So last night my usual tasting group got together to sample some Bordeaux. This time we were fortunate to have board member Brad S w a l l o w, his lovely wife, and his wine Berserkers shirt join us. Good times were had by all…plus the Ravens beat the jets!
we started off with a mini-vertical of whites while everyone was showing up.
2001 Larrivet Haut Brion - Golden in color already and lots of spice and minerals on the nose with a dollop of funk. Some smoke and honey too. As the evening went on it really fleshed out and got a lot of citrus fruits and honey. We all liked this better and were interested to see it age.
2002 Larrivet Haut brion - Similar golden color with more of a Semmion character. waxy and full of orange blossom flavors it was fuller bodied with a tangerine note. it finished with a saline note. Interesting and drinking pretty well now.
Then we moved onto two mini flights of reds from the 2002 vintage.
Pauillac
2002 Pichon Lalande - Very aromatic right out of the bottle with licorice, violets, plums, and mocha. It was mid-weight with a hint of blueberries on the palate and moderate tannins. This was a joy to revisit as the evening went on. It is drinking well now, but worth holding onto for at least 5 more years.
2002 Pichon Baron - My last bottle of this was very funky and tannic so I was worried to try it, but it was excellent. A touch of funk, then cedar, black currants on the nose. It had lighter structure and a long spicy finish. I have one or two more of these, they will sleep for a while.
Saint Julien
2002 Gruard Larose - Blackberry and spicy herbal nose with a hint of pine. It was fuller bodied and juicier than the pauillacs with sweet black fruit flavors and a long finish. Showing very well and worth drinking now, but will improve. Glad I have more!
2002 Beychevelle - I opened a bottle 2 years ago that was flat, not an off bottle, but it wasin a funky place. Last night this wine was rocking! Huge expressive nose with cassis, mocha, and smoke. Still primary and this bottle would have lasted an easy 10 years. Unfortunately it was my last one.
After that we tried a few slightly older Bordeaux.
1994 Leoville Barton - Showing nice maturity but could still age longer. a nice suprise for the 94 vintage, i recal an excellent bottle of Leoville Barton 94 a few years ago. This had a lot of cedar, a touch of sweat, blueberry, and blackberry fruits. still some structure and the finish began a little tight but opened up. This wine was double decanted in Baltimore before it made its way to Columbia.
1995 Monbousquet - In a nice place it showed very well with a pop and pour. blackberry, pomegranite, and plum flavors. It was still a big wine with tannin and a hint of cigar ash. Over time it seemed to shut down. But still a nice showing. I think the wine will last for a while yet.
Then we jumped forward to look at a few 2005s
2005 Rocher Corbin - A St. Emilion property that my buddy Marc went long on so he brought a bottle to check it out. dark purple and very primary, still a touch grapey and brooding with blackberry, herbs, and plums. Very young but very well balanced for its size. Should do well for a decade, I think he paid $18 a bottle on a closeout. Not bad!
2005 Phelan segur - Very big noe on this puppy! Lots of licorice, black currant, just very deep nose. It was very well put together with dark fruits and good structure. Developed a nice coffee note as time went on. Tasty!
2005 Tour Renaissance - A small St. Emilion property, this one divided the group. It was smokey and milk chocolatey with an ash note. Sweet blueberry flavors but still very tight. I liked this better the first time I had it, but it was very dominated by structure, I’m still curious to see how this ages.
Finally (for the reds) an 06
2006 Chateau Lusseau - This wine was even more polarizing! I got some green peppercorn, oak, sweet cassis, and plum. It was good but not great. Could be interesting as it settles down, but won’t ever be a great wine.
Can’t do Bordeaux without some sweeties to finish it up.
2002 Suduiraut - Burnt caramel, dried apricots, typical Suduiraut with its rich, slutty fruit and generally slightly less acid than I like. Finish was long and spicy. delicious to drink now, will continue to evolve but I don’t see it making old bones. Not that that is a bad thing. Some people prefered this.
1983 Chateau Romer du Hayot - Never had one of their wines before and I was impressed! This was generously brough over by my friend Sam since this tasting was also to celebrate my birthday, so he brought a wine almost as old as me. Very kind! This wine blew me away. Orange color with a hugely expressive and layered nose. Orange blossom, creme brulee, orange peel, lemons, white pepper, even some rose petal or cherry notes. It was not too sweet but had some honey flavors and excellent refreshing acidity. Big spicy finish. Considering how slowly it is evolving I think that bottle would have lasted another 30 years no problem. It was stunning!
Good times were had by all. I have two decanters full of the Rocher Corbin and Lusseau to see how they show tonight, plus the Sauternes.
Hopefully Brad had fun and will add his notes. We ALMOST popped a Dauvissat La Forest 07 after all that but made a goal-line decision to save that for another day. Probably wise, I think it will go well with Habaneros!