TN: '94 LMHB, '04 Rieussec, NV Turgy

WINE TALK
1

Our anniversary-- dinner at home after a long day of car shopping. We replaced Steve’s aging Mercedes E 320 wagon with a car that makes a lot more sense for his daily commute-- a Toyota Camry. Our friends are surprised we traded “down”, but we’re thrilled to have something less fussy and more fuel efficient! To celebrate five wonderful years of marriage…

N.V. Michel Turgy Champagne Réserve Selection Brut Blanc de Blanc

With Delice de Bourgogne and french bread. Gentle mousse, moderate beading. Pain grille (that was for Todd, but it does indeed smell like a bakery in the early morning), citrus, and ginger. Full and creamy on the palate-- we feel a lot more fizz than we see in the glass. Bright and simple in the middle, but the finish is long and more complex. I don’t recall what we paid for this, but it’s easily worth double or triple the WineBid quarterly selling price of $17!

1994 Château La Mission Haut-Brion

With rare beef tenderloin and roasted potatoes all drizzled with a simple pan sauce of beef stock, cognac, and herbs. We bought plenty of '04 anniversary wines, but they’re too young to pop. I guess '94 has a certain poetic appeal just because it ends in ‘4’. Tiny bit of sediment. Leather, sweet pipe tobacco, black cherry, plum, and cedar. This is not a deeply concentrated wine, but it’s very elegant-- a style of Bordeaux that I love. There’s just a touch of bottle sweetness here, but with plenty of room for further evolution. I look forward to revisiting this vintage on future anniversaries-- at least until '04s come into their own.

2004 Château Rieussec Sauternes

From .375, with some plain cheesecake we swiped from our kids. “Oak and alcohol” have their place-- and it’s right here in my '04 Rieussec. The very same components that often make dry wines unpleasant to me make Sauternes divine. Classic Rieussec nose, with hazelnut, coconut, burnt sugar, honey, and stone fruits. This is young-- far younger than I usually open Rieussec-- but it’s very fresh and drinkable. Medium-bodied and deeply caramelized on the palate, this lacks the acidity of some of the better vintages (especially the '01), but it has a deep, long, and exotic finish. We have eleven half-bottles to try on future anniversaries, so I look forward to seeing how it evolves.

2

so does it smell like a bakery that toasts only French breads, and toasts them in a French manner, so that one could only describe said ‘toasted bread’ as ‘pain grille’?

3

Yes! Exactly.

4

That’s good to know. Super-extracted (as well as super ripe fruit-driven) is not the Bdx I really go for. I am happy to drink them if some one else opens them and I even buy the odd one every so often (for guests), but they are not the Bdx wines that I favor.

Around 4 years ago, I bought a mixed case-and-a-half of all Parker 100-pointers just to see what they were all about (e.g., '82 Latour, '90 Montrose, '82 & '86 Léoville las Cases, etc.) and drank pretty much all of them within a couple of months, in a series of lunches, with the Doc and Stockbroker.

For whatever it’s worth, the only of these Parker 100-pointers I re-purchased more bottles of was the '90 Cheval Blanc (which I had tried before then and always liked anyway). I would be willing to purchase more '82 Pichon Lalandes, but Edouard opens bottles of that every so often, so I never really any pressing need to.

5

What’s Edouard doing mid-July? [cheers.gif]

6

He’s most always in Bdx with his family that time of year. Either at Siran (Labarde) or Arcachon.

7

I have nto yet had a chance to try any 04 Sauternes yet, so thanks for the note.
Which 04’s did you buy for future anniverseries?

8

Steve doesn’t much like Sauternes. Since I knew I was mostly buying for myself, I only bought Rieussec (my favorite QPR) and only in 375s. Out of curiosity, I just looked around, and I see a mag of Yquem for $370. That might be really fun on, say, our 20th anniversary.

We’ve been fortunate that our wedding year was not a hyped vintage, but a pretty good one in many places. This has allowed us to buy '04 wines (in general) at very reasonable prices.

9

and you married him anyway? [imwithstupid.gif] [gheyfight.gif]

Sadly, I also married a non-Sautneres lover. Although I can’t be too hard on her. She is the only reason I am into wine in the first place. But know we definately have to have dinner. We can drink Sauternes, and they can just watch. [tease.gif]

Did you get any 2004 Le Gay? If you like Pomerol, it is excellent, it is inexpensive, and based on history (the 89 is still drinking young) it will last a long, long time. it is an under-recognized estate, but it is one of my favorites.

Congrats on 5 years!!!