I’ll be opening both of these bottles for Christmas dinner. I don’t have any previous experience with either of these wines, so I would appreciate any guidance on decanting for each. Will be serving with a 3 lb. tenderloin roast from Flannery.
Thanks in advance!
Andy
Suggest you look at CT reviews and ask some recent reviewers via a comment, that’s what I do and almost everyone is quick to respond.
I’m new on the forum but thought I’d comment on the Lagrange 2000 which I had recently, first over a few Coravin pours and in the end from the bottle opened on the previous day.
It’s a nice classic Bordeaux with a lot of funky barnyard elements that were very dominant at first. I felt that it needed a fair amount of air to find the minty freshness and some perfume to counterbalance all the funk. I would recommend to decant some hours before the meal. All in all it is a savoury type of wine that goes great with food and surely a good choice for this purpose!
Thanks for the suggestions so far. More are certainly welcome.
I’m bummed to hear about the barnyard in the Lagrange, as that’s usually a turn-off for me. Hopefully, some of that will blow off or be less prominent in my bottle.
This could definitely be bottle variation, since the 2005 had none of it + CT comments don’t seem to mention it much either. I thought the 2000 was at its best with significant air and accompanying food, and I thought it was very enjoyable in the end. Hope your bottle delivers!
Thanks, Matti. We’ll see very soon!
If it helps any, I’d decant longer on, or at least start the process earlier with, the '95 Ducru Beaucaillou given the estate’s pedigree and the vintage.
'd hate to give actual length of times but if it were my bottle, I’d have stood up the '95 D-B at least 5 days before drinking, then on the day, at about 6 hours before dinner, double-decant sans sediment into same bottle and keep back in the wine fridge. I’d probably do the same for the '00 Lagrange, but maybe start later at 2 - 3 hours before dinner.
Thanks, Ramon!
My 2 cents:
Stand both up for 24 hours, then decent both for at least 2-3 hours and swirl the decanter a few times prior to pouring. Then I’d even pour some into Bordeaux stems 10-15 minutes before drinking and swirl again.
Enjoy
Thanks, all. I stood both bottles up more than a month ahead of time. I double-decanted the Ducru-Beaucaillou 4 hrs ahead of serving, and the Lagrange about 3 hrs ahead. Both showed very well, with no funk and terrific complexity. I also opened a 2005 Duhart-Milon and a 2006 d’Issan that night. They were double-decanted 2.5 hrs in advance, and also showed well. All corks were in great shape. It was a very nice night all around.