considering PremOx). Bright bosc pear, honey, a bit of oak, a hint of mineral chalkiness on finish, but still fruit dominated. It did an ok job with the hamachi crudo. B+

First red was the 1993 Ecard "Les Serpentieres" Savigny-les-Beaune 1er. I thought there was a little volatile note when first poured, but whatever quickly blew off. Red berry and cherry, earth, spice, good acids, bright. In a really nice place right now. Elegant but not delicate. A-

Both the Savigny and the BBM went well with the salmon with fennel, pickled onions, a small roe (crab Mark guessed?), and a white port sauce

Next up was the 1991 Groffier "Les Sentiers" Chambolle-Musigny 1er. Nose seemed strangely mute when first poured, but quickly opened up. Bigger, fuller, rounder than the Savigny. Black cherry and a slighlty exotic note- sandalwood? I quite enjoyed, though I think this might have been better served by a hunk of Charolais than the sweetbreads and duck. B+

The sweetbreads came with frisee and a romesco sauce, and were delicious, but hardest wine match of the night.

Last red was the 1975 Heitz "Martha's Vineyard" Cabernet. Sommelier brought over cork- stained about 1/4 inch, looked more like 6 years than 36. I had no idea what to expect, but this was a lovely example of older Napa. Fresh cassis and black cherry fruit, cedar, just a hint of mint/menthol. Good finish, still a little tannic grip, pretty wine. A-/B+
Both Burgs and the Cab were good with duck breast with parsnip puree, "tokyo turnips", cooked greens, and a fruit sauce

We finished with Epoisses, a goat cheese, and a cows milk that I think he said was Swiss. The wine was a 1983 Zilliken Saarburger Rausch Gold Kapsule Auslese. This is an auction bottling, AP 14, from CT it looked liked it was actually a Long GK (capsule was long, but without another to compare to unsure). Cork was a little protruding, and apparently slid right in. Advanced color, but still a very enjoyable wine. Petrol, apple pie, slatey mineral notes. Excellent length. This probably isn't up to a pristine bottle, but I enjoyed (and drank a lot!). A-/B+

Food was really quite good, and wines were excellent (as I've noted, I'm terribly inconsistent, and probably would have scored these even higher if they were solo dinner wines). But really the highlight to me was the company- you'd be hard pressed to find 3 winegeeks- or 3 guys period- I enjoy more. Thanks guys.

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.

On May 24, 9:02*am, DaleW > wrote:
> Mark Lipton was in town, so Matt, Ramon and I welcomed him last night at dinner at Apiary in East Village. As we were seated and started pulling out our wines (almost 2 bottles per person average) we were told while it is BYO night, the limit is a bottle per person. That's a new policy, fair enought, it's just I wish they mentioned on website or when *I confirmed with reservation person that it was Monday No Corkage night. So we made a couple of choices and opted to go with 5 bottles, and pay the $25 corkage on the extra bottle. In the end, the sommelier waived that charge. I will say the wine service was very good, he consulted about glass choices for the whites, which was thoughtful.
>
> We started with the 2006 Pernot Bienvenues-Batard-Montrachet. Big, full, good length, this tended to reinforce my impression of 2006 as a vintage to drink on early side (not even considering PremOx). Bright bosc pear, honey, a bit of oak, a hint of mineral chalkiness on finish, but still fruit dominated. It did an ok job with the hamachi crudo. B+
>
> First red was the 1993 Ecard "Les Serpentieres" Savigny-les-Beaune 1er. I thought there was a little volatile note when first poured, but whatever quickly blew off. Red berry and cherry, earth, spice, good acids, bright. In a really nice place right now. Elegant but not delicate. A-
>
> Both the Savigny and the BBM went well with the salmon with fennel, pickled onions, a small roe (crab Mark guessed?), and a white port sauce
>
> Next up was the 1991 Groffier "Les Sentiers" Chambolle-Musigny 1er. Nose seemed strangely mute when first poured, but quickly opened up. Bigger, fuller, rounder than the Savigny. Black cherry and a slighlty exotic note- sandalwood? I quite enjoyed, though I think this might have been better served by a hunk of Charolais than the sweetbreads and duck. B+
>
> The sweetbreads came with frisee and a romesco sauce, and were delicious, but hardest wine match of the night.
>
> Last red was the 1975 Heitz "Martha's Vineyard" Cabernet. Sommelier brought over cork- stained about 1/4 inch, looked more like 6 years than 36. I had no idea what to expect, but this was a lovely example of older Napa. Fresh cassis and black cherry fruit, cedar, just a hint of mint/menthol. Good finish, still a little tannic grip, pretty wine. A-/B+
> Both Burgs and the Cab were good with duck breast with parsnip puree, "tokyo turnips", cooked greens, and a fruit sauce
>
> We finished with Epoisses, a goat cheese, and a cows milk that I think he said was Swiss. The wine was a 1983 Zilliken Saarburger Rausch Gold Kapsule Auslese. This is an auction bottling, AP 14, from CT it looked liked it was actually a Long GK (capsule was long, but without another to compare to unsure). Cork was a little protruding, and apparently slid right in. Advanced color, but still a very enjoyable wine. *Petrol, apple pie, slatey mineral notes. Excellent length. This probably isn't up to a pristine bottle, but I enjoyed (and drank a lot!). A-/B+
>
> Food was really quite good, and wines were excellent (as I've noted, I'm terribly inconsistent, and probably would have scored these even higher if they were solo dinner wines). But really the highlight to me was the company- you'd be hard pressed to find 3 winegeeks- or 3 guys period- I enjoy more. Thanks guys.
>
> 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.

Nice notes. Envious of the food, the wines and the company. Glad
that the 1975 Martha's was still rocking...I guess old Joe knew what
he was doing. I've been drinking up my 2006 white burgs both in self
defense (premox) and they seem to be a bit lithe.

On May 24, 8:02*am, DaleW > wrote:

> Last red was the 1975 Heitz "Martha's Vineyard" Cabernet. Sommelier brought over cork- stained about 1/4 inch, looked more like 6 years than 36. I had no idea what to expect, but this was a lovely example of >older Napa. Fresh cassis and black cherry fruit, cedar, just a hint of mint/menthol. Good finish, still a little tannic grip, pretty wine. A-/B+

I still have several bottles of Heitz Cellar Cabernet Sauvignon from
the 1970s but not the 75 Martha's Vineyard. Mine include 75 Fay
Vineyard, 76 Martha's, and 77 Bella Oaks. All were bought soon after
release and have been stored properly. All peaked quite a while ago
but are still holding well. All are somewhat different, but all are
very good in their own way. Martha's usually cost a bit more because
it was better known and had built up a good reputation. While these
wines may not be the equals of the legendary 70 and 74 Martha's, they
are still very fine. Concerning the remarkable condition of the cork,
I have also noticed that for some of the 70s reds. Some may have used
wax or other protective cork treatment, but I am not sure of this.

First of all, many thanks to Dale for organizing this dinner and to
Matt, Dale and Ramon to bringing such fabulous wines. The food at Apiary
was wonderful as well. All four of us chose the 5-course tasting meal
for what I consider the most reasonable price of $65 a head and the
dishes went well with our wines, which is after all a signature of Scott
Bryan's cooking.

2006 Paul Pernot Bienvenue Btard-Montrachet
nose: topical fruit and pineapple
palate: soft entry, slightly buttery, a good core of fruit

(This was poured for an aperitif but remained for our first course, a
hamachi carpaccio with minced jalapeño, basil oil, pea sprouts and salt)

This wine was definitely on the riper/less structured side of white
Burgundy but still an appealing rendition of Chardonnay. As most of my
Chardonnay drinking these days is Chablis and BdB Champagne, this wine
was quite a departure from my normal Chardonnay experience.

1993 Ecard Savigny-les-Beaune Les Serpentieres 1er
n: a hint of pencil lead, gorgeous red fruit, earth
p: silky, rich red fruit, firm acid backbone

(This showed up in time for the salmon topped with crab eggs, ramp and
asparagus, all in a white Port reduction -- though I am not typically a
fan of Pinot Noir with salmon, this pairing worked quite well to me)

Over the years, I have enjoyed many great bottles of Ecard's Savignys
and this was yet another to add to my memories. In a really nice place
right now, it showcases the attraction of good Savigny with its bright
and open fruitiness combined with the earthy overtones.

1991 Robert Groffier Chambolle-Musigny Les Sentiers 1er
n: initially, showing a bit lactic but otherwise a bit mute; later
showing more fruit
p: very ripe and rich, big and dark fruit

(served with the best preparation of sweetbreads that I've had: in
Romesco sauce with frisee, basil oil and balsamic vinegar)

At first, I wondered if the bottle was slightly corked because of the
muted nose, but no indication on the palate. Instead, it seemed quite
consistent with my other Groffier experiences in that the wine was big
and ripe.

1975 Heitz Cabernet Sauvignon Martha's Vineyard
n: slightly volatile, dark fruit
p: firmly acidic, dark fruit, graphite

(With a dish of Peking Duck with Tokyo turnips and parsnip purée in a
red wine reduction)

What a lovely surprise! Joe Heitz's flagship bottling of Cab at 36 years
of age and it's still doing well. Perhaps most surprising about it is
the lack of mintiness, a characteristic I strongly associate with this
bottling in other years.

1983 Zilliken Riesling Auslese Saarburger Rausch LGK
n: petrol, apricot, spice
p: vividly acidic, with a clean sense of fruit

(This was served with the cheese course, the details of which escaped me)

Overall, a lovely selection of wines and a complementary selection of
food. The company was convivial, too, and it was a pleasure to meet Matt
and Ramon after years of reading their notes on the Internet. Dale, as
always, was great company, too, and I was greatly relieved to see how
well he'd recovered from his injuries. Again, many thanks to the others
for contributing such interesting and tasty wines to this meal.

Mark Lipton