Rory McIlroy’s favorite wines? The Masters menu reveals the taste of good things

We knew Rory McIlroy could talk birdies and bogeys. It turns out that he is also a champion when it comes to Burgundy and Bordeaux.

That was clear Wednesday when McIlroy revealed his menu for the Masters Champions Dinner he will host at the Augusta National clubhouse next month. His offerings include wagyu filet mignon, yellowfin tuna carpaccio and peach and ricotta flatbread, but the real showstopper is what McIlroy will dish out.

“I wanted to be really intentional about the wines,” he told reporters. “It’s something I love and am very passionate about and I started collecting wine, about ten years ago. Working with the sommeliers at the club and being able to choose these wines was very exciting for me.”

For more information on McIlroy’s selection, we contacted veteran sommelier Harley Carbery, who is director of beverage companies at Station Casinos in Las Vegas and has a “certified” degree from the Court of Sommeliers. Carbery said that while McIlroy’s wine choices reflected the fact that he enjoyed the finer things in life, he had also “done his homework” on vintages and producers.

“Someone on the internet put up a top 10 [Champions Dinner] menus recently and no one has come close to this wine list,” Carbery said. “For me, the focus was more on the wine than the food.”

Carbery would know, because he has tasted each of the wines McIlroy chose for his Tuesday dinner: Salon Cuvee “S”, Brut; 2022 Domaine Laflaive, Batard-Montrachet; 1990 Chateau Lafite Rothschild; and 2022 Domaine Laflaive Batard-Montrachet.

“These are some of the best wines out there, period,” Carbery said. “You ask any wine collector or wine dealer or anyone who’s been in the wine business for a while, you see those brands and you’re going to say, ‘wow.’

“You wisely went for the heavy hitters. Everything is there to impress but then again if you’re a wine drinker and you can afford the finer things in life those are the things you’re going to focus on.”

Carbery has been to Augusta National three times – in 2018, 2022 and 2024 and is likely to go back next month – and knows all about the famous winery. As a wine expert, he says, it would be a “dream” to visit.

But in this space, we charged him with a different task: to release McIlroy’s individual choices.

Salon Cuvee “S”, Brut (approximate cost $1,200)

Carbery points to Champagne as a perfect example of McIlroy digging deep for a selection that would not impress even someone as qualified as Carbery, who says the most expensive bottle of wine he ever sold at a restaurant was a 1947 Cheval Blanc, priced at $35,000.

McIlroy’s 2015 Salon S from Le Mesnil-sur-Oger is probably an “if-you-know-you” type of vintage.

“Ask any sommelier and this would be their favorite; it’s so good,” Carbery said. “They don’t make a ton of it. It’s very hard to find. Whenever I get a chance to try it – it’s a special moment. It’s great.”

2022 Domaine Laflaive Batard-Montrachet ($1,800)

McIlroy’s choice of white wine is special to him as he said it was the first white wine he really liked. It comes from one of the best chardonnay producers in the world, Carbery said, and since they only produce a small amount each year, it sells out quickly when it’s released.

“It’s probably the best example of a white burgundy,” says Carbery.

1990 Chateau Lafite Rothschild ($1,100)

Looking at reds, 1990 was an “amazing” year for Bordeaux with everything going well in the vineyards, Carbery said. That led to “a lot of juice in the bottle,” says Carbery, and even though the wine is 36 years old, it’s in a good place to drink. Everything comes together like when you make a stew at home – it gets better with time, says Carbery.

Chateau Lafite Rothschild also has personal meaning for McIlroy; that’s the red he drank the night he won the Masters when Shane Lowry gave him the blame. But it is often recommended among wine experts, too.

“Rothschild is what they call ‘first growth’ in Bordeaux and it costs a lot of money in terms of name and quality because it’s unbelievable,” says Carbery. “No matter who’s drinking, when you see a bottle of that, you’re drinking something special.”

1989 Chateau d’Yquem ($530)

McIlroy’s fate comes from his birth year, the 1989 Chateau d’Yquem. A dessert wine that McIlroy described as “liquid gold.” Although this wine is not for everyone, Carbery said this vintage feels syrupy in your mouth with the acidity balancing the sweetness. This wine can age for hundreds of years because it comes from musty grapes (yes, really) or noble porriturethe English translation is “noble rot.”

“It’s hard to handle because the [living] thing,” said Carbery. “What comes from it is something liquid gold. It’s decadent, it’s different, it’s fun. Of all the dessert wines, this would be at the top of the list. “

Carbery, who spent more than six years as the wine director at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, said that if you were to order all these bottles from a restaurant it would cost you, about $13,000. Big credit before you order any food. But your night, as McIlroy’s dinner guests are about to discover, will be one to remember.

“The food,” Carbery said of McIlroy’s menu, “was chosen so that the wines were the stars.”