The brilliant dumplings served at Mark’s Duck House were accompanied by sensational dishes of Chinese sausage, fried rice, and the best won-ton soup I have ever tasted. They were perfect foils for some of the wines served. My last bottle of 1985 Salon Blancs de Blanc Champagne may have been the best bottle of the entire batch. One has to admire the great French champagne producers who turn out a white wine with bubbles ... in this case a 22-year old offering that tastes like it could be 5 or 6. It possesses a light straw color as well as a brilliant citrus and brioche-scented perfume with great depth, precision, and freshness. This incredible Champagne makes me think that even though Salon tends to release only three or four vintage Champagnes each decade (and releases them late), they still need a considerable amount of time to strut their stuff. We followed that exquisite Champagne with one of my favorite rosés, the Domaine Tempier 2006 Bandol Rosé, a relatively heady, powerful effort that must top 14% natural alcohol. Its light salmon color is accompanied by a beautiful fraises des bois plum fruit, a luscious texture, and wonderful acidity as well as freshness. While there is some residual sugar present, the wine tastes reasonably dry because of the good acids.

As for the red wines, the 1976 Lafite Rothschild, which was one of the finest wines of this precocious, fast maturing vintage, came from my cellar, so I was disappointed that it did not perform better. This bottle was flat and had faded badly. There were still some notes of tar, cedar, and spice box, but there was no fruit in evidence, and the wine was soft and fading quickly. The other older wine was the 1983 Ponsot Clos de la Roche. One of the finest wines from a controversial vintage, it exhibited a dark garnet color in addition to an impressive, clean (rot was a major problem in 1983) nose of forest floor, sweet plums, and jammy black cherries. While relatively full in the mouth, broad, and savory, it never kicked into high gear and did not display the complexity this grand cru vineyard can achieve, especially in the hands of a producer like Ponsot. The finest reds of the day included a fully mature, brilliant 1979 Gaja Barbaresco. Although not a terrific vintage, this wine was delicious young, and continues to hang on to life at nearly 30 years of age. The color revealed some amber at the edge as well as a classic bouquet of sweet cherries, tobacco leaf, licorice, and spice. This beautiful, medium to full-bodied wine should keep for another 5-6 years if cellared properly. Another brilliant offering was the 1988 Rayas Châteauneuf du Pape. Given the greatness of the 1989 and 1990 vintages in Châteauneuf du Pape, the 1988s have been somewhat overlooked, but this cuvée is a classic Rayas. It boasts pure kirsch liqueur and raspberry characteristics, a medium dark ruby color with no amber at the edge, fresh acidity, sweet tannin, and an expansive, voluptuous mouthfeel. Pure, sensual, and seductive, it has another decade of life remaining. The youngest wine (and it showed it) was the 1998 Pierre Usseglio Châteauneuf du Pape Cuvée Mon Aïeul. The first vintage of this vat-aged wine, it possesses a dense dark ruby/purple hue followed by notes of roasted herbs, meat juices, and oodles of black cherry fruit in a full-bodied, velvety-textured, opulent style that coats the palate and lingers in the mouth. It’s a beauty, but was obviously much younger than any other wines on the table.