On Wine and Currency Equivalents
We dined in an exquisite restaurant in Prague tonight, in a lovely square a few blocks from the Mandarin Oriental, called II Maliru, with about 14 diacritical marks around all those letters. The room was beautiful, we had access to a menu that wasn’t even announced yet, and the room was gorgeous. The restaurant began serving in the 1500s. When I pointed out that was older than the US by a long shot, the owner told me that Czechs count the US from Columbus, or about 1500, so it was close.
I found on the reserve list a nice 1984 Grand Cru Chateau Latour. The cork wouldn’t come out in its entirety, and the owner and captain resolved to resort to hot tongs and cut around the neck of the bottle, to avoid any cork remnants at all. This entire affair took over 20 minutes, during which the house provided us with free Champagne. I was impressed by the attention, and other diners subtly glanced over as a candle, decanter, and glasses waited on a separate table.
Finally, it was opened and allowed to breathe. My wife remarked that it was spectacular, one of the two or three best she’s ever had, and I drink a lot of wine. It was, indeed, one of the three best in my memory (along with a 1986 Kendall Jackson Cardinale Reserve, and a Batard Montrechet in Scott’s in London that my guests still use as the gold standard for whites). I then reconsidered all the attention and redid my math.
I had multiplied and divided crowns, euros, and dollars incorrectly, and realized I was enjoying an $1,100 bottle of wine, barely saved from ruin by hot tongs and a glass cutter!
I figured half the price was for the entertainment!
The last bottle of its kind in the house.
The bottle neck, cork, decanter, et. al.
© Alan Weiss 2012. All rights reserved.
Noah
Incredible – an ’84 Chateau Latour! That bottle was waiting for you two all this time.
Sounds like it was well enjoyed.
Alan Weiss
When Chad gets around to it, I have a video of the hot tongs being applied and the smoke that results!
Charlottedvl
Still, not too much money for a priceless memory!
Alan Weiss
Worth the entertainment value!
Noah
That’s cool. I’ve actually never heard of this procedure. Sounds intense. Are most restaurants serving wine of this caliber equipped to do this?
Alan Weiss
I’ve been drinking wine for 35 years and very good wine for 20. I’ve never, ever seen or heard of this. I was skeptical. But they made it work, taking 20-30 minutes while providing us with free champagne. A potential disaster turned into a lifetime story. My wife, not realizing my translation error on the price, said, “This is VERY good wine!”