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I skipped the morning session of day 2 of the Acker auction today. I woke up pretty early this morning, but wasn't feeling particularly great because of a general lack of sleep for a second day, plus honestly I had actually been sipping/drinking almost non-stop since 2pm... I was feeling a little lethargic, and since there was nothing I really wanted to bid on this morning, I decided to just stay home and play with my new iPad.
Initially I sat in the "general section" - filled with people like me who, whilst being clients of the auction house, are essentially nobodies in terms of business volume. After a while my friends invited me to join them at their VIP table, and I was only too happy to do so. While any wine being served at an Acker auction is of good quality and I would never complain about them, VIPs get a much better selection. When the Acker people bring around the rare stuff, my friends were generous enough to pour a portion of what's in their glass into mine. So I got to taste some pretty good stuff...
2000 Pichon-Lalande - classic nose of coffee, smoke, grilled meats and a little peppery. What you would expect from a Pauillac from this vintage.
1995 Gaja Costa Russi - smoky and coffee notes on top of a very sweet nose. What a wonderful wine... Finish was still kinda tannic, though... Drank from a second bottle later in the day which was also beautiful, with smoky and soy sauce notes.
1993 Henri Jayer Cros Parantoux - sweet red fruits with a hint of smoke. Acidity was pretty high. Honestly...if I actually paid for this bottle I'd be pretty disappointed...
1999 Rouget Echezeaux - I didn't see the vintage on the bottle, but guess it was the '99 that I drank last night. Nose was very open with game meats, very sweet, fruity and smoky. Acidity was fairly high. Judging by the nose alone this blew the Jayer away... But then again, it is a much better vintage.
1982 La Mission Haut-Brion - it's been a long time since I last tasted this wine, and it was nothing like I remembered! The nose was huge, with loads of smoke, soy sauce, dried oysters, a hint of brett and a bit of fruit struggling to break free. The wine was almost salty on the palate... Finally, there was some rust and nori (のり) seaweed on the nose.
2000 Guigal La Mouline - beautiful sweet fruit, mint, orange, a little gamey, a hint of floral notes I would expect from La Mouline. What a beautiful wine... I'd be happy drinking this any day of the week.
2006 Ausone - finally! My friend remembered that I was dying to taste this, and made sure I got some in my glass... Huge, explosive nose that was so jammy, minty, vanilla, tropical fruit, marzipan, with a hint of smoke, toffee and cinnamon. I loooooove this stuff. Yes, I do like very extracted wines...
2007 Sauzet Puligny-Montrachet - way too cold when it was poured... Nose of butter, oak and minerals. Acidity was pretty high.
As usual, the early morning and early evening segments were the times where one is able to pick up some "bargains" - you actually see some lots selling for below the low-end estimate. The middle part of the sessions can get pretty crazy, with most of the lots selling towards the high end estimate or easily blowing through it. My friend told me about the bidding for the cases of DRC Montrachet, where the hammer price was almost 3 times the high end estimate. I'm sure the consignor was really happy!
There were long stretches where I wasn't interested in what was on offer, and was getting tired of marking down the hammer prices as I used to do. Fortunately I brought my iPad and ended up playing Uno... I think my friends got a kick out of this.
I managed to pick up a little more wine... some rare Alsatian Riesling, some Spanish Rioja from my birth vintage, and some old white Burgs to drink with mom and dad on their wedding anniversary. Pretty good day...
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