"Here, Taste this 31 Year Old Rioja."

What a gorgeous Sunday here in Brooklyn! Great light, pretty warm, a carpet of yellow ginkgo leaves on the sidewalk. After we take the little daughter over to a friend's house for brunch, I get a surprise hour or two off, as BrooklynLady tells me to take a walk and enjoy myself and then she takes the daughter home for a nap.

Nice!

So after walking around a while and enjoying the sun and feeding off of the generally happy people with their kids and/or dogs in my neighborhood I decide to drop into Prospect Wine Shop before going home. I wasn't going to buy anything, but I like to drop in sometimes, just to say "hi"to the Champagnes, relax among the bottles for a few minutes. You know what I'm talking about - you're a pro at browsing wine shops just like me.

But this is Prospect Wine Shop, my home spot, and they know me. They know what I like to drink, they know my wife and baby, they know that I refer friends in the area to the store and they're always really friendly and courteous. Today is a great example - I'm not buying anything, just poking around the Burgundies, and one of the managers comes up to me with a glass of something sort of rusty colored and whispers "Here, taste this 31 year old Rioja."

This guy had just given me a glass of 1976 Lopez de Heredia Rioja Gran Reserva Viña Bosconia. It was the final bottle in the store and they decided to open and taste it, as sort of an end of Thanksgiving Sunday afternoon treat.

The wine was rose petal colored with clear signs of rust, but it was a beautiful color. I spent the next 10 minutes, honestly, just smelling the wine as I perused the bottles. This stuff had such an interesting and enticing perfume. Mostly orange peel - a mix of candied rum soaked and fresh peel, some fresh figs, something herbal, and hints of crème brûlée. I am not used to drinking wines this mature, so describing them is not easy - cut me some slack here pal.

When I finally tasted I got stewed cherry pulp, fig compote, baking spices, and a pleasing menthol mouth aromas after swallowing. No tannins left, but there is some structure still, and good balance. So lovely, so compelling, getting on in years but still very beautiful - just beguiling in fact. Think Julie Christie.

And I thought I was talking a walk and stopping in for a quick look at the Champs!