My Article: Thoughts After an Imperial Bottle Dinner

(HONG KONG, JAN. 19, 2011) Drinking from imperial bottles (six liters, or the equivalent of eight normal wine bottles) is a sort of strange feeling. The big bottles sitting in front of me at dinner, including 1975 Mouton-Rothschild and 1988 Margaux, made me feel like I was in some sort of pagan temple worshipping vinous gods.

It was all part of a pre-auction dinner organized by Acker Merrall & Condit at the Grand Hyatt’s One Hyatt Road Restaurant. About 100 people attended the event, including auctioneers, wine trade members, thirsty bidders, and myself. The wines in big bottles opened included 2004 Latour, 1996 Haut-Brion, 1989 Palmer, 1989 Lynch-Bages, 1982 Ducru-Beaucaillou, 1988 Margaux, and 1975 Mouton-Rothschild.

An imperial of 1966 Lafite-Rothschild was supposed to be on tap, but it broke in transit. “I guess it just wasn’t supposed to be drunk by us,” joked Acker owner John Kapon. I thought he had an incredibly brave face while explaining his loss, considering how valuable the bottle was with the Lafite love fest going on in China.

I was sad not to taste the 1966 Lafite; that particular wine was one of the first to turn me on to great wines. As a teenager, my father initially served it to me at a dinner party in Los Angeles – but that’s another blog.

The task at hand last night was to taste the big bottles and get an idea of how the wines were different compared to wine from normal bottles. I have to say that in general the wines seemed a little disjointed at first. A number of them were mature reds in the nose and on the palate, but they were still very fresh, even hard, and tannic. I guess that reds age no matter the size of the bottle.

However, they began changing with air immediately once in the glass. All the wines had been decanted a few hours before the event. And the slight, firm acidic character of the big bottle wines melted into the glass.

Acker’s two-day sale begins on Friday, January 21. It will include over 1,200 lots of incredibly rare wines valued at about $9 million. Last year, Acker lead the wine auction market here, which is now the biggest in the world. With about $98.5 million in sales, it surpasses New York.

Here is the link to this weekend’s auction: www.ackerasia.com.

And here are my tasting notes:

2004 Latour: This is surprisingly approachable, especially from a big bottle. It’s soft and fruity with balsamic and sweet tobacco character. Full and round mouth feel. It will obviously improve with age, but why wait? Served from imperial bottle. 14+23+23+33 = 93 points

1998 Mouton-Rothschild, Pauillac: A little herbal and vegetal with some berry and toasted oak character, but hard to get excited about. Served from imperial bottle. No score.

1996 Haut-Brion, Pessac-Leognan: Impressive nose of sweet tobacco with hints of prunes and black cherries. The palate is velvety, but it’s a little dull on the finish. Opens a little as the wine is in the glass. Served from imperial bottle. 14+23+22+32 = 91 points

1989 Lynch-Bages, Pauillac: I have always been a big fan of this rich wine, with its currant and tropical fruit character on the nose and palate, and just a hint of toasted oak. It’s full bodied, with wild fruit and tobacco character, and a roasted coffee bean after taste. This is a fabulous wine. Served from imperial bottle. 14+23+23+34 = 94 points

1989 Palmer, Margaux: I find this a little austere with mineral, tar, and currant character. It’s a little subdued. Full and silky on the palate, it’s firm and bright, even tight. Served from imperial bottle. 14+22+23+32 = 91 points

1988 Margaux, Margaux: Mineral and blueberry skin and flowers on the nose. It’s full-bodied with minerals and silky tannins. Dusty and very prerty. Refined finish. I remember this being harder but it’s finally coming around. 14+23+23+33 = 93 points

1982 Ducru-Beaucaillou, St. Julien: This is a wine that I had forgotten about. It shows beautiful sweet tobacco, flowers, and currants on the nose. It’s full body, silky with fine tannins. It’s ready and pretty. Served from imperial bottle. 14+23+23+33 = 93 points

1975 Mouton Rothschild, Pauillac: I absolutely love the nose of licorice, minerals, black currants, and berries. Full and slightly hard and acidity, but I could smell it all night. It softens and turns velvety and dusty on the finish with lots of fruit. Why wait on this? Served from imperial bottle. 14+25+23+33 = 95 points

My neighbor at the table made an interesting comment as he drank the wines: “They taste like aged wines but they are firm and harder,” he said. “I am not sure I see the benefit of the big bottles.”

And when do you have enough people over for a meal or tasting to finish off an imperial?