One of the joys(?) of retirement, is that you get to start rummaging through the stuff you have acquired.  I guess you can call us hoarders to a degree, but the older children of the Greatest Generation learned that our parents survived the “Great Depression” and items were just not casually thrown away.  The younger children born towards the end of “Age of Boomers” are much more cavalier. 

As we are going through boxes to eliminate and to keep other things for our kids to decide on, my Bride found a tourist generated photo keepsake from the “Shark Reef at Mandalay Bay” in 2006.  Mandalay Bay opened in 1999 and replaced the old Hacienda Hotel and Casino which was imploded 31 December 1996.  Shark Reef Aquarium opened on 20 June 2000 and in less than a year it had celebrated its one millionth attendee.  The aquarium was like visiting a sunken ship in the ocean.  We always tried to take our grandchildren somewhere interesting and intellectually stimulating, and most of the time, the parents were working and didn’t think of going to tourist attractions.  Every one of our grandchildren, I can claim, has had the opportunity to “pet” the velvety finish of a manta ray in another section of the aquarium.  And as I recall, we always went to a Mexican style restaurant on the grounds afterwards, so the parents could have a Margarita.

Another curiosity that was discovered has a wine related theme, also from Las Vegas, but also before I became The Wine Raconteur.  It always bothered me that I never wrote about our dinner at The Eiffel Tower Restaurant, especially when I look upon photos and films about the city, even though it has been years since we have stayed on The Strip, and it has been awhile since I have even had to go there for business.  The Eiffel Tower Restaurant in Las Vegas opened on 1 September 1999, and it is a half-scale replica of the original and is part of the Paris Las Vegas Hotel and the lights were turned on by Catherine Deneuve.  When Bally Entertainment began the construction, unlike other casinos and hotels, it only removed the old Galaxy Motel and a strip mall that included Little Caesar’s casino and the Churchill Downs sportsbook.  At Paris Las Vegas one can also see replicas of the Arc de Triomphe, Louvre, Paris Opera House and Musée d’Orsay.  Later the complex added the Versailles Tower from the old Bally’s Horseshoe Las Vegas Jubilee Tower property.

All of this is because of a keepsake from having dinner there as we were overlooking the Fountains at Bellagio which is across The Strip and it was an additional viewing bonus to add to our dinner.  Twenty plus years ago, when I had a larger appetite, as I perused the current menu, I can venture to guess that my Bride and I had an appetizer of Foie Gras, and an order of Escargot.  My Bride probably had the Dover Sole, while I enjoyed the Beef Wellington followed by something decadent like a Baked Alaska.  I am positive that we had from a gift card that we received before we left a label from the bottle of Bouchard Pere et Fils Gevry-Chambertin Cote de Nuits 1997.  Bouchard Pere et Fils was founded in 1731 and they are one of the old producers and negociants in Burgundy and they are based in Beaune.  They produce wines from the generic Bourgogne appellation to Premier Crus, including four monopole vineyards.  It was purchased by Joseph Henriot in 1995 and became part of Group La Vigie.  This Pinot Noir wine is planted on Triassic limestone, marls, stones, clay, potassium, phosphorus and iron.  Initial Fermentation lasts about eighteen days, and then it is aged for about a year in French Oak, of which at least a quarter is new.   Since I have no notes, I looked for a representative review; the deep red colored wine offered notes of black and red fruits, and Sous-bois.  On the palate this medium-to-full bodied, well-balanced wine of fruit blending with smooth tannins and ending with a medium-to-long count finish of fruit and terroir.