Gruaud Larose 1986, Meyney 1989, Pipeau 2003, 2005, etc.

[Blanquito]

My brother was out visiting Colorado (it's a great place to visit, Jim!), so we drank some pretty good stuff.

All notes from memory.
Night 1
Langoa-Barton 1970
Purchased recently on auction for $30, so I low expectations... this was pretty darn good, especially aromatically (lots of old attic, dusky leather, black tea). Very dry on the palate, this probably had much more fruit in the Carter administration. Still, it was suave and elegant, and a pleasant accompaniment to steak. 87 points

Haut-Bages-Liberal 1975
This was much sweeter than the Langoa, but less interesting. Fairly muted on the nose, with a one-dimensional core of suave raspberry fruit, this was a let down after its great showing at the NYC BWE Pauillac tasting in 2006. 87 pts.

Raymond-Lafon 1986
Wow, this was fantastic. Still young, with some secondary nuances developing (burnt brown sugar, petrol, marmalade). Long, precise, perfectly balanced between acid and sweetness, all it lacked was some complexity. 93 pts.

Night 2 (a blind tasting with friends)
Montelena 1988
This was awesome. Refined, resolved, stylish, balanced, aromatic. We all guessed aged Cali cab from a classic producer (I even guessed Montelena). My only quibble was it seemed a tad light. This bottle was ready to go. 93 pts.

Pipeau 2003
Lush, open, fleshy. Highly aromatic, it's not out of balance and it has lost much of the exoticism it displayed on release in 3/06. The Cali Cab crowd loved this one. Drinkable now. 88-89 pts.

Pipeau 2005
Another winner, this was more tannic and minerally than the 2003, with a better balance and concentration. I had one of these in 12/07, and it was hard, tannic brute, nearly undrinkable, so it has softened a lot in 1.5 yrs. Good now, better in 2-3 yrs. Pipeau is very good value, and while fruit-forward, its style is restrained and savory, avoiding too much oak and candied flavors. 90-91 pts.

Paloma Merlot 2001 Napa
This one burned the nostrils like tiger balm. The palate was much nicer, fleshly and deep, but way too much alcohol. Out of balance, and not my style. Some loved this wine. 85 pts.

Robert Foley Claret 2004
I actively disliked this wine. In fact, calling it "wine" is a stretch. It tasted more like concentrated grape juice, pure alcohol and oak all mixed together in a lab. Disjointed, over the top, out of balance, garish and extreme, this is Mondovino monster. I was surprised that some really liked it (these were the same folks that complained of some herbaceousness in the Pipeau 2003! I suggested that they drink alcoholic grape soda to save money... and face). But different strokes and all that. Didn't bother to rate it.

Night 3
Gruaud-Larose 1986
This was lovely (not a common 1986 descriptor), with a wonderful bouquet and a surprizingly approachable palate. Nice, classic, buttoned-down, medium-bodied, long, and with some hardish tannins on the finish, this bottle seemed fairly advanced (another auction purchase). 93 pts

Meyney 1989
This was opened next, and if anything, I slightly preferred it to the Gruaud! This bottle was much younger than the Gruaud, with a better/bigger bouquet of classic claret cigar box and dried currants, bigger palate presence with spicy fruit and a burly texture. This is great now, but I can see it being even better in a few years times. 93-94 pts

[stefan]

The third night was my kind of night, Patrick. I love both of those Bordeaux.

[AlexR]

Thanks for your notes.

Meyney can be just great on occasion...

And you can buy 1970 Langoa Barton for $30?!?!

Alex

[Blanquito]

Hi Alex,

The Langoa Barton 1970 came from an auction purchase, my new-found way to spend my wine budget. There's lots of 1970's, inexpensive Bordeaux out there. Of course, provenance is suspect, but some are so cheap it's worth a gamble. I've been pretty lucky actually, as I haven't had an outright cooked or bad old wine yet.

Stefan/Bill, I can't get over how good that Meyney 1989 was. I paid $18 for it back in 1995, weird to think I've had a cellar for 13+ years (since I was 24!).

Best,
Patrick

[stefan]

I am down to one bottle of 1989 Meyney, Patrick. It is now $60+ retail and I have not seen it south of $50 at auctions, so I have not reloaded. Maybe I should...

stefan

[finner]

Had the '89 Meyney last weekend for our 20th anniversary. A very good bottle of wine, youthful dark color and classy evocative Bordeaux nose. I concur with Patrick's notes above, it's a fairly masculine wine and nowhere near over the hill.

[Comte Flaneur]

Patrick brought the 1989 Meyney along for an impromptu dinner with Arv a couple of years back...it was very classic, fully mature wonderful cralet, as my Japanese friend calls it