Bordeaux Tasting --- K&L Wines, SF 10/06/18

WINE TALK
1

Here are some short notes from a tasting that K&L hosted in San Francisco earlier this month. All of the wines were decanted for 2-3 hours, and every wine showed well. My favorites were the 2015 d’Yquem, the 2005 Cos, and then the trio of 2015’s. The 2015 d’Yquem is a special wine. We also tasted a trio of Sauternes from Guiraud, the 2003, 1996 and 1990. They all had the misfortune of following the d’Yquem.


2016 d’Yquem “Y” – very nice, but hard to get past the price point of $170.

2015 Smith Haut Lafitte – Poured from Magnum. This is already showing extremely well. A crowd pleaser. Smooth, polished and rich. Very well done.

2015 Figeac – This is a huge, structured wine that is years away from being ready. Black fruit and mint on the nose. I would love to taste this again in 10 years.

2015 La Conseillante – Beautiful floral nose, silky texture, with excellent concentration. If you don’t like this wine you probably don’t like Pomerol.

2010 Lynch Bages – Classic Pauillac nose of lead pencil, smoke and black fruit. Needs at least 5-10 more years. Well done, but I would take the 2010 Pichon Baron at a similar price.

2009 Pontet Canet – At 9 years old, this wine still seemed closed. The nose was much less expressive than the Lynch. This probably needed many more hours of decanting to show its best.

2005 Cos d’Estournel – More open than the Pontet, this wine has impressive concentration, richness, and tremendous depth. I am glad to have a few and will hold off on these for at least 5-7 years.

1989 Haut Bailly – A wine of finesse and grace. In a perfect spot right now. Drink them if you have them.

1986 Cos d’Estournel – More concentrated than the Haut Bailly but also more tannic and austere. Not my favorite of the tasting.

2015 d’Yquem – Wine of the tasting. Stunning. Profound. Incredible. This is one of the best young wines I have ever tasted. Wave after wave of pineapple, pear, apricot, nuts and honey mesmerizes and saturate your palate, and then the freshness and acidity kick in. We had the 2005 d’Yquem last year and this wine towers over it. Is it as good as the 2001? I am not qualified to objectively answer because I have only had the 2001 once but this has to be close.

Thanks,
Ed

2

Was this a ticketed event? Or open to all customers?? If ticketed how much was the entrance fee?
Dang I wish Seattle stores hosted this level of tasting events.

3

I didn’t go to this one but they are usually ticketed and about $50. They do this level Bordeaux tasting about once a year, and then more normal tastings the rest of the year.

4

If those stores did the business K&L does, they could and would, no?

5

$50 would be a bargain for that tasting! Thanks for the notes Ed

6

Mark Y wrote:
Was this a ticketed event? Or open to all customers?? If ticketed how much was the entrance fee?

Mark, this was a ticketed event, and limited to 50 in each of the stores. I believe that the tickets were $75. They host a ‘grand’ tasting late in the year, usually one for Bordeaux, one for Burgundy and one for Domestic Cabs/Blends. Most of their other Saturday tastings are around $20.

Thanks,
Ed

7

Wow, this is awesome. I wish retailers near me did something of this caliber.