TNs: '97 Pichon Baron, '00 Haut-Bergey

[Michael Malinoski]

Four guys came over to my place one evening to play some cards and eat some dinner while my wife and kids were away on a trip. Folks brought some nice wines and it was a fun casual night.

2010 Selbach-Oster Riesling Zeltinger Sonnenuhr Kabinett Mosel Saar Ruwer. This wine delivers a crowd-pleasing nose that’s fun and full of life, featuring vibrant aromas of peach, kiwi, cantaloupe, white flowers, grassy meadow and little puffs of smoke and slate. It’s similar on the palate, with juicy and fun flavors of peach and mineral. It’s maybe a bit soft at times and a little direct with its sweetness, but otherwise it’s mouthwateringly tasty and decidedly chuggable.

1999 Domaine Chandon de Briailles Corton-Bressandes Grand Cru. The nose here is fairly large-scaled, with earthy aromas of grilled meat, singed iron, fireplace ash, horsehide, rawhide leather, mushroom and wild cherries pushing out ahead of a nice little streak of spearmint that develops over time. In the mouth, it’s creamy-textured but still very structured with obvious but classy tannins throughout. It has a meaty, savory core featuring earth, herb and dark cherry fruit flavors that are big and meaty, delivering lots of flavor now but with a better future ahead.

1999 Louis Jadot Bonnes Mares Grand Cru. This opens up slowly to reveal fine aromas of rose petals, sweet tar, cherries, raspberries, soy sauce, and gently funky undergrowth that grow increasingly pretty as time goes on. It’s smooth, easy-flowing and luxuriant on the palate, with an effortless, almost regal feel to the cherry, raspberry, soy, earth and smoke flavors. Nothing feels out of place, and there’s a general sense of refinement to the wine. It’s not particularly deep or grandiose, but it’s really enjoyable.

2004 La Rioja Alta Rioja Gran Reserva 904. This is a bold and stylish Rioja, with fun, brambly aromas of mixed wild berries, cherries, cedar wood, oak spices and sweet bohemian incense leading right out on the nose rather unabashedly. It’s delicious all around in the mouth, showing wonderful fruit flavors of wild berries and sour cherries atop tingly spice notes galore. It’s delightfully creamy in texture, with good acidic lift and a juicy, mouthwatering finish accented by fine-grained tannins. It’s has some wood that still needs a bit more resolving, but it’s totally giving, lots of fun to drink, and all in all a delight for the senses.

1997 Casa Lapostolle Merlot Cuvée Alexandre Apalta Vineyard Rapel Valley. This is a healthy dark garnet in color. It features a nose of tobacco, bridle leather, jalapeno pepper and pink peppercorn to go along with sweeter undercurrents of black plum and chocolate aromas. In the mouth, it’s smooth-textured and resolved, with a much fruitier personality than expected given the savory notes on the nose. Indeed, it’s quite ripe-tasting, maybe a bit too sweet in fact for most of us. But it has very nice weight, solid length and pretty spice accents to liven it up. I like it when all is said and done, but it’s an up and down ride at this point.

1997 Château Pichon-Longueville Baron Pauillac. This totally exceeds expectations, delivering wonderfully classic and extremely inviting scents of inky blackberry, black cherry, black leather, black pepper, smoke and lead pencil on the nose. In the mouth, it’s dark, serious and slinky, with great presence and a smooth but decidedly gripping texture. It’s slippery and cool-toned, with loads of black currant, blackberry, dark chocolate and spice flavors sliding across the palate and delivering a delicious finishing kick. This is a top-notch performance for the vintage and probably the group’s wine of the night.

2000 Château Haut-Bergey Pessac-Léognan. This wine features aromas of plum, blackberry, charred earth, tar, black leather and animal fur on the nose. In the mouth, it’s dark-toned, full of black currant, charred herb, tobacco and gravel flavors leading to a smoky, earthy finish. The structure is a bit blocky, but there’s nice tangy acidity to help enliven it. It’s not nearly as distinctive as the previous wine, but it’s quite solid and rather enjoyable.

2006 Darioush Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley. This is a pretty big change of pace, starting with the stylized nose of fudge, blackberry, coffee bean, fireplace ember and mulling spice aromas. In the mouth, it’s quite modern in texture and tone, but not nearly as huge as some Darioush wines I’ve had in the past--delivering warm, slightly elevated flavors of cherry paste, raspberry coulis and mixed currants surrounded by chocolate and mocha notes. It takes some getting used to after the Bordeaux flight, but in the end the warming red fruits and exotic accents are pretty fun to drink.


-Michael

[Comte Flaneur]

Thanks for the lovely write ups Michael.

The 1997 Pichon Baron has been drinking very well since a young age. What surprises me a little is how well it is doing all these years later...a truly great wine in the context of the vintage.

What surprises me even more is how good it is relative to the indifferent efforts from the Baron in the four vintages symmetrically either side.