This was a super night at my favorite local restaurant outside Baltimore City, in the horse country of Hunt Valley, the Oregon Grille. It is basically a steak and seafood house, but they do everything very well and keep it simple, using high quality raw materials and letting the flavors of the primary items show through without too many flourishes.

The wines started with a magnum of the 2005 Aubert Chardonnay from the Lauren Vineyard. 2005 was a fabulous vintage for North Coast Chardonnay (and for that matter, Pinot Noir), a cool year that clearly benefitted the varietals that like more coolness than excessive heat. This is a mineral-dominated, citrusy Chardonnay with full body but, like a ballerina, light on its feet. Without any evidence of wood, the wine displays terrific texture and beautiful purity, with flowery white peach and honeyed citrus notes and an almost powdered rock component. This is a sensational Chardonnay, about as good as it gets. We then did a mini-vertical of three of the greatest vintages of Paul Jaboulet’s Hermitage La Chapelle. The 1990 remains an incredibly youthful wine, with at least 30 more years of longevity. I am more convinced than ever that it will be as profound as their majestic 1961, and it does eclipse the great 1978. Dense purple in color, with some subtle smoke notes intermixed with crème de cassis, a succulent texture, and great freshness and length, this is one of those immortal wines that will be a legend for many decades to come. The 1989 is hardly a weakling tasted side by side, but it certainly comes across as more tannic and backward, and the fruit seems to be not quite as fresh. Still, this is a great La Chapelle with a dense plum/purple color, with more scorched earth and burning embers in the nose, hints of herbs, but thick, rich cassis fruit. This is a superb La Chapelle, somehow not as seamless as the 1990, and hence the rating, but this is a great one, and it will also evolve for at least another 20-25 years. I brought my last magnum of 1978 Hermitage La Chapelle. It was one of those wines that had a perfect set of aromatics, but the flavors are just slightly less than the perfection promised by the bouquet. There is an aromatic explosion when it comes to bouquets, and there may be no wine in the world that can top the aromatics of the 1978 Hermitage La Chapelle. Garrigue, pepper, beef blood, smoked meats, charcuterie, black currants, kirsch, new saddle leather – one can go on and on about all the different components that seem to jump from a glass of this wine. In the mouth, it is still full-bodied, and if there is one flaw – and it’s a tiny one at that – it is that the acids are just slightly elevated for the amount of concentrated fruit left in the wine. Nevertheless, this is nit-picking by any standard, and I would drink the 1978 Hermitage La Chapelle any time, any place. The 1990 Chapoutier Ermitage Le Pavillon is still a baby. At 18 years of age, this wine is still inky purple, displaying notes of charcoal, crème de cassis, camphor, and some licorice. It is very full-bodied, unctuously textured, and seems to be evolving at a snail’s pace. It will be sensational and it is certainly a candidate for perfection in another decade.

A wine that is drinking perfectly, but of course will never last as long as any of the Hermitages, is the 2005 Clos St.-Jean Combe des Fous. An outrageously rich Châteauneuf du Pape, displaying notes of blueberry, blackberry, and hints of chocolate and espresso, with great structure, full-bodied power, and breathtaking purity and texture, this is sensational wine, a tour de force in winemaking. This should drink well for another 15 years, but don’t expect it to be a 30- or 40-year wine. The 2005 Domaine de la Janasse Vieilles Vignes is another great 2005. It is inky ruby/purple, backward, tannic, full-bodied, and loaded with potential, but I think I will probably wait another year or two before pulling corks on this wine.