H is for Haut Brion
On 10th April, 1663, Samuel Pepys wrote in his diary: "to the Royal Oak Taverne...And here drank a sort of French wine called Ho Bryan, tha hath a good and most perticular taste that I never met with."
Now I have a somewhat tenuous association with Samuel Pepys and his diary. We were at the same college albeit at very different times. I think I might have thrown up outside the door to the Pepys Library but worst of all, I could have ruined the original diaries (a national treasure no less) by flooding the bathroom above the library had I not remembered in the nick of time and gone back to turn off the shower.
The wine which Pepys was referring to is of course the first growth Chateau Haut Brion and while one could only guess if the 1661 or 1662 vintage which Pepys had was any good, Haut Brion has a special place in my heart and my liver. You might find it hard to believe it was the first first growth I’ve ever tasted and it was less than five years ago. You never forget your first time.
This was sometime in early 2000. Not far from the site of the Royal Oak Taverne which was located in Lombard Street and served Londoners as a tavern until 1780, my least favourite American lawyer from my favourite American law firm invited me to dinner. I think the occasion was some partner or other visiting London. He ordered the most expensive wine on the list. I swirled, inhaled and gargled.
“1995”, I said as I swallowed. Jaws fell and cutlery clattered onto the table.
“You read the label!” my host declared.
I shook my head and it was true. I said no more on the subject. Everyone was dead impressed and I was not going to give myself away. I could do this for a living I thought and the rest, as they say, is history.
What I had not told anybody at that table was that I had the same wine at the same restaurant the day before with some recruitment agents who were trying to get some work from us. What the lawyers don’t know can’t hurt them and I will say this just one more time. You never forget your first time.
So I had two bottles of the ‘95 in consecutive days and too much of a good thing is wonderful. Parker gave it 96 points but what I like about it is the understated elegance of the wine. If that wine could speak, it would have been eloquent, well-spoken, seductive even. I had not gotten into the habit of wine notes in those days so you’ll just have to make do with Parker who says:
“This wine has been brilliant on every occasion I have tasted it. More accessible and forward than the 1996, it possesses a saturated ruby/purple color, as well as a beautiful, knock-out set of aromatics, consisting of black fruits, vanillin, spice, and wood-fire smoke. Multidimensional and rich, with layers of ripe fruit, and beautifully integrated tannin and acidity, this medium to full-bodied wine is a graceful, seamless, exceptional Haut-Brion that should drink surprisingly well young.”
I’ll just add one comment - has been known to be better than sex.
Now I have a somewhat tenuous association with Samuel Pepys and his diary. We were at the same college albeit at very different times. I think I might have thrown up outside the door to the Pepys Library but worst of all, I could have ruined the original diaries (a national treasure no less) by flooding the bathroom above the library had I not remembered in the nick of time and gone back to turn off the shower.
The wine which Pepys was referring to is of course the first growth Chateau Haut Brion and while one could only guess if the 1661 or 1662 vintage which Pepys had was any good, Haut Brion has a special place in my heart and my liver. You might find it hard to believe it was the first first growth I’ve ever tasted and it was less than five years ago. You never forget your first time.
This was sometime in early 2000. Not far from the site of the Royal Oak Taverne which was located in Lombard Street and served Londoners as a tavern until 1780, my least favourite American lawyer from my favourite American law firm invited me to dinner. I think the occasion was some partner or other visiting London. He ordered the most expensive wine on the list. I swirled, inhaled and gargled.
“1995”, I said as I swallowed. Jaws fell and cutlery clattered onto the table.
“You read the label!” my host declared.
I shook my head and it was true. I said no more on the subject. Everyone was dead impressed and I was not going to give myself away. I could do this for a living I thought and the rest, as they say, is history.
What I had not told anybody at that table was that I had the same wine at the same restaurant the day before with some recruitment agents who were trying to get some work from us. What the lawyers don’t know can’t hurt them and I will say this just one more time. You never forget your first time.
So I had two bottles of the ‘95 in consecutive days and too much of a good thing is wonderful. Parker gave it 96 points but what I like about it is the understated elegance of the wine. If that wine could speak, it would have been eloquent, well-spoken, seductive even. I had not gotten into the habit of wine notes in those days so you’ll just have to make do with Parker who says:
“This wine has been brilliant on every occasion I have tasted it. More accessible and forward than the 1996, it possesses a saturated ruby/purple color, as well as a beautiful, knock-out set of aromatics, consisting of black fruits, vanillin, spice, and wood-fire smoke. Multidimensional and rich, with layers of ripe fruit, and beautifully integrated tannin and acidity, this medium to full-bodied wine is a graceful, seamless, exceptional Haut-Brion that should drink surprisingly well young.”
I’ll just add one comment - has been known to be better than sex.
posted by porcorosso at 1:26 AM
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