RJ and JC planned a holiday dinner. Eric was in town and he was able to join us. Everyone generously contributed great wines. Krug
1996 Krug Champagne Vintage Brut- France, Champagne
This seems a bit more youthful than the last bottle drunk a couple weeks ago which came from my cellar. As usual Tarte tatin, a hint of delicate red fruits, yeast, honey, caramel, anise and mineral. Good concentration, fine medium mousse, clearly rounder than a few years ago, bright acidity and lovely long finish. Knowing the aging curve of the vintage Krug, this will last but it is ready to go. Pretty consistent and ready at the moment. (97 pts.)
Whites
2009 Lur-Saluces “Y”- France, Bordeaux, Bordeaux Supérieur
Great mineral expression, a hint of sugar and high alcohol make this very unique. Extremely fresh nose displaying citrus, pineapple, crème brulee, lanoline, white flowers, saline and mineral. The high alcohol gives a bit of sweet note at the end. Excellent concentration, sweet ripe citrus driven palate impression, mineral, good acidity and noticeable heat at the end. This is a very primary, big scale wine. Interesting and enjoyable. I believe others liked it even more. (93 pts.)
1995 Domaine Leflaive Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Pucelles- France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru
Fully mature, smoke, butter scotch, ripe yellow pit fruits, sesame and oyster shell. Good concentration, ripe smoky yellow fruit driven palate impression, good acidity and medium finish. The middle palate is hollow. This is starting to fade a bit. Drink up based on this example. 94 point nose and 90 point palate. (92 pts.)
2005 Etienne Sauzet Chevalier-Montrachet- France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Chevalier-Montrachet Grand Cru
The best example of this wine. Initially tight nose, some citrus fruit, honey and mineral. With air, it opens up beautifully, ripe yet precise nose displaying citrus fruits, pear, flint, limestone, mineral and honey. Excellent concentration, strong presence of mineral, good acidity and lovely long clean finish. This showed much better than the last bottle. Quite dense and ripe without losing the precision and tension. Exceptional showing. I recommend a couple hours of decanting. I agree wholeheartedly with Eric that this was really creamy. (96 pts.)
1990 Margaux and 1937 CB
1990 Château Margaux- France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux
Can any wine be so perfect as the 90 Margaux! The first nose, no doubt this will be a 100 point experience. Perfectly ripe, intensely sweet red fruits, plum, a hint of cassis, caramel, lead pencil, cedar, flowers and strong presence of mineral. Eric commented how mineral the nose was and I completely agree. Exceptional concentration, decadent sweet red fruit driven palate impression, good acidity, nicely integrated tannins and seamless long finish. Perfect balance and harmony, perfect in every way. The perfect representation of the 90 vintage and Chateau Margaux! (100 pts.)
1937 Château Cheval Blanc- France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru
Unfortunately noticeable oxidative note, dry black fruits, fig, chestnut, soy and earth. Excellent concentration, substantial fruit, rust and still showing a bit of tannins as the end note. Love to taste a correct bottle as it showed substantial fruit concentration. I would have rate this 91 despite the oxidative note. NR (flawed)
Mouton
1982 Château Mouton Rothschild- France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
tense ripe black fruits, cassis, lead pencil, cedar, caramel and a hint of tobacco. Unfortunately there is a hint of dirty cellar note. Excellent concentration, the fruit expression is a bit more mature than usual, dirty cellar, silky and nicely integrated tannins. The dirty note ringers unfortunately. I suspect that this was not ideally cellared. Consistently a great wine but not tonight. Some thought corked, I thought just a bit off. Some actually loved the wine and preferred this to the 86. NR (flawed)
1986 Château Mouton Rothschild- France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
Initially cassis dominates, plum, ink, cedar, mineral and lead pencil. Exceptional concentration, cassis driven palate impression, polished and silky palate and nice integrated tannins. Some found this to be still shutdown. I thought the wine was open with very youthful fruits. It is quite precise and linear. A long life ahead. I believe only a couple of us went crazy over this. YMMV. (99 pts.)
Haut Brion
1990 Château Haut-Brion- France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan
Ripe black fruits, lead pencil, cedar, tobacco, licorice and mocha. Warm and round, ripe black fruit driven palate impression and nicely integrated tannins. Very tasty but not as sophisticated as the 89. (95 pts.)
1989 Château Haut-Brion- France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan
I am always amazed by the balance and harmony of the 89 HB. Very precise and polish nose displaying cassis, lead pencil, black cherries, tobacco and mineral. Polished silky palate, perfectly ripe black fruit driven palate impression, nicely integrated tannins and lovely seamless finish. Epitome of sophistication. (99 pts.)
St Emilion
2000 Château Cheval Blanc- France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru
Incredibly intense nose displaying cassis, roasted black fruits, ink, coffee, strong note of lead pencil, dark chocolate, flowers and dark sweet spices. Unbeliever able concentration, dense and chewy, intense black fruit and exotic incense driven palate impression, very well integrated tannins and love long finish. An extremely youthful example. Exotic and kinky but wonderfully balanced. Will improve for another two decades. (98 pts.)
2000 Château La Clusière- France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru
Jammy black fruit, licorice, blackberry liqueur, lavender and chocolate dipped cherry. Dense and chewy palate, blackberry liqueur driven palate impression, good acidity and long finish. Seems bigger and riper than the 00 Pavie. I liked it more than others. A bit like the 00 Cheval but clumsy. Need time. YMMV (95 pts.)
D’Yquem
1986 Château d’Yquem- France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes
This particular bottle is incredibly fresh. Perfectly ripe yellow fruits, peach, apricot, spicy spices, botrytis, coconut and honey. Fresh palate, exceptional precision, intense yet airy palate that I only get from D’Yquem and some Climens, bright acidity and incredibly long seamless finish. Great showing. (98 pts.)
1997 Château d’Yquem- France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes
From a half bottle. Seems more mature and heavier than the 86, ripe yellow fruits, a hint of red fruit, apricot jam, crème brulee, ginger and candied orange peel. Excellent concentration, oily palate, dry apricot and ginger driven palate impression and lovely long finish. It doesn’t have the precision of the 86 but still really hedonistic. (94 pts.)
Gilette
1955 Château Gilette Crème de Tête- France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes
Dry yellow pit fruits and burnt sugar. Excellent concentration and still very sweet. Neither nose nor palate is terribly complex. Very fresh as one expects from Gilette. (92 pts.)
The dinner started at 6:30 and lasted well past midnight. A great time was had by all! Safe trip back Eric! Posted from CellarTracker
Holy crap! Eric told me that he “got together with some guys and drank some old bordeaux,” but I had no idea! Awesome set of wines! Shame about the Cheval tho
Great notes, Kevin, and a great night! There was definitely something “off” about the '82 Mouton, although it did take a pretty remarkable turn for the better later in the evening, as noted by Eric.
I can’t say that I’m shocked that the 1990 Margaux edged out the 1989 HB, as I find each to be the wines of their respective vintages (with La Mission the only real competition for HB in 1989), and young the 1986 Mouton was in the same category. I’m thrilled to see that it may finally be waking up. The 1990 HB was underrated by many in its youth, as it lacked the flash of some of its peers, but its star seems to be rising.
The 1982 Mouton has been consistently inconsistent in my experience, staggeringly good at times and mediocre at others. The 1988 Yquem has always been my favorite of the terrific 1988 to 1990 set with its precision, but the last 1989 I had surprised me, as it shed some of its baby fat and showed more purity and cut than I realized was there.
I’m envious, as I’ve only been lucky enough to have this many of my favorite Bordeaux together a couple of times, and it has been several years since the last. Thanks for sharing, so I can at least share the experience vicariously.
I was visiting DC with my wife and was able to extend the stay for an extra day in order to make it to an amazing dinner with some locals. The venue at Capella was really perfect with a great private room, fantastic service, great glassware, and of course terrific food.
As we arrived, there isn’t much better than a nice Krug to get things going.
1996 Krug Champagne Vintage Brut- France, Champagne
Dark and crazily yeasty on the nose. Very reminiscent of the 1988 Krug. The palate is more what I would expect. Lots of nervy acidity moving to that lovely, yeasty, rich, classic Krug palate. Always a great way to start a meal.
These were poured with a variety of shellfish and then a seared scallop.
2009 Lur-Saluces “Y”- France, Bordeaux, Bordeaux Supérieur
Wow, this is a cool wine. So rich and powerful without being heavy. I followed a glass for about an hour, and it was at its best next to a seared scallop. A perfect match.
1995 Domaine Leflaive Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Pucelles- France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru
Wow, what a wine. A bit of a deep color. Butterscotch and minerals on the nose. Salty, fresh and spiny palate. Drinking gorgeously!
2005 Etienne Sauzet Chevalier-Montrachet- France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Chevalier-Montrachet Grand Cru
Mmm, this rocks. Vanilla, creamy, moving to nice minerality. It’s a little showy, but it drinks exceptionally well. Really nice white Burg.
Here we go with the reds. An amazing pair of wines, obviously in very different places in their evolution.
1990 Château Margaux- France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux
Wow, right out of the gate, probably the best wine of the night. Screaming minerality, a really electric wine. Hyper graphite. Just a crazy example of Margaux and about as perfect as wine gets. (100 pts.)
1937 Château Cheval Blanc- France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru
Very light rim on the ancient beauty. Mint, menthol, tar and some BBQ notes on the nose. Cherry, nuts and coffee on the palate.
A nice pair of Moutons. My clear favorite tonight was the 1982.
1986 Château Mouton Rothschild- France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
Deep and sultry but just not giving a ton right now. All of the Mouton elements were there, but this just needs a ton of time.
1982 Château Mouton Rothschild- France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
I loved how this came out of the gates, just firing on all cylinders. Dust, graphite, cassis, and iron. With time there was a troubling, almost moldy, green note that peeked out, and there was considerable conversation about whether this was corked or just a bit off. Interestingly, at the end of the night I took another small pour from the decanter, and it showed totally clean. Probably not the best bottle of 1982 Mouton, but I still thought it was enormously enjoyable.
Ahhh, Haut Brion. Together with Margaux, these are my favorite firsts.
1989 Château Haut-Brion- France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan
OK, now it’s a party. This wine is so unbelievably dense and smouldering, always a wow wine. It was fascinating to taste next to the 1990, as they are on very different aging trajectories. This wine seems more impressive and less ready every time I have it. All of the Haut Brion elements are there with the cherry fruit, the smoke and the earth. This one is just so loaded and powerful. Always a special wine.
1990 Château Haut-Brion- France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan
I love where this is. So much more open and giving than the 1989. It’s not as profound a wine and clearly much more a product of the vintage. Ripe, roasted, horsey. Chicory coffee. Roasted earth. A warm, voluptuous wine. Haut Brion always makes me happy!
And we finished out with a couple of babies. One isn’t close to ready, and the other already feels a little over the hill.
2000 Château Cheval Blanc- France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru
Another impressive wine a long way from primetime. Deep, dark, mineral. Very pure with so much good stuff but not even close to ready. It is going to be a true beauty someday though.
2000 Château La Clusière- France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru
Not for me. Sur-maturite. Ripe. Zinfandel like. My big issues with the wine were some very noticeable VA and a somewhat hot, obtrusive note of alcohol. I found the wine interesting with nice texture and depth, but the the relative “faults” sort of spoiled it for me. (And there was no concern that this was in any way a bad bottle. I just don’t like VA. Others seemed to notice this aspect much less.) (89 pts.)
Finally with a baked Alaska, some great Sauternes. Love that 1986 Yquem!
1997 Château d’Yquem- France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes
Deep color. Coconut and burned sugar. Pretty classic, mature YQuem.
1986 Château d’Yquem- France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes
Holy moley! This is amazing. Vibrant and powerful with a massive cornucopia of Yquem flavors. There is a nice hint of white pepper. Really a great bottle of Yquem.
1955 Château Gilette Crème de Tête- France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes
Not my favorite. A bit hot and burned. A lot of that comes down to the fact that I don’t really love very mature Sauternes.
Mike,
If I were to have to pick one wine, I would pick the 90 Margaux. My guess is that the top 82s are traded way too much which resulted in significant bottle variations. IMO, the 83, 86, 88, 89 and 90 D’Yquem offer some of the best buys considering their qualities.