We drank a 1990 Ducru Beaucaillou (St. Julien) and 1990 Prince Poniatowski Aigle
Blanc (Vouvray), paired with roasted Maine lobster, braised veal cheeks, and saffron
pasta.
This bottle of 1990 Ducru dismissed any fears of the oft-reported TCA taint for the
latter-1980’s and 1990 vintages of this chateau. Without any decanting, the wine
immediately proffered that typical 1990-vintage palate of warm, elegantly sweet,
spice-scented Bordeaux fruit, backed with round, fine-grained tannins, and framed
with just enough acidity for liveliness and age-ability. The color was an opaque and
bruise-like dark red, as foreshadow of its slightly animalistic, funky, cedar-tinted
fruit nose. The mouthfeel was cool, silky, and gliding.
The bottle of 1990 Vouvray was one of the best white wines I have ever had, redolent
of late-harvest apple, baked pineapple, and browned ginger notes. It paired perfectly
with the butter-roasted lobster which most of us ate, yet stood up versus the braised
veal cheeks. What a ballet of acidity, fruit, spice, and richness, without any sense of
cloying sugar or heaviness.
Thanks for the notes Victor. I’ve been interested in the Prince Poniatowski because occasionally I’ll see bottles at stupid low prices. Your note makes me feel good about sampling. Funny how one can be dissuaded by prices that are too high and too low.
Incidentally, your mom looks like Linda’s BIL’s mom, which means we’re kind of related, but not really. Ah well, a man can dream.
When the scion of the Poniatowski family could not convince his children to take over
the estate upon his retirement, he sold it to Chidaine. The 1990 bottlings with
various residual-sweetness levels and, confusingly, even more labels were dumped
onto the wholesale market. Because they sat un-capsuled for twenty years in very
damp cave cellars, the corks were darkly molded. Yet few bottles held damaged wine.
Another WB member and I swept up cases for around $15 per bottle.