Bellingham group tastes Bordeaux and Bdx Blends Blind. Photos, and cursory notes

[Warren_Taranow]

We met at my house last night, with the theme Bdx + Bdx grapes/blends.
I haven’t been opening too many such wines of late. There were over thirty bottles, and the palate fatigue was brutal. The wines ranged from 1st and other classified growths, to Washington and Oregon, California, Australia, The Okanagan in BC, Canada, and even Mexico. Plus some whites, a Sauternes, and even a Bordelaise Rosé. There were some pleasant surprises, and some unpleasant. I didn’t take formal notes, and somehow missed photographing a bunch of them. I’ve asked some of the other attendees to provide other photos, and if I get them, I’ll add them later.

WHITES:

All three of the above were decent. One was too grassy. I didn’t write which one. IIRC, the Buty was quite nice.

I’d had this before, and loved it. Served blind, I loved it again. I didn’t guess Semillon but thought it was a new world blend. If you haven’t had this old vine Oregon Semillon, you owe it to yourself to try it.

ROSÉ
Le Puy Rosé. Merlot. This was my bottle, and it’s always a bit of a gamble. When they’re good, they’re outstanding; when they’re bad, they can be downright unsettling. Luckily, this one was outrageously good. Loved by me and everyone else—it was so fresh and delicious. My gripe is that they skip a little sulfur at bottling, which is a shame. I’ve had nearly as many off bottles as great ones.

SAUTERNES

2001 Rieussec with mousse of foie gras. What could be better? Not much. This bottle might have surpassed the stunning 2001 Suduiraut. It’s rich, balanced, and complex with notes of marmalade, honeysuckle, crème brûlée, tropical fruit, honeycomb, and a hint of nutmeg.

ON TO THE REDS

Donated by a friend who couldn’t make it. Look at the original price tag. Times have changed. The cork was a struggle even with the Durand, but I got it out in three pieces with none falling into the wine.
This showed classic old resolved left-bank qualities. Some cigar box, moist earth, and cassis in the background. Really nice bottle.

One of the more understated bottles of the night. The group and I liked this. Solid, structured, one of the most Bordelaise of the New World wines opened last night.

This surprised me on the reveal. None of the heavy extraction and dense oak of old. Clearly New World but well balanced and quite nice.

No memory of trying this one.

Mine, but served blind, I guessed it. This was one of my top five of the night. Still vibrant with red fruit, complemented by cedar and rich earthy tones. Medium-bodied and beautifully composed. A standout bottle.

I don’t recall much, but enjoyed the Seven Hills.

Pavots. Polarizing wine. The person who brought it felt it was a poor example. I didn’t like it at all. Big and out of balance.

Surprisingly good. Older Chateau St. Jean Cinq Cepages

IIRC, this was nice. My Favorite Neighbor

Don’t remember

Another forgotten bottle

Someone brought this to show you can get a nice bottle for little $. I felt it was uninspiring but not at all unpleasant.

The '99 LMHB was mine. I’ve been looking at it in my cellar for about two decades, and it was terribly flawed. Consensus was cooked. I kept a glass for a couple of hours with hopes that the bad humors would blow off. They did not.

I’ll try to figure out what this mis-uploaded photo is.
Addendum: My iPhone must have hated this bottle as much as I did.

It was another polarizing bottle, with many attendees enjoying it. It might have been my least favorite bottle. Dark, dense, too much of everything including alcohol. 2014 Cos d’Estournel. What happened here???

Don’t remember this one

Inoffensive, drinkable, not great, not bad

My first Mexican wine, and it was really nice. Great florals, I think there was a lot of Petit Verdot in the blend. Sweetly fruited, delicious fresh wine.

My WOTN. I knew it was a classified middle-aged left bank when served blind. I wouldn’t have guessed a hot vintage. This was all class, even to my hopelessly fatigued palate.

My last bottle, and one of my top 5 tasted that night. Its elegance and subtlety were a welcome reprieve for my battered palate as the evening wound down. Gentle notes of cassis, tobacco, and a touch of salty minerality shone through. I wonder if John was making a statement by choosing a Burgundy-style bottle for this wine.

[David_Bu3ker]

Very interesting set of wines. I’ve had the 1996 Cinq Cepages a couple of times over the last 2 years, and it’s still hanging on. One bottle left, and it’s going to be in a big Cinq Cepages vertical that I’ll do sometime in the next couple of years.

On the Enfield - John makes amazing, balanced, elegant Cabernet. As for the bottle - it’s what he had on hand. He later switched to Bordeaux-style bottles, but the wines are still supremely elegant for Cabernet.

[Jenise_S]

Good notes. You posted some I don’t even remember seeing; it was impossible to keep up. We agree and disagree on a few. My Mouton–yeah, WOTN for sure. I also loved the Ch St. Jean CC and that '90 Seven Hills was a revelation. When people talk about ageable Washington wines, that’s not a name that comes up. But I didn’t mind the Cos–while acknowledging that it does not resemble what I’ve liked about that producer in the past, seemed too modern–and I didn’t like the Osoyoos Larose at all. Think I missed the Leonetti. Best of the whites: another easy choice, that Coury Oregon Semillon.

Sorry I missed the Enfield. And one I liked that I didn’t see in your gallery, the 2020 Matthiason Village. I’ll check to see if I took a picture of it.

Thanks for the hospitality, and for being so kind to Bob.

[Warren_Taranow]

Glad you could both make it! Thanks for the Mouton!
I agree, the Matthiason was good. I’m trying to track down a photo to see what it was. There was also a nice old Woodward Canyon Artist Series, if I’m not mistaken.

[Jenise_S]

I missed the old Woody. Possibly one of the 4 or 5 remaining bottles we had to miss out on because Bob timed out. Re the Matthiasson, I perhaps especially noticed it because I have one in my cellar but don’t have a previous experience with it. Was very refreshing–not something one normally says about Napa cabs.

[David_Bu3ker]

Was the Matthiasson a pure Cab or a blend? The Matthiasson Red Wine was one of my favorites for ages, but they don’t make it anymore. Their Cabs are pretty classic though.

[Chris_W]

Love those old Seven Hills wines…Casey made made some great wines that aged beautifully. Glad your experience was positive.

[Warren_Taranow]

2020 Cab. My first time trying this producer, and I liked it.

[Jenise_S]

Pure cab, David. But also called a “Village”. What does he mean by that?

[David_Bu3ker]

That’s his “entry” level cab. Made in basically the same style as the rest. The name might have changed since then.

[Greg_Gardner]

Fascinating example of different strokes for different folks - I had the 2020 Village Cab this past fall and found it…kinda bizarre. Like no cab character to be found. To be clear, I enjoy the brighter style of Cabernet, especially the old school iterations that don’t shy away from some pyrazine character. But that bottle was not identifiable to me as Cabernet. It was a kind of generic red wine, albeit super low pH.

I have enjoyed Steve’s wines in the past, so perhaps I just caught it in an awkward phase or had an off bottle? Glad the one you all had was enjoyable.

Also glad that the Le Puy rose showed well. They are such amazing wines when they are on. Agree that a touch of sulphur at bottling would be a good move.

[Jenise_S]

What I figured, since nowhere on the planet is a Village wine a best of portfolio. Still, for $40 I was curious and now own one, though this one was brought by someone else.

[Warren_Taranow]

For me, it was a salve after sampling some of dense and alcoholic glasses.