TN: "Off" Vintages from Elite Producers: (Petrus, Lafite, Margaux, Chave etc)

[Kevin_Patrick]

"OFF" VINTAGES FROM ELITE PRODUCERS: (PETRUS, LAFITE, MARGAUX, ETC) - Charlotte, NC (11/2/2023)

The idea behind tonight's lineup was to drink "lesser" vintages of the truly great producers testing how well these winemakers perform when Mother Nature does not do all the heavy lifting. We wanted to even avoid "good" vintages although we were not trying to pour only the worst vintages. The unanimous conclusion is these truly great winemakers, vineyards, and wineries delivered at an elite level commensurate with their reputations even in lesser vintages.

Bordeaux at its Best

It's hard to describe how good this first flight performed. We enjoy ranking flights and wines yet no wine deserved a 3rd place in this flight.

• 1981 Pétrus - France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol
  Opened at 5:30pm, into a decanter for 30-40 min, then back into bottle; Served at ~7:30pm.
  Richly aromatic dark fruits on the nose with an intensity that belies its age. Confirmed on the palate blackberry and dark cherries held sway against a gently smokey, though almost burnt, backdrop. Those who had elk chop were richly rewarded with the pairing whereas I opted for fish to have less intrusive flavors with these wines. That was a mistake. Lengthy finish of rich merlot complexity (this was the era where Cab Franc was still blended) made this a stellar wine that upon re-tasting 2 hours later became an absolutely sublime wine. Five votes for Wine of the Night and overall winner.
• 1981 Château Margaux - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux
  Decanted at 5:30pm and back in the bottle/corked at 6:00pm. Cork pulled upon arrival for dinner at 6:30pm and served at ~7:30pm. Complex aromatic nose – dark raspberries and dried brown leaves – a Bordeaux’s Bordeaux. Smooth on the palette. Elegant mouthfeel with a deftness that glides over your palate. More lightweight than expected but lacking nowhere in depth of flavor – dark fruits, forest floor, and bramble; with a mature secondary and tertiary balance. Lengthy finish rounding out this first-rate wine. Six 2nd place votes for WOTN and clear 2nd place overall.
• 1988 Château Haut-Brion - France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan
  Opened at 5pm and decanted for one hour. Back in the bottle until dinner at 6:30pm when cork was removed and slo-ox until serving at ~7:30pm.
  Beautifully expressive nose – red and black fruits with a hint of rusticity. Confirmed on the palate with a great balance between structure and complexity – dark fruits, truffle, and soft leather. For this flight it had a more youthful intensity that was only surprising because of how youthful the 1981s drank. Excellent length finish, an A+ wine that was my WOTN until retasting hours later when both the Petrus and Margaux reached absolutely sublime levels.

Northern Rhone Leaves No Doubt

This was originally supposed to be '97 and '04 Chave but a last minute switch left us with this delightful pairing. To quote another attendee: "It was both synergistic and enlightening (of Hermitage and JL Chave) to taste the 1992 and 1997 together. In retrospect, something would have been lost to have had one without the other."

• 1992 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage
  Ultra-soft cork could have been easily pushed in. Opened at 5pm but waited an hour to decant solely for sediment. Cork removed at 6:30pm and slo-ox until serving at ~8:15pm.
  Aromatic rustic red fruit nose with a hint of baking spice. Balanced fruit profile on the palate – dirty full-fruited strawberries and rustic raspberries balanced against the embodiment of sauvage. This wine drank wonderfully – clearly mature but gentle in structure and finesse. Maybe shorter on the finish than I would have liked but a fantastic wine made the way Syrah should be made.
• 1997 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage
  Opened at 5pm and decanted for one hour throwing off a lot of sediment. Back in the bottle until dinner at 6:30pm when cork was removed and slo-ox until serving at ~8:15pm.
  Such a compliment to the 1992 tasted alongside – Aromatic nose of rustic red fruits and baking spices. Slightly more intense on the palate with a freshness owing to its more youthful vintage and likely better provenance, though that seemed to have little negative impact on the ‘92. Otherwise these were mirror images of absolutely fantastic bottlings – dirty full-fruited strawberries and rustic raspberries balanced against a delicious note of sauvage. Lengthy finish. Splitting hairs between the better bottle in this flight. Overall 3rd place for WOTN.

Old World/New World

This was our most diverse flight yet fantastically complimentary. The Lafite next to the Dominus provided a wonderful juxtaposition while the Scarecrow M Etain provided a perfect buttoning-up of the night with its modern Cabernet take following so many Old World stylings.

• 1997 Château Lafite Rothschild - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
  Opened at 5pm and decanted for one hour. Back in the bottle until dinner at 6:30pm when cork was removed and slo-ox until serving at ~9:00pm.
  Complex nose that immediately spoke of Lafite – leather, barnyard, lead pencil, and red fruit. Confirmed on the palate, this wine had all the stuffing if lacking a more mature profile one might anticipate from a “lesser” vintage. Youthful and fresh while still showing a balanced secondary profile. This wine flowed easily into a long savory finish. “A suit-and-tie wine with class and restraint” noted one commenter. Even with its elevated performance, it likely would have benefitted from an earlier decant. One vote for WOTN, fourth place overall.
• 1998 Dominus Estate - USA, California, Napa Valley
  30 min decant at 7:30am. Back in the bottle, corked, and placed in the fridge until arrival.Cork pulled upon arrival for dinner at 6:30pm before serving at 9:00pm. Sourced directly from the winery.
  Rustic and aromatic “Old World” nose (cedar and dark fruits) signaling something special in the glass. Confirmed on the palate this wine had a delightful balance between dark cherries. Blackberries, and black currants. A tasty long finish topped the experience off. Wonderful structure delivered this full-bodied wine with a deft elegance – Old World craftsmanship wrapped in New World juice. Likely the best 1998 Napa Cabernet I have consumed.
• 2011 Scarecrow Cabernet Sauvignon Monsieur Étain - USA, California, Napa Valley, Rutherford
  Decanted at 5:30am, put back in bottle 45 min later and refrigerated. Brought to dinner and popped the cork about 90 min prior to serving.
  Rich nose of cassis and gentle floral notes. Great depth of flavor on the palate delivered with the deftness of a master winemaker – dark red and black fruits with hints of complexity just beginning to show. The rich flavors hit your palate with a gentleness you don’t expect from this reputationally “big” wine. Long, savory finish. A wonderful and approachable wine that complimented the more decidedly Old World lineup and very fitting in its quality. Is ‘Mr. Tin” actually a “value-wine” in the ultra-premium Napa market? Served properly, maybe so.

Every tasting note should include the comment: “provenance is everything.” Our decanting of aged wines is greatly influenced by CellarTracker notes yet with properly stored bottles the error has always been under-aerating the wines. This, despite the fact that our group nearly always gives far more air to our wines than other tasting notes when decanting treatment is provided.

Posted from CellarTracker

[Ramon_C]

Thanks for theTN share and especially the details on aeration treatment, something I can try to replicate.

One thing is that my hesitancy to call 1997 a “lesser” vintage for Northern Rhone as I seem to have enjoyed quite a few from different producers from that vintage. Good to note where the 1997 Chave Hermitage is these days.

[Chris_V]

Sounds like fabulous showings across the board. Well done. I think 1981 is actually a great vintage in Pomerol. Just perhaps not everyone knows about it or sees it that way…?

[Kevin_Patrick]

Regarding the choices of “lesser” vintages the goal was as much to avoid obviously stellar vintages as anything.

We were not too concerned with strict compliance as much as enjoying the quality of the wines on hand that night.

All in all it was an elucidating evening confirming the reputation of these outstanding Chateaux.

BTW, missing from the photo and my tasting notes was a 1947 Barolo served blind ahead of the official lineup. It was an amazing wine.

Below is a friend’s tasting note for the blind I hope he does not mind me sharing:

1947 Giacomo Borgogno & Figli Barolo Riserva

Shrouded in black plastic, this great “find” and contribution was both enjoyable and enigmatic to identify. Color was fading brickish, consistent with very old Nebbiolo, Barolo or Barbaresco, and even very old Burgundy. There were baking spices and dried flowers on the nose, and to quote one taster, even a hint of capers. But there was also fruit. This wine was alive. Dark raspberries, a medley of dark and tart cherries, some earth, with some lingering high-toned core of fruit sappiness! Barolo (or Barbaresco) was on everyone’s list of possibilities, but there was not a lot of certainty. However, the flavor profile did not fit Pinot Noir reliably (absent possibly very old Burgundy from a deeper, earthier commune like Pommard?) Age was similarly difficult. My own vintage guess was a range of 1967 – 1976, which was 20 years too young! And a testimony to the longevity of this bottle, which is still a wine, not a museum exhibit. Delicacy, soil, time, with fruit poking above the surface like a crocus emerging from late Spring snow

[Mark_Golodetz]

Years ago I bought a couple of cases of Chave 1984 from Pops at a close out price for $10 and change. The wines were light but had the fragrance and character of far higher scoring vintages. Sadly used the first case and a half as a house wine, but years later we drank the last bottle and it was still excellent.

[Thomas_Keim]

I wouldn’t call the first flight from “off” vintages at all - '81 was a very good vintage, just overshadowed by '82 - and '88 was a wonderful vintage across the board - again, just overshadowed by '89 and '90 -

[Marcu_Stanley]

Yeah let’s see 1984, 1991, and 2013 Bordeaux, 2004 and 2011 Burgundy, etc. TRUE off vintages are fortunately rare.

[CF_Binnig]

2011 is proving to be a great vintage for Napa Cabs when made by the right hands. Your experience confirms my view that winemaking makes a difference. I recently had a comparable experience involving Tuscan Brunellos. I was part of a small group that was dining at the Antinori restaurant in Florence a few weeks ago and we brought several wines with us for dinner. One of my dinner companions brought a 2017 Biondi Santi Brunello that he wanted the group to try. When it came time to decide whether to open the Biondi Santi, the relatively young (and sadly, not as experienced as she claimed to be) sommelier working at our table loudly proclaimed to our table that 2017 was a terrible vintage for all Brunellos and advocated that we open a 2015 Ciacci Picccolomini D’Aragona Pianrosso Brunello instead. We decided to open both. The group’s consensus was that the Biondi Santi was easily the superior and more memorable wine, almost ethereal in its ability to communicate its flavors and origins, despite being from a down (or as the a bit-too-green sommelier exclaimed, “crap”) vintage.

[RichardFlack]

Aside from “elite producers” specifically, one strategy if on a limited budget is to buy top tier producers in average years and middle of the road (or less!) in a “vintage of the century” (TM, UGCB). A sort of pound cost averaging.