After service bongwater

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A few months ago while strategizing about the menu for my wine dinner at Caprice, sommelier Victor Petiot very kindly offered to share with us a very special bottle of bongwater - the very first vintage made of the wine.  He subsequently had the bottle transported from France, and we have been looking for a suitable date to pop the cork ever since.

So what better time to do it than right after I return from a week-long eating (and drinking) trip to Japan?  I literally just dropped off our luggage - along with a ton of sake - and headed back to Central.

I actually didn't have anything to eat on the plane, so it's been almost 8 hours since lunch.  Thankfully Hairy Legs and the team put together a small selection of charcuterie and cheese.  This was like manna from heaven to me at this point...

Pastry chef Vivien Sonzogni also served up a wonderful hazelnut soufflé, with a quenelle of vanilla ice cream on the side.

But the focus tonight was squarely on the wines, and Hairy Legs, Victor, and I all contributed bottles.

1999 Ganevat Les Vignes de mon Père - beautiful nose.  Definite oxidation here and maturity, with pain grillé, marmalade, a bit of straw, and some sweetness on the nose.  Kinda like a dry Sherry or a Boal.  Definitely acidity on the palate here.   What a privilege to be able to taste the very first vintage of this wine!

1998 Grange des Pères - almost like a Bordeaux, smoky with ripe fruits, woodsy, oaky, and tobacco notes.  Drinking beautifully now.

1997 Huet Vouvray Cuvée Constance, en demi-bouteille - tons of honey, raisins, some botrytis, and a bit of acetone.  Very dark amber in color... kinda brown, actually.

1990 Pierre-Bise Coteaux du Layon Rochefort Les Rayelles - big nose with lots of plastic.  Not sure that I like it.

This was a fun evening... and I can't believe that I didn't even get a break from eating and drinking after a week in Japan!  But hey... I can't really complain too much, can I?