Dinner with Board-O, rjs3, Emilio and assorted spouses at 32 East in Delray Beach, Fl. last night. A very wine-friendly restaurant: $15 corkage per bottle, and an extensive wine list as well.
Had a fantastic dinner with this group, and I could tell from the furtive glances we were getting from nearby tables that most people were impressed with our little collection of bottles accumulating on the table. Even the waiter was a bit overwhelmed.
Surprisingly, no one took any notes of the wines, including me, so all I can give are my impressions as I recall them.
In order of consumption, from first to last:
---- Solitude Pinot Noir: Didn’t look at the year, shame on me. A solid pinot noir, firm and well structured. I’m just not a big pinot noir, so it didn’t do a lot for me.
1978 Margaux: A fine product of Board-O’s wine cellar. A faint, but discernable perfume, nice color, and smooth, velvety balance. Board-O was not too impressed with this wine, but I was. Probably my Wine of the Night. My only regret was not saving some of my glass to accompany my rack of lamb.
1997 Monticello Napa Corely Cab: This bottle was opened at the table, and surprisingly didn’t need much air time. A very smooth structure; what struck me most was the lack of tannins in this wine. Again, I should have saved some of this to go with my rack of lamb, but it was hard to put down the glass.
2000 Numanthia Toro: My contribution to the festivities. I had opened this about 6 hours before dinner, and it was a good thing I did so. I could have used even more time, and it developed in the glass as well. A delicious wine, this could have used a few more years of cellaring, but alas, this was my last bottle. Not being completely impartial, this challenged the Margaux for Wine of the Night, in my book.
2001 Hartford Court Highwire Zin: A headstrong, potent zinfandel that had a pleasant, but not burning heat. Like pinot noir, I am not a zin fan, so it also didn’t do a lot for me, although I was grateful to try such a high quality zin.
2001 Selbach Oster Zeltinger Himmelreich Auslese: I think this was the name of the wine, but my eyes were beginning to wane a bit by this point in the night and it was hard to read "them foreign names"… The first taste gave hints of apple and pears, but by the second sip this was pure citrus: grapefruit to be exact. A sweet, long lasting finish made this a wonderful closer for the evening.
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