Open That Bottle Night 2012

In 2000, two wine journalists with the Wall Street Journal observed that wine collectors often had a few (or more) bottles tucked away in a dark dusty corner of their cellars. These wines were often being saved for a "special occasion" which never seemed to materialize. Very often there were special memories associated with those bottles; possibly purchased on a memorable occasion or received as a gift from a special person. Recognizing the benefits of rekindling those memories and sharing the stories behind the wines, to say nothing of drinking a spectacular bottle of wine, Dorothy Gaiter and John Brecher, those journalists, proposed that the last Saturday in February be designated "Open That Bottle Night" or OTBN.

2011 Wine Spectator Grand Tour

OTBN 13 was lucky 13 for us as we were invited to celebrate with a very large group (18) of friends and family. We were even able to reassemble 5 out of the group of 6 that attended the 2011 Wine Spectator Grand Tour at Chicago's Navy Pier. Linda and Rick were exceptional hosts as always, serving an incredible assortment of fruits, cheeses and foods to accompany an eclectic but incredible assortment of wines.



We opened the evening with a magnum of Bollinger Special Cuvee non-vintage champagne from Rick's cellar. The bottle had been a gift from a business associate on a trip to Paris 15 years ago (and was still in the gift wrap). It was followed by a 1998 Iron Horse Thomas Road Vineyard Pinot Noir provided by Dr. Dan. Both wines while still very drinkable are beginning to show some age. The champagne had retained all of its sparkle but was a bit flat in flavor, not offering much fruit but a bit of yeast. The Pinot Noir was evidencing more earthy, loamy, musty notes and less fruit than would be expected with a younger wine. Both were nicely complemented by strawberries, artisan cheeses and some freshly steamed scallops which were tender, delicious and a wonderful pairing with the champagne.

I brought a bottle of 1996 Chateau St. Jean Cinq Cepages, Wine Spectator's 1999 Wine of the Year, which I had purchased while leading a project in St. Louis in 1999 for $60. Rick reached into his cellar to pair a 1994 Cinq Cepages with my 1996. My CellarTracker notes from the pairing follow https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=5960 :

Absolutely fantastic and the hit of OTBN. Tasted side by side with 94 Cinq Cepages. As Rick observed, the '96 had the side effect of making the '94 better. The '96 still has plenty of raspberry and strawberry blended nicely with a bit of graphite and mocha. There were also additional layers of complexity and a fill the mouth quality that was not apparent in the '94. In my opinion, the complexity and balance of the '96 made the '94 seem more fruit filled and bigger than it might have seemed otherwise. Both were excellent and very OTBN worthy.

As we were having a wonderful tenderloin dinner provided by Linda, one outstanding bottle of red followed another. Dr. Dan provided a 1996 Caymus and a non-vintage, home made, unlabeled, red given to him by a friend at his health club. It was reminiscent of a sangiovese and suprisingly palatable.

Ernie opened a 1996 Chateau Lafon Rochet St. Estephe and a 2000 Les Forts de Latour Pauillac, the wonderful second label of Chateau Latour. Matt brought a 1998 Raymond Generations, Napa Valley that we did not get to until the next evening. Lyle opened a 2006 Thorne Clark Shotfire Shiraz.

Then there was dessert! Dark chocolate squares, gorgonzola and cranberry stilton cheeses were complemented by a handful of dessert wines. Lyle provided a 1997 Niepoort Port. Rick unearthed two Alois Kracher Trockebeerenauslesen; the first a #7 Made from Chardonnay and the second, a #12 Scheurebe. I contributed a 2005 Tobin James "Liquid Love" Late Harvest Paso Robles Zinfandel. My CellarTracker notes for the Tobin James follow here: https://www.cellartracker.com/list.asp? 


If you like dessert wines with a bit of an edge, this is for you. Not quite as sweet as more traditional dessert wines, this also represents the bramble like qualities of Zinfandel as well as the heat and spice I have come to expect from Paso Robles wines. Sorry I don't have another bottle. Opened this for OTBN against a fine aged 1997 Niepoort Douro and a Kraacher 12 Scheurebe TBA with fruit, bittersweet chocolate squares, flourless chocolate cake and artisan cheeses. Good thing we had 18 people.

We also opened 4 or 5 unique novelty wines at various points in the evening which I won't go into here as most are not available in the mainstream but what a terrific event. Best of all its only 364 days until OTBN 14!