CPM (Champagne, Pauillac, and McDonalds)

Bottles: Krug Split 171, 2015 Lynch Bages, 2005 Lafite Rothschild

Preparations: Our wine posse typically meets at 8:00pm after children are asleep and men can begin their study. Decanting began at 5:30 pm for the Pauillacs. Both Pauillacs were double blind tastes.

Tasting Notes:

Krug - excellent classic Krug acidity, yeasty toasty notes, bright citrus and layered churned butter notes. A glass each from the split was a nice start to waken our pallette.

2015 Lynch Bages - due to transfer of decanter approximately a half mile to the tasting location, initially a bit gritty, some reductive notes and green vegetables. However around hour 5 it had completed its metamorphosis into strong cream and strawberry flavors. Heavy oak influence and tannins still showing intensity.

2005 Lafitte - at first there was some concern from the one posse memeber that there was limited presence of mercaptans, fears were quickly assuaged that it was just some late blow off and that this was a great specimen of incredible balance. Although both wines were Pauillac clear differences emerged with crushed red berries, mint, flint and rose petals began to outshine the also wonderful tertiary notes that had developed.

2025 McDonald’s - around 11:00 pm it was clear we needed to finish our tasting with an amuse bouche. We decided that McDonalds was our best option and chose an assortment including a quarter pounder, Big Mac, and chicken sandwich with sweet and sour sauce. One posse member elected to not drink any water during the tasting to maximize flavor intake and hypothesized that blue Powerade would be the best way to rehydrate post tasting. In his estimation it was a faux pas and left half finished.