Lagrange and d’Issan tasting at my law school’s wine club. Not blind. This is an annual event for us, but they change up the wines each time. It’s tough for me to digest 11 wines in an hour- these aren’t my best notes.
Les Arums de Lagrange 2007: A little light, but otherwise quite good. Smoky, honeyed, with earwax and stonefruit. Much better than the 2006 which they poured at this tasting last year. Good QPR.
Chateau d’Issan 2006: Yikes. This is pretty brutal right now, just showing hints of cassis on the nose, and tasting like (if you’ve ever made this unfortunate mistake) crunched cherry pits. Shows none of the forward elegance of the other vintages of d’Issan poured tonight or last year. Looking around the room at the end of the tasting, there were a lot of untouched glasses of this wine.
Chateau Lagrange 2006: A beefier, chocolateier (sp?) wine than the d’Issan, but is much more accessible- the merlot shows. Lots of graphite, lots of structure–this isn’t particularly enjoyable now, but at least it isn’t quite as masochistic as the d’Issan.
Chateau d’Issan 2004: OK, now this is something you can enjoy. Cassis, violets, cedary. Much more open than the 2006, like a totally different wine, and it actually has a good dose of sweet fruit in the mouth to balance the structure. Very nice, already drinking well.
Chateau Lagrange 2004: As usual, this doesn’t have the forward fragrance of the d’Issan. This is plummier, more rustic, and has more of a herbs/menthol thing going on. Still pretty closed, and much more similar to its 2006 version than the d’Issan.
Les Fiefs de Lagrange 2003: Meh. Blackberry jam. Good hit of brett. Boring.
Chateau Lagrange 2003: The 2003’s jump out from the other wines with their confected fruit. This is blackberry and blueberry jam, but its much more complex than the Fiefs,with a beef blood aspect to it and a pleasant woodiness- not like oak, not like cedar, sort of like the faint smell of a old deck plank. WOTN for people who like a riper wine, but I could do without the confection. Also a bit bretty.
Blason d’Issan 2001: Colorwise this is still primary, but I didn’t pick up much fruit from this, more of an herb/cedar nose, tannins pretty resolved, smooth and easy drinking but light, more of a excellent quaffer than a serious wine.
Chateau d’Issan 2001: Way better than the Blason–one of the unusual features of this year’s tasting was the big jump b/w the second wines and the grand vin, that wasn’t true with the wines they poured last year (the 2005 and 2000). This has the secondary notes of the Blason, but they’re compliments to sweet cassis and floral notes. Very nice, will get better.
Chateau Lagrange 1996: A touch of VA that generally blew off. Still primary color- purple and dark. Very good, plum and currant but complex, with cedar and a touch of bell pepper (just the right amount) and mint. Still pretty tannic, but you can sense that this is starting to mature. Got sweeter with air. Still improving, but already very drinkable.
Chateau d’Issan 1989: Brick red, lightening dramatically at the rim. Nice and complex, but also sort of generic outside of a curious strong smoked meat note. Pretty good, but, I dunno, I’ve had better. The 1996 Lagrange was at a different level.