TN: 98 Carmes Haut Brion & Calon Segur, 00 Talbot

[AKR]

A few of us got together for dinner and some teenage Bordeaux. Curiously pretty much everything had been purchased EP or on release, so great looking bottles and corks. Popped and poured, maybe a shade warmer than optimal. Dinner was a corkage friendly place, for the four of us.

I can't get the picture to load but here's a link
https://photos.google.com/photo/AF1QipN ... OOFhwKMCrx

98 Carmes Haut Brion [Pessac Leognan] One of my favorite estates. Very high percentage of cabernet franc here, probably more right banky than "Gravesy" overall. Great aromatic bouquet. All the wines had very similar coloration - dark garnet with maybe only a smidge of edge lightening. Medium bodied. Very elegant. Light sediment. Shows some grip once dinner is over. I'd consider this mature but no worries on it going another decade. I like it better than long gone vintages like 82, 89, 90 (I think?). It's an A- for me. Very small production, nice cheerful owners. An A- to my tastes.

98 Calon Segur [St Estephe] A touch "cooler" than the first wine, a bit more Atlantic. Minty, mentholy notes on the nose. Palate shows more acidity to me. Medium bodied. Feels like it will continue to keep for a long time although probably at about this same level. Its been a number of years since I've had a Calon Segur, despite Johnny Depp's exhortations. I was not very cheery about the 98 Medocs but many of them have turned out to be pretty solid, more like 88 than the charmless 94s. Might be the good slug of merlot St Estephe often folds into their wines. Everything here is still in balance, so people don't have to rush on this. A B+ for me.

00 Talbot [St Julien] On the nose one gets a hint of that old school Cordier funk so prevalent in the fine 80s wines. A little sweat, Pegau barnyard, maybe some saddle. That blows off and then a cedar closet emerges. A very popular wine with great depth and tannin. Medium to full bodied. Terrific stuff, better than the 1996, a good effort that I consumed a case or more over the years. Oak and acidity now integrated, no young grapiness anymore. Very likable wine, and enjoyable now. A-

94 Taylor [Vintage Port] Fig, coffee, fruitcake, liqueur smells, very rich in flavor and great depth. Tannins are not that big actually. From a 375ml. Not sure why, but I can hardly remember VP's from splits. A great life ahead of this. Solid A.

02 Dr. Loosen 'Special Selection' [Urziger Wurzgarten Riesling Auslese] Also from a half. Lenthy flavors of tropical fruit, but kind of blurry. Does not have that laser like crispness so many lovely 2001 German wines show. Drink up! it's B for me.

We'll be trying to have more metro Sacto events, perhaps every two months, so if interested drop me a line. They won't all be BDX, but they'll all be fun!

[AlexR]

Hi Arv,

I used to work for a firm (Chantecaille) that had the exclusivity for Les Carmes Haut Brion. The wine is little-known, but very good. The château is very beautiful and its postal address is Bordeaux, i.e. the city of Bordeaux.
The estate was sold to a real estate promoter, Patrice Pichet, who has just built a new, space-age cellar there. He also bought a chunk of the Le Thil Comte Clary estate in Martillac, and that part will be sold as "Clos des Carmes".
Of course, nothing would legally prevent Pichet from selling the stuff from Martillac as Les Carmes Haut Brion since it is in the same appellation (Pessac-Léognan). Let us hope, however, that he does not do so.

98 Bordeaux never enthralled me although, of course, the Right Bank wines are much touted. I think most of the wines have dried out.

00 Talbot: yes, a lot of the 2000s are ready to go. OK, maybe not Latour or Mouton, but many of the crus classés, in my experience, are in their drinking window.

All the best,
Alex

[Jay Winton]

Hmmm..maybe time for a 2000 tasting at the BWE dinner??

[JimHow]

That's not a bad idea Mr. Vino.

[William P]

Many thanks to Arv for organizing this dinner. His notes are perfect. I loved the Carmes. This was a my wine of the night. So precise. Great balance and finish. Also, the best nose in the bunch. It opened with flowers and only got better.

The Colon started slowly, opened up and then towards the end of the evening closed down. The nose was subdued with hints of dried herbs. Medium bodied. I do believe that it will be the longest lived of the bunch.

The Talbot was from 2000 so a little warmer year. The fruit was a little fatter, though hardly over-the-top/over-extracted. On the palate it was not a precise as the beautiful Carmes. Still, this was an nice wine now with a few years of life to go. Cordier funk definitely was present early. Good balance and nice finish. Very pleased with this St Julian

The port was super, the Riesling a little flabby, but wonderful tasting fruit.

If you have any of the bordeauxs, you'll be happy.

[AKR]

Hi Arv,

I used to work for a firm (Chantecaille) that had the exclusivity for Les Carmes Haut Brion. The wine is little-known, but very good. The château is very beautiful and its postal address is Bordeaux, i.e. the city of Bordeaux.
The estate was sold to a real estate promoter, Patrice Pichet, who has just built a new, space-age cellar there. He also bought a chunk of the Le Thil Comte Clary estate in Martillac, and that part will be sold as "Clos des Carmes".
Of course, nothing would legally prevent Pichet from selling the stuff from Martillac as Les Carmes Haut Brion since it is in the same appellation (Pessac-Léognan). Let us hope, however, that he does not do so.

98 Bordeaux never enthralled me although, of course, the Right Bank wines are much touted. I think most of the wines have dried out.

00 Talbot: yes, a lot of the 2000s are ready to go. OK, maybe not Latour or Mouton, but many of the crus classés, in my experience, are in their drinking window.

All the best,
Alex

I did not know about the ownership change - thank you for that color. I'd met the old owners a few times at UGC events. Very few people would come by their both back in the olden days so they were surprised and happy to chat.

I've been enthusiastic about those 98 right banks for a long time, but even my horde is now dwindling. I hear what you say about the drying out. I'll take the approach that as Catherine Deneuve matured, she developed laugh lines from a life well lived, not wrinkles!

The Talbot strikes me as still having plenty of vigor too, but fleshier than the Calon Segur.