TN In Honor of our friend Francois Mauss 1990 Haut Brion

WINE TALK
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I could not be happier than to see Francois join us. He is not only knowledgeable about European Wines, but truly a giving wine lover.
He has exceeded my demands as a fellow wine blogger whenever I have asked him for help and I am honored that he is here.
Tonight, I opened a wine that I know he enjoys 1990 Haut Brion from 375.
My recollection of this wine always was that it never came close to the complexity and sheer opulance of the more esteemed 1989 but always had a far superior and decadent nose that it’s older sibling.
This bottle was opened and my heart sunk. I don’t know if it smelled of brett but it was not what I remember from prior bottles. Not as much a barnyard as a cesspool. I gave it 20 minutes in decanter to hopefully blow off the stink.
Halaula, stink flushed away and a building smorgasboard of cassis, grafite, tobacco and the usual HB telltale odors that so inspire my senses and dictate that HB is always my go FG. The palate is more powerfull than I remember and the wine is building in the glass as I type. A great if not perfect expression of Haut Brion, fitting of the joy that I know we as wine lovers will feel from this generous wine lover becoming one of us.
flirtysmile flirtysmile flirtysmile 3 flirties [thumbs-up.gif]

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Jack, sorry to say but that bottle sounds like it is off!!!

I do understand your hapiness though, Francois is the bomb, as far as I am concerned.

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It is not what I recall Otto, but it is still an HB and that is not such a bad thing. Maybe it is one of my TJHB’s? [basic-smile.gif]

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Jack you really are a low life piece of shit! How dare you drink that without me!

cocksu%cker motherf#cker… [middle-finger.gif]

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I had actually thought about saving it for you Steve but it was only a split of the 90. By the time you realize that you like it, it is already gone. The bottle was good but not great. I’m holding a few other nice bottles for the crab king. [thumbs-up.gif]

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Okay… [thankyou.gif]

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Once again, for the millionth time blahblah blahblah blahblah

Brett does NOT blow off. Brett, however IS a very high H2S producer, which CAN blow off. So, if your wine is Bretty and it also has a lot of H2S, if you give it air and the H2S dissipates, it can make you think that the Brett has “blown off” to some degree. 4-ethyl phenol and 4-ethyl guaiacol, the 2 main aroma compounds produced by Brett do not go away. On the other hand, sometimes a wine merely has H2S, which upon opening is sometimes mistaken for Brett. If this is given air and goes away, the person might believe that the “Brett” has gone away, when in fact it was never there.

OK, continue on. [tease.gif]

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Thank you Professor. [soap.gif] neener

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I agree…Linda , that is a great explanation. Thanks!

Cheers!
Marshall [cheers.gif]

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… and some people have the right to like the bret taste !

Actually, and thanks to Laurent Vialette, the top “Provider” in Bordeaux of old vintages (a great white Duhart-Milon 1924 was his last discovery), we may say that the vintages around 1989 at HB are truly great expression of its fabulous terroir.

Try to get some 1988 : a lot cheaper in prize, but really quite close in quality to the 89, though at a lower level.

Well, if you pass by Bordeaux or even Paris, we may always organize a lunch or dinner ith these kind of discoveries.

flirtysmile

Maybe it is not the appropriate smiley, but, I do not know why, it remind me someone ! Sigh *