A small but intrepid selection of the regular Saturday tasting group gathered this past weekend with a theme of Bordeaux varieties, with the admonition from the organizer that this was not to be taken as an opportunity for cellar culling. It most certainly wasn’t, and while not every bottle had its best showing, I’d gladly drink any of the on-theme wines again. It turned out to be a fine way to spend an unexpectedly rainy fall Saturday.
1979 Château Haut-Brion- France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan
Classic mineral tobacco Haut Brion nose, lovely meatiness, still holding on to decent fruit, beguiling. (92 pts.)
2011 Le Clarence de Haut-Brion- France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan
The ripeness and wood conceal the HB character, and some greenness comes out with air. (84 pts.)
2004 Tenuta dell’Ornellaia Bolgheri Superiore Ornellaia- Italy, Tuscany, Bolgheri, Bolgheri Superiore
Dark and brooding, ripe dark fruit offset by a great meatiness with no obtrusive wood, very drinkable now and for many years to come, a stunning effort. (94 pts.)
1997 Falesco Montiano Lazio IGT- Italy, Latium, Lazio IGT
A lovely nose showing the dust I often find in Italian wines from Bordeaux varieties and a nice balance of ripe fruit and savory, the acid is a little shrill but tamed by tomato sauced meatballs, very pleasant but not overly complex. (87 pts.)
1999 Château Lynch-Bages- France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
Just a lovely classic Pauillac, well balanced fruit and tannin, a bit of cedar, if you don’t like this you probably don’t like Bordeaux. (91 pts.)
1999 Ridge Monte Bello- USA, California, San Francisco Bay, Santa Cruz Mountains
A little muddy in color, with a bit of mint and oak, nice dark fruit, paired with a 1999 Lynch Bages I preferred the Bordeaux but I wouldn’t turn my nose up at the Ridge either. (91 pts.)
2003 Château Montrose- France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe
Gorgeous licorice, cedar, and rich black currant, deceptively soft but with a lot of supple tannin on the back, very drinkable but with a long life ahead. This is the kind of wine that first made me love Bordeaux more than 20 years ago. (96 pts.)
2013 The Paring Red Wine- USA, California
It’s big and rich, but the wood is restrained and I’m a sucker for a bit of caramelized brown sugar spice, I like it in spite of myself. (88 pts.)
2011 Castellucci Miano Perricone Sicilia Perric.One- Italy, Sicily, Sicilia
Bizarre, it is totally dominated by beef bouillon on the nose and palate. Not pleasant, but may make a nice addition to a porcini risotto. NR (flawed)
2009 Domaine Gilles Barge Côte-Rôtie Cuvée du Plessy- France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie
A very nice classic Côte Rotie with the pepper and meat I love, they don’t make many like this any more. (92 pts.)
1977 Taylor (Fladgate) Porto Vintage- Portugal, Douro, Porto
Very nice with the sweetness, red fruit, and spice that typify this estate for me, it just lacks the complexity to reach greatness. (92 pts.)
1993 Château Pajzos Tokaji Esszencia- Hungary, Tokaji
Pours like golden syrup, with stone fruit and a little candied tangerine peel, very sweet but not cloying thanks to intense acidity, delicious and not tiring to drink. (94 pts.)
I can see how that Montrose wows a crowd. It shows so damn well, very large-scaled and deep, with a Napa-esque profile, without leaving its Bordeaux roots. I loved it, but cannot say it’s in my top 7-8 of Montrose vintages.
Super cool that our very own Briceland showed up in that field, props to them!
I brought the Briceland, which I thought would do well with his group as long as they didn’t know what it was before they had it. For everyone else, it was the surprise of the tasting. I found it to deliver what I’ve come to expect from Andrew: a well-concentrated but not heavily extracted and nuanced wine with good acidity that is a joy to drink.
Which vintages of Montrose have you preferred to the 2003?
Monstrose vintages that have loved: 86, 89, 90, 96, 00, 05, and recall being blow away by a ‘70s vintage but cannot recall if it was 75 or 70. Don’t get me wrong, that 03 is strong, i only wonder what level of complexity it will develop beyond what we see and like a lot today. The 86, 89 and 90 are just sublime, first growth quality to me.
David gave the correct answer. I went the most insane last BD. I will add that my success rate on BD wines has been outstanding, including producers like Briceland which have become must-buy favorites.
Thanks, it is a good opportunity for a little palate correlation. I put the 1989 on par with the 2003 (and ahead of every first growth of the vintage but HB). I’ve had one 1990 a few years ago I slightly preferred to this 2003, one earlier this year I liked slightly less, and a dozen or more that I found completely unimpressive. The 2001 is solid, but not up to the level of the best vintages.
I haven’t had the 1982, 1986, 1996, or 2000 in years but don’t recall being quite as impressed with them as I was by the 2003. I haven’t had the 2005, 2009, or 2010 at all, so no data points there.
I’ve had the 1970 several times and it has always been pleasant but kind of blocky, more surviving than aging. For some reason I tended to have it side by side with the 1970 Palmer most of the time, which didn’t do the Montrose any favors.
I also look forward to seeing how the 2003 evolves. I’m optimistic, and since I tend to hold on to wines for a very long time I hope to find out for sure.
The 89 and 90 Montrose are probably my favorites when on, with 2003 a half step behind and the 2000 a bit further behind. Had the 86 only once and liked it a lot.
I’ve had 1 TCA-affected 89 out of 9 from a case so far. My 90s were never very Bretty (I’m tolerant of a bit) but I’ve had Bretty bottles from other sources.
Without much traction for some reason, I’ve been trying to get a Montrose vertical together on-and-off for a couple years now among certain folks in NYC. Sourced 1975 and 1978 for that. I have to renew the effort although I think DDC is on tap first.
Thanks for bringing Briceland to the tasting, for your ongoing support and for your kind words. After your note on CT, I went rummaging through my cellar to see how many bottles of the 12 Cab I have left. It has been a while since I have had one.
