To honor the whirlwind visit of board member Jeff Leve, who brought a wine I had never before tasted, the 2004 “Château Palmer Hermitage,” we sat down for a mini-horizontal of 1990 Bordeaux at my local hangout. Dinner was at 6:30 p.m., and I double-decanted all the Bordeaux, which had been in my cellar since I bought them as futures, early in the morning. This was one occasion when I felt that nearly every wine we tasted was much younger than the last time I had it. Perhaps the 1990 vintage, which has been so showy and flamboyant for most of its life, is finally going through an adolescent stage, firming up, and revealing more of a classic structure than this exuberant vintage seemed to possess during its first 15 years of life. Every wine was tasting much younger than it did when I had it previously. All of them also exhibited more tannic structure than I remembered. The only wine that was not at its virtually perfect best was the Troplong Mondot, which, while outstanding, was not singing as loudly as it has in the past. The remarkable Beauséjour-Duffau got better and better as the night progressed. It is unquestionably the finest wine ever made at that estate. The 1990 Montrosedid not reveal even a hint of brett, which has been a controversial component in some tastings. At this dinner, the Montrose was fabulous, and it gets my nod, along with the 1989 and 2003, as one of the three greatest Montroses produced over the last fifty years. The backward 1990 Petrus was equaled by the more sumptuous 1990 L’Evangile, and was out-performed by the staggeringly rich, backward 1990 Angélus, and even the 1990 Tertre-Rôteboeuf. The latter wine has been a mystery, with some bottles from my case being maderized and shot, and others in pristine condition. This was one of the finest examples I have had.

A fascinating curiosity was Jeff Leve’s bottle of Château Palmer from the 2004 vintage. It does not say Château Palmer on the label, although it is clearly a Palmer label. The addition of 15% Syrah, presumably from Hermitage, does not appear to have changed the wine as much as I would have thought. It was deep, rich, and held its own with some very successful efforts from a superb vintage. Lastly, I cannot forget the 1989 Corton-Charlemagne from Louis Jadot. This cuvée is still a baby in terms of development, and came on strong later in the evening when I went back and re-tasted it.

As for the food, the Oregon Grille is a classic steak and lobster house with superb meats and beautifully prepared seafood. The grouper was exquisite, as were the poached oysters with jumbo lump crab meat.

Thanks to Jeff Leve for providing another excuse to wine and dine, and continuing the six-month celebration of his 50 years of life.