Holiday lineup

Amazing line up for a final Christmas party with the family! The 1966 Dom was the opening highlight. At first, it was underwhelming, especially for anyone expecting a traditional champagne. But after 30 minutes of slow ox, it revealed itself as an aged Chardonnay with wonderful notes on the nose and palate alike — brioche, sweetness — that paired well with both deep thoughts and crab cake; no bubbles remained, but they weren’t missed either. Haut Brion ‘98 was spectacular, but that was expected; the ‘00 lalande might have been the better Bordeaux today. The ‘17 Sassicicaia was also spectacular and required zero decanting. Much more approachable than some of my prior experiences with this house, and probably not identifiable as Italian in a blind tasting. The Clarendon Hills Astralis ‘03 was the pop n pour in the lineup, and it exceeded all of my expectations. Great nose and wonderful spicy mouthfeel at the onset, although the finish fell off over the evening. Probably at its pinnacle and should be drunk soon. Finally, the ‘17 VHR for the Napa fans in the family; it was the only wine that required decanting, but it was singing for all after a few hours. And yeah — the Krug 164ed and ‘08 Billecart Rose were wonderful as well but suffered perhaps from an embarrassment of riches.