Pichon Lalande shines at Chicago dinner

[JimHow]

Wow what a great dinner at Capital Grille set up by Rick and Kathy, with Jon and Paula in attendance as well as some delighful Chicagoans with great knowledge of and enthusiasm for fine wine. Rick has promised me that he is going to get the other Chicagoans to Chicago '10 next spring, they definitely have the spirit of generosity and goodwill that characterizes BWE.

We were treated like royalty by the Capital Grille staff.

All of the wines in the Pichon Lalande vertical were compelling. The most amazing thing about the wines to me was how they were each so representative of the character of their respective vintages. It was a real treat and thanks to Rick and everyone for their incredible hospitality.

I'm beat from traveling but I'll put together some quick notes here on the PLLs in the order in which we consumed them. Rick and Jon will have to help me out with the white and the Kracher we also had, both of which were very lovely. I'll add some more notes on the experience tomorrow.

1993 Pichon Lalande: Soft, spicy, not much depth but a good restaurant wine that we sipped with the cheese. Still holding up well. Rating: 87 points.

1991 Pichon Lalande: A bit thin and tannic, watery, but still an enjoyable wine nonetheless in my opinion. Absolutely nothing wrong with this wine, very easy to drink, not mouthpuckering at all. Rating: 85 points.

1983 Pichon Lalande: This beauty just seems to be at such a peak right now. Lots of complexity. The color starting to fade at the rim, but just beautifully aged Bordeaux with lead pencil and tobacco and cassis. Gorgeous nose. Rating: 93 points.

1985 Pichon Lalande: Exactly what you would expect. Just so representative of the 1985 vintage. Strength and elegance. Stunning nose. More St. Julien than Pauillac here. Rating: 94 points.

1988 Pichon Lalande: Exactly what you think it would be at this age. Structured and austere, but the tannins are just so beautifully ripe. The epitome of left bank 1988. Classic claret, I loved it. A crowd-pleaser. Rating: 94 points.

1990 Pichon Lalande: After drinking this wine last night along with the other PLL vintages, there is zero doubt in my mind that this is a flawed vintaged for Pichon Lalande. I'd concluded that in the past when I'd had this wine by itself, but last night the problems with this wine just screamed out. Just nothing of interest there. It tasted like a $15 California supermarket cab. We expect more from this estate in this vintage. It is not as bad as the 79 rating that Parker gave it. I'll give it an 82. Rating: 82 points.

1986 Pichon Lalande: This wine is brilliant. It blows away the '82, in my humble opinion. Big and beastly with thick ripe rich black currant and cassis, this is a big bad Pauillac. I can't say it quite gets to the 100+ that I have previously given the Mouton from that vintage, but it is right up there. A profound wine, it may be one of my top ten favorite wines of all time. Absolutely stunning on the nose, on the palate, with a finish that lasted over a minute. Matched with all the red meat on my plate, I was in heaven. Rating: 99 points.

1989 Pichon Lalande: Frankly, I was a little surprised at how well this wine performed. I hadn't had it in years and I recall enjoying it back in the day, but not this much. This is still very youthful but shows great balance, great finish. Great Bordeaux. Rating: 94 points.

Wha a great time! I'll write some more notes tomorrow. Wines like this are why we obssess about Bordeaux.

[stefan]

What a treat to have such great company and such great wines! I can't wait for Chicago 2010.

stefan

[Nicklasss]

Great to see that you had a great time with Kathy/Rick, Paula/John. The mini Pichon Lalande vertical seem awesome.

Personnally, i enjoyed a lot the 83, 85 and 86 in the past. In my small cellar, I only have the 2001 at the moment. Never had it but I'm sure it is good.

Nic

[Michael Malinoski]

I obviously need to drink more PLL! The 1983 has been a favorite on a number of occasions over the past year or two--I agree that one is right in the zone recently. Nice notes on a great vertical!

-Michael

[JCNorthway]

Paula and I had a very nice time with Rick and Kathy, the BD, and assorted other wine lovers, several of whom are quite generous with their wines. Drinking these wines with fellow wine lovers is the way they should be enjoyed, in my opinion, and adds to the pleasure of the experience. I will also say that I think the PLLs are definitely food wines, so it was nice to experience them as part of a meal.

So here's one bit of help for Jim. We started off the evening with a 2000 (I think) Marcel Deiss Grasberg, an absolutely lovely Alsation blend. Ted, the person who brought it, said it was Pinot Gris and Gewurtztraminer. This was definitely showing the benefits of some maturity with nice fruit concentration, a lovely nose, and great texture. It reminded me somewhat of mature ZH Gewurtzs, but with a little brighter fruit. This was definitely a great way to start the dinner.

As for the Pichon wines, I pretty much agree with Jim's assessment and ratings. Here are a few more thoughts from my perspective:

1993 - I think Jim's score was about right. This was soft, with decent fruit, easy to enjoy, and well balanced for the moment. That said, I would be drinking it sooner rather than later. I don't think it will get better, and may soon start lacking in fruit.

1991 - I did not enjoy this quite as much as Jim. I thought the dilution as well as probably fading fruit caused it to be a little out of balance. The minerality and earthiness that helps to distinguish Bordeaux from typical California Cabs was almost too much for the remaining fruit.

1990 - This is not a terrible wine. It's just a terribly disappointing wine given the vintage and producer. And knowing the quality coming from this producer in other vintages, it seems hard to deny that something went awry with this wine.

1983 - I agree with Jim on this one. It was drinking beautifully. Rick was actually a little concerned about this wine when we got to the restaurant. He had asked them to open the wines at 5:00 to check them and then recork. They had opened and decanted the wine, so we were drinking this almost 2 hours after it had been opened. It was holding up very well, and we probably actually benefitted from it being decanted for that time. If I owned any of these, it would be hard not to drink them all right now. But I think this wine will be enjoyable at least another 5+ years.

1985 - I liked this wine a lot. It seemed to be in a really good place on this evening.

1988 - This wine was also very enjoyable on this evening. Though I should be used to it by now, I continue to be impressed by several of the 1988 left bank wines I have had the last couple of years. I just wish I had been buying to cellar back when these wines were released. I'd be a happy camper now. This may have been the most classic Pauillac of all the wines we drank.

1986 - I was not surprised that Jim loved this wine. He's a self-confessed tannin lover, and if you are a tannin lover, there was a lot to like about this wine. It is a BIG structured wine, but it has the fruit to stand up to it. This clearly has decades of life ahead of it, but it also is really enjoyable now. Not sure I would give it 99 points - maybe that was 95 for the wine and 4 for the tannins!

1989 - If the 1986 was the iron fist, this was the velvet glove. This was so easy to enjoy - no work involved, just take a sip and let it rest for a bit in your mouth. I've only had this wine a couple of times before, and I think this is the best it has shown for me. I think it probably is about at its peak of enjoyment. I have a couple more of these that I will plan to drink within the next 5 years max.

We finished up with a couple of Kracher dessert wines that I will let Rick describe because I do not recall the specifics (other than I think they were 1998s).

Paula and I were the first to leave because we were facing a longish and challenging drive back into the city. But I heard that another 1989 Pichon was sacrificed after we left.

Thanks to Rick and Kathy for organizing, and to everyone who contributed the lovely wines.

By the way, a rumor was started that Jim's 3 liter of 1989 Lynch might make an appearance in Chicago during BWE 2010!

Jon

[JimHow]

I think the '86 Pichon Lalande was Ted's Bordeaux epiphany, Jon.

Indeed, the '89 Lynch 3L will be uncorked at Chicago '10.

[Rick]

Jon
yes we all had a good time such a perfect number of people ,9 ,for 14 bottles.

I thought Ted said the The Deiss Grasberg was a riesling/Pinot Gris blend? Kathy loved this wine!!! This wine went so well with the cheese

here is what Ted said about the 1998 Kracher

The Kracher #6 & #12 are Welschriesling (not riesling) and Scheurebe respectively, two names you do not hear that often.
The #12 was incredible so dark and sweet and matched so well with the Foie Gras

rick

[Rick]

Jim and Jon have done a wonderful job on notes......and I had to laugh at Jim's 99 rating for the 86....it was good well very good but a 99? then I remembered Jim had an orgasm when he put the 86 to his nose and yelled beasty beasty!!


for those wondering
the 83, 86, 88 were decanted at 5p ....i freaked when I saw the 83 sitting in a decanted - I just would not have taken that risk but I do not open 83s often
the 89 was decanted when Jon arrived at 6p
Harvey double decanted all the other wines before he left home

It is interesting that all the 80s outshown the 90s by so much....Jim and I were guessing the 91 or 93 might be a surprise wine but that was not the case


rick

[JimHow]

It's definitely a stylistic thing with the '86, Rick, I can see where this might not be everyone's cup of tea. For me, though, that is Bordeaux at its best!

[JCNorthway]

Rick,

Regarding the Deiss Grasberg, you are right; it also has riesling in it.

Jon

[aimeedogdogdog]

Great dinner, Jim! Wish I was there. I am even drooling now by just reading the notes...

Bottle variation could be significant when it comes to old bottles. I had a great bottle of '83 Lalande but also some less impressive bottles of it.

Werner

[JimHow]

The '83 PLL you brought to DC was perhaps my wine of the night, werner. It was showing really well that night.

[SteveH]

In 1999 we were thrilled to attend an intimate lunch for six at Ch. Pichon Lalande. Madame May Elaine de Lencquesaing is an elegant and charming host who enjoys speaking about wine. At what I thought was the right moment, I discreetly asked her about the weak 1990 PLL. Madame May replied matter of factly that unripe cabernet franc was the root of this problem. Susan poked me, and that was the end of the 1990 topic.

Congratulations on your splendid Chicago dinner. Thanks for the notes.

Steve

[DavidG]

Thanks for that tidbit Steve. There's hardly a more authoritative source. I've thought the '90 PLL OK, but far from the heights of what they are capable of. Unripe cab franc is what keeps me from liking most Loire reds. But there are those that love the style. I enjoyed a few of the '03s - the brutally hot summer got the fruit riper that year - but apparently they were not typical.

[Blanquito]

So, is that it? Blending in under-ripe cab franc causes one of Bordeaux's superstars (at least during the '80's) to fumble one of the greatest vintages in Bordeaux's history??!?!? I am not a wine maker, so maybe that's all there is too it, but I've always wondered how great estates drop the ball in terrific vintages (and PL seems to do this more than other great estates).

I imagine that in occasional instances, some kinda magic, serendipidity, and wings-of-a-butterfly chain-of-events occur where a wine goes from merely excellent to otherworldly. The lightning in a bottle scenario, but that's the opposite of screwing the pooch. Presumably, there's some clear explanation when you mess it up. Perhaps it cepage?

[DavidG]

I don't think it's always that clear-cut, Patrick. But the explanation offered for the '90 Pichon Lalande is certainly consistent with the way the wine shows.