Last night we had a going away and cellar cleaning party for a good friend who is retiring and moving halfway across the country. He has been interested in wine for a long time and worked ITB for a big chunk of it. His cellar has some gems that I have been happy to share with him over time, but he didn’t want to move everything as he will no longer have a proper cellar in his new house. Just a 200 bottle Eurocave. So he picked the best wines to take with him and all the others were basically up for grabs last night. There was about 15 boxes to choose from and the only rules were that a) you pop as many corks as we can handle in one night and b) fill up a case and take some home so that he has less to move!
Well….YES SIR!
I wasn’t sure exactly what we would be drinking but when I walked in he poured me a wine from a decanted and said “Guess how old this is”. It was old alright, I thought maybe 30 years? Nope. It was a…
1967 Monbosquet – Touch of varnish on the nose, dried leaves, still some sweet cherry fruit, with smoke and leather. Still some tannin and noticeable acidity on the finish. Still alive, though fading. Not a bad way to start the evening!
1980 Trefethen Cab – A birthyear wine for me, always cool. Cherries and mocha on the nose, dried herbs too. Still viscous with cranberry and a long finish. Showing well!
1983 Mongeard Mugneret Echezeaux - Very ple color. Barnyard, orange peel, cinnamon, and some stinky cheese on the nose. Round in the mouth with black cherry fruit and a dry finish. Good, but not great.
1979 Gloria – Smokey and dried cherry nose with some graham cracker. Plummy and elegant on the palate with no tannin left. Good!
1979 Brane Cantenac – Cigar ash, violets, dried leaves, some minerals and cherry on the palate. Dusty tannin still. Ok.
1975 Heitz Napa Cab – Amazing deep color. Blackberry, stones, cassis. This was showing so young. Big palate with a touch of oxidized notes. But wow! Still a baby. Great showing from this bottle with sweet cherry fruit on the finish. I would have guessed no more than 10 years old. Wish we had one of the single vineyards to compare!
1959 Beychevelle – Funky dirty nose, with some blackberry and cherry. Earthy and green pepper flavors on the palate with a long graphite finish. Good showing for an older Beychevelle.
1971 Grand Puy Lacoste – Roasted meat and flowers on the nose with shaved pencil and cassis on the palate. Some dried berries too with lots of minerality. Medium finish, but very good.
1982 Monbosquet – Bricking color, cherry and plum flavors and some concrete notes as well. Medium finish. OK showing.
1970 Gloria – Rich cassis and plum, lots of fruit. Cherry and black pepper on the palate with a big finish. Tasty. These older Glorias showed so well.
1985 Ducru – My favorite up to this point, maybe my favorite of the night. Good color still, smoke, black fruits, a great nose. Still very rich and fruity and some slight tannin. Years to go on this bad boy, but in a pretty good spot now. It is in early maturity. Delicious!
1978 Clos du Val Cab – Cassis, oak, mocha. Rich palate with a bunch on tannin still. Coffee on the finish. Wow, very nice showing!
1968 Louis Martini Cab – Funky graphite nose, wet stones, currant, and pomegranate. Short finish though. Probably could have used some air, but the bottle didn’t last too long.
1985 Haut Bages Liberal – Cassis, graphite, and smoke on the nose. Good fruit. Medium bodied. Smoke and gravel on the finish. Well done, but outclassed by many others.
1979 Beychevelle – Dried herbs, nice bouquet of smoke, and elegant cherry fruit. Short finish and the wine was light, but persistent. Overall, pretty tasty.
1983 Shafer Hillside Select – WOW! Huge nose. Licorice, blackberry, cassis, oak, very rich aromatics. Soft on the palate but full of black cherry and cranberry fruit. Medium finish with good acid to balance it. The fruit got sweeter and some violet flavors came out. This bottle was just great and could have gone 10 more years EASY!
1986 Beringer Private Reserve Cab – Plum, sweet oak on the nose, cassis and plum on the palate with great length and hints of black pepper. Drinking very well.
1989 Quail Ridge Eisele Cabernet – Smoke, clove, and cassis with licorice flavors. Mid weight and some tannin still left to resolve. Good.
1979 Chateau de Pommard Pommard – This bottle was singing! Green pepper, clove, cherry, candied orange peel on the nose. Soft fruit with ginger, bright cherry, and still some zippy acidity. Earthy finish with good length and some cinnamon. This was a hit too.
1978 Cakebread Cab – Mocha and oak on the nose with some black currant. Oaky finish with plums and graphite. Not bad, but not great. Especially when next up was a…
1985 Stags leap SLV Cab – This bottle was singing from the start. Licorice, cassis, smoke, caramel, plums. Just delicious. Great balance with lots of dark fruits. This bottle would have gone another 10 years also.
1978 Dry Creek Cab – Tobacco, dried cherry, mocha. Plummy on the palate and still rich and structured. Short finish, but a surprising showing.
1992 Phelps Le Mistral – Dusty nose, black cherry and black pepper. Snappy acid too. Drinking well.
1984 Pesquera – Smoke, dusty nose, cherry spices, and cedar. Raspberry fruit and drinking well with some tannin left. Probably should have been drank 10 years ago to see it at peak. But it was still kicking.
We had a few other things. Some not worth mentioning and some bottles that were dead or corked. But all the big boys had a good showing. It was an insane party to say the least. We had a blast and it is sad to see my friend go. However, I did get to bring some of his wine home with me including some potentially excellent bottles. I will post on them as I drink them.
It should be mentioned that all of these wines were bought on release and cellared by him under ideal conditions. That helps why everything showed so well and in many cases, so young! It was truly an amazing evening.
Mike,
What an amazing array of wines!
And I’ve always enjoyed reading your tasting notes.
Keep up the good work!
Alex R.
Wow ! The perfect combination of a lot of fine wine and insightful commentary. Thank you.
Aw shucks, thanks guys!
Alex, I see you are in Bordeaux, have you had any of these to compare notes?