1999 the Cinderella vintage shows well

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Comte Flaneur
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1999 the Cinderella vintage shows well

Post by Comte Flaneur »

I remember back in those days when the sales pitch was that you had to buy 1999 as the last vintage of the 20th century...you would be mad not to because otherwise they would all be snapped up by the souvenir hunters. Of course that was a load of old codswallop.

And since the arrival of the 2000s this vintage was immediately forgotten, and de facto consigned to the status of a Cinderella vintage.

Last night we tried a few and they showed really well. This is not a trophy vintage but there are a lot of good wines, true to the Bordeaux style. If the price is right they are worth a look. In the Medoc we agreed they are a bit more consistent than the 1998s.

Here are so notes from the wines we enjoyed last night:

Domaine de Chavalier Blanc 1999 
Luscious with flowers, citrus and creamy fruits. Poised, classy. One noted high on Sauvignon Blanc less so in semillon. Still a fab wine and a solid 92

Pavillon blanc du Chateau Margaux 1999 
Not flawed in my opinion (as others opined) but a bit quirky, volatile and enigmatic. Fun to drink but you would lose your sense of humour if you had to pay for it. ~89

Chateau La Tour Haut Brion 1999
Interesting wine with trademark smoky tobacco and cigar smoke-filled room and scorched earth. This wine is however a bit austere and lacking on the back end. That may smooth out over time, which it could use. 90

Chateau Giscours 1999 
A superficially flattering wine with modern unobtrusive oak driven style. There is a nicely minerality to it but otherwise, while very pleasant and inoffensive, it does not really challenge the intellect. 89

Chateau D'Issan 1999
The most intriguing wine of the evening. It seemed a tad oxidative on the nose but that was just its passive-aggressive defence mechanism like a London commuter. Attracted to its reticence I erroneously proclaimed it a luncheon claret, but it is much more than that. It had a dense enticing minerally mid-palate, certainly Margaux-like but enticing and mysterious at the same time. 91

Chateau Branaire Ducru 1999
A lovely resolved St-Julien drinking beautifully now. Its complex, mineral, cool fruited and well judged. This is an estate that keeps over delivering: 91

Chateau Leoville Poyferre 1999
Showed well, nicely fruity and tasty. It doesn't quite have the poise of its flight mates (the other St-Juliens) on the palate and on the finish. Slightly less complex, a little more obvious in my opinion, but still fine 90

Chateau Leoville-Barton 1999
Like all the other wines this was popped and poured. The room was cool (maybe only 63 degrees, a good thing) and the colour and rim were remarkably undeveloped. So this started slowly from the blocs but it did unfurl. It really is a class act. It is youthful, but the poise, class and complexity really begin to shine. Cool black currant fruit it has a long and grippy persistence to savour. 92

Vieux Chateau Certan 1999
Seemed to have quite a lot of oomph and density on the mid initially, but after a while it came across as a bit monolithic...a polite way of saying a tad one dimensional I guess. It probably needs a year or two but most probably the weakest link in the 1998-2001 purple patch for VCC. 90

Petit Cheval 1999
This is very pleasant and probably more merlot-driven than the Grand Vin, which is really hitting its stride. This wine is on a slow boat to China. Pleasant enough, but not worth the price of admission. 88

Chateau Climens 1999 
A medium Barsac with alluring notes of rich citrus confit, very pleasant and open for business. 90
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JimHow
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Re: 1999 the Cinderella vintage shows well

Post by JimHow »

Leoville Barton gets the highest score.
You know something?
Leoville Barton is one of the great wines of Bordeaux.
There. I said it.
Leoville Barton is one of the GREAT wines of Bordeaux.
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JimHow
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Re: 1999 the Cinderella vintage shows well

Post by JimHow »

Of course, 1999 is a Margaux vintage.
That 1999 Chateau Margaux I uncorked when Houndsoung was in town was spectacular.
And the Palmer... Yummmm.
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Re: 1999 the Cinderella vintage shows well

Post by Comte Flaneur »

Of course Jim you are absolutely right. Bingo. That's why D'Issan is so good in 1999. Margaux and Palmer are off the charts..
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AKR
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Re: 1999 the Cinderella vintage shows well

Post by AKR »

Margaux was definitely good that year, it was also the first year in quite some time where they stuck out. Later on there would be a string of good years, but I remember thinking at the time that was a place to buy a few.

There was a promotion from some place where if you bought 5 solid cases on futures, they would knock an extra 10% off, so a few friends from work split 5 cases of St Juliens, so I ended up with 99 Talbot at something like $21 per. Drunk up early, probably thoughtlessly.

I only have a few 99's left at this point. Sauternes were long consumed.
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keith prothero
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Re: 1999 the Cinderella vintage shows well

Post by keith prothero »

Thanks for notes Ian-----appears to me from your and other notes,elsewhere ,that the wines were fairly average. Is this fair? Do you really think 99 is a better vintage than 98? Doubt if there is a better wine in 99 than HB 98,for example. I do love the Palmer 99 though and think it is probably the wine of the vintage,although have not tasted many of the First Growths
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Re: 1999 the Cinderella vintage shows well

Post by Comte Flaneur »

Keith - elsewhere someone opined that 1999 is probably a slightly better left bank vintage than 1998. What I said was that people agreed it is more consistent in the Medoc, which would not include Pessac/Graves. I can't remember trying Haut-Brion but I have had La Mission with Arv and Jacques in NY a few years ago where we tried it against Leoville Lascases and Palmer and a couple of others I can't remember. The Palmer was head and shoulders above everything else. For me the key takeaway from this was to be on the look out for 1999s from the Margaux commune. Of the first growths, Latour was still really in its shell when I tried it a few years ago, Mouton is superb, but the wine if the vintage is probably Chateau Margaux, which I regret not owning. Fortunately I do own a case of Palmer.
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Re: 1999 the Cinderella vintage shows well

Post by Comte Flaneur »

Btw another fabulous 1999 is Ducru Beaucaillou. It is a shame we did not have any Pauillacs or St Estephes on Tuesday. The person who was going to bring Cos D'Estournel dropped out.
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Re: 1999 the Cinderella vintage shows well

Post by keith prothero »

well I would like to compare 98 and 99 at an offline but I guess it can never be conclusive. Suspect the LMHB 98 is a lot better now than when you tasted it
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Re: 1999 the Cinderella vintage shows well

Post by robertgoulet »

I have a mag of '99 d'issan I would like to crack soon....hoping for good things....big fan of this house
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AKR
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Re: 1999 the Cinderella vintage shows well

Post by AKR »

Comte Flaneur wrote:Btw another fabulous 1999 is Ducru Beaucaillou. It is a shame we did not have any Pauillacs or St Estephes on Tuesday. The person who was going to bring Cos D'Estournel dropped out.
Had this recently with Bill Partmann, another BWE blast from the past guy. It was great.

It was pretty well regarded though at the time. D-B was emerging from their TCA trubs in the post 94 time frame and rattled off a slew of lovely vintages.

What recent vintages are like 99?
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JimHow
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Re: 1999 the Cinderella vintage shows well

Post by JimHow »

Should I drink up my 1999 Rieussec half bottles?
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Comte Flaneur
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Re: 1999 the Cinderella vintage shows well

Post by Comte Flaneur »

Arv maybe a hypothetical cross between 2004 and 2007? Guessing.

Jim yes you should. Rieussec 1999 is a gorgeous wine.
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Re: 1999 the Cinderella vintage shows well

Post by DavidG »

I have a smattering of '99s. The only one in common with Ian's notes is the Giscours, and I would agree with his take. A nice pleasant wine but it doesn't scream Margaux or offer any real complexity. I drank mine up. The 1999 Palmer, however, is outstanding. Never tried the Ch. Margaux or the D'Issan. I seemed to miss the rest of the Medocs that year, not sure why.

Haut Brion is excellent in 1999 but not close to the equal of the 1998.

Bought a few modernista St. Ems which for the most part were pleasant enough but didn't particularly sing of Bordeaux (Monbousquet, Quinault L'Enclos). I do, however, really like the 1999 Pavie. Again not for any Bordeaux-y-ness, but it does satisfy those ripe/rich urges. Holding a few as a science experiment to see what happens longer-term.
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Re: 1999 the Cinderella vintage shows well

Post by JimHow »

I thought Lynch and Latour were weak in 1999.
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robert goulet
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Re: 1999 the Cinderella vintage shows well

Post by robert goulet »

99 pave was just good to me not great unfortunately
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AKR
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Re: 1999 the Cinderella vintage shows well

Post by AKR »

I liked the 99 Pavie. We had it within the last year or two. I was very impressed, but I have not had their recent peak vintage efforts (and am unlikely to) so I don't have anything to compare it to. I think for a lot of regular wine enthusiasts, it has become like LLC or something -- bottles won't easily be replaced in their cellars. Too expensive, and too much other good stuff at the old price points.

Also liked the 99 Lynch, but drank them all up young, and didn't have any expectations that it would be like 89, or afterwards, like 00.

======

I don't have any experience with the 04's or 07's, so I'll take your word for it that 99 is like a blend.

I do want to own some 2007 vintage wines for sentimental reasons, but am focusing more on Italy, Rhone, and possibly Napa as those were generally good years for those regions.
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Re: 1999 the Cinderella vintage shows well

Post by robert goulet »

I tasted pavie '03 2x's and '04 once.....one tasting was with orlando bobby....we had the 99/03/04....99 for me was showing the best
..the 03 a bit hot and disjointed and 04 took the short bus....previously in the yr another 03 pave tasted quite nice...not ready but I could see lots of longevity and it's packed....it's all speculation on how these will age...I have a few '00 and will wait another 15-20 years
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Re: 1999 the Cinderella vintage shows well

Post by robert goulet »

I had always heard 2002 pavie is real solid...any feed back on this?
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Re: 1999 the Cinderella vintage shows well

Post by JimHow »

I would tread on 2002 right bank very lightly.
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