We all owed a buddy a “solid” and somehow ended up at Ruth’s Chris to imbibe, perhaps as a pre-gamer to our guy’s cycling weekend starting this Friday. I suspect it will be a rough weekend as well!
Started with the 2000 Chateau l’Evangile, Pomerol, which opened pretty quickly on a pop and pour. Would have loved to follow this wine all night, but that’s not how my group does things. Lovely nose of wet mossy earth, truffles and ripe plums. Satin on the palate, broad range of red to dark fruits. The red fruit acid really keeps this elegant wine quite lively. Rolled straight into a 2015 Chateau Ausone, St. Emilion, a baby of course, but pretty drinkable given the solar vintage. MarcF was digging the Franc notes, personally I think the ripeness of the merlot predominated. A pretty exotic wine with Indian spices, dark french roast coffee, dark chocolate and a deep brooding presence of rich wet earth. Would love to see this wine in 15 years, but in truth, would rather see the 2014 0r 2016 in 15 years, as this 2015 St Em is a bit ripe for me.
We had decanted a 1996 Leoville Barton, St. Julien. Now we are back to talking about maturity and classic wines that shine with time. Damn what a fantastic vintage for LB. A classic Bordeaux perfume with some funk, lead pencil and dark cassis. The balance on this wine is impeccable. Plays more on the darker spectrum of fruit, powerful fruit, framed with the structure of some red fruit acid and resolving tannins. On this night, the 96 LB was my WOTN. It’s in the zone.
The 2017 Le Pin, Pomerol, followed. What more to say, pretty much the same as when I had it on NYE (TN: 2017 Château Le Pin, Pomerol - WINE TALK - WineBerserkers). Almost criminal - actually, it is criminal - to pop this now, but when a buddy brings it, one must oblige. Was clearly a hit at the table, especially to the boys that love their Cali Cabs. It’s a pretty rich, exotic wine, one that appeals to classicists and modernists. Another wine that I would love to try at maturity.
While we opened a few additional Cabs, the standout to close the night was a 1996 Smith Haut Lafitte, Pessac Leognan. I’m not sure exactly when Rolland and Derenoncourt got involved and turned this once-classic Graves into something that I do not like, but I would think they came much later given how classically this wine showed. A very elegant Graves that is well within its optimal drinking window. After all those larger-scaled wine, it was nice to see a more medium-bodied wine with a vein of wild red fruits with some weight of darker cassis. Green tobacco leaf, dry earth and some old barn plank. Just a flat out lovely wine.
It’s been quite a while since I have been to a Ruth’s Chris, and I cannot say that I generally love these big steak chain restaurants, but they did a well-executed bone-in filet Pittsburgh rare for me. That charred rare steak with the young Ausone and Le Pin was almost too decadent!