You know what the true magic of wine people is?

It’s that even without knowing what each of them will bring to a dinner, they somehow create a sequence of great wines that not only follow one another perfectly but seem to speak to each other - complementing, amplifying, and completing one another in harmony.

Peas in a Pod

Many talk about food and wine pairing, yet few ever speak of wine and wine pairing - the art of creating a dialogue between bottles. Tonight was precisely that kind of moment.

Two wines.

Mouton Rothschild 1990

The first - blind. I immediately sensed the Left Bank. Pauillac. The vintage was tricky, perhaps the 80s? 90s? It was clear this wine had been lying in wait for years, patiently maturing for its hour to shine. The structure, the depth, the serene authority in the glass, it had to be a great year. 1995? No, older. 1990.

By its complexity and composure, I knew this had to be a First Growth.

Château Mouton Rothschild 1990, adorned with Francis Bacon’s hauntingly beautiful label.

At first, a swirl of dried fruits, leather, and exotic spices filled the air, perhaps these tertiary notes misled me about its age. But as the evening went on (the wine stayed in our glasses for nearly two hours), it evolved endlessly. It became more alive, more powerful, more layered, revealing waves of blackberry, cassis, and dark cherry.

Until the very last sip, it didn’t fade. It evolved - with grace, with strength, with purpose. The second bottle was my contribution.

After reading a recent article by Ivar Bjurner, I realized one château was missing from that list - - unjustly so. I decided to correct that.

Château Pavie 1970

I deliberately chose not to decant or aerate it, wanting to capture every nuance from the very first moment - to watch its entire evolution unfold in real time.
And, my God, what a wise decision that was.

Right after opening, the wine burst forth with striking aromas of caramel and nougat, laced with delicate hints of mint and eucalyptus, a combination I had never quite experienced before. Yes, it didn’t have the same endurance as Mouton over the course of the evening, but for a 55-year-old wine, it showed an astonishing vitality.

Most remarkable, though, was how these two wines spoke together.

They complemented one another perfectly, one displaying sheer power, the other refined elegance. Two different regions, twenty years apart, yet in conversation they created a symphony of aromas and flavors that transcended both.