We are happy that Bernard, who has sampled so many wines, has shared his notes with us. We do have, or have had for sale a few of the wines Bernard writes about, and we include a link to our stock page whenever it is a producer we carry (but since the stock page is kept up-to-date and the wines are sold, don't expect any but the newest of wines to show up in our stock!). Mostly though, since we specialize in County of Santa Barbara Wine and Central Coast Wine, we don't carry a lot of the wines Bernard writes about. But we think it is important that you be able to have an idea what they're like in case you are planning to buy some somewhere, or have them in your own collection. Enjoy.

Here are Bernard's notes from May 23, 1998:

What results is an elixir that has been cherished through the ages by czars and other nobility. It does not come cheap. This 500 ml bottle cost about $300. We split the cost 8 ways, which comes to 62.5 ml per portion--about 2.5 tablespoons, or about 1 inch deep in a Riedel Vinum Red Wine glass.  Nevertheless, my wife and I, sharing just one portion, had a hard time finishing it.
 

The Essentia had been decanted 24 hours earlier to allow the wine to begin to open up. I poured the portions before dinner began. The wine it so thick that it is easy to pour slowly, even a few drops at a time, to be sure that the glasses are evenly filled.

The dinner was planned to allow the Essencia to be sampled at the beginning of the meal and then finished at the end. What better way to start than with foie gras (works nicely with Sauternes, so why not Tokaji?). Since I had experience cooking foie gras, I got the dish going in the kitchen while everyone sipped:

NV Egly-Ouriet Grand Cru Brut Tradition Cuvee Vielles Vignes--Although this is NV, this example was, I think, from the bottling of the 89 vintage and had a few years of cellar age. Very nice moussey mouthfeel. Moderate acidity, Very small bubbles. Slight toastiness, not exagerated. Grapefruit, Mandarine orange, bitter almond flavors. 90+/100 

The menu:

• Seared Hudson Valley Foie Gras with Grilled Fresh Figs, Balsamic and Madiera Duck Demiglace Reduction, with Extra Vecchio Balsamico on Wild Rice Blini finished in Black Truffle Butter.
• Yam, Potato and Saffron Soup
• Grilled Pizzas--   Sundried Tomato and Balsamic sauce, Chicken, Avocado, Onion, Bell Pepper,   Gorgonzola, Mozarella and Parmesan Cheese.
• Garlicky Grilled Eggplant and Bell Pepper Puree, Vine Ripened Tomatoes,   Mozarella and Parmesan Cheese.
• Shrimp Cakes with Chive Vinaigrette
• Asparagus with Hazelnuts in an Orange/Green Olive Vinaigrette
• Lime-Thyme Sorbet with Bombay Sapphire Gin
• Grilled Rack of Lamb with Risotto Cakes on Frisee
• Desserts-- Lemon Almond Tart Chocolate-Lined Profiteroles with Blueberry Sauce (not Blewitt Grenache!) Loquat Creme Brulee

• 93 Ch. Pajzos Tokaji Essencia (565 g/l residual sugar)--Amber gold. Thick as maple syrup. Faint nose of orange blossoms, apricot, lemongrass. Thick mouth texture, like a thin honey. Flavors of honey, orange marmalade.  Good acidity, but so overwhelmed by the sugar syrup you hardly notice it.  I rated this 95+. No doubt this will rate closer to 100 in about 50 years, but that's not the point. (WS rated this 99 now.) The wine went very well with the foie gras, especially as I had garnished the plate with some homemade candied orange zest, a really perfect touch with the Tokaji. The 565 g/l residual sugar is not a misprint. That is about 60%% sugar by weight. The grapes were harvested at over 600 g/l. I don't know what that is on the Brix meter, but I cannot imagine anything much higher.
• 76 J.J. Prum Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese--Apricot gold. Nose of botrytis, honey. Decent acidity, balanced, some acceptable bitterness on the attack. Apricot, pineapple. Good 15 second finish. 92. I came back to this toward the end of the meal, about 2 hours after the bottle had been opened. Very open bouquet, complex nose. Very smooth, but seems a bit low in acidity to carry the finish. Mid-palate flavored like Juicyfruit gum.
• 87 Calera Pinot Noir Jensen Vineyard--Dark violet. Woody, vegetal, nose with hints of radish. Firm tannins, briary blackberry nose. A bit acidic, mild vegetal flavors, but still quite intense, firmly strucutred. Bitter plummy finish. Somewhat off. 84
• 94 Dominique Laurent Clos de la Roche Grand Cru--Dark Burgundy red (duh!).  Closed up. Perfumey nose. A bit of horsey, earthy aromas. Sweet attack, very light textured. Elegant. Fine tannins, but fruit is supressed. After 20 minutes, anise bouquet. Opening up more after 30 minutes. Candy apple nose. Showing oak in mid-palate, finish. Thin fruit in middle. 88+   After 3 hours, opened up, sweet fruit emerges. This will no doubt get better with a few years of cellaring, but like most 94s, it leaves me wanting more ripe fruit intensity.
• 82 Muga Rioja Gran Reserva (Magnum)--Medium red-violet. Very big earthy nose. Faded tannins, somewhat acidic finish. Cigar box, smelly socks, cedar.  Thin fruit (not atypical in older Rioja), tart finish. 87
• 91 Chapoutier Hermitage La Sizeranne--Very dark red violet. Sweet, briary cassis, bacony nose. Very tight structure. Good fruit. Fine but puckery tannins. Smooth on mid-palate. Big oak. Blueberry. After 20 minutes, the syrah fruit profile emerges. After 45 minutes, opening up, palate filling out. Big, tannic, long. Very intense. Layered mid-palate. Full. 93 This wine is still a few years away from its peak. Try around 2002.  A beaute of a wine that went really well with the lamb.
• 90 Foreau Vouvray Molleaux--Incredible garnet color, darker than the Essentia. Very botrytised nose. Minerals, roses. Very smooth, good acidity, very sweet. Alcoholic nose. Rose hips, some mandarin orange. 95. This wine will last for decades and should improve its complexity. It shames the Prum Auslese by comparison.

The foods were great, even outshining the wines in my mind. All the foods were homemade, even the wonderful desserts. Trent prepared the soup and lamb. I did the foie gras, sorbet and creme brulee. Bridgitte was responsible for most the rest of the food, with help from Trent, and did a superb job! 

WOW!