Annual BWE NYC Bordeaux Review, 1982 Edition

[DavidG]

I would love to be part of the group November 9, but am committed to meetings in Chicago that week.

[stefan]

'82 Canon tastes like a generic Merlot? '82 L'Evangile was boring!?!?!?!? That is completely different from my experience with these two.

Lucie and I are in for November 9 with high probability.

[Ramon_NYC]

My $0.02:

Bordeaux Vintage 1982 dinner
Fabio Piccolo Fiore NYC
9/08/2012

So, for one night of wine-tasting and dinner, I became one of the beautiful people, largely on account having a bottle of a 1982 handy. Things have been freakish with this thread and so as not to further stir things up, I’d like to dispense of my personal, yet straight from the heart, formality to very quickly and very quietly make a shout out to Patrick for organizing this fun event. Of course, it was a good opportunity to catch up with other beautiful ones - Chris and Marjorie, Dale, David, Ian, Jacques and Jill, Sandy and Shawn.

Finishing a few chores and an errand just got me home in time to do my good wine-tasting citizen deed for some splash decanting and last-minute bottle check-ups. Got a little ribbing for coming from only 2 blocks away and still showed up as the last person.

I’d like to make a quick comment on the state of the wines before I go any further. All bottles were in fine condition. Other ’82 horizontals I’ve been to were not as fortunate.

The Bubblies
2 Champagnes had made the rounds and both bottles conveniently stood in the table space right in front of my seat when I arrived. Each was different and yet was pleasing in its own ways.

1996 Henriot “Cuvee des Enchanteleurs” Brut Champagne
Very dry, with notes of lime, fresh sourdough bread, and the wine all-around smooth. Got the yeast notes at the finish. Classy. A-

2004 L. Aubry “Le Nombre D’Or Campanae Veteres Vites” Brut Champagne
Showed yeast flavor from the start, was more stern, with lemony acidity. Good length with a pleasant tart aftertaste. Younger tasting than the Henriot … and almost equally as pleasing. B+


The Whites:
The regional and varietal contrasts of the whites were well defined for each of the bottle. It was fun to drink these and I thought that the variety would make these as excellent drinkers for a fun night of poker games (should I ever get invited to one) with the boys … and girls.

1997 Domaine Trimbach Clos St. Hune Riesling, Alsace
A nice-drinking, smooth Trimbach. Hint of petrol on the bouquet. A fine level of acidity enveloping ripe white fruit. Read prior reports that this is drinking well lately, and this bottle concurred. A-

1996 Ch. Pape Clement Blanc, Pessac-Leognan
Showed the best bouquet among the whites with ripe fruit, wood and confection. Well rounded with fresh acidity. B+

1999 Ch. de Beaucastel Rousanne Vieilles Vignes
Wood on the nose. A soft and earthy Northern Rhone that was not overly rich (as most other No Rhone blanc that I’ve had before). Medium bodied. Slight vegetable notes. Don’t have enough experience with the wine, and I would love to explore further, but this bottle may be at its best drinking plateau. B


The Reds

First Flight

1982 Ch. Certan de May, Pomerol
Layers of red fruit. Lean. A fine balance with components seemingly in the right place t the right amount. B+

1982 Ch. Canon, Saint Emilion
I’ve tasted another good version of this in a Canon vertical about a year or so ago, but this bottle seemingly one-upped my previous. Fresh herb, meat and mineral nose. Ripe but with excellent savory characters. Smooth-drinking. Long finish. My WOTF and WOTN. A-

1982 Ch. L’Evangile, Pomerol
This is an excellent right bank with great length, power and finesse, and with good slight vegetable and savory notes. This bottle can get better with time. Group’s WOTF. A-


Second Flight

1982 Ch. Talbot, Saint-Julien
The mélange of mushroom, herb, meat, and confection was very appealing on the bouquet. Full bodied that defines power, good balance and a good length. My WOTF. B+

1982 Ch. Gruaud Larose, Saint-Julien
This was the most elegant in the flight. In contrast to Talbot’s showcasing Dwight Howard’s brute force, this was a Kobe Bryant athleticism in action. Silky in its medium bodied effort. Group’s WOTF. B+

1982 Ch. Branaire Ducru, Saint-Julien
I smelled plenty of tobacco and leather. Higher in acidity than its flight mates. Leaner but still worked within a credible balance and structure. Most Saint-Julien like. B


Third Flight

1982 Ch. Margaux, Margaux
Bouquet!!! Meat and flowers. High in acidity and still un-resolved tannin, a young wine when compared to the rest of the reds. Fresh berries seem to burst at every sip. Very smooth with a very long finish. Will drink well within, at least, next 20 or more years. My WOTF and group's WOTN. A-

1982 Ch. Prieure-Lichine, Margaux
Sweet. Easy. Lush. What’s not to like? If there was a clique among the wines tonight, it’s this and the La Lagune … they came across as similarly pretty wines. B+

1982 Ch. La Lagune, Haut Medoc
Slight lactic notes on the nose. Ripe red berries. Pleasant with no hard edge at all. Yep, I’m convinced and they can’t hide it from me … that this and the Prieure-Lichine are in the same clique! B+


Fourth Flight

1982 Ch. Grand Puy Lacoste, Pauillac
Feminine and with curves all in the right places and proportion. This sexy, balanced wine even had a nice tinge of vegetable notes that added to the allure. Just as previous ones that I’ve tasted, this bottle did not disappoint. A-

1982 Ch. Batailley, Pauillac
This came across to me as one wine that was not appropriately extracted and somewhat slightly diluted. Not bad and this can potentially be the standout wine if it were from a bad vintage. B-


The Sweet Wines

1986 Ch. Lafaurie-Peyraguey Sauternes
Sweet hard citrus candy. Sensual and more feminine than the Climens and just a tad less complex. But I liked the slutty style. B+

1988 Ch. Climens Sauternes-Barsac
Amber gold in color. Brown sugar and molasses. Sweet confection. Loved the slight bitterness at the finish. Our Mariano Rivera tonight … a great closer. A-

[Blanquito]

Awesome thoughts and notes, Ian and Ramon.

In the end, the only place where I really diverge from you, Ramon, was I wasn't nearly as excited about the Canon. I found it better than Ian, but it was lacking any real pizzaz, seeming young and a bit out of sorts. I did really like the l'Evangile, it was amazingly young and deep, but splitting-some-hairs, there wasn't quite the elegance or refinement I would expect from it. My Right Banker WOTF was the Certan de May which had all kinds of old-school-yet-exotic Pomerol things going on.

I liked the St. Juliens a tad more than you did, as well, giving the edge to the Gruaud-Larose for WOTF (and it was my 3rd favorite overall). The Branaire didn't have the depth to run with the Cordier brothers, but I was enchanted by its beguiling bouquet and more ethereal, brighter body.

But the real standout for me was the Chateau Margaux, the run-away WOTN. As much as I liked the GPL (my 2nd favorite wine of the night) for its sexy depth and glorious '82 richness (yes it was roasted, but not too much for me), the Margaux had no real competition. It was wonderful and has eons to go. Definitely a top 5 wine of my life-time, right there with the 86 Mouton, 86 Lafite, 82 Pichon Lalande, and the 89 Lynch Bages.

The Climens was amazing, kinda embarrassed the Lafaurie I think. I wish I had more time to spend it with on its own, fantastic nectar!

[Winona Chief]

A really fine event. Many thanks to Patrick and Ian for putting this together. Great notes, David - thanks for posting them. All wines were very much alive and in good shape - no duds - none corked, cooked or spoiled - what luck. Lots of minor differences of opinions on the wines around the table. I took no notes but have a few thoughts on the wines:

2004 Aubrey Nombre D'Or - good but a bit austere for my taste

1996 Henriot Enchanteleurs - was very good, its slight sweetness was very appealing

1997 Trimbach Clos St Hune - liked this a lot, my favorite of this flight

1996 Pape Clement blanc - good but a step back from the Clos St Hune

1999 Beaucastel Vieilles Vignes Roussanne - good showing but not to my taste, just don't like white Rhones.

1982 Certan de May - quite good but a little rustic, my third favorite of this flight

1982 L'Evangile - very nice, rich and tasty, my favorite of the flight but not really a wow wine (my #3)

1982 Canon - very fresh and alive but has lost some of the richness it had a few years ago

1982 Branaire Ducru - another good wine that's starting to lose its fruit

1982 Talbot - very nice, a long time favorite of mine, preferred this a few years ago when it was a little more gamey and exuberant

1982 Gruaud Larose - my favorite of this flight, still singing its sweet song (my #2), agree with David - it would be great to have a wine dinner themed on Cordier wines of the 1980s

1982 Margaux - really rocking, great future ahead, WOTF and WOTN (my #1)

1982 Prieure Lichine - better than expected (and better than a recent 1983 Prieure)

1982 La Lagune - very nice once again, one of my favorite 1982s (my #5)

1982 Grand Puy Lacoste - Very fine Pauillac liked this a lot (my #4)

1982 Batailley - somewhat lighter than the other wines, some complexity, still hanging on

1986 Lafaurie Peyraguey - good stuff, nice Sauternes

1988 Climens - love this, great stuff, a wow wine

Chris Bublitz

[Comte Flaneur]

'82 Canon tastes like a generic Merlot? '82 L'Evangile was boring!?!?!?!? That is completely different from my experience with these two.

Lucie and I are in for November 9 with high probability.

I will try to wrangle it so I am here stefan - it will be a politically correct equal opportunity gig where it will be strictly first come first served; all welcome including rodeo swirlers and manic depressives. Regardless if I am here I hope we can get an event going.

On the Canon it was popped and poured - I must confess I was a little narked because this was supposed to be Ausone - but maybe it needed time to open but I got absolutely nothing out of it except a merlotyness. The L'Evangile is supposed to be a great wine because it has a $700 price tag - your mind plays tricks on you because you start with the premise it must be great - but when you analyse it, it really isn't that great.

[TomRippe]

Count me in for November 9!