TNs: Bordeaux night in Natick

Post Reply
User avatar
Michael Malinoski
Posts: 677
Joined: Mon Jan 26, 2009 9:12 pm
Location: Sudbury, MA
Contact:

TNs: Bordeaux night in Natick

Post by Michael Malinoski »

Ron Kramer was kind enough to once again host a group in the common room of his condo complex over in Natick, with the theme this time being a focus on a range of vintages from Bordeaux. Folks came from far and wide, food was ordered in, and a good time was had by all.

1978 Château Beychevelle St. Julien. This is exceptionally pretty on the nose, with all kinds of dried red flower, cedar, suede leather, jalapeno pepper and gentle funk aromas surrounding a core of light cassis and raspberry fruit that are a delight to sniff. In the mouth, it’s light and soft--with a resolved flavor profile of tangy cherry, red currant, spices and flowery bits on a gentle framework leading to a dry finish. It’s a lovely old wine that’s not going to get any better, but which offers beautiful drinking now.

1988 Château La Mission Haut-Brion Pessac-Léognan. This is fairly dark in color and offers a classically-styled nose of black currants, black cherry, dark soil, gravel stone and charred green pepper aromas that are structured, cool and earthy. It’s a bit more giving in the mouth, with a sneaky plush texture carrying along classy, mid-weight flavors of black currant and blackberry fruit, along with some chicory and leafy greens in the background. It has moderate depth and push and a finely-balanced finish, but stays perhaps a bit too understated throughout the evening to really make the impression one might hope for.

1989 Château Prieuré-Lichine Margaux. This is fresh and vigorous on the nose, showing loads of Margaux berry, graphite, leather and spice aromas in a lithe and lively package. It coats the palate quite nicely with a mix of fresh berry, vanilla and toasted spice flavors that fan out into a lanky wine that’s quite rewarding to drink right now but which can be held without worry.

1985 Château La Tour de Bessan Margaux. There are some interesting and exotic notes on the nose here, but in general it doesn’t feel all that fresh, especially when compared to the previous wine--featuring aromas of baked cherries, cranberries, dusty earth and baking spices. In the mouth, it has more volume and concentration than the previous wine, but less precision and freshness, going instead for a much sweeter core of liquid cherry and raspberry fruit flavors that are warm, sticky and friendly. I do wish for greater lift, but it’s giving, gentle and fine-fruited.

1995 Château Calon-Ségur St. Estèphe. This bottle was showing kind of messy and jumbled on this night, with a good dose of VA on the nose right off the top, followed by off-putting aromas of chemical sealants masking otherwise appealing scents of leather, cocoa, dill and blackberry. In the mouth, there are some positive elements of cedar, mint, chocolate and juicy black cherry to go with fine barrel spices, but the finish is somewhat abrupt and the alcohol feels oddly out of balance. On the whole, the group consensus was that this was an off-bottle.

1995 Château Gloria St. Julien. This is finely earthy and leathery on the nose, with scents of animale funk and dried sweat undertones atop bittersweet chocolate and mixed red and black fruit aromas. In the mouth, it’s medium-weighted, with most of the structure resolved at this point. Some mention a bit of a hole in the mid-palate, but I like the understated fruit flavors and leathery accents this wine puts forth. While it’s not a superstar, it certainly fits the bill as a very pleasant claret for short-term enjoyment.

1995 Château Pontet-Canet Pauillac. There’s a pretty shine to this wine, making it look healthy and inviting right from the start. The nose is utterly classic--with scents of graphite, suede leather, black currant, tobacco and earth coming forth in fine layers and with excellent push and subtle power. In the mouth, it is drinking extremely well for my tastes, with pasty flavors of black currants, dark cherries, dark truffly earth, tar and smoked wood showing excellent density and sticky persistence. There’s a solid structural backbone all the way through and abundant but well-polished tannin to help it drink well for many years to come.

1994 Château Monbousquet St. Émilion. I am surprised at just how earthy this wine is on the nose, putting forth savory-tinged aromas of plum, tobacco, leather, grilled herbs, smoked tea leaves, volcanic dust and smoke. In the mouth, it’s leathery and dry-edged, with some drying tannins hanging around at the back end. Otherwise, it features flavors of green herbs and leafy bits without a whole lot of fruit stuffing at this stage. It’s one of my less-preferred wines of the night, as I surprisingly find myself wanting more fruit.

1996 Château Beau-Séjour Bécot St. Émilion. I like the nose here, with its sneakily exotic scents of incense, lilac soap, spicecake, fig, blackberry jam, oak spices and sandalwood that are plump and warm. In the mouth, it’s sweet-fruited, warm and jammy, with loads of fig and treacled black fruit showing a lot of ripe and lush character to go with fine accents of sandalwood and incense. It’s extroverted and open-textured, but perhaps finishing a bit murkier than I would ideally like.

1990 Château Montrose St. Estèphe. Oh man, this is tremendously good. The nose is awesome, featuring deeply-concentrated aromas of leather, iron ore, animal fur, hung game, mincemeat, iodine, tobacco, dark fruit and fine earth that are wonderfully layered and fanned out. There’s a tiny whisper of horsebarn, but it’s subtle and well within funk tolerance levels for me. It’s just beautifully-integrated and holistically savory all around. In the mouth, it’s lovely--with more of a dark red currant fruit stuffing showing great class, complexity and balance surrounded by accents of leather, tobacco and meat juices. It’s manly, but classy; explosive, but refined; firm, but beautifully-rounded. This is drinking wonderfully now, but should undoubtedly have a long life ahead. I believe it was pretty much the consensus WOTN and a real treat to drink.

1990 Château Le Bon Pasteur Pomerol. Purple brambly berries, fig paste, grape jam, stripped evergreen branch, cedar shingles and spice aromas waft up out of the glass of this fun and moderately sultry wine. It’s similar in the mouth, with a thick, dense and rich fruit profile dominated by flavors of spiced blueberries and plums that have excellent depth and a nice bit of acidity in support. The richness is maybe just a bit tiring after a while, but the wine is pleasingly exotic, spicy and loads of fun to drink.

2004 Château Pichon-Longueville Baron Pauillac. This was a late addition to the proceedings. It’s opaque black in appearance, with dense and thick-boned aromas of blackberry, rubber, dark earth, olive brine, Belgian chocolate and tobacco leaf coming on strident and directed. It’s obviously quite youthful on the palate, as well, but with plenty of giving glycerin texture carrying along blackberry fruit and dark chocolate flavors. The tannins appear to be in check for the moment, but they definitely do inform the drying finish. Overall, it’s fairly heavy-bodied, with a slinky texture and direct but clean and proper flavors. It’s not entirely out of place to be drinking this now, but ultimately I would prefer to try again in maybe 5-6 years.

After hours:

1990 Calera Pinot Noir Reed Mount Harlan. Served from a 375 ml bottle. On the nose, this is certainly showing some aged character to its aromas of purple bramble berry fruit, caramel, balsamico, old leather and funky animal fur. In the mouth, it’s super-spicy, with a very strong streak of cinnamon and Christmas ribbon candy that gives it a rather unusual profile. There’s a core of wild berry fruit still hanging around and a little bit of earthy undergrowth, but it’s dominated by that Christmas spice element. It’s interesting to sample, but it’s definitely time to drink up, at least from this format.

2007 Toscolo Dolce Toscolo Toscana IGT. This 70% trebbiano, 30% malvasia sweet wine puts forth nasty aromas of turpentine, burning alcohol, toasted orange peel, burnt plastic and PVC piping that hold no appeal whatsoever. In the mouth, it’s all raw alcohol, with a touch of peppermint and burnt orange flavor, but otherwise it’s just terrible. Do not drink this.

2010 Château Bel-Air Sainte Croix du Mont. Served from a 375 ml bottle. This is a very light color, but offers up super-bright and pretty aromas of fruitcup, maraschino cherry, peach, rosewater, honeysuckle and clover honey that are almost muscat-like to my way of thinking. In the mouth, it shows surprising richness, thickness and density given the rather light appearance and airy aromatic profile. It’s also very sweet and full of sucrosity, with flavors of wild honey, fruitcup syrup and flowery overtones. Still, it manages to seem bright, lively and refreshing—making for a rather nice and pleasant surprise.

1985 Château Rieussec Sauternes. This wine features a darkly-burnished nose of baked apricots and peaches, toasted spices and botrytis cream aromas that are quite nice. In the mouth, it’s rich and plush in texture, with a good sense of exoticism to the spice, dark toast, cooked apricot and orange marmalade flavors. It coats the mouth with luscious fruit, but it also has a wild and zesty streak to it, with dark edgings throughout and a vibrant finish. I really enjoyed it.


-Michael
User avatar
Tom In DC
Posts: 1564
Joined: Mon Jan 26, 2009 10:10 pm
Location: Colorado Foothills
Contact:

Re: TNs: Bordeaux night in Natick

Post by Tom In DC »

Thanks, Michael. The Toscolo note is one for the ages!
User avatar
johnz
Posts: 135
Joined: Mon Jan 26, 2009 10:37 pm
Contact:

Re: TNs: Bordeaux night in Natick

Post by johnz »

I too have been underwhelmed with the 1988 La Mission -- usually a stellar wine in almost any vintage. The last time I had it (2010) it had a reticent bouquet and an almost unripe, green quality in the mouth. I was hoping a few more years would bring out more complexity which I think has happened with the 1988 Pichon Lalande, but your note on the La Mission seems to suggest otherwise. Thanks for the good notes.

--Gary Rust
Post Reply

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: Bing [Bot], Google [Bot] and 15 guests