Great evening. Thanks for pulling this together Panos. A very successful evening and Montrose showed quite well in DC!
I thought the flight of 2005, 1990, 1989, 1976 was the flight of the evening. I was expecting the 89 to Trump (sorry couldn’t resist) the 90 but this bottle of 90 was exceptional. So sweet and pure without the issues associated with changing a diaper. If you find a bottle that has not been hit by the S-Storm you are blessed and rewarded with a wine that has an amazing long life ahead of it IMHO. The 76 was a fine example of a fully matured and resolved wine. I can’t say that I have ever had the wine before, but like Keith, would expect it to be over the hill and not enjoyable. This was NOT the case last night.
I loved 2005, 2000, 2010. I was not as big a fan of the 2009. I found it a bit flabby and lacking structure. The 03 was good, not the roasted mess that people thought or concentrated, overly hot, exotic Cali cab wannabe that others claimed. I will be interested to see how the 03 continues to evolve. Other than the 76, the most surprising wine for me was the 98. I thought it had balance and a lovely combination of cassis and cedar that I was not expecting. I love many of the right bank 98’s and HB made a killer wine that year as well. I would be happy to own the 98 Montrose.
The meal was first rate and service at such an event is always difficult but the team at Ripple did a fine job.