Bordeaux from the 1970s

[Comte Flaneur]

Thank you every one who made it. It was a lot of fun - especially with the Lalagunistas sitting to my left

Here's my shot at notes - I lost my official set somewhere

Flight one
La Lagune 1970 – fully mature,complex perfumed nose, smooth, languid, immensely satisfying, mellow, unobtrusive *****+
La Lagune 1978 – similar even more attenuated perfumed nose, slightly leaner and tauter on the palate, some cherries *****
Giscours 1970 – dumb initially this opened up beautifully, fabulous berried margaux fruit, full bodied – fantastic!******
Giscours 1975 – burly and tannic still some berry fruit lingering very enjoyable ***
A very strong flight to start. My wotf was the 70 Giscours. Likewise the group’s.

Flight two
Canon 1971 – shy and restrained but just beautiful wine caressing and sensusous *****
Figeac 1975 - corked
Trotanoy 1978 – By comparison, sexy and extrovert, lush plummy and exotic ******
Pavie 1979 – fabulously stinky lavatorial nose, all over the place but such a lot of fun to drink. Lively. ***
Trot was wotf for both myself and the group – this flight was brilliant fun even though I nearly cried when we found the Figeac was corked

Flight three
Pichon Lalande 1957 – Mark took the wrong bottle out - he meant to take the 1970 - but we all loved what for most of us was our first 57. Fresh and quite youthful. ****
Pichon Lalande 1978 – this was an interesting an even contest with the 79. Last night it took its time to open…it has a bit more weight the 79 but otherwise v similar. *****
Pichon Lalande 1979 – slightly sharper and leaner like the 78 herby and complex. Both are a delight. *****
Evenly split – the group had the 57 5/4/4…for me the 78 shaded the 79 but both are fabulous

Flight four
Palmer 1970 – this never really got going, nothing overtly wrong with it, perhaps not well stored…it was lethargic but with some telltale Palmer aromatics ***
Palmer 1975 – a little bit tauter with a stern tannic framework this was very good, dark fruits, not elegant. We drank this flight without food and it was tough. ****
Palmer 1978 – Fantastic Palmer, young vibrant, complex; incredibly youthful. Many people’s wotn. ******
Palmer 1979 – in my opinion every bit as good as the 1978, very bright lively and youthful ******
Group winner was 1978, I had 78 and 79 tied

Flight five
Mouton 1975 – not a great bottle inside or out, it was all over the place. I have had a lot better 75 Moutons, stinky with a lot of brett and VA *
Latour 1975 – structured and tannic, nothing wrong with it but the fruit is buried somewhere ***
Latour 1979 – had an odd curried nose to it, otherwise fairly austere and lacking in fruit **
First growths but the weakest flight so far

Flight six
Haut Brion 1978 – pushes the envelope of funkiness, scorched earth, a great pleasure, a great bottle – I can still taste it now ******
Domaine de Chevalier 1978 – also classic graves, and only a head behind the HB *****
La Tour Haut Brion 1979 – a very solid wine, just lacking a bit of zest compared to the other two but very Graves-y ****

Flight seven
Montrose 1970 – a brute, tannic burly, barnyardy, rustic **
Montrose 1978 – more fruit, balance and a nice horsiness to this ***
Grand Puy Lacoste 1970 – this was on its last legs *

Flight eight
Yquem 1970 – a very great wine by any standards, thick and viscous with ethereal tangerine fruit ******
Filhot 1970 – pleasant enough but shows why Yquem is so revered ***
Gilette Crème De Tete 1978 – what a treat to finish off! Not as lush or as sweet as Yquem but really unique funky and pleasurable *****

When wines are this old you only have great bottles – my favourite wines last night were Yquem, Giscours 70, the two La Lagunes, the Trotanoy, 78 and 79 Palmer and the Haut Brion. Truly great bottles.

For the groupt the 1978 Palmer was WOTN, with '57 Pichon Lalande and 78 Haut Brion in close fight for second, followed by '78 Trot and 70 Giscours. Both La Lagunes, the Canon, Pavie, 78 Pichon Lalande, all Palmers, DDC, LTHB, and 78 Montrose got at least one vote.

[AlexR]

Ian,

A general question please: all in all, were these wines on their plateau or past it?

All the best,
Alex

[mike reff]

Alex, the ones that were tiring for me were the following:
1975 Mouton
1970 GPL
1979 latour
1970 Giscours

Still a little tight and might need some more time
1978 Montrose

As a final thought it seemed that all these wines were stored properly, which really made the big difference in a wine that would last either in the glass or the decanter versus the wine that just fades from the beginning. I once had a 1959 Palmer that was not stored properly and lasted about 5 minutes in the glass. There was no evidence of this, which tells me two things, those that bought on release and stored properly will show very well, and those bought at auction from a reputable house represent very good description of how the wines were stored.

[Comte Flaneur]

Generally agree with Mike

The wines which were definitely over the hill were GPL and Mouton - a bad bottle because I have had great bottles of this which have been in a perfect place

I would say a lot of the wines were approaching the end of their drinking plateau - Lagunes for example - but not past it

The 78 and 79 Palmers may even improve further - they were certainly young and vibrant. The 75 Latour will probably last forever but never be interesting or enjoyable

[jal]

Ian did a great job organizing this, he deserves a lot of credit for all his hard work but especially for his patience. It was as usual fun to see old friends again - Tom, Ramon, ChrisB, Chris and Marjorie, Bill and Jan, Mark and Dale and to meet Mike Reff who knows more about my neighborhood than I do.

As for the wines, I have a soft spot for the1978 Palmer, but I think a lot of these wines did very well. My WOTN was indeed the 1978 Palmer but I loved the 1970 Yquem almost just as much.

Can't wait for next year.

[stefan]

It was a great evening with old and new friends, and the wines were mostly very interesting. It did not surprise me that the 78 Palmer showed so well. I have always preferred it to the 70. The first growths were not great, but only the 75 Latour did I expect to be better. Giscours declined in the 1970s, but in 1970 it was excellent and I was glad to see that it has held up well over time. The two La Lagunes were, as I expected, very good, fully mature, and IMO not in danger of declining within my expected life time. I was sorry that we did not start with the Sauternes as by the time we got to them I could not give them the required attention even though I had spit all night.

Thanks, Ian, for putting together another outstanding event.

[Ramon_NYC]

My $0.02.

BWE 1970s Bordeaux Dinner
Fabio Piccolo Fiore, NYC
101610

Flight 0:
2007 Anglada-Deleger "Blanchots Dessus" Chassagne Montrachet
When this bottle went around, I had to make a dash out of the restaurant to get home (2 blocks away) and get the digital camera that I promised to bring to the dinner and take photos with. I had a small 2-sip taste when I got back no notes. From memory, it was lively, fresh, approachable, and quite lush.


Flight 1:

1970 Ch. La Lagune, Haut-Medoc
A lot of acidity but quite thin and was more tertiary with nothing else. B-

1970 Ch. Giscours, Margaux
Dark red in color. Soft and lush with sweet tannin. Drinking well. B+

1975 Ch. Giscours, Margaux
Tasted cooked and/or dried out. C

1978 Ch. La Lagune, Haut-Medoc (WOTF)
Pretty nose with wet leaves and earth. Slight harshness and some green, but good and fresh acidity. B


Flight 2:

1971 Ch. Canon, Saint-Emilion
Hint of brett but with air time turned expressive and sexy on the nose. Sweet fruit and smooth. A nicely mature Bordeaux. B+

1975 Ch. Figeac, Saint-Emilion
Badly corked wine. NR.

1978 Ch. Trotanoy, Pomerol (WOTF)
Slight medicinal note but full, rounded, power and finesse. A great wine. A-

1979 Ch. Pavie, Saint-Emilion
Ripe fruit and confection on the nose. Quite elegant, but tasted with the most fruit in the flight. B


Flight 3:

1957 Ch. Pichon Lalande, Pauillac (WOTF by 1 vote over the other 2 PLs in the flight and 2nd Place WOTN)
A mistake-pull by Mark (he was supposed to have brought the 1970 version), but certainly didn’t elicit complain from any attendee. Nose was very forward with sulfur, leather, and cigar. I was in the minority in assessing it as thin and somewhat drying. B

1978 Ch. Pichon Lalande, Pauillac
Lean, feminine, slow to come around, but still sexy and a Jane Fonda in the 70’s. B+

1979 Ch. Pichon Lalande, Pauillac
Very nice nose showing earth, poop, cigar and fruit.
Another well-balanced PL, but this time with muscle, power, layers of red fruit and structure that’s bigger than the ’78. A 70’s Raquel Welch when compared to the ’78. B+


Flight 4:

1970 Ch. Palmer, Margaux
Smelled some leaves and wet earth. Red fruit but quite fat. Short finish. B

1975 Ch. Palmer, Margaux
Subdued nose. Aside from some fruit just couldn’t get much out of this wine. B-

1978 Ch. Palmer, Margaux (WOTF and 1st Place WOTN)
Just couldn’t stop sniffing on this wine with its cigar, leather and cassis. Masculine and intense but smooth and with the lively acidity. Fresh tasting. Outstanding. A-

1979 Ch. Palmer, Margaux
Full-bodied, tart, slight but good vegetable taste, layers of blue and black berries. Good length. A very good Margaux., eclipsed by the excellent ‘78. B+


Flight 5:

1975 Ch. Mouton-Rothschild, Pauillac (WOTF)
I looked and looked and couldn’t find anything in the bottle as to why this wine bled profusely as I smelled band-aid. Wet cardboard was also present. Tasted red bell pepper. NR

1975 Ch. Latour, Pauillac
Secondary characteristics on the bouquet, with some fresh meat thrown in. This was harsh, it was lean and it was long. B

1979 Ch. Latour, Pauillac
Whiff of sulfur, leather, and grilled meat. Acidic and lacks intensity. Dammit. B-

Flight 6:

1978 Dom. de Chevalier, Pessac-Leognan
Smooth, medium-bodied, caressing mouth-feel, good balance, well-crafted. Not as spectacular as the others in the flight, but pound-for-pound, was not outmatched. I wish I have more of this. A-

1978 Ch. Haut-Brion, Pessac-Leognan (WOTF and 3rd Place WOTN)
Easily, one of the best, if not the best, bouquet among the evening’s wines. Leafy, confection, fruit, meat …! Finesse and silky smooth, but power and intensity are evident and with a slam-dunk finish. We finally hit a jackpot with the First Growths that we had. A-

1979 Ch. Latour Haut-Brion, Pessac-Leognan
Ok, so this little brother/cousin/sibling was matched up with big bro for the flight. This was Kobe Bryant to Shaq’s ‘78 Haut-Brion during the Lakers’ multiple championship years when they were together. This was all about tight lean muscle, balance and agility. Layered black and blue fruit. Just like most of Kobe’s last-second 3-pointers, my last sip on this one determined my vote for it as my WOTF/WOTN. A-


Flight 7:

1970 Ch. Grand Puy Lacoste, Pauillac
Brett. A bit too much of the fat, overripe taste. C

1970 Ch. Montrose, Saint-Estephe
Leather and cigar on the terrific nose. Round, but somewhat lacking in fruit and complexity. B-

1978 Ch. Montrose, Saint-Estephe (WOTF)
Showed more sweetness and ripeness than any of the others in the flight. Also, better balance. B


Flight 8:

1970 Ch. d’Yquem, Sauternes
Nutty, complex, honeyed, medium-bodied, suave, and oh-so-nice-and-easy in the mouth. A-

1970 Ch. Filhot, Sauternes
Earthy and wood on the nose. Less intense with lean ripeness. B

1978 Ch . Gilette “Crème de Tete”, Sauternes
Creamy, crème brulee, big wine and by itself can make an excellent dessert. B+

[Tom In DC]

Thanks for putting together another great event, Ian and Ramon!

While I agree with the consensus that this wasn't the best set of wines we've ever BWE'd, I think in general I enjoyed the wines more than most. While the '70 Montrose was a bit over the top, I don't mind the bit of brett which showed up pretty regularly in these old-schooler's (I don't think new-wave Bordeaux had been invented yet!) Additionally, the tannin & acid vs. fruit balance was often leaning to the structural side which is fine with me, particularly with hearty food on the plate. Oh yeah, and the food was very good, as usual per Fabio. (Don't let the picture of the burrata oozing like a monster from a sci-fi epic scare you - it was delish!)

The Pichon-Lalande and Palmer flights were the high points, and I'll give the slightest edge to the '78 and '79 Palmer over the P-L's from the same years as the best performing wines. I have to admit to being wow'ed by both the '57 P-L and the '71 Canon, and I'm hoping it was my palate preference rather than some sort of geriatric-worship. The Firsts were largely disappointing, although I pretty much missed the Haut Brion. Others that stood out for me were the '78 DDC, the '70 Giscours, and the '79 La Tour Haut Brion, plus all three Sauternes.

I had a great time seeing friends, old and new, and look forward to the next time we can get together, although I have to admit that it was a bit far to drive for dinner... :-}

[Comte Flaneur]

Tom it was great that you could make it and thanks for making the effort to drive up - likewise the other 'out-of-towners' - Chris, Marjorie, Bill and Jan...I would be the first to agree that the overall calibre of the wines was not in the same league as the 86 and 89 tastings but it was a most cerebral and sentimental foray back into the 20th century at a time when the word 'spoofulated' had not been invented...naturally one is always most focused on the first flight...my analogy with the 70 La Lagune was like the piano player in a (piano) bar...unobtrusive but mellow, relaxing and satisfying.

I thought some of the wines were genuinely rivetting - Giscours 70, Trotanoy 78, Haut Brion 78 and Yquem 70 - while others were vgi - the Lagunes, the Canon, the 78/79 Pichons and Palmers, the DDC & LTHB and the Gilette, while others were a lot of fun - Giscours and Palmer 75 and Pavie 79 ( a riot).

Next year the tentative plan is to do vintages from the 1980s that we haven't done or will not do in 2012 - I am targeting 1982 in 2012 and we want to push the boat out and get as many heavy hitters as possible (apart from Lafite, which wlll probaly be $10k a bottle by then). So next year I am thinking 1981, 1983, 1985 & 1988 (and any 1980s, 84s and 87s which might be still going strong). But I don't want to present that as a fait accompli...thoughts?

[TomRippe]

Hi all, I'm Tom from Brooklyn, first timer, friend of Mike Reff. Thanks to Ian and all responsible for a truly great evening of wine and food. I've enjoyed reading all of your notes and would add only a couple of contrary opinions. Though impressive and very good the 57 PL didn't blow me away I say with humble gratitude. The 78 PL changed alot in the glass and was delicious but not in my top three. The 78 Palmer was quite good but has not yet found itself. Seems I liked the 79 Latour better than most, rich and masculine. (the previous two 79's I've had were not nearly as good, thinner with less character) Finally I must say that there was just too much wine! Hate when that happens but by flight seven my palate was shot and it was a shame not to be able to enjoy the last six wines. Particularly the d'Yquem (thanks to whomever brought it). I thought the food was excellent for such a large group.

Looking forward to next time, thanks for having me.

Tom

[JonoB]

Tom, welcome aboard....

Ian, if you do those years no wedding will keep me away!

[DavidG]

Thanks for the notes, guys. Still sorry I missed this. The Pichon Lalandes I've had, and they sound just like I remember them. The others - mostly a vicarious thrill.

[Blanquito]

Great notes for a great evening. I don't drink much 1970's wine, but much of what I've had from Bordeaux has been surprisingly good (given Parker's ratings for many of the wines). Sounds like the highs out weighed the lows, overall.

[aimeedogdogdog]

Thanks for the notes, guys! A wonderful evening with good food, wine and friends.

The '60s and '70s are probably in a different landscape vs modern day. So it's key to select those representing well for those two decades, if one would like to see what the best the '60s and '70s could provide. For example, LLC is probably not a good choice, while Lynch, Ducru, Palmer, La Mission, and Lalande are (those are the ones which made a lot of people hooked into Bordeaux. Just pure classic bordeaux!). 'Both 76 lynch and Ducru could be wonderful.

Werner

[DavidG]

And only one corked bottle!

[Chasse-Spleen]

I just want to thank Ian and Ramon and everybody who attended for putting this dinner together. It was mind boggling, to say the least. The notes above are all better than mine. I lost track after the first sixteen bottles or should I say eighteen? I think my favorite was the 1975 Giscours but it was hard to tell as the night wore on. The 1957 Pichon-Lalande was a highlight. I would have loved to have spent more time savoring that wine. It was really quite amazing that a 53 year old wine from a relatively forgotten vintage should be in such good shape - talk about provenance! I looked in my Broadbent book and he gave '57 one star which is better than none, and there was no note for the wine. It was a real BWE wine, IMO. Pauillac all the way.

The 1970 Yquem was also a treat, although I was pretty bewildered by then. I was lucky enough to have several of the wines with Ian at one time or another, including the '79 Palmer and I think the '79 Latour, and they both showed better for me on those occasions, without having to compete for the attention of my weary palate with 27 or more other bottles of wine. I also enjoyed the '78 Haut Brion, just for the flavor and the chance to taste HB, but I thought it started to fade somewhat quickly.

It was an amazing event. Perhaps it could be one leg of a triathlon of wine. As a biathlon, it worked pretty well, as Ramon, Ian, Tom and I repaired to a bar for a beer, Ian and Tom wisely heading home after one round. Ramon and I hit a second, more Irish bar which was excellent - what was the name of that one, Ramon? - have to go back there sometime. That would have been the second leg of the bi-athlon which I would give to Ramon. Earlier in the week I had a complete physical. Today I received a call from my doctor's assistant who told me that all my vital functions were normal - maybe I should have them re-checked!
Thanks again to all, especially Ian for his mad, obsessive, almost diabolical wine event planning and dedication. I love the picture Ramon took of Ian with just the wines as the back drop in a sort of extreme horizontal frame - that says it all.

-Chasse

[mike reff]

Does anyone recall any bricking on the '57? Some other folks have alluded that there has to be some, I really did not notice it in the glass?

Mike

[Chasse-Spleen]

I didn't see much either but the lighting wasn't that bright. Usually when I look at the color of wines, I put them under light and use a white background, which we obviously weren't able to do although you've got the tablecloth. But I noticed how solid the color was on the '57, too.

[Jay Winton]

What an excellent event. I will get to one! I, too, get bewildered at BWE events

[mike reff]

Just picked up a case of the '78 Palmer at auction at least I know that it is drinking well. Cheers

Mike

[JimHow]

Nice score Mike! Very well done indeed.

[Chasse-Spleen]

Certainly a man of action.

[aimeedogdogdog]

Nice job, Mike! Are you coming to the convention next year? You need to come. (I am so much a sucker for Palmer. LOL)

Werner

[mike reff]

What convention are you referring to ?

[Ramon_NYC]

It was an amazing event. Perhaps it could be one leg of a triathlon of wine. As a biathlon, it worked pretty well, as Ramon, Ian, Tom and I repaired to a bar for a beer, Ian and Tom wisely heading home after one round. Ramon and I hit a second, more Irish bar which was excellent - what was the name of that one, Ramon? - have to go back there sometime. That would have been the second leg of the bi-athlon which I would give to Ramon.

First one was called Ovelook, across the street from Fabio.
The second, the nicer one, is The Perfect Pint on 45th and 3rd Avenue. Those couple of good ales and lagers were true picker-uppers, but that was it ,,, as I was just about ready bi-a-crawl home at that point.