We finally pulled off a long-planned evening of 1959 First Growth Bordeaux Thursday evening. Eight of us met up at Artisan in West Hartford. We had a mix of some of my local wine lovers with a few CT Shore / NYC folks, and no fists were thrown over miscommunications stemming from the language difference. John Gilman got the prize for longest travel, and served as an excellent travel guide, but he did pay a price in needing to spit out a lot of great wine.
A quick rundown:
2006 Taittinger Comtes de Champagne Rosé (magnum) Bright and delicious, great nose of cherry and strawberry, holding nothing back. Firm and balanced, generously proportioned. As this was a magnum we didn’t finish, and it showed equally well the next evening. I recently had the 2007 Rosé and found this nearly identical, perhaps not quite as open as the ‘07. 95
1999 Haut Brion Blanc Oh, how the heart sinks…at first whiff I might have mistook this for a 1999 white burg, it was really oxidized and sadly undrinkable. I had very high expectations for this bottle. Will check its twin brother very soon. NR
Flight of two wines:
1959 La Mission Haut Brion A dusty funk on the nose, red giving way to brown, this has the look of an older wine. The wine actually had some life and improved in the glass. Pleasant and even enjoyable, there are soil notes, perhaps fireplace ash, with a core of just-not-quite-fruit. I concluded that this was a very good wine, but mostly in the context of the “history of wine” enterprise we had joined. 91
1959 Chateau Petrus This bottle was the worst of the lot, tattered label, lowest ullage, weakest cork. It looked old from the start, brown-rimmed, but there was a healthier rustiness in the center of the glass. Funky nose, some jammy figs and plums, perhaps mushroom and forest floor. Like the LMHB, this would never please a crowd, and I didn’t find much suggesting any Petrus typicity, but we could all appreciate it. 93
After these two wines, while they were for the most part sound and enjoyable, I was starting to feel a bit worried that we might miss out on the glories of the excellent 1959 vintage.
Flight of two wines:
1959 Chateau Margaux This wine (and its neighboring HB) had excellent color, great youth showing through to dispel my concerns. Sadly it was momentary relief, as the wine was corked. The bottle conditions were excellent, just one of those things. NR
1959 Haut Brion Completely out of this world. Great youthful color, no signs of slipping into old age. The wine was wonderfully open, with a unique feminine profile of mineral, mint and tobacco. Great complexity and fine balance. The earlier Brother Blanc has been forgotten. 99
Flight of three wines:
1959 Chateau Lafite (magnum) Really breathtaking, the color is deep red without fading, the nose is soaring dark fruits, plummy jam. It’s vibrant and racy. The wine is balanced and complex, I find hints of mushroom, truffles, and tilled earth. There’s a density that implies this wine will shine for decades to come. 99
1959 Chateau Latour (magnum) Excellent youthful color. I could not help but compare with the Lafite to its left, and in comparison I found the Latour to be a bit less complex, perhaps even staid. It was certainly magnificent, showing cedar and tobacco in a swirl of ripe dark fruits. A wonderful wine. 98
1959 Chateau Mouton Rothschild This wine shone so very brightly, and together with its two neighboring glasses, we had all completely forgotten we had had two bad bottles. This glorious triumvirate stopped the show and almost required supplemental oxygen to be brought and CPR to be performed. The Mouton was vigorous and complex, it opened with a dense appealing funkiness that gave way to a brooding core of black fruit. Supple tannins provided a masculine backbone. 98
1959 Chateau Suduiraut I had actually sourced a bottle of Yquem for this event, and had the two side by side in the cellar, in the end grabbing the wrong one, not to discover until later in the dinner. However, no harm was done as this wine was spellbinding. Small pours all around given the evening’s consumption, but even a few drops would have been enough to provide palate-coating pleasure. The wine was dark amber, nose of orange rind and apricot. Delicious honey and caramel, such a way to end a great night. 98
Thanks to Chef Frederic Kieffer of Artisan who prepared a wonderful menu for us, and to his efficient and helpful staff.
