No longer solo... @ Oso

Amidst my relatively easygoing low-key weeks (vinously speaking, that is), I had the good fortune of being invited for lunch right smacked in the middle of the week for a wonderful 150-minute escapade.

Lunch at Oso began with a Selosse NV Rose Champagne. Intriguing bread-like, slightly maderized nose was an introduction to a fruit bomb of a Champagne -- fat, toasty, generous and textured, hints of marmalade jam, butter, berries and very ripe grapefruits. Despite its unshyness, this had a good grip and bright finish, just about enough to avoid overflaunting its outright generosity.

Sauzet's Puligny-Montrachet les Folatieres (vintage 1996) was initially unforthcoming. Reticent nose hinting minerals and stony fruits. In the mouth it was clean, tight, delicate and linear -- youthful and again, shy. With some air and temperature in the glass, the nose began to give way to an elegant oak-scent, one that reminds me immediately of Raveneau -- hints of peanut skins and pencil-shavings. At this point, the wine put on some flesh in the mouth, entering sweet, with an intriguing floral inner-mouth perfume and an oily minerally texture. The exit was exemplary, letting up none of its elegance but leaving a definite mark of very sweet juicy sappiness. Structured, classy and a long way to go still.

One whiff at Leroy's 1998 Romanee-St.-Vivant immediately called to mind a grand cru Vosne-Romanee. Ripely stemmy, spicy and rich, this was quite accessible -- a trait many a 1998 red burgundy displays today, regardless of cru. Make no mistake, this was still quite young, but at the same time it was already generous with intense black fruits. Quite structured and bright. Turns slightly soapy mid-way but as it further aerated, the wine became more savoury and cleansing in the finish. At this stage of development this wine did not display any floral elements a typical RSV would normally do. Maybe it's a question of time... Delicious and opulent.

The next bottle came blind and immediately I was hit with a pronouncedly stemmy nose. Again this was very rich and textured, and sweetly red-fruited. It was quite evolved as well. The note of stemminess carried through in the palate and to me it was (again) very Vosne-Romanee. Later on this gave slight truffles suggestions. I was thinking of DRC, probably a Grands-Echezeaux of the early '90s. Turned out to be a Leroy Chambertin 1993. A deliciously drinking wine, but for a Chambertin, it was completely atypical as it lacked the minerality, structure and cut.

Having just arrived off the plane from Switzerland hours before, the next bottle in the decanter had a disturbed nose but to me unmistakably not-Burgundy, with hints of leather. We allowed this wine to settle in further and as it evolved, nearing the end of the lunch, its true characteristics emerged more clearly. Raspberry and cassis liqueur, with a solid core of fruits and ripe, virtually hidden tannins, this wine was massive, briary and bright. Exotic suggestions of lychee skins, the palate was explosively complex and it seemed not quite done at this stage displaying all its layers. I thought of southern rhone, a Chateauneuf du Pape -- which was correct -- and given the bright acids and briary character, plus the fact that this actually excited me (too few CDP does), this could only be a Henri Bonneau. It was a Reserves des Celestins 1989. Wow! (I thought this was perhaps a 1998 Marie Beurrier cuvee... Just goes to show how much age this wine needs, and it's so far from being ready still!) This was certainly more expressive than the version I had 2 or 3 years back. Very impressive and a rare treat.