TN: 2001 Bordeaux plus Rhones, Burgs and More

WINE TALK
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2001 BORDEAUX PLUS RHONES, BURGS AND MORE - (10/25/2014)

A group of us gathered yesterday to celebrate a friend’s 70th birthday. His favorite wines tend to be traditional European wines, and we did our best to satisfy his preferences.

Starters

We started with a couple of whites, neither of which showed as well as I would have liked.

Bordeaux

The birthday boy generously brought a horizontal of 2001 Bordeaux, the last three of which were served blind. A friend brought the Pichon-Lalande, which capped off the flight in style.

  • 2001 Château Haut-Brion - France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan
    The classic Haut Brion nose of tobacco and minerals roars from the glass, though still pretty tannic and tight on the palate. Air smooths it out and brings out more complexity. (92 pts.)
  • 2001 Château La Confession - France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru
    Tar, anise, and some wood but not overwhelmed by it. Still fairly young and can use time. (88 pts.)
  • 2001 Château Gazin Pomerol - France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol
    Plummy fruit with some leather. A little tannic, but drinking well now. (90 pts.)
  • 2001 Château Montrose - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe
    More approachable than I expected, with plenty of dark fruit, anise, and a little earthiness and ample, but well-integrated tannin. (92 pts.)
  • 2000 Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
    Cedar and lots of pure, perfectly ripe fruit conceal a core of ripe tannin. A complete wine that is outstanding now but with years left in it. (94 pts.)

Rhones

The 1989s were an interesting contrast. While this was not a group of wines for the brett-averse, I and most of the rest of the group are pretty tolerant of it. The wines triggered a discussion of whether Beaucastel ruined their wines when they cleaned their cellars, a position to which I subscribe. The discussion then shifted to whether the difficulty in finding northern Rhones like we had in the good old days is the result of cellar hygiene, changes in winemaking practices, changes in climate, pandering to certain critics, or some combination of those factors. By this point, much of the group was fairly well lubricated, so no conclusions were reached, but it was entertaining.

1989 Beaucastel has long been a favorite of mine, and today’s showing confirmed my position. The Gangloff was better and truer than I expected. I haven’t had too many recent vintages, but this seems more in the style of the 1995 through 1998, after which I found a disturbing trend to an overly modern style. If this reflects a return to the original style, then I’ll have to start seeking them out again.

Burgundy

Dujac is one of the birthday celebrant’s favorite producers, and he’s wise enough not to dismiss a village wine based on label snobbery, which was vindicated by the 2000. The Leclerc was pretty disappointing.

  • 2000 Domaine Dujac Chambolle-Musigny - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chambolle-Musigny
    Spice, a little funk, smooth and silky. Proof that producer matters. (91 pts.)
  • 2005 Domaine Rene Leclerc Griotte-Chambertin - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Griotte-Chambertin Grand Cru
    Intensely vegetal on the nose, as if a bushel of celery was dumped in the barrel, but cleaner red fruit on the palate. Not my favorite. (83 pts.)

Misfits

Champagne

You can’t celebrate without Champagne, and we had a few nice selections. I find it difficult to take good notes on Champagne under the best of circumstances, much less at the end of a long afternoon of excess, which explains the abbreviated notes.

We also had a 1996 Zind-Humbrecht Rangen de Thann Pinot Gris at the end of the tasting, which I enjoyed, but by that point my palate was too shot to say much more. The day ended perfectly, sitting on a deck overlooking a small lake on a perfect fall day, life doesn’t get much better.