TN: 1985 Chateau Olivier, Graves, and the Gladwell Principle of 10000

WINE TALK
1

Yes, 10,000. The number Gladwell posits as a metric for the attainment of expertise. So I am now expert status on WB.com. I have entered the Pantheon of Epic Posters. Neal is my mentor; Ken V scares me. [wow.gif] I’m not sure this is worth bragging about. Corey and Salil came up with the brilliant idea of me resting at 9,999, and then re-registered under the moniker, Roberto Alferto, to connect with my Cuban roots.

I had hoped to start a meaningful thread for 10,000, but so much got in the way this past week. Taxes. A brutal tooth extraction that still hurts. Out of town one day. I cracked my gorgeous Italian race bike. It’s been a tough week.

So I’m still on soft foods and thus asked my wife to pick up some Picadillo from a little Cuban joint down the street. Not surprisingly, a wine with some tobacco notes entered my consciousness.

And this was staring at me as I slid open a wine fridge drawer, the 1985 Chateau Olivier from Graves. I have always had a little soft-spot for this producer, just classic and true to itself. Almost always delivers a solid effort, never a blockbuster. But I’m not necessarily chasing blockbusters, I want simple and sometimes rustic elegance. The 1989 delivered like that for years.

And so does this 1985.

Super pristine bottle, much loved in its 31 years of life. Cork broke on extraction, but pulling the second piece was still clean. No worries.

Really pretty brick red. Tobacco in a bottle. Lovely nose of tobacco, earth and dry leaves, red fruits and some Bordeaux funk. Classic Graves. Medium weight on the palate, crisp red fruits, really fine acidity, with the palate accentuating the aromas from the nose, tobacco, earth and minerals. Soft tannins. Loving the refinement and tartness of the red fruits, low alcohol and no noticeable presence of any new oak. So pretty, such a great dinner wine.

(91 pts.)

2

In honor to #10000, I suggested that Robert change his name to a symbol :aries: with an avatar that would now reflect him sporting a raspberry beret, but as usual nobody ever likes my ideas.

So tonight I bike over from the hillbilly neighborhood of College Park to the lush manicured landscapes of Lancaster Park. It was a long and arduous journey that very few could bring themselves to attempt (approx. 2.5 mi.)

I had no idea at the end of this grueling feat that I would be greeted with such a lovely prize…In fact I barely have the kickstand down on my gender neutral Schwinn cruiser as Sir Alfret is relaying a tall cool Zalto glass of pre-pessac '85 Olivier over in my direction.

This is a wonderful low alcohol (12%) classic claret…pure tobacco leaf, wet forest floor, hints of leather, cool red fruits, resolved tannins…shows better on the nose then on the palate…so smooth and easy drinking…you can just plow through a bottle of this. A lovely offering no question…would have like to have stayed a bit longer or what Robert says, ‘loitering’ but The Oklahoma Twister (the wife) was sending out the ‘batshit crazy signal’ to head back…the ride home was much slower.

Thank u again Robert and congrats on your 10000 post.

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The most photogenic of Berserkers in their Sunday finest . . . .

Odd that MarcF always seems to be nearby when I pop an old claret. He texted out of the blue within 20 minutes of me popping this, saying he was swinging by. True story.

4

You were supposed to register as Señor Orlando. Looks like Malcolm is going to have to revisit his metric.

Nice note anyway.

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I forgot how to do the squiggly thing above the “N”.

And no doubt about Malcolm, as you are nearing what he calls “Super-Expert” territory . . . Or is that Savant?

How was the Clos de Sainte Catherine and the Prum, birthday boy?!

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Being part of such an important milestone, this pic reflects me with tears of joy

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I like to think that I put the “idiot” into “idiot savant”.

We didn’t get to the Prüm, so just the 96 Clos de Sainte Catherine. It was quite nice, loads of bruised apple flavor with a bit more sweetness than I expected (not quite at an Auslese level of sweetness, but not far off). Would have preferred a touch more acid, but that’s a quibble. Seemed fresh for a 20 year old wine.

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Nice pictures (of the wine)