2019 Chateau de Lamarque has been uncorked and other ramblings....

[JimHow]

Beginning to get some feeling back in my jaw after the past weekend in Montreal....

[JimHow]

Some of you know the story.... It was in the second half of the 1990s.... I'm guessing 1997, no later than 1998. I was with my then-girlfriend now ex-wife Judy. We were in Les Chenets restaurant in Montreal. I think it is closed now? They had an extensive wine list. Judy was a great foodie and I was starting to develop an interest in nice wines, we used to dine a lot in Boston, Quebec City, Montreal, Portland, ME, occasionally NYC, trips to the Caribbean, etc. We had some nice mid level Italian wines in the north end of Boston. And then, one night, I ordered a 1986 Chateau de Lamarque off the wine list at Les Chenets.... And I had my wine epiphany. And my whole world literally changed forever....

[JimHow]

It was a wine that bloomed slowly during dinner and I recall being in an altered state by dessert. It was truly an epiphany. We hear that term in the world of fine wine, it becomes a cliche, but it is absolutely applicable. There is a before, and there is an after. For me, there is everything before that night, and then there is everything that has happened after that night... the night when I pointed my finger at a wine in the big Les Chenets wine book, a wine that I knew absolutely nothing about. I truly did "understand" at that point. And it unleashed a force that has carried to this day....

I've been sipping this 2019 de Lamarque will writing this, it is absolutely lovely! A true Haut Medoc. Let's see how it stands up to a nice grilled sirloin....

[JimHow]

Since 1997-1998... through this incredible journey of BWE, through the last more than quarter century in which Bordeaux wine that has enriched my life, that has helped me understand "truths" not within the dimensions of understanding of those poor other folk who have not yet experienced their own epiphanies... I have never, as far as I know, tasted another vintage of Chateau de Lamarque....

Until this past weekend....

[JimHow]

So at the UGC in Montreal this weekend, one of the first stations I visited was Chateau de Lamarque... I searched them out. They were off to the side. I think I tasted Talbot first because they were closest to the entrance and then I just searched around to get my bearings. Danny, Nic, JF, Alex, and I were on our own schedules. I had a very few properties I wanted to visit, that were "must see" visits. I knew Chateau de Lamarque was there and it was at the very top of my list. And so I separated from the guys....

[RPCV]

Wonderful story, Jim. We all have our Bordeaux epiphany but for it to be shared with a loved one is truly special.

[JimHow]

It is indeed a wine that checks all the boxes for me, RP, everything I look for in a wine. That was the case back in the late 1990s when I first tasted it, and such was the case all these years later. At the UGC Montreal the wine was presented by the winemaker Pierre-Gilles d’Evry himself, I told him that it was my epiphany wine all those years ago.

[JimHow]

The 2019 Chateau de Lamarque is a lovely, classic Haut Medoc that is very representative of the terroir of the region. It is a beautiful left bank wine with cassis, lead pencil, tobacco, no rough edges. It has an appealing spiciness that adds to its personality. St. Julien-like. This is not a big in your face right banker, if that's what you're looking for. It is reserved and classic, the way I like 'em. Available in the mid-$20s, this is a great QPR. A beautiful, pure ruby/purple color. This is what I look for in a left bank wine, it checks off all the boxes. Rating: 93 points.

[DavidG]

Nice reminiscence, and a fun read.

[Nicklasss]

Nice report Jim. I did not get to Lamarque last week, as i did not taste many wines, passing more time discussing with producers.

I'm very happy with what i bought from the 2021 vintage, so Lagrange, Talbot, Brane-Cantenac, tasted last week. Only no show, is the fourth wine i bought, GPL...

[jckba]

Nice picks aa those all showed for the better for me at this past Monday’s UGC save for the GPL which was also a no show in NYC.