Blind Showdown: 1995 vs 1996

[Blanquito]

Eight hardy souls gathered in midtown Manhattan last Friday night for a 95 vs 96 Bordeaux show down. We assembled both the 95 and 96 from 8 chateau, paired them, bagged them, numbered them as pairs in random order, and then served them blind to both the vintage and chateau. Going into this, Vegas had the 1996s as prohibitive favorites given the fame of the northern Medoc in that vintage. Scuttlebutt that the 95 Medocs were coming on strong in recent years prompted this tasting and it was very educational indeed.

My top 3 wines were (in order): the 1995 Pichon Lalande, the 1996 Ducru and the 1995 Cos. Other than the corked wines, only the 95 Calon Segur stuck out to me as a notable downgrade next to its flightmate. The quality overall was very, very high and I was pleasantly surprised how well the 95's showed (on my personal score card, the 95s came out slightly ahead). Finally, these wines are just starting to drink well, but they are still too young for prime time in my book. Give them 10 years and then watch out. Fun that we preferred the 96 Magdelaine to the 95.

Here's how the voting for the blind flights went (we tasted in descending order):
8A 1 vote (1995 Calon Segur)
8B 7 votes (1996 Calon Segur) * I preferred the 96

7A 2 votes (1995 Grand Puy Lacoste) *I preferred the 95
7B 2 votes (1996 Grand Puy Lacoste)
tied 4 votes

6A 5 votes (1996 Magdelaine) *I preferred the 96
6B 1 vote (1995 Magdelaine)
tied 2 votes

5A (1995 Pichon Lalande)
5B CORKED, no voting (1996 Pichon Lalande)

4A 7 votes (1995 Cos d'Estournel) *I preferred the 95
4B 1 vote (1996 Cos d'Estournel)
tied 1 vote

3A 7 votes (1996 Ducru Beaucaillou) *I preferred the 96
3B 1 vote (1995 Ducru Beaucaillou)

2A CORKED, no voting (1996 Pichon Baron) -- very slightly corked
2B (1995 Pichon Baron)

1A 3 votes (1995 Leoville Poyferre) *I preferred the 95
1B 4 votes (1996 Leoville Poyferre)
tied 1 vote

Flight Totals
1995 won 1 flight
1996 won 3 flights
Two flights were tied (I called the Poyferre flights a tie).

[Comte Flaneur]

Patrick - thanks for the reports ...Gosh these wines are taking their time to come around! ..what were the group favourites?

[Nicklasss]

Very interesting Blanquito.

I agree with you that bizarrely, the 1995 Magdelaine is a tough wine for right bank. I clearly sampled more 1996 than 1995 in the past, liking a lot 1996 Calon Segur, Cos d'Estournel, Grand-Puy Lacoste, Pichon Lalande, , Pichon Baron, Montrose, Léoville Las Cases and Ducru Beaucaillou.

For 1995, Cos d'Estournel was very good 3 summers ago and Pichon Baron very good at 2014 BWE convention.

I opened the 1995 and 1995 Léoville Poyferré in 2003, when Jim and MichaelP were visiting in Montréal, but both were too young and kinda closed.

Nic

[Blanquito]

Everyone loved the 95 Pichon Lalande and 95 Cos. I think most had the 95 PLL as WOTN. Both GPLs and the 96 Ducru were also up there for everyone.

But the real pattern was how strong these wines were across the board. The 95s have really opened up and sweetened in the last few years, but the summit is still a good ways off. If these two vintages develop more aromatic complexity with more cellar time, they will clearly be worthy successors to the great wines of the 1980s.

[AKR]

Very nice. Sort of like the one we did in Boston maybe what a dozen years ago.

[JimHow]

Yes, except at that time 1996 was clearly dominating. I agree, they are both strong vintages. I've like both the 95 and 96 Lalande, but I've like the 95 Baron better than the 96 Baron. And I've liked the 95 GPL better than the 96. But I like the 96 Ducru and 96 Calon Segur better than their 95s. 95 and 95 Montrose are both excellent.

[JimHow]

….So the bigger question, though, is:

We made fun of The Sucker when he picked 89 over 90 and 95 over 96. Maybe he wasn't so wrong after all!

[Blanquito]

….So the bigger question, though, is:

We made fun of The Sucker when he picked 89 over 90 and 95 over 96. Maybe he wasn't so wrong after all!

I've had that thought. The 95's were so tough for so long, I gave up on them pretty much. But it is a good year in the Medoc afterall.

Still, I think the overall heights of 1996 are higher than 1995 in the Medoc, and the cru bourgeois estates are also better in 1996. But 1995s are pretty killer, I may look for more 1995 L. Poyferre as that seems under the radar price-wise. Oddly, 1995 Calon Segur is substantially pricier than the 1996.

[JimHow]

Yes but the remember, 1995 Calon Segur was featured in that famous Wine Spectator/Suckling issue on the 1995 vintage. The issue that changed EVERYTHING. Can somebody find that cover?

"Bordeaux this young should not taste this good…."

-- James Suckling.

[JimHow]

And then a year later, Parker released his famous 1996-in-bottle report, in which he called the 1996 cabernet the ripest in 50 years….

[Nicklasss]

Just for you BD. Comparison with 1947, 1959 and (why not?) 1982!

[AKR]

Even though its such a pain, structured / blind tastings are very informative / educational.

Everyone has preconceptions, priors views and testing them in those kinds of settings is very helpful.

Especially if one can find wines that are as enjoyable to your palate as the rarities.

[JimHow]

Omg that's epic Nic!
Can I see the cover with the bottle with the various layers…
That's the edition!
That's the one that changed everything.
"Bordeaux this young is not supposed to be this good."

[JimHow]

What's the date of that issue Nic?

Also, can you take a picture of the 1995 Calon Segur side bar story?

[JimHow]

Even though its such a pain, structured / blind tastings are very informative / educational.

Everyone has preconceptions, priors views and testing them in those kinds of settings is very helpful.

Especially if one can find wines that are as enjoyable to your palate as the rarities.

I agree with you 100% Arv.
But the great irony is that, if you had given me the opportunity after that 95/96 Boston dinner, I would have dumped all my 95s and invested heavily in 96s. Now, with time, we realize the answer is not quite that simple….

[Nicklasss]

Front page. January 31, 1998.

[Nicklasss]

Well before the Force awaken, The Rise of Calon Segur.

[JimHow]

Amazing. There it is. What is the date of that issue? It must have been spring 1998 I'm guessing? I obsessed over that issue. It changed everything. It came along when I was just starting to get crazy about wine. It was at a time when you could get 95 Cos, Lalande, Ducru, etc., at the NH liquor store for $50 per bottle. 95 Petrus for $275. You could go to Quebec and have 94 Mouton with dinner at $100 and 95 Margaux a little more at $175. I bought bottles and bottles of 94 Haut Brion and Margaux for $40 per bottle in Boston. Those were crazy times. Just before BWE. Just before everything went crazy.

[JimHow]

the 1995 Calon Segur sidebar issue. That answers Blanquitos question. Remembers, this is about 2 years before BWE came into being. This is primordial stuff here. What's the month of that issue??? Ah ok, Jan 31, 1998. It all makes sense….

[AKR]

Amazing. There it is. What is the date of that issue? It must have been spring 1998 I'm guessing? I obsessed over that issue. It changed everything. It came along when I was just starting to get crazy about wine. It was at a time when you could get 95 Cos, Lalande, Ducru, etc., at the NH liquor store for $50 per bottle. 95 Petrus for $275. You could go to Quebec and have 94 Mouton with dinner at $100 and 95 Margaux a little more at $175. I bought bottles and bottles of 94 Haut Brion and Margaux for $40 per bottle in Boston. Those were crazy times. Just before BWE. Just before everything went crazy.

I think all the prices for fine wine have gone nuts.

Last night a wine maker was telling us about the process and prices for things.

Optical scanners for picking grapes!

Double oak treatment etc.

20 rounds of vineyard picking.

And all the like.

Most of it is also non economic too.

But ultra high net worth people seem enthralled with starting wineries.

[DavidG]

Great report Patrick! I've got 1 bottle of '95 Cos in the cellar. Think I'll let it sit a while yet.

"But ultra high net worth people seem enthralled with starting wineries." (Are)
And with buying ultra-expensive wines.

I ridiculed Suckling for his '89/'90 story because he
1) declared one vintage better than the other based on a 1 or 2-point avg score difference from tasting a half-dozen or so wines
2) fudged the numbers
It made for a lot of fun debate, though, and still does.

[Nicklasss]

Blanquito. This is the tasting I talked about: i think you liked the wines from these two vintages, about 18 years ago, but point out that 10 more years was ok.

Nic