A great trio: 83 LMHB, Donnhoff, Trimbach

[salilb]

Or: one hell of a Monday night dinner

1983 Château La Mission Haut-Brion
Popped and poured. First impressions are pleasant; a powerful scent of leather and tobacco and a high-toned quality to the fruit with bright acids, but initially not showing the depth or finesse I'd expect from a LMHB. But with time those emerge as the acidity integrates nicely and the texture becomes more silken, and this starts to unfurl in the glass with layers of developed savoury earthy flavours, cigar smoke and herbal nuances emerging around the core of fresh, dark fruit. There's tremendous balance here, power conveyed with finesse and elegance, and this is a wonderful wine to sit down with and enjoy over a few hours.

2001 Trimbach Riesling Cuvée Frédéric Emile 375eme Anniversaire
Like the LMHB, it doesn't wow immediately, but this is another wine that needs time to explore its layers - with air it shows layers of pure, fresh citrus and pear fruit accented by light herbal notes, a vivid stony minerality and a surprising savoury creaminess that makes it come across quite rich, even though there's apparently barely any residual sugar. There's that typical Trimbach sense of precision and focus here, fantastic depth with layers that keep unravelling with time, and remarkable length.

2001 Dönnhoff Niederhäuser Hermannshöhle Riesling Auslese
Flat out wow. This is incredible; a kaleidoscope of Riesling fruit ranging from ripe pears and peaches to fresh mandarin oranges, gently seasoned with herbal and spicy elements, touches of honey and a stony mineral character. There's a sense of remarkable purity and clarity to the flavours, incredible balance with really bright acidity beneath that balances the sweetness and keeps it very light and refreshing, and a finish that just keeps going and going. A tremendous way to finish a trio of amazing wines.

[JimHow]

I brought a 1983 La Mission Haut Brion, among numerous other Bordeauxs, to the wedding of by borother Tom and sister in law Barbara nearly ten years ago. Barbara's side of the family is related to the Dillons, second cousins or some such thing. The wine was beautiful that day. Thanks for the update!

[Michael Malinoski]

Great notes, as always, Salil. To this day, the 1983 is still the only LMHB I've ever drunk. I need to take steps to fix that...

[Claudius2]

the LMHB was one of the very best wines of the vintage.
I drank them much younger (late 90's I think) and it was absolutely delicious - rich and deep, with lots of gravel, tobacco, chocolate and dark fruits.
maybe the overt chocolate character has dissipated over the years, but I drnak it with relish.

I normally prefer La Mission to HB as it seems richer and deeper to me.

[Ramon_NYC]

Good notes. I'm pyched with a few 2001 Trimbach CFE 375eme Anniv that I bit on during a sale at Wineconn a few months ago.