TN's: 1982 La Lagune, 2002 Pichon Baron, 1988 Filhot

[Michael Malinoski]

Last month, I hooked up with Adam and Ed at the tavern for dinner and some random wines—several of which I thought were showing wonderfully.

2005 Zind-Humbrecht Riesling Herrenweg de Turckheim. This wine possesses a lovely and engaging bouquet full of kerosene, blue slate, lilacs, lemon and lime peels, additional citrus tones and light honey that I like a lot. In the mouth, it is pliant and giving and right up front with its rich fruit and mouth-watering acidity. There is a little sliver of sweetness through the middle (this is Indice 2), but that seems to work just fine with the delicious flavors of yellow fruits, hard candies, minerals and petrol that are long and lasting as they coat the palate on the finish. It is quite good on its own but really comes to life with a delicious dish of ahi tuna and candied nectarine sauce.

2006 Chateau du Beaucastel Chateauneuf du Pape Blanc Cuvee Roussanne Vieilles Vignes. First off, this has a beautiful rich yellow color to it. Bouquet-wise, it offers up an absolutely smoking good nose full of citronella oil, rich honey, crunchy minerals, bergamot, zested orange peel, honeydew melon and hints of red fruit from time to time. It is thick and mouth-coating on the palate, where it awakens every taste bud with its luxuriant citrus, honey, tropical yellow fruit and mineral flavors. It is totally dense and deep through the middle, but turns brighter and slightly more lifted on the wood-smoked finish. Overall, this is just a really hedonistic wine that demands your attention and that should have a long and happy life ahead of itself.

2000 E. Guigal Crozes-Hermitage. Our first red of the evening is drinking pretty darned well right this moment. It possesses a rather gamy and earthy nose, with aromas of hung meat, ground peppercorn, pomegranate, black cherry and earthy funk. In the mouth, it is much the same—kind of savory-flavored and meaty, but with medium weight, moderate concentration, a smooth texture and rather resolved tannins that seem to soften the wine as it sits in the glass over the course of the night. The finish has a nice tangy, mouthwatering quality to it, and overall now seems like the right time to be drinking this. On night two, the wine was cracked up and a bit hollow, reinforcing my belief that it ought to be drunk up and enjoyed now.

1982 Chateau La Lagune Haut-Medoc. In retrospect, I think we should have given this bottle some advanced decanting time, as it took a fair bit of time to open up at first. In general, though, it shows off a dark, smoky and smoldering nose—growing in both depth and breadth as the night goes on. It features notes of black currant, tobacco, earth, soft cedar and a background note of fresh flowers. In the mouth, it is loaded with sweet currant fruit, saddle leather, scorched earth and white pepper. It is really smooth, holistic and elegant in its own way despite the fullness of fruit and flavor—largely because it is beautifully balanced for outstanding drinking right now. No rush, but in a very good spot after some air time, in my opinion.

1984 Dominus Estate Napa Valley. There’s just lovely purity and elegance on the nose of this wine, with lots of red cherry, cedar wood, ash and leafy woods aromas on a classy, mellow and finely-pitched platform. There is perfect balance to the aromas and a sense of nothing being out of place—coming across as totally holistic and calming. In the mouth, the first glass is all beautiful and juicy red fruit, perfect texture, fine length and excellent persistence of flavor. It feels perfectly-aged, medium-weighted and ideal for drinking now. Notably, though, coming back for a second glass later on, one finds the wine taking on more savory, wild and feral notes on the nose, giving it even more dimensionality and complexity, though the palate stays balanced and poised as before. It provides a really interesting and rewarding ride, I must say.

1983 Chateau Montelena Cabernet Sauvignon The Montelena Estate Napa Valley. In keeping with my past experiences with this wine, it shows off a distinctive tell-tale set of aromas that center around hickory smoked wood, maple syrup, breakfast sausage, caramel, dark toast and menthol wrapped around a core of deep, dark black currant fruit. It is definitely an unusual Montelena, but I like its distinctiveness—in fact, I’m pretty sure at this point that I could pick the ’83 out of a vertical line-up. In the mouth, it is cool-fruited in tone, with a taut acidic structure in place but also a solid core of black fruit, hickory, maple, sausage and loamy soil types of flavors that exhibit good staying power and richness but also an aged mellowness that is nicely engaging.

1997 Peter Michael Les Pavots Knights Valley. This wine has a dark and brooding sort of bouquet to it right now—showing some aromas of tar, tomato plant, olives and lava rock to go with some dark-pitched fruit. It seems just a bit tight on the palate as well, with more restraint and tautness than the last bottle from a few years back. Sure, there is plenty of juicy purple fruit and warm spicecake flavors here and the texture is smooth, fleshy and pliant, but it is not quite as expansive or jubilant as I think it has been or likely will be again with some time in the cellar. Also, I get a tickle of alcoholic heat from time to time, and I just sense that despite all of its gifts, it could be in a slightly awkward stage just now.

2002 Chateau Pichon Longueville Baron Pauillac. This is young and coiled on the nose, but is alive with taut and direct aromas of blackberries, black currant, black earth, black olives, bacon fat, tar, pepper and rubber elastic that are extremely sleek and slinky. In the mouth, it is quite similar—sleek, polished, youthful and driven, with a tightly-coiled core of smoky black fruit, minerals and dark earth. Over time, the tannins grow and start to interfere with the enjoyment of this black missile of a wine—turning the finish a bit more fudgy and sticky. I certainly think a few more years will be good to this wine.

1988 Chateau Filhot Sauternes. Our final wine of the night sports a lovely bouquet of caramelized sugar strands, quince paste, pineapple squares and pretty flowers that feel fresh, elegant and balanced, but not overly rich or unctuous. In the mouth, it is again on the pretty side, with good freshness and certainly more of an airy than a ponderous feeling to it. The flavors again veer toward spun sugar, quince paste and dried pineapples. This is a tangy, light, fun and food-friendly sort of Sauternes that will appeal to those who seek a lighter touch on the unctuous sweetness meter.


-Michael

[Winona Chief]

Michael,

Thanks for posting your notes. I always enjoy reading them. Sounds like another great evening. I remember that 1982 La Lagune as being really nice. Unfortunately mine are all gone. Still have a bottle of 1988 Filhot around here somewhere - sounds like a good candidate for near-term drinking.

Chris Bublitz

[Houndsong]

Spun sugar. Interestingly, though not yet in Sauternes, I sometimes get a cotton candy sensation with red Bordeaux. It happened last night with the Lafon Rochet. I noted mentally it at the time but neglected to recall it in describing the wine. So fleeting are some of these sensations. For me they're usually more evocative than empirical.

[Blanquito]

I've had the 1982 Lagune three times in the last few years, and I've loved it each time. 94-95 pts in my book. Sounds like you enjoyed it too, Michael.

Thanks for the notes...

[JimHow]

Then again, when does La Lagune ever disappoint?

[Bacchus]

I've got a couple bottles of 2006 La Lagune in the basement. Haven't tried them yet -- anyone opened the '06?

[stefan]

You guys make me wish I had kept my mouth shut about La Lagune.

[oldwinenut]

Parker discovered this wine in '05. Before then it was off his radar and usually a great value. I have had many memorable older bottles of this but not the '82. Sounds as if I get the opportunity I should try it.

[DavidG]

Parker has ratings on Lagrange going back to the '60s, with regular coverage starting in the late '70s. He gave it plently of scores of 90 or above prior to 2005: in '86, '89, '90 (highest score ever, at 94, even higher than the '09), '95, '96, '00, '01, and '03. The '05 garnered "only" a 91(?) once in bottle, with the question mark because it was "painfully backward and foreboding." Based on Parker's scores and notes, it's tough to make an argument that Lagrange shot up in price because of his discovering it in '05. Then again, in some circles he's held responsible for global warming, Greece's economic crisis, the troubles in the Middle East, and the Japanese tsunami, so why not the high price of Lagrange? ;^)

[stefan]

Very good, David. Go out and buy all the Lagrange you can find. Avoid any imposter that begins La L. The space after the La sounds the "stay away from" alarm.

[DavidG]

Gotta stop posting after drinking, especially after Margaritas on the beach... Where's that embarassed smiley? Anyway, Lagrange (the St Julien) is worth buying by the case - or it was until the '09. Yes, La Lagune certainly "benefitted" from the Parker effect.