TN: 1983 Bordeaux at Harrys

Took the train into city and then subway down to Wall St last night; our Bordeaux group did a horizontal of 1983 Bordeaux at Harrys of Hanover Square. We got off to a rocky start- in AM a core member had to bow out due to a death in the family, another decided not to come because he said his Pichon Lalande was cooked when he double decanted, another guy bringing multiple bottles had to leave behind a dead Conseillante. But we had hopes for the rest of the wines.

1983 Domaine de Chevalier Blanc - pretty much everything I want in white Graves. There’s a whiff of grass/gooseberry, clearly significant Sauvignon Blanc, but also a waxy note that seems more Semillon-ish. Full, rich, crisp. A-

We sent around one wine on its own:
1983 Cantemerle (Haut Medoc)
Very good bottle, elegant, more red than black fruit, nice herbal note, good length. Nice showing. B+

Next up was a flight that didn’t do well. That was ok because the scallop course arrived and this gave me chance to revisit the DDC with the scallops.

1983 Belair (St. Emilion)
Maderized

1983 L’Arrossee (St. Emilion),
I told John on train down I had thought this was corked on first sniff, but when I doubledecanted I didn’t get any TCA (I’m probably a 4 on a scale of 10 in sensitivity). Well, with a bit of air the TCA was definitely there.

OK, a bit worrisome, but from here on in clear sailing.

First St. Julien flight

1983 Ducru-Beaucaillou (St. Julien)
I thought a touch pruney when doubledecanting, but with air in glass this shaped up nicely. Mid-bodied, more elegant than powerful, red fruit and tobacco. Got better and better. B+/A-

1983 Gruaud Larose (St. Julien)
A bit of ye olde barnyard, but well within my tolerance. Full, masculine though not heavy, good length. A-

Second St. Julien Flight
1983 Leoville Poyferre (St. Julien)
Cassis and cocoa,lots of earth, fresh and full. B+/A-

1983 Leoville Las Cases (St. Julien)
Tight, stolid, showing less than other bottles. B/B-

1983 Palmer (Margaux)
This was a very good bottle, though not the magic that one occasionally runs across in an 83 Palmer. A-/B+

1983 Rauzan Segla (Margaux)
Sweet fruit, smoke and spice. Not as long as some others, but very tasty, B+

Final (mixed) Flight
1983 La Mission Haut Brion (Graves)
Exotic, tannic, full. This was very good wine that didn’t taste like I remember 83 LMHB tasting. A bit burly. B+

1983 Ausone (St Emilion)
Elegant, long, nice tension between fruit and acids, tannins mostly resolved, put this in a GC Burg flight as a ringer. My WOTN by a hair. A-

We did our usual 3/2/1 voting at end. This is total that I noted, but Suzanne says there were 2 first place votes for LMHB, so may be off somewhere by a point.
Ausone 20 pts
Palmer 14
La Mission Haut Brion 5
Gruaud Larose 5
Leoville Poyferre 2
Ducru Beaucaillou 2

Fun night with a fun crew, though tasting dinners 2 nights in a row- I’m getting too old for this. Thanks to all for good wines and good company.

Grade disclaimer: I’m a very easy grader, basically A is an excellent
wine, B a good wine, C mediocre. Anything below C means I wouldn’t drink at a
party where it was only choice. Furthermore, I offer no promises of
objectivity, accuracy, and certainly not of consistency.

Dale, what was the corkage arrangement with Harry’s if you don’t mind me asking? I live and work nearby and although I have stopped in there for a meal or a drink from time to time, I never thought to have a wine dinner there. Glad the wines shaped up for you guys after the rough start.

“1983 Palmer (Margaux)
This was a very good bottle, though not the magic that one occasionally runs across in an 83 Palmer. A-/B+”

I know what you mean. Through another poster that is active on this forum (thanks once more!) I have come in the possession of two cases of 1983 Palmer, with impeccable provenance. All the bottles that I opened (and I can tell you that the first case of 12 bottles was empty in no time…) were consistently very good. And about half of them were exceptional. Or magical as you call it.

We drank it a while ago next to a 1983 Margaux and the Margaux, whilst not a bad bottle in itself by any means, was clearly the lesser wine.

Michael, don’t know wht regular corkage policy is, but they’ve done this set menu before. I believe $95 + tax + gratuity for scallops on risotto, duck salad with beets and dried cherries (I don’t like beets with wine, so ate all the beets and drank a bunch of water and then went back to wine), a nice ribeye with hash browns and creamed spinach, dessert. Food was solid, I’d go back, but damn that is far away from Grand Central.

J. : I’ve probably had 3 totally pedestrian (though not obviously flawed bottles), 2 very very good bottles, 2 magic. But probably all from different sources. This was just below the magic.

Dale, good notes. I agree with you that the La Mish was different than I recall. There was a strong eucalyptus/mint note on the nose that dominated. I haven’t had a lot of '83 La Mish but I don’t recall it being like that at all. I think we had one together years ago at David Wainwright’s going away party. John Gilman really liked last night’s bottle but I’m sticking to my thoughts that it was strange.

Mike, you can work with them but Dale is right on the price. We usually do a 4 course set menu. We’ve done different things in the past but their scallop dish is very good as is the steak. The duck salad is different every time. We’ve also done different apps there. It is a lot of food. None of the plates are small.

Thanks for the notes. I’m planning a 1983 dinner later this year so it’s good to know how things have been showing.

Thank you for the notes. I haven’t been to Harry’s in awhile, but the used to have a nice, reasonably priced wine list too. I remember having a 91 or 92 Ridge Monte Bello there about 5 years ago for about $150, give or take.

Dale good notes.
Loved the DDc. it went very well with the scallops.
The Gruaud Larose tasted of beef broth
Last night the Ausone stood above the other wines, but as a lot the 83’s were showing very well.

Dale, Thanks for the notes. Living vicariously. Agree about the 83 Palmer – that can be so magical, but not all the bottles have the fairy dust. I only have one left, a secondary market purchase, so I’ll wave my magic wand over it when I open it and cross my fingers. So glad to hear the Domaine Chevalier Blanc is still firing on all cylinders. I’ve had hit and miss luck with the 83 La MIss – magic and variously flawed drain cleaner. Have a bottle of 83 GL somewhere. Will have to open soon and see what the beef broth index is …

I think I have one in Tride Diane.

Dale,

Thanks for taking the time to not only take notes but to post them as well. A bigger thanks for quarterbacking this event!!

I agree with most of your wine comments though I was not a big fan of the Ducru, I picked up that pruney characteristic and I couldn’t get past it. The two most surprising wines for me were the Cantemerle and the Ausone, the Cantemerle because I never had one before and how impressive the aromatics were. The Ausone was my first tasting of the “old” pre-parker style and it was damn tasty.

My top 3 were the LMHB, Ausone and Palmer.

It was blast chatting with John Gilman and picking his brain!

Cheers
Nanop

Funny that John said the same thing about you!

Thanks for the notes. Have consumed 3 bottles of the Palmer over the years from my cellar that were purchased on release. Never found the magic. Last year, drank a magnum of the 83 Gruaud also purchased on release-now that was magic. Sitting with an 83 Cantemerle that I never got around to drinking. Now is the time. The Gruaud magnum set me back $ 27.50. Those were the days

Dont thank me Joost!
Got something very nice in return from you,
and still enough Palmer 1983
Classical win/win situation!

HarryS