WTNs: Bordeaux 1995 and 2000 in an NYC Snowtorm

[Ramon_NYC]

BWE Bordeaux Vintages 1995 and 2000 Holiday Dinner
Allegretti’s Restaurant, NYC
December 19, 2009

On a cold and snowy New York night, 7 cheery men convened at this Chelsea restaurant for an evening of some French-Mediterranean dishes and to take a pulse-check on two Bordeaux vintages that have generated positive attention from various professional reviewers and from the general Bordeaux-drinking enthusiasts. I was glad to have met up with these brave souls, brave not because of the fear from potential onslaught of tannin and closed wines that are somewhat expected from the bottles, but more so because of the major snowstorm that started pounding the city of New York that very evening.

My thanks to Patrick for coordinating, and to Jim, Leo, Brendan, Eric and Victor for their keen participation, the fun company and the good drinks.


2001 Selbach-Oster Zeltinger Sonnenuhr Auslese, M-S-R
Mineral, but not lacking citrus, honeyed, pineapple notes. I may not do justice to describing the wine as my German wine experience are nowhere near the level of some of our participants, but there was a comment that this wine had low acidity for the vintage. Well, I thought that it had sufficiently good acidity level. B+


The 1995 flight has shown indication that more cellar time is warranted, imho. I don’t think that they will ever be blockbusters, but there’s enough positive experience for me to wish that I had a few more stored away from this vintage.

1995 Ch. Pavie-Decess, Saint-Emilion
Cigar, slight barnyard, although I thought that the wine was still in a tight phase. Opened up slightly to show lean fruit, but there’s a smidgen of greenness that I noted. I like the silkiness and overall balance. B+

1995 Ch. Angelus, Saint-Emilion
Patrick said that this was decanted earlier in the day, and yet this wine started somewhat closed. With time in the glass, and a lot swirling, this big wine started to show its power and finesse. Ripe, but well balanced. Long finish. I had this a few times before and I always seem to find something about the most recent as being better than the previous ones. Very good. A-/A

1995 Ch. Grand-Puy-Lacoste, Pauillac
The nose on this is certainly distinguishable from the Right Bankers. Cigar, pencil and leather notes. Quite sweet but there’s that slight vegetal taste. I was not as positive about this bottle as I was when I first tasted it at Tribeca Grill last month. B+


The so-called Bordeaux vintage of the century, the 2000s, lived up to the hype. Most of the 2000’s that I’ve had over the years, by design, have been from the lowest end of the classification system as well as from non-classified chateaus. So, this was a bit of a test for me to see how well some of the higher level producers are doing. I like the level of ripeness that these wines showed, all within exceptional balance, structure and that ever-present vintage 2000 power.

2000 Ch. Belislle-Mondotte, Saint-Emilion
My first ever from this estate. Leafy with ripe fruit on the nose. Tannic, very ripe black fruit, vanilla, oak. A tad modern. Candied finish. B+

2000 Ch. Gazin, Pomerol
A lean Pomerol, layers of red and black fruit, still very young, but not lacking in structure and complexity. I’ve had a version of this bottle in a tasting in Manila about 3 years ago, and I was more encouraged by this recent one. Some wood notes, but nothing that’s distracting. B+/A-

2000 Ch. Monbousquet, Saint-Emilion
Corked.

2000 Tenuta Sette Ponti Oreno, Tuscany
This was served as a blind ‘mystery” bottle, courtesy of Leo. 3rd in my ranking of wines for the night. Old world taste and smell, in spite of the slight creaminess and oak notes. Full bodied, explosive layers of fruit, but not over ripe. A-

2000 Ch. D’Issan, Margaux
The only time I had this was about 3 years ago when the chateau-owner, together with a couple of others, came over to join our tasting group (BWE) for a dinner in NYC about 3 years ago. I wasn’t that impressed with this wine then. Last night, it was quite sweet and ripe, medium bodied, but showed better balance. B+

2000 Ch. Lynch-Bages, Pauillac
“The Beast of Pauillac” as Jim seemingly likes to refer to anything from this producer. In this line-up, this truly was a beast, albeit a sexy, effeminate one. I love the bouquet with some oak, slight vanilla, mingling with gravel and fruit. There’s power and finesse, all tightly contained. Another winner from vintage 2000. A-/A

2000 Ch. Lagrange, Saint-Julien
Mocha, earthy, high acidity. Something there that seems to keep it unbalanced. Probably just not my style. B

2000 Pavillon Blanc du Ch. Margaux
Leo arrived late when we were about to pour our first red flight, and we decided to go with this wine with the cheese course. This wine’s in a good place right now. Mineral and oak on the nose. Not very ripe, not highly acidic (as I had come to expect from young white Bordeaux), quite smooth and medium–bodied. Just the right level of richness on the palate. A-

2000 Ch. Climens, Barsac
Peach, apricot, dry fruit. Some slight earthiness with candied honey notes. I don’t collect sweet wines, and so this was store-bought (delivered to me the day before the tasting) for the occasion and I was quite concerned with the dark gold color, as I had expected much lighter tint given how recent the vintage is. B+

This was another fun tasting. No pounding the table, no standing up on one end of the table arguing or/against the merits of any wine. It was a simple tasting involving a much-heralded vintage and a not-so-heralded-but-a-good vintage nonetheless. Even the snow storm was relentless in dumping 2 feet outside as we tasted, the overall performance of the wines made sure that we’re in pretty good shape indoors.

[JimHow]

You are right, Ramon, the Angelus kept growing in the glass as the night went along.
Great notes, as always. Thanks again for organizing the dinner.
We hit the streets of Manhattan afterwards, as these pictures can attest.
My kudos to Mayor Bloomberg's public works crews, I was able to get out of town with ease the next morning for my drive back to Maine.

[Comte Flaneur]

Thanks for the notes Ramon, I was with you you guys in spirit if not in the flesh

How does the 2000 Lynch rate amongst the great Bages? Does it have the potential to match 1982, 1985, 1989?

I was surprised the GPL was not up there slugging it out with the best wines of the night - I had it again last week and it was stunning - as you say may be your bottle was off color

Its snowing over here too and everything has ground to a halt, because we had the wrong kind of snow apparently - the Eurostar has been grounded for three days - whereas overthere on the East Coast everybody just gets on with it.

[DavidG]

Thanks for the notes, Ramon! I too have been keeping hands off the higher-level '00s. Sounds like they are offering a good deal of enjoyment. Sounds like everyone had a great time. I deduce from the blurry pictures that you either needed a flash, or not much was poured into the dump buckets...

[JimHow]

Yes, i would say the blurry pictures are an accurate reflection of the my post-dinner frame of mind.
Ramon is right, we weren't standing on the tables, but the sommelier did have to tell us to pipe down. I can't take you BWEers anywhere anymore without trouble ensuing.

[Blanquito]

Great notes, Ramon. I'll add my impressions.

First of all, here are the official voting results for the top three wines of the night:
-Angelus 1995, 18 points (4 first place votes, 3 second place votes
-Lynch Bages 2000, 17 points (3 first place, 4 second place votes)
-3-Way Tie for third place between the Gazin 2000, Orena 2000, and the d'Issan 2000

2001 Selbach-Oster Zeltinger Sonnenuhr Auslese, M-S-R
Very sweet, but with some balancing slatey notes. Good length and weight, but a bit flabby. Someone said it seems more 2003 than 2001 in being more tropical, and I agree. The best aspect is the bouquet. B+

1995 Ch. Pavie-Decess, Saint-Emilion
Starts off with a classic aged claret bouquet with some cigarbox and leathery aromas. Very open and mature for a 1995. Nicely integrated oak, some spiceness, stylistically pretty classic. Drinking very smoothly right now with some sour-cherry, but a bit thin. Spicy finish. I liked it. A-

1995 Ch. Angelus, Saint-Emilion
Wow, this is a youngster still, with lots of tannins too resolve still. This comes across as dry and marked but the flavours of tannins as well as the structure of tannins, but there is a wonderful mouth-coating richness to go along with awesome length and the explosive finish. I loved this and would love to revisit it in another 10-15 years, but alas this was my last bottle. A

1995 Ch. Grand-Puy-Lacoste, Pauillac
This was a bit muted, more Left Bank. The bouquet has developed nicely over the last 14 years, becoming a textbook Bordeaux, but the palate still needs time. This tastes like tannins to me, thought the texture is smooth, not hard. I'd give this an A- tonight as it seemed a bit shy next to the Right Bankers.

2000 Ch. Belislle-Mondotte, Saint-Emilion
Garish nose after the 1995s, lactic and candied. Jammy, raisiny, yet some how lacking substance and a bit green at the same time. Still, there's some decent spicy fruit and ok length but outclassed by the other wines. B

2000 Tenuta Sette Ponti Oreno, Tuscany
This was good. As it was blind, we all guessed old world and it seemed very Cab Sauvignon, so were we right in this regard. Brendan said Super Tuscan and it was indeed. I enjoyed this wine, but found it a bit unremarkable.

My other sheet of notes is missing, so that's it!

Great tasting, great company, etc. I love this hobby.

[AlexR]

Thanks for the notes and the vicarious Christmas cheer.

Please, seeing as I am not familiar with Italian wines, can someone give me a thumbnail description of Orena in its context:

- price
- reputation
- supposed aging potential

All the best,
Alex R.

[JCNorthway]

Alex,

I do not know a lot about it, but here is what I know. It is considered a "Super Tuscan," being a blend of sangiovese, cabernet and merlot. It has received high marks from some critics (like mid-nineties). The 2006 was priced around $70-75, I think. I recently saw the 2007 locally (Chicago) for $89. It is considered to have aging potential, but I don't think it will age as long as many Bordeaux wines.

Jon

[Blanquito]

More snow photos...

[Ramon_NYC]

Thanks for the photos.
BWE'rs in action in Manhattan - neither snow nor sleet will keep us from our appointed rounds.

[Michael-P]

Wonderful TNs, great photos, another amazing BWE success!

As the BD knows, ever since he openned a 2000 Lynch back in his hotel room at the BWE Annual in Sonoma (was it 2005?) I have been on a mission to buy some at reasonable prices. Sadly I did not buy any on release. It seems to keep getting more expensive....

[sdr]

Thanks for the great notes and colorful descriptions of a splendid evening.

~stuart

[AKR]

My notes are not wildly different than Blanquito's a decade ago

His:
2000 Ch. Belislle-Mondotte, Saint-Emilion
Garish nose after the 1995s, lactic and candied. Jammy, raisiny, yet some how lacking substance and a bit green at the same time. Still, there's some decent spicy fruit and ok length but outclassed by the other wines. B

Mine:
I had a bottle of the 2000 Bellisle Mondotte [St Emilion] the last few nights, decanted + light chilling, mostly just sipping in the kitchen or while reading my new Luis Guitterez book on Rioja. Interestingly, even before I looked up BWE prior comments on this, my first thought was: this St Em has such a creamy, lactic, milky character. That's something I pick up in the occasional Spanish wine, but less so in Bordeaux. Full bodied, 13% abv, purchased EP, and beyond the chocolate shake notes on the nose, it has a pleasing sweet fruited palate of lush plums, blackberries, and Chinese 5 spice blend. I find the taste to be better than the smell, but its still a good, rich St Emilion at age 20. Good density with 30+ seconds of flavor, with the tannins well resolved. Not much acid, and I prefer it without food, personally. I'm not sure I'd repurchase & 'invest' the years of cellaring, but its a nice wine, just not a great one. I put away a few of the 2005's so we'll see if they show similarly. I'd give this a B+ in my ledger and would consider the QPR - all costs considered - to be underwhelming. This was stood up for a few days prior to consumption, and the last bits had a lot of sediment, fwiw.

PS: Curiously, I just the same 2001 S-O auslese they started with too very recently. It drank fabulously over 4 days!

[Comte Flaneur]

I remember those snowstorms well. I got caught up in a few. Sometimes ice storms. They were quite exhilarating. We don’t really get them in Blighty. Some 11 years later 1995 La Conseillante is nearly there. Is that you, Godot?

1995 La Conseillante

The best showing yet for a wine which has continuously frustrated and taken an eternity to come round, out of character with the precocious, though long-lived and extraordinary wines this estate produced in the 1980s. It is showing more secondary/tertiary development; it is unclenching with a hint of decadence and truffly notes emerging and the hard tannic edges are softening. It tightens up a bit towards the end of the night and becomes dominated by pure red fruits/cranberries. It is nearly there. Perhaps half a Blanquito away? ***1/2(1/2)/B+/A-/91(92)

[Blanquito]

I can’t wait for the day when we can begin our collective 1995 horizontals.