TN: lots of great older BDX at MichaelP's

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AKR
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TN: lots of great older BDX at MichaelP's

Post by AKR »

MichaelP and his lovely wife Nalan played gracious host for a number of West Coast enthusiasts last night. "Fathomless" amounts of wine were poured, along with lots of great, seasonal food. In general nothing was really decanted except the two very old wines, and then, just for sediment/cork particulates. The wines were uncorked maybe an hour before consumption.

We started with some contrasting whites, to go with a roll of Bucheron and block of Wensleydale.

01 Selbach-Oster [Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Spätlese] light bodied, very low alcohol, not as crisp as you would expect given the vintage, but still showing verve. Off dry in sweetness. Shows lemon, citrus, almonds. Nice length of finish and easy to drink. Not showing the petroleum notes that older rieslings sometimes develop, so if you like your German wines before that stage, enjoy it now. Served cool, but not cool enough despite the ice sleeve. B+

13 ? Viognier [California?] I missed the label on this but it did have a distinctly beautiful label. A big honeyed fleshy New World viognier. Could have been confused for a Condreiu. Polar opposite of the German of course. I like these when they're young. But others might have found it cloying. B.

Then we moved on to caviar and pate with crackers and bread, with some older wines

53 Durfort Vivens [Margaux] Still alive and providing instructional experience. Short finish, some acidity, interesting. I think this is my first experience with this estate, which doesn't get much representation in the US. Most of us thought this would have been better younger. Fairly light red. C

55 Haut Maillet [Pomerol] A seldom seen Pomerol. I'd heard of it, but never tried one. Others reported good experiences with the 98. A big oddly shaped bottle. Initially there was some muddy funky notes, but they blew off. 1955 was a great vintage for Pomerol so we were excited to try this, and the wine was quite solid, even if extremely far on the aging curve. A great experience to try but more for the educational aspect; I liked it more than the 53. C+

The main course was a beef stew over polenta, and with that we moved forward a few decades.

89 Leoville Las Cases [St Julien] A classic St. Julien. Nice mature coloration, with a complex nose that had eucalyptus and mint. Long 30 second finish. Very popular among the group. I'm an outlier on this, and think these should probably be drunk now, rather than being saved for later. Doesn't seem to be as big as other LLC vintages. A- for me.

90 Haut Bailly [Pessac Leognan] Deeply colored, nose of smoke and tobacco. I like the plush, full bodied texture. Others pick up a hint of tannin. Leather and pencils on the nose. Terrific stuff, and a nice example of the potential given time for those who have been cellaring recent vintages of H-B. It gets an A- from me too.

We next had a vibrantly colored fall salad (beets, peppers, persimmons, etc.), roast vegetables eggplant, zucchini, peppers, and cous cous to go with the next flight.

00 Roc de Cambes [Cotes du Bourg] A fully mature fruit ball. Chocolate on the nose. Berry fruit flavors. In good vintages, I quite like RdC, but it doesn't age as long as other AOC's do. Good texture. We had a young Pomerol that I think will eventually develop like this. B+

09 Cantenac Brown [Margaux] This was excellent. Very dark inky purple, nose of oak and spice. Popular wine, everyone seemed to love it. This has lots of concentration and interest. Very powerful argument for the quality of the vintage, as most of us have had few 09's by this point. Love the texture. A-

10 Bonalgue [Pomerol] Small production Pomerol that I was surprised to see someone else bring. Chocolate, coffee, creamy vanilla oak. Quite concentrated finish. I think it'll eventually develop like the RdC mentioned above - they share similar kinds of cepage/terroir etc. So many great wines over the course of the evening, but this was my favorite of the dry reds. A

There was also a 95 Barolo that was sadly corked.

Then we moved on to dessert - an apple galette as well as a pineapple bundt cake. With that we had:

86 Lafaurie Peyraguey [Sauternes] From magnum (!) How often does one ever crack a large format dessert wine?! Awesome stuff that went great with the pineappley dessert. It shows butterscotch, pineapple, apricots on the nose and palate, on a full bodied viscous frame. Dark gold in coloration. Despite all the sweetness, its balanced and is easy to drink. This was in fine form at three decades in age, no doubt due to the extended keeping powers of the large format. 1986 was a nice year for the region, but sometimes gets overlooked because of the trilogy of 88, 89, and 90. My overall favorite wine of the night, but I'm always partial to these dessert wines. A solid A.

There was a lot of wine, folks stayed up late, and a good time was had by all.

Looking forward to the next time. Thanks MichaelP and Nalan!
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Comte Flaneur
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Re: TN: lots of great older BDX at MichaelP's

Post by Comte Flaneur »

Thanks for the notes Arv.

Michael's generosity was one of the hallmarks of our unforgettable Bordeaux 15 tour.
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SF Ed
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Re: TN: lots of great older BDX at MichaelP's

Post by SF Ed »

Sorry I had to miss. Sounds like it was a great time. Hopefully I'll be able to make it next time.

SF Ed
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DavidG
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Re: TN: lots of great older BDX at MichaelP's

Post by DavidG »

Looks like a great lineup. Well done!
Ed, hope you are feeling better.
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Nicklasss
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Re: TN: lots of great older BDX at MichaelP's

Post by Nicklasss »

Surely a great time. Very good selection. I liked the 1989 Chateau Léoville Las Cases in the past. I havé great memories, from BWE 2001, where I brought 2 bottles of the 1990 Haut-Bailly, and they showed well.

I havé à few 2009 Cantenac Brown so like your impressions about it.

I had the 1986 Lafaurie Peyraguey a few time, never been thrilled.

These offlines are often magic.

Nic
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Claret
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Re: TN: lots of great older BDX at MichaelP's

Post by Claret »

More fun in Napa. It was great to party with Michael, Nalan and Arv again.

I love Riesling and 01 Selbach-Oster Wehlener Sonnenuhr was a very good wine from a much heralded vintage. It seemed to lack an extra gear to make it great.

I prepared the two older bottles. Both had levels below the shoulder with lots of black mold on the cork tops. The 55 cork got pushed in to the bottle and was quickly double decanted along with the 53 into clean bottles.

The Dufort Viven was on the downward slope and was interesting to taste. Haut Maillet was a step up in interest and had a good texture. I went through a case of the 98 with each bottle showing better than the last.

89 LLC was my WOTN. Arv nailed the eucalyptus just hours after I pointed out 2 large specimens on the way to Silverado Trail. Rich, well balanced and long, and should hold if not improve.

90 Haut Bailly was also very good although I thought it was still somewhat tannic. Nice fruit balance without overripeness.

00 Roc de Cambes was a very good 00. Really nice Merlot texture.

09 Cantenac Brown was easily the best 09 I have tasted from a very small sampling of this vintage.

10 Bonalgue was my first 10 and was a clear winner. Excellent balance and potential.

86 Lafaurie Peyraguey was a nice treat with dessert.

After dessert Michael played a 1981 Rolling Stones concert DVD on his excellent surround sound system before we retired for the evening.
Glenn
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Jay Winton
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Re: TN: lots of great older BDX at MichaelP's

Post by Jay Winton »

Looks like a fun night with some great wine and conversation. I brought an 89 LLC to the last dinner in San Francisco where it drank well but was still developing. I like the idea of dessert wine from a larger format.
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AKR
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Re: TN: lots of great older BDX at MichaelP's

Post by AKR »

K&L currently has that 2010 Bonalgue for $35, as described above.

Very fair price.

Perhaps 10 cases in stock or so.
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