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Bid on this bottle of 1987 DRC Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Richebourg Grand Cru (93RP, 93WS, 91BH). Wine Advocate: "The Richebourg has large quantities of tannin, but it has the stuffing and huge concentration of fruit and ripeness to match. It is a very full-bodied, rich, super-concentrated wine that should last for several decades. I would not dare open a bottle until 1994-1995. It will be interesting to see how it evolves when compared with the superb 1986 they produced. (RP)" (01/1990)

Bid on this bottle of 1987 DRC Domaine de la Romanée-Conti La Tâche Grand Cru. Wine Advocate: "The fully mature 1987 La Tache exhibits a medium ruby color with some amber at the edge. The tell-tale DRC nose of smoky, gamy scents intertwined with those of ripe berry fruit and herbs is followed by a wine with noticeably high acidity, good weight, full body, and some tannin to shed. (RP)" (08/1995)

Bid on this bottle of 1987 DRC Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Romanée-Conti Grand Cru (95RP). Wine Advocate: "Extremely concentrated, exotic, and sensationally perfumed, with its telltale bouquet of oriental spices, toasty vanillin oak, berry fruit, and plums, this wine had fabulous gingery, cinnamon flavors as well as astonishing length. It is one of the most unique tasting experiences in the world. It is all pleasure, finesse, complexity and richness, and my feeling is that it is clearly the best wine this domaine has made in 1987. There are 225 cases to be allocated throughout the world. In many vintages it is difficult to say that the Romanee-Conti is the best wine produced at the Domaine de la Romanee-Conti, but in 1987 it is utterly compelling. My notes indicate that it is more evolved and precocious than either La Tache, Richebourg, or Grands Echezeaux. (RP)" (01/1990)

Bid on this bottle of 1987 Hospices de Beaune (Leroy) Corton Grand Cru "Cuvée Charlotte-Dumay" (94RP). Wine Advocate: "The celestial Corton-Charlotte Dumay was purchased from the Hospices de Beaune. This wine had a bouquet that literally seemed to fill the room with a stunning display of opulent black cherry fruit, toasty, spicy oak, and exotic spices. Fortunately, it also had the concentration, depth, and power to match its profound bouquet. It is an absolutely extraordinary, seductive burgundy for drinking over the next decade. Given the low prices at the Hospices de Beaune in 1987, this would have been one cuvee to have purchased in quantity. The 1987s of Lalou Bize-Leroy are often just a notch below her phenomenal 1985s. (RP)" (01/1990)

A rare single cask of Highland Park over 30 years of age. Mr. Murray rates this at the top of the pile at 96.5 points. He says, "Nose: Pretty near perfect HP for its age, and one of the best examples of the distillery of that era I have nosed for a very long time. Slightly above average peat for a HP, which works perfectly in its favour. The usual heather honey has been skewed slightly by the heady mix of tannins and peat. The saltiness is profound, the oak a rich, spicy backbone. The sweetness is subtle and still honeyed, but more now a blend of Manuka and orange blossom. Truly magnificent! Taste: Scotland's silkiest malt at its most silky. The bold smoke on arrival is caught in the velvet gloves of the lightly oiled barley sugar, a dark liquorice sweetness spreading as the oak makes its mark. The spices are prim, proper and just so, never moving out of their set orbit while the honey starts to make its long-awaited mark, bringing with it the light smoke; a quick surge of exotic fruit underlines the antiquity with aplomb. Finish: Long, increasingly smoky with the spices still teasing and forging a beautiful duet with the molassed sugars... Balance: This is a malt whisky coming to the end of its life, like a star becomes a white dwarf In density is huge and I mean gigantic. The oaks are about to explode, but the cask has been bottled in the nick of time where the balance is still near perfect. Fine margins for a very fine whisky." *Liquid Gold Award Winner*

Bid on this bottle of 1987 Dominus Napa Valley Bordeaux Blend (96RP, 94JG, 92WS). Wine Advocate: "There were 6, 500 cases produced of the 1987 Dominus. It is one of the great wines of the vintage in a year when a handful of California producers made profound Cabernets (i.e., Robert Mondavi Reserve, Dunn Howell Mountain, and Chateau Montelena). The wine is beginning to shut down, but it still displays a rich ruby color and an intensely spicy, fragrant nose of toasty vanillin oak, cassis, and cedar. In the mouth, this medium to full-bodied wine displays considerable tannins, fine integrated acidity, and an opulent, rich, spicy finish. (RP)" (10/1993)

Bid on this 3-bottle lot of 1987 Lopez de Heredia "Viña Tondonia" Gran Reserva Rioja (91ST, 91VN, 90RP). Vinous: "The 1987 Viña Tondonia Gran Reserva displays an expressive, perfumed nose with suggestions of cedar, leather, licorice, cocoa and minerals along with ethereal layers of sweet fruit that open in the glass. Although it offers excellent length and prominent acidity which will allow the wine to drink well for at least another decade its overall balance is not quite as outstanding as that of the best Gran Reservas in this tasting. (AG)" (10/2006)

Bid on this bottle of 1987 Joseph Phelps "Eisele Vineyard" Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon (92VN, 91JG). Vinous: "Bright violet-ruby. Compelling aromas of raspberry, flowers, tobacco and sexy oak spices. Lush, pliant and wonderfully dense, with expressive berry, toast and mineral flavors. Very stylish wine with terrific texture. Finishes with big, ripe tannins and sweet, lingering fruit. The sexiest wine of the tasting, from one of California handful of true grand cru sites. (ST)" (09/2002)

It is impossible to overstate the historical significance of this 20-Year-Old Van Winkle Reserve Bourbon (Wait! 20 years? Doesn't the label clearly say, "19 Years Old"? Yes, it does, but read on!); it could well be argued that this bottling is the "origin story" behind the modern Pappy Van Winkle line. Darrell Corti of Corti Brothers is considered by many to be the father of fine food in America. Alice Waters, Ruth Reichl, and Thomas Keller speak of him in reverent terms. Whether it is white truffles, balsamic vinegar, or rare wine and spirits, Darrell is renowned for his ability to understand the finest foods first, and then popularize them across the country. It was Corti who insisted that Julian Van Winkle bottle this bourbon in a Cognac bottle, in which the Van Winkle Family Reserves have been bottled ever since. Even the red wax on this bottle is an anomaly: Maker's Mark considered it a violation of their 1985 trademark of a "wax-like coating covering the cap of the bottle and trickling down the neck of the bottle in a freeform irregular pattern." Julian took heed: a subsequent 19-year bottling for Corti Brothers was neatly dipped in black wax. In the bottle is 100% Stitzel-Weller juice, distilled on October 30, 1967, and bottled on November 18th, 1987 (making this actually a 20-year-old bottling) at Commonwealth Dist. Co. 51 cases produced, 48 delivered to Corti Bros. with 3 cases kept and consumed "in-house" by the bottlers.