TN- 87 Magdelaine, 85 Lynch Bages, 03 Clos des Goisses, 08 Winston Churchill, 10 Silex, 01 Weil Auslese

Quick trip to the City that bore much fruit on the work front. And two dinners with friends plus some good wine. I will note The Cookery in Dobbs Ferry, site of our first dinner with the Bordeaux and Clos des Goisses, was sensationally good. Very much worth the train ride- and the restaurant is a pleasant walk from the station. Highlights included the meatball appetizer, NY strip and pan of brownies dessert.

Notes are brief as these were social occasions, but hopefully still of use.

1987 Chateau Magdelaine

from a case recently acquired from the stocks at Grafe Lecocq in Belgium, nice maturing medium red color with bricking starting to show throughout, harmonious classic nose of mulberries, cherry, a bit of cassis and light chalk notes, on the palate a bit green at first but with a fine tense midweight fruit and very good length, with time blueberry notes developed and a slightly hard bramble, venison, the green notes dissipated to a large extent but were noticeable, surprisingly elegant for a 1987- a vintage where I am accustomed to a bit more game and rough and tumble- the tannins are fully resolved and there is nice tertiary development, a more subdued and tranquil Magdelaine but it held its own against a very fine bottle of 1985 Lynch-Bages tonight which is no small accomplishment. Ready to drink but shows no signs of passing its best.

***+, now to 2035

1985 Chateau Lynch-Bages

bright medium red with just the barest signs of brick at the rim, lovely from the start with a calming aged cassis and cedar nose, hints of chocolate as well, on the palate cassis and cherries with traces of oak showing as well as some green mint tones, over the course of 3 hours it opened beautifully- the mint notes subsiding completely leaving behind a warm and serene Bordeaux at its peak, a midweight throughout but with great persistence, chocolate notes and some plum tones with time, as beautiful as it was a decade ago when I last tried it- as with 1985 Mouton it seems to have barely budged, despite showing full development- in character it remains youthful in its way and imparts a sense of calm ease as do many great 85s. In prime time, but nowhere near passing peak. This could potentially have decades ahead.

*****, now to 2040 and perhaps beyond

2003 Philipponnat Clos des Goisses

bright champagne color with a hint of gold, we had this during the start of a social evening with much chatting and catching up- so I took no note at the time, on the nose pear and hints of peach, a bit of aggressive berry, brioche, on the palate a deep and impressive wine that is on the exotic end of the spectrum fruit-wise but in other respects has a good classic structure, fine mousse, gorgeous cream note with green apples, fine lengthy finish, this has come out quite well and could benefit from a few more years in the cellar.

****, now to 2035

2008 Pol Roger cuvee Sir Winston Churchill

light bright champagne color, lovely pear and apple tones on the nose, on the palate open and elegant with a very fine white mousse, good length, over time it opened admirably showing moderate body and some light bread notes on the nose, on the mid-palate there is a young and concentrated core of orchard and citrus fruits that shows the muscle of the vintage but is also a bit sweeter than expected and not quite to my tastes, as with the 2008 vintage Pol Roger this is a very good wine but I have a sense that the powerful and- for my palate- overly sweet core may cost it some subtle expressiveness in time, by any standard this is an impressive champagne, but I personally prefer the 2004 and given the greatness of 2008 at so many addresses this is not quite as convincing at this time as I had anticipated.

()+?, 2025-2040+

2010 Didier Dagueneau Pouilly-Fumé Silex

bright yellow color, nose of pears and fresh cut grass with river-worn white pebbles, on the palate a firm acid and structure throughout as a wide array of potent flavors flowed over the palate like waves on a beach, intense white flowers, fine rich depth of fruit, excellent length of edgy limes, racy apple and pear notes as well, alas the price for this wine has become bizarre- but while I am not a fan of saying anything is the “best of” there is no doubt that in the world of Sauvignon Blanc this wine is still as good as it gets and very much in need of some cellaring, a nice showing today- but I would wait a few more years before opening another.

(), 2025-2035+

2001 Robert Weil Kiedricher Grafenberg Riesling Auslese - half bottle

maturing bright gold color, dazzling nose of honeyed citrus fruits with ethereal rose petal notes, on the palate a delightful and also slightly aggressive Auslese coming into full maturity, loads of succulent red cherries, sweet citrus and soft lime acids coated in honey, slight brown sugar component, honeysuckle, a wine of ponderous depth carried through effortlessly, blood orange in time, at once subtle and substantial. A fine 2001 just now entering a long and glorious plateau.

***()+, now to 2050

Nice!

Thank you Karl. The 87 Magdelaine was quite the surprise find. I have never before seen it available, and so that meant it was going to happen. Very pleased to see that it is a good wine with time in hand. Doesn’t always work out that way when fishing for older off years.

Thanks for note on ‘85 Lynch Bages, I do have some put away on long term storage, looks like no hurry.

I had several 1987 Bordeaux over the last 10 years - but not Magdelaine, and not a single one was really outstanding, incl. 1st growth, all were fully mature, and I would doubt that any wine will stay on the plateau for another 16 years. Also all were more or less lacking in length.
But maybe Magdeleine is the exception.

However Lynch-Bages 85 is really fine - and the Weil 2001 is really a great sweet wine, happy to have some more halves of it.

The 1985 LB is what turned me on to Bordeaux, but decades ago. It was delicious always. Thank you for reminding me!

Coming into the tasting, I shared your belief. I have had 1987 Mouton for a start, among a few others, and while the wines can be good I would think them largely passing peak now. I bought the bottles to fill a gap in a near complete vertical as Magdelaine is the one “rest of my lifetime stash” wine in my cellar. I was quite pleasantly surprised at the outcome, even given the results of a recent Magdelaine tasting posted here.

I have not had a chance to do this, but I am thinking of posting a thread on St. Emilion in general because after over 20 years of tasting I have recently gotten very deep into Magdelaine and Figeac- and in both cases finding wines that are generally younger and fresher than a great many more heralded wines of the same vintages, including the first growths. The track records and longevity (and complexity) only resemble Lafleur among Bordeaux where I have tasted many vintages over the past 2+ decades.

In part it might be the provenance. Magdelaine has never been a “thing” in the US, and I know from observation that the wines often languished on store shelves. So when backfilling I am going to Europe. And in cases where you find a seller that has full cases generally purchased at release but with some secondary buying activity- wines like Magdelaine and Figeac are less likely to have been potentially heavily traded and shipped all over before coming to their current resting spot.

But I think there is more to it. Have you ever noticed how often Julia Child and other cookbook authors somewhat generically suggest a St. Emilion wine with a given dish versus a Pauillac or Pomerol, for example? It is a subtle thing that I began to notice a few years ago when I started working more diligently on my skills in the kitchen- and it gives rise to the notion that a great many people to whom wine would be intimately important for its intended purpose have a special affinity for St. Emilion. Certainly I find I would rather have a Magdelaine (or a 1985 Lynch Bages for that matter!) with dinner over many more modernly interpreted and more famous vineyards- and it is not just about maturity.

Still thinking on it- but that 1987 Magdelaine was one of many happy surprises I have enjoyed in the last couple of years.

Thanks for the note on the Weil. Updates are quite rare on that wine.