Sunday bought first strawberries and first asparagus of the season at the farmer’s market. Strawberries are good, but will be even better in a couple of weeks while the asp is fantastic now. Unlike anything you buy the rest of the year – super-asparagus.  

On Thursday and Friday Christie’s NY is auctioning 17 lots of older vintages of Penfolds Grange ranging from 1981 to 2001. Last night winemaker Peter Gago led a tasting of nine different versions of their wine, from the charming Bin 52 Riesling to a pair of Granges: the darkly promising 2008, and the magisterial 1998, still with decades of life in it.

Last night I paid off a large debt. At a charity auction an adventurous patron had bid a quite extravagant sum for a wine tasting by me for her and a group of friends featuring five superb wines: Taittinger Comtes de Champagne 2000, Cakebread Cellars Chardonnay 2010, Morgon, Ch des Jacques, Louis Jadot 2009, Shafer Vineyards Hillside Select Cabernet Sauvignon 2002, and as a finale, to wash down the Colston Bassett stilton from Murray’s Cheese, the fabulous Taylor Fladgate 20 Year Old Tawny Port.

All were enthusiastically received, especially the Taittinger and the Shafer.

It’s May so what could be a more perfect way to start a meal at NYC’s Jean-Georges than this spring combination, especially when washed down with Jean-Luc Colombo’s Hermitage ‘Le Rouet Blanc’ 2010, a luscious blend of Marsanne and Roussanne.

True, and I’m off to try it this afternoon. Report at NickOnWine.com tomorrow.

I know it’s only a second label, and I know 2001 was a piss-poor vintage, but this is, after all, Lafite, one of the world’s great wine properties, so I expected more than I got. Green, unripe tannins, and a pronounced acidity spoiled what would, in kinder vintages, be a super wine. True, there were aromas of violets and other floral notes along with hints of smoke and spice but it was, in the end, an un-integrated mess. Perhaps it’s one of those old-fashioned clarets that needs decades to loose its sharp elbows and become user-friendly.

The nose was so beguiling, complex and toasty, I almost didn’t want to spoil the olfactory delight by actually tasting it. But I need not have worried, the palate was pure delight. This Bolly manages to capture that ethereal Champagne magic of power, grace and delicacy all in one glass.  

Bobby Kacher In His Pomp

Great dinner Monday night with maestro importer Bobby Kacher and three of his French producers: Christophe Cordier, Southern Burgundy, Michel Ogier, Northern Rhone and Geoffroy Morot, Beaune, at the excellent Recette in the West Village.

One superb wine after the other but the standout – actually, the one I have the best picture of – was the Domaine Michel & Stephanie Ogier St Joseph 2009. It was round, polished and sophisticated for a St. Joseph, and an absolute joy with the tender pink duck breast encased in crisp, fatty, salty skin.

Duck Breast & the Ongier St. Joseph 2009

Great dinner Monday night with Victor Fuentes of Spain’s Baron de Ley wine group, at Landmark, where we tasted a range of his current releases. My favorites? The super value El Coto range – 2012 Blanco ($10), 2012 Rosado ($10) and the Rioja Crianza 2009 ($13). Perfect for any party.

On Saturday 2/23/13 Sotheby’s NY are selling a series of lots from the Chateau’s cellar including 9L of the 2011 still in barrels. The chateau will bottle the wine in any format you want, up to 6L, and the lot also includes lunch at d’Yquem for four people. You do have to pay your own travel to Bordeaux. Estimate: $7,000 – $10,000.