TN's, including 1970 Mouton, 1988 Lynch Bages, 1980 Climens

[Michael Malinoski]

Last month, eight of us got together for a sumptuous dinner party featuring a whole bunch of very nice wines. We’ve tried to make this more or less an annual event, and this year’s dinner was certainly one of the very best we’ve done!

Flight 1: Champagnes

We started off in the living room, with a delicious cheese plate, a bowl of marinated feta with thyme, smoked salmon and cucumber canapes and a bunch of 3-cheese quesadillas with garlic butter.

1990 Charles Heidsieck Champagne Brut Millisime. Served from magnum, this is fantastic Champagne--with a bouquet that features a delightfully complex mix of smoke, ginger, green herb, poached pear, apple tart, mineral and brown baking spice aromas. It slowly folds in mildly sweeter bits of peach juice and chalk over time—giving it a mellow and inviting character, yet one with plenty of freshness and presence. On the palate, it is lively and lithe, with a little hint of cidery sweetness to go with tons of apple and pear fruit flavors and an outstanding streak of cool minerality and acidity. I can’t say enough about how giving yet racy this is, all the while showing off its complexity and layered dimensionality. The finish is lifted and lengthy and the whole thing is just beautifully woven together. This was certainly one of the top three wines of the night.

1990 Moet & Chandon Champagne Cuvee Dom Perignon Oenotheque. This wine is considerably more narrow, taut and chiseled at this stage of its evolution--featuring notes of white pepper, limestone, cream, graphite, apple, blanched nut, lemon peel and copper that are classy and pointed but never more than just hinting at their full expression. On the palate, it expands out to fill the mouth with compactly-muscled flavors of yellow apple, peach pit, citrus and pear. It morphs and shifts over time—showing breeding and balance, but never exhibiting the reach, lift or connectivity of the Heidsieck right now. Disgorged in 2003, this still needs a long stay in the cellar.

Flight 2: Chardonnays

We then sat down at the dinner table to a tasty dish of sherry and cream-infused cod with grapes.

2002 Peter Michael Chardonnay Belle Cote Knights Valley. This first wine is very cloudy in appearance and shows off a leesy and seductive nose of vanilla beans, nutmeg, cloves, lychee nuts, poached pears, custard and chutney in a complex and mature package. It is similar in the mouth, with layers of vanilla cream, oak spices, rich pear fruit and apricot flavors combining in a mellow and languid fashion across the palate. It is extremely creamy and leesy, and has a luscious quality through the rangy mid-palate before the acidity picks up a bit on the more minerally and graphite-tinged finish. It is still sporting some wood to be sure, but in so many other ways this is drinking beautifully right now.

2005 Peter Michael Chardonnay La Carriere Knights Valley. The nose here is deep and rich--with outstanding aromatics of marmalade, orange zest, crème brulee, chalk, granite and limestone showing off both the luscious fruit and the minerality of this site to fine effect. In the mouth, it comes across as taut, structured and minerally, but still managing to deliver loads of yellow apple, citrus, pear and exotic spice flavors that have a rich base to them. The length on the palate is impressive and the acidity here provides a solid backbone around which all the rich and honeyed elements revolve. This can be enjoyed now or held for several more years.

2007 Louis Latour Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru. The nose of this young Chardonnay is compact and toasty, but also fresh and tangy—with an interesting aromatic mix of lemons, green herbs and brass combined with light butterscotch and yellow pixie stick powder. In the mouth, it is youthfully tight and reined in—feeling tangy, fresh and a bit sharp, but with fairly full flavors of lemon, apple, grapefruit and gravel showing nascent length already. It is going to be good, but I would suggest holding off on this for another three or four years before trying again.

The next two flights were served with the hearty main dish of oven-braised short ribs.

Flight 3: 1988 Grand Cru Burgundies

1988 Emmanuel Rouget Echezeaux. All three of these 1988 Grand Crus are drinking wonderfully right now. First off, the Rouget Echezeaux features aromas of gently sweet berries, sour cherries, tobacco leaf, mossy forest, old pounded leather and a hint of chocolate that combine into a beautiful, intoxicating bouquet. On the palate, it is mouth-wateringly delicious—with a nice twang of cherry and a pure streak of sweet raspberry fruit riding atop soft leather and gentle earth tones. It shows off wonderful balance, fine intensity and excellent fruit complexity--finishing with even more of the pure, pliant red fruit. It is a clean, pretty and very appealing drink right now, but I doubt it is in any danger if held awhile longer. This was in my top 5 wines of the night.

1988 Domaine Robert Groffier Bonnes Mares. The Groffier Bonnes Mares is a wonderfully complex, earthy and feral Burgundy that appeals to a whole different aesthetic. The wine features phenomenal aromas of leather, horse stable, sweaty saddle, white pepper, pine pitch, wintergreen, persimmon and raspberry sorbet that are just fascinating and gorgeous to smell. In the mouth, it is more obviously savory and muscular than the Rouget Echezeaux, but there is also plenty of sweet fruit singing out above the core of leather, tobacco leaf and forest floor flavors that form a solid set of bass tones for this structured but pliant and fleshy wine. The finish is tinged with a bit of toasted orange peel and the wine as a whole feels solidly-flavored, delightfully gamey and just raring to go right now. This is a perfect food wine and was my second-favorite wine of the whole evening.

1988 Faiveley Corton Clos des Cortons Faiveley. The Faiveley is dark-toned, refined and masculine all the way through, starting with the bouquet of blackberry, black cherry, patent leather and dark earth aromas that seem classy but perhaps a bit aloof and cool—especially when compared to the two wines that came before. In the mouth, it is rather creamy-textured and it feels weighty and solidly-built from start to finish. Concentrated flavors of blackberries, black currant and dark fudge are carried along nicely by a twangy acidity that gives the wine great poise and cool refinement despite the density of flavor. In the end, it is another very tasty wine for current enjoyment and as with the others in this flight, I wouldn’t worry too much about hanging on to it for a few more years, either.

Flight 4: Cabernet Sauvignons

1970 Chateau Mouton-Rothschild Pauillac. This bottle showed even better than the one I opened last summer, which was outstanding in its own right. Here, we find a rich and full bouquet that folds in layer after layer of aromas like grilled pepper skin, road tar, mint leaf, dusty earth, mocha, pencil box and shaved cedar along with silky mixed currant fruit. It is wonderfully complex and giving, but also shows youthful energy and verve. In the mouth, it is medium-bodied and fleshy—with a classic structure and smooth texture to go along with an almost milky-rich black currant and black cherry fruit profile. Some sneaky tannins come in late, but the creamy texture and effortless flow never seem interrupted by them. Overall, the wine is a complete pleasure to drink, showing off its beauty on multiple levels without even seemingly trying. My WOTN.

1988 Chateau Lynch-Bages Pauillac. The nose of this wine is cool, dark and leafy--with savory aromas of tobacco leaf, green pepper, black tea and grilled meats combining nicely with sweeter notes of cedar, tar, plum and black currant. It has virility and staying power, but also a reassuring calm about it. In the mouth, it is still showing some grainy tannin and some slightly rough edges, along with lots of acidic structure. But it also delivers a solid dose of chewy blue and purple fruit to go with some road tar, tobacco and grilled pepper influences, which I like. In summary while this does hint at some of the rougher qualities of the vintage, it also manages to show some surprisingly plump fruit and interesting palate complexity.

1987 Chateau Montelena Cabernet Sauvignon The Montelena Estate Napa Valley. This wine features a fabulous nose of plum, blueberry, cassis, scorched earth, graphite, purple flower and cedar shingle aromas that are extraordinarily deep, full and sexy--with great concentration and a dark, slinky quality to them. It tastes youthfully full-bodied and full-blown with rich black and purple fruit expertly woven together and beautifully balanced against the fudgy tannins and vibrant drive the wine also possesses. This is just stacked and packed and yet somehow classic and toned. It can be enjoyed now, but it is worth sitting on another 10 years easily.

Flight 5: Sweet German wines:

We drank these with delicious individual brie fondues with fresh thyme and Chardonnay.

1971 Weingut Adolf Rheinart Riesling Ockfener Bockstein Herrenburg Auslese Mosel Saar Ruwer. This is a very interesting wine, starting with the airy, lifted and bright bouquet of honeyed apples, diesel fuel, blue slate, copper, white flowers and apricot pit. It is redolent of lime, custard, peach, apricot and maraschino cherry on the creamy, mid-weighted palate—feeling finely-balanced for the most part despite a bit of drying out at the very finish. It is still packing plenty of delicious flavor while displaying a very appealing aged character. It is a real delight.

1992 Wittmann Albalonga Westhofener Steingrube Trockenbeerenauslese Rheinhessen. Served from 375 ml bottle, this one is decidedly thicker and heavier-smelling--showing off loads of quince paste, marmalade, and orange zest aromas. In the mouth, it is thick and unctuously-textured, with a full-bodied and round, viscous feel to it. Intriguingly fleshy flavors of marmalade, burnished orange and cooked apricots play out across the palate and leave a gently sugary feel but one that is not at all too cloying given the little twist of citrus tang in there, as well.

Flight 6: Chateau Climens Barsac:

Finally, my wife also put together a finale of 3 very different but all equally delicious bleu cheeses—which of course really made for the ideal pairing with the Climens. We also had Andy’s decadent chocolate truffle cake, which was fantastic on its own, but also didn’t fare too badly with the wines, especially the last one of the evening.

1980 Chateau Climens Barsac. This wine is a beautiful golden color and is equally beautiful on the nose, where it just sings out with aromas of liquid caramel, baked apricots, spun sugar, burnt orange peel, pineapple and exotic musky notes. For all that, it is high-toned, fresh and tangy atop all of those rich and sexy smells—making for a layered and complex aromatic experience that draws the taster right in time and again. In the mouth, it is opulent yet fresh and tangy, with a high-toned edge to it. The flavors of brown spices, clover honey, botrytis spices, vanilla pudding and orange peel are luscious and sweet, flowing beautifully and displaying great length. This is just a great all-around showing for this deeply satisfying wine and I would put it as my #4 wine of the night.

1986 Chateau Climens Barsac. Sadly, this was CORKED. So, Adam pulled out a bottle of something from the cellar that he had just recently acquired. It turned out to be a bottle of…

1979 Estrella River Winery Muscat Canelli Late Harvest San Luis Obispo County. This particular wine is listed as 17.9% residual sugar and has the color of iced tea. Indeed, it also seems to smell like iced tea, along with apricot tart, orange peel, and peach pit. It is a bit funky and tangy in the mouth, where it shows off flavors of apricot, clementine and mixed citrus and tropical fruits. It is very sweet and low-acid to be sure, but just sharp enough at the finish to keep it from getting too cloying. I have to say I was skeptical, but this actually was kind of interesting and enjoyable.


-Michael

[Comte Flaneur]

Congratulations on a splendid dinner Mike with the usual high standard of notes

Guess Mouton 70 is about the most variable wine in the most variable vintage...seems like you got lucky there, and the burgundy flight sounded incredibe

[johnz]

I'd second the "lucky" call on the 1970 Mouton -- I had a bottle last summer that was completely over-the-hill to the point of undrinkable. The 1970 Palmer was terrific.

--Gary Rust

[Michael Malinoski]

Yeah, I was quite fortunate to be 2 for 2 with the bottles of '70 Mouton I bought last year at auction. I know that Parker has said "I have had a remarkable number of opportunities to taste this wine. One of the most frustratingly irregular wines I have ever encountered, the 1970 Mouton can range from pure nectar to a wine that is angular, austere, and frightfully hard and tannic." From what I understand, there was a stash of bottles that were mistakenly released by the estate and labeled with the letters R.C. (Reserve du Chateau), rather than a number--and those bottles in particular have been quite variable. These were not from that release, so maybe that helped the odds, I don't know. I'm just very glad to have had such excellent experiences.

As for 1970 overall, I have had absolutely wonderful bottles over the past 2-3 years of Ducru Beaucaillou (stunning), Domaine de Chevalier and now Mouton, while suffering through some not so good bottles of Giscours (not terrible, but disappointing), Gruaud Larose (possibly heat damaged) and a few lesser estates. So, yeah, some variability to be sure, but some very special heights, too.

-Michael

[JimHow]

Same here, I think I've had it twice, one time I liked it the other time I didn't.