Dinner in Ft. Lauderdale Part 2: Haut Brion.

JimHow · Post by **JimHow** » Sun Mar 13, 2022 4:51 am

Omg. One of the most epic BWE nights ever.

JimHow · Post by **JimHow** » Sun Mar 13, 2022 5:07 am

I can’t even remember all the wines, I lost track. Let’s see what I can get right. We drank:

1961 Haut Brion
1966 La Mission
1982 Haut Brion
1985 Haut Brion
1988 Haut Brion
1989 Haut Brion
1989 La Mission
1990 Haut Brion
1996 Haut Brion
1996 La Mission
1998 Haut Brion
1998 La Mission
2000 Haut Brion
2000 La Mission
1982 Margaux
1982 La Lagune
1959 d’Yquem
1986 d'Yquem
2009 Cristal en magnum
2000 Dom Perignon P2
2003 Dom Perignon P2

JimHow · Post by **JimHow** » Sun Mar 13, 2022 5:14 am

My wines of the night:

1989 Haut Brion… one of the greatest Bordeaux wines ever produced.
1961 Haut Brion… Cigar box from heaven, brought us back to the Kennedy administration and the battles with Cuba/Russia… Nothing over the hill here.
1985 Haut Brion… Perhaps the most a point wine of the night.
There was not a bad bottle in the bunch.
The Wine Watch is an epic venue.
An incredible night.

SF Ed · Post by **SF Ed** » Sun Mar 13, 2022 10:03 am

BWE and Haut Brion - a great pairing. We had a very broad Haut Brion BWE main event in Dallas one year that was excellent but didn't have all those older top vintages. My impression that evening was that Haut Brion was approachable young, aged gracefully, and that it had a consistent profile regardless of vintage. One of my favorite first growths.

And we were both at Tim's b-day party in Bordeaux where we had the 1989. Was this bottle even better? Anything better than the 1953 we had that evening (which was my WOTN on a night with a lot of candidates)?

More great BWE carnage! I love it.

SF Ed

DavidG · Post by **DavidG** » Sun Mar 13, 2022 12:47 pm

What a group!
What a setting!
What a menu!
What wines!

1989 Haut Brion was my WOTN, with 1990 Haut Brion a close second and the 1985 Haut Brion nipping surprisingly close at their heels.

The 1959 Yquem was killer, drinking beautifully.

stefan · Post by **stefan** » Sun Mar 13, 2022 12:55 pm

Jim list all the wines except for two delicious white Burgundies, M. Niellon Clos St Jean and Leflaive(?) 2010 Chevalier-Montrachet. The wines were excellent across the board. I also enjoyed the 89 HB most and the 61 HB second. I thought LMHB outshone the HB in the flights of the 2000 and 1998.

dstgolf · Post by **dstgolf** » Sun Mar 13, 2022 1:21 pm

Wow! Wow! Wow! Epic is understating that lineup. Sorry I missed the opportunity to call but we were recovering from some non covid bug and hasn't been a good couple of days but we're both on the mend today. Hopefully touch base soon and congrats on an incredible weekend of friendship with a couple of wines thrown in here and there. Hopefully next time....

jckba · Post by **jckba** » Sun Mar 13, 2022 2:32 pm

Epic.

DavidG · Post by **DavidG** » Sun Mar 13, 2022 2:57 pm

A few shots from Sat6:

Comte Flaneur · Post by **Comte Flaneur** » Sun Mar 13, 2022 3:45 pm

What a sensational line up! And tasting room! Were wines from these Stuart’s cellar? In his cellar/tasting room?

DavidG · Post by **DavidG** » Sun Mar 13, 2022 4:08 pm

Stu provided a number of gems. We all contributed.

The venue is Wine Watch in Ft. Lauderdale. Stu thinks it is the premier wine cellar/store/,venue in the US, maybe the world. Sounds about right to me.

JimHow · Post by **JimHow** » Sun Mar 13, 2022 4:14 pm

It’s a Comte Flaneur kind of place.

Pretty amazing….

https://www.winewatch.com/

AKR · Post by **AKR** » Sun Mar 13, 2022 5:04 pm

Great pictures!

Nicklasss · Post by **Nicklasss** » Sun Mar 13, 2022 10:55 pm

AWESOME!

jal · Post by **jal** » Sun Mar 13, 2022 10:55 pm

What an epic, mythological, magical weekend. Stu outdid himself with organization and brought some incredible gems from his cellar. David's 1989 Haut Brion is a wine I would rate 100 that evening, but there were so many other phenomenal bottles; 1985, 1961, 1990 Haut Brion, all very close to a top rating.
Among the younger wines; 2000 La Mission was delicious and more open and giving than any of its older brothers/sisters from the 1990s. It gave so much pleasure last night that I would hesitate very little to open a bottle soon.
The Champagnes were great; P2 is such a combo of richness and finesse, both ready to enjoy now.
The two Chevalier were great, 2011 more ready than the 2010, and the other White Burgundies were all excellent with a long life ahead (if they can avoid the premoxed curse)
And in the words of the sage from Chicoutimi; this evening was again proof that BWE was all about the people.
Great to see everyone again, be well my friends. A bientôt

marcs · Post by **marcs** » Mon Mar 14, 2022 1:47 am

Holy shit…my jaw is permanently unhinged now!

JoelD · Post by **JoelD** » Mon Mar 14, 2022 4:20 am

Wow. What an epic weekend. You guys crushed it down there. Was dinner at Wine Watch also?

Glad to see David and Peggy make it down. Hope to see you all again soon.

SF Ed · Post by **SF Ed** » Mon Mar 14, 2022 10:36 am

How were the 1998s? Last time I had them the Haut Brion was approachable and rich but would improve with time and the LMHB was a monster with enormous potential but at least a decade from reaching its peak and would likely be at its best when its 40 years old or more.

SF Ed

Racer Chris · Post by **Racer Chris** » Mon Mar 14, 2022 12:20 pm

Speechless.
Just glad I had one great bottle last weekend.

JimHow · Post by **JimHow** » Mon Mar 14, 2022 1:07 pm

How were the 1998s?

Like most of the vintages consumed, Ed, the 1998s were quite representative of the vintage. Indeed, the 1998 LMHB has been historically very big and closed, but on this night it was starting to reveal its potential. The general consensus seemed to be that La Mission held its own for the most part on Saturday night, and that it was generally a bit more evolved than its Haut Brion counterparts. But, as you would expect, both 1998s have a long way to go.

stefan · Post by **stefan** » Mon Mar 14, 2022 2:28 pm

The excellent 1998 LMHB is better for drinking now than its stablemate, although both are on the upswing. Neither is as mature as, e.g., Lafite, but it is no crime to consume even the HB now if you are a Senior Citizen.

s*d*r · Post by **s*d*r** » Mon Mar 14, 2022 4:28 pm

Always fun to host a few BWE-ers for a weekend in my home town. With the temp up to 88 degrees here, I think the frozen North contingent were able to defrost quickly. I’m sorry I can’t invite all of you but the available venues have limited space.

A big thanks to Peggy and anyone else who helped to take those candid photos. The guy to Jim’s right is my friend David, who brought the ‘89 La Mission Haut-Brion. You get an excellent impression of the Wine Watch ambiance where there is a fanatical attention to detail for all things wine. For example, the shapes hanging from the ceiling are composed entirely out of corks in the shape of wine regions such as Portugal, California or Spain. Those white circles on the tables are lights underneath designed to illuminate each glass so that you can clearly see the color of the wine in your glass even when the overhead lighting is dim. Another nice touch is that the owner Andrew goes around the table and pours each wine for us. Naturally there is unlimited glassware. Wife Toni did a great job with the 5 course menu too. I included a quartet of fine cheeses from Fromages.com which I have touted before.

I had suggested a theme of Graves for Saturday but I did not expect that avalanche of Haut-Brion/La Mission Haut-Brion we had, so a big thanks to everyone for going deep. The ‘82 La Lagune/Margaux was a partial rematch of a taste-off from two years ago when the La Lagune was distinctly better. But not this time. Apparently there is a lot of bottle variation in both these wines.

The consensus was that the ‘89 Haut-Brion was WOTN. (I had it tied with the ‘82 Margaux with the ‘90 Haut-Brion runner up.) The ‘61 Haut-Brion was not a great example of it and only a partial survivor but at least gave a hint of what it can be. The ‘82 Haut-Brion was also disappointing. The biggest surprise to me was the ‘85 Haut-Brion which I have previously found to soft and weak. Not any more. It’s a splendid vintage and almost too smoky but very Graves. I found both 2000s delightfully approachable even if obviously young and better than the ‘98s and ‘96s for drinking now.

Here’s a nice review from Andrew: https://www.instagram.com/tv/CbDmKJHpIg ... =copy_link

Hoping to have more BWE South events in the future.

JimHow · Post by **JimHow** » Mon Mar 14, 2022 5:20 pm

Ha, a fun video, what a great treat this weekend.
Still in Fort Lauderdale, don't want to leave!
We will see you all again soon, and immense thanks again Stu and Kathy.
Going to finish my notes on the flight back to frigid Maine, I think they are pretty consistent with Andy's and everyone else's, that '89 HB showed why it's the boss. And the '61 was near perfection for me as well, just on the cigar box nose alone.

Racer Chris · Post by **Racer Chris** » Mon Mar 14, 2022 5:41 pm

He's good!

dstgolf · Post by **dstgolf** » Mon Mar 14, 2022 6:54 pm

Fantastic day after review by the owner of Winewatch. Thanks for sharing the link Stu and even more envious now. Glad everyone had a fabulous time and hopefully next time....

JimHow · Post by **JimHow** » Tue Mar 15, 2022 6:37 pm

Andy did a great job with the small pours, it really gave me a chance to analyze the wines without getting overwhelmed or too intoxicated, and there was plenty of wine left over to go back to at the end. Haut Brion achieved the great heights, but La Mission Haut Brion was a co-star of the show, consistently excellent, going toe to toe with its first growth counterpart.

DavidG · Post by **DavidG** » Tue Mar 15, 2022 6:51 pm

That’s a great point Jim. I tend to over-pour and either drink too much or dump too much. The ~1-2 oz pours were perfect.

Stu and Andy also controlled the food delivery to match the pace of the tasting.

And the venue was even better than the pictures could do justice to. The temp was low-mid 60s, so the wines remained at perfect drinking temp throughout the evening. And not too cold for a sweater or sport jacket to be comfortable. If you have an opportunity to attend a tasting at Wine Watch in Ft. Lauderdale, take it! And if you don't, visit anyway. It's a retail Mecca for rarely seen gems.

Truly an unforgettable experience in a perfect setting. It was up there with my most memorable, like our dinner at Ch. Margaux in 2005. Thank you Stu for putting it together.

Comte Flaneur · Post by **Comte Flaneur** » Wed Mar 16, 2022 12:02 pm

Question for you lucky folk who attended this epic dinner: by dint of coincidence we are doing an Haut-Brion dinner tomorrow night. I am bringing the 1989 but can’t drop it off at the restaurant today so will need to bring it with me on the day and double decant it at home before I leave.

Any thoughts of when I should double decant it? The dinner is at 7pm and the 1989 will be served around 9pm? Where is this wine in its evolution? I was thinking around 5pm.

JimHow · Post by **JimHow** » Wed Mar 16, 2022 12:33 pm

David brought that bottle along, Ian, I think he decanted it about that long.
It was in absolutely stunning form. Incredible complexity, but also great strength and balance at the same time.
I've had that wine about a half dozen times over the years, always spectacular, like at Timmy's birthday party three years ago, and this was the best showing yet.

Comte Flaneur · Post by **Comte Flaneur** » Wed Mar 16, 2022 12:48 pm

Thanks Jim. Tim’s was a very good bottle but I do remember it tasting very young. Perhaps because we were tasting it along side the 1953 that stole the show…

Comte Flaneur · Post by **Comte Flaneur** » Wed Mar 16, 2022 12:51 pm

The funniest moment I remember about that flight was when the 1929 was poured - Danny and Francois made simultaneous announcements: “It’s fucked”/“It izzz a miracle”

jal · Post by **jal** » Wed Mar 16, 2022 2:47 pm

Can't wait to read your notes, Ian.

DavidG · Post by **DavidG** » Thu Mar 17, 2022 3:31 am

Ian, I double decanted the 1989 at 4:30 PM. Fill was well into the neck and the cork was pristine. There was a pretty good deposit. The wine was poured about 3 hours later. It remained killer until we left, around 11-ish?

Comte Flaneur · Post by **Comte Flaneur** » Thu Mar 17, 2022 8:07 am

Nice one David, thanks. Fingers and toes crossed mine is a good bottle.

tim · Post by **tim** » Fri Mar 18, 2022 4:54 am

Wow, just wow, looks like an epic evening!

I think Haut Brion embodies the spirit of BWE more than any of the first growths. Fantastic to see such a lineup!

greatbxfreak · Post by **greatbxfreak** » Fri Mar 18, 2022 9:42 pm

Impressive.

I never had 1989 HB.

However, I had 1959 HB about ten times, and I rated it 100p every time...

One of my most extraordinary wine experiences ever!

JimHow · Post by **JimHow** » Fri Mar 18, 2022 10:10 pm

This dinner was a real revelation for me. I was very impressed by how great almost all of the bottles were. I respectfully disagree with Stuart that the '61 was not quite up to par, it was one of the most impressive wines I've ever tasted... and sniffed. It was a 99-pointer for me on this night, just a sliver behind the '89, which was epic. The Cuban cigar box nose on the '61 was absolutely amazing, it may have been the greatest bouquet I've ever encountered in a Bordeaux. And among the half dozen 1989 HBs I've had over the years, this is the first time I can really say, wow, wow, wow! Amazing depth, complexity, class, pedigree. Absolutely stunning. The presentation, the food, the company, it was a truly special night, I've been thinking about it all week. Oh, and La Mission Haut Brion... I confess, I'm wrong, it is indeed "a wine of first growth quality." Wow. Amazing.

JimHow · Post by **JimHow** » Fri Mar 18, 2022 10:21 pm

I had to put up with this guy for the weekend, but oh well....

robert goulet · Post by **robert goulet** » Fri Mar 25, 2022 10:48 am

Booooooom....I knew u would luv it Jim, Wine Warch is an absolute treasure...I just picked up a couple more '66 burgs from them

Wow, what a epic lineup, HB is my fav. 1st growth...I need to keep an eye out for the '85...well done BWE, well done

JimHow · Post by **JimHow** » Fri Mar 25, 2022 11:13 am

Yes the ‘85 was one of my top wines of the night, it was really in a great place age wise. As you might expect from that vintage perhaps more than any of the others. In fact, that was one of the hallmarks of the dinner, the wines were consistently representative of their respective vintages.