Last night my tasting group met to taste Beychevelle. There were eight of us who put together a pretty diverse vertical covering forty years. The wines were quite interesting if not profound. As a group, I think it gave us a nice view of how the house style has changed over the years pretty much in line with how Bordeaux has changed during that time. The wines were consumed over three hours. Breads and cheeses were served. All wines popped and poured (except the port).
Our host Bela started us off with:
1999 Louis Latour Corton Charlemagne
Deep golden in color with some slight green tints to it. The nose shows vanilla and lemon curd. Full bodied. On the palate, this is slightly honeyed with some lemon peel. I have had this wine about 6 times and to me, it has never been great but always good. This bottle was no different. I don’t think it has really evolved that much. 50+4+12+17+7=90
1999 Louis Latour Meursault Genevieres
Premox. NR.
The Beychevelles:
1986 Beychevelle
Ruby with slight purple hues. The nose is nice with tobacco and cherries. Full bodied. On the palate, bitter cherries at first. With air it shows cherries with a slight menthol quality. Young still with a good amount of tannins. Kept improving all night long. 50+4+12+17+6=89
2005 Beychevelle
Purple in color, ruby at the rim. Shimmering bright. The nose is very tight. A bit of tobacco. Some cherries. Then it shut down completely. On the palate, black cherries. Lots of tannins. Some heat on the finish. This is a very good wine, but should not be opened for 8 years at this point. 50+5+12+17+6=90
1966 Beychevelle
Fill was mid high shoulder I am told. Brown/purple in color. Cloudy and opaque. The nose is not good. Some earthiness and complexity. But some off chemical notes and slightly prune tones. On the palate, this is drinkable. Mature. A bit too acidic. No finish. Most likely not a proper bottle. 50+1+9+13+3=76
1967 Beychevelle
The group was about evenly split between the 67 and 66 for worst wine. Ruby/brown/purple in color. Cloudy and opaque. Fill was mid shoulder I am told. Slightly better than the 66 but if only because it was less of everything. 50+1+10+13+3=77
1989 Beychevelle
Purple/ruby in color. At first this is tart and thin but with air it kept rounding out and getting fuller. Cedar and cherries on the nose. Slightly sweet cassis and raspberry Jell-o® on the palate. Mild tannins. Improved all night long. 50+3+12+16+6=87
1982 Beychevelle
Purple/ruby in color, mostly opaque and bright. The nose is tight at first but with air opens up. Complex with tobacco and cassis. Some forest floor. Full bodied. Mature and complex. The wine in the best spot of its life cycle. Layered cassis and leather and minerals. Nice finish. 50+4+12+18+7=91
1995 Beychevelle
Purple in color with ruby swirls. Mostly opaque but flat. The nose is tight but with air it has a slight funk with earthy notes and cassis. Complex on the palate with kirsch and black raspberries. Tannic. Needs some time to resolve the tannins and unwind but a beautiful wine. My friend Dale got the first pour and it had off smoky notes. I go the last pour as we passed the bottles around and none of those notes were present. A reason to decant or at least open an hour before even for relatively younger bottles. 50+4+13+17+7=91
2000 Beychevelle
Inky purple in color, shimmering bright. The nose has tobacco, cassis, ashtray and a slightly musty note. Very nice. On the palate, cassis and sweet black raspberries. Tannic and tight, this kept opening. Still needs plenty of time, but if you have a bunch no harm in checking in now. Mine and the groups WOTN. 50+5+13+17+7=92
Bela had a couple of desserts with strudel and cheese:
1996 Rieussec
Golden orange in color, clear and bright. The nose is cotton candy with some honey. Nice texture with nice acidity. Honeyed on the palate. Very nice. Kudos to Dale for nailing the wine and vintage blind. 50+4+14+18+7=93
1985 Fonseca
Decanted two hours. Ruby in color with purple swirls. The nose has black raspberries and prunes. On the palate, raisins, black raspberries and prunes. Some heat on the finish. This drank quite young (I guessed a 91 Grahams). I would have given it a few hours more decanting (but then I have to give Bela something to disagree with me on something and we seemed to agree on the Beychevelles). Very nice. 50+4+13+18+7=92