3 Bdx & a Burg

[stefan]

Last night Lucie roasted a duck for the first time in around 40 years and we invited a Scottish friend to join us for the occasion. With a California Camembert (sic; that is what the label said) we drank

2000 La Lagune. Well, of course we celebrated a special occasion with a La Lagune. The first few times we drank the 2000 the bottles were either flawed or unimpressive, but recent bottles have shown better. This was the best yet. The nose is almost developed and the wine has the La Lagune elegance that we love. The wine is less concentrated than comparable 2000s, which, along with the wines backwardness, might explain why it got relatively poor reviews from the critics.

2003 Leoville-Poyferre. Flushed with the success of 2003s that we have drunk recently, I opened our case of Leoville-Poyferre. This wine has good structure but is quite young and undeveloped. Both Lucie and I preferred the La Lagune by far.

1997 Rieussec 375. This we drank with pound cake drenched in fresh berries. Dark in color, the Rieussec had some oxidation and oldish tastes, but otherwise was nice with tangerine and peach flavors.

Tonight Lucie sautéed mushrooms to go with grilled quail and spiraled cut mixed vegetables. We drank

1996 Jadot Charmes-Chambertin. Lucie declares this wine “wonderful”. Once it warms up from the cold cellar, it has a smokey nose, consistent mouth feel, flavors of cherries, rhubarbs, and pomegranates, and enough concentration that it lingers. Nevertheless, I am disappointed because, as the late François would say, “it lacks emotion”. However, to be [almost] completely honest, in the last 4th of the bottle I fought Lucie to get my fair share. I did, and that part of the wine deserved Lucie’s accolades.

[Blanquito]

François aka WineDinners passed away?

[AKR]

Duck is such a pain. Normally I steam it first to render some fat, and then roast it. And it still makes a lot of mess.

Thanks for those notes, the L-P and La Lagune are sort of close of at hand.

If that news about Francois is true, that is sad. Quite a character.

[dstgolf]

Balnquito is that a fact or rumour about Francois?? Tragic if true and surprised because he looked so good last Spring! A shocker if reality.

[Blanquito]

Balnquito is that a fact or rumour about Francois?? Tragic if true and surprised because he looked so good last Spring! A shocker if reality.

I was just responding to Stefan's use of "late", but maybe that was just meant that he used to post here but hardly ever does anymore?

[Nicklasss]

Stefan, lucie and la lagune, the best trio?

That 2000 looks like the 1995 that i had a few mounths ago.

Nice story for the Charmes. I rarely fight with Marie-Claude for wine, since we have kids. Before, it was another story...

Nic

[Blanquito]

Sounds like the 03 LP needs more time. Hoping as I've got 4 half bottles, I'll give them more time.

[robertgoulet]

2003 LP was a big disappointment at our dinner last year...disjointed, charmless, hot

[stefan]

I was using "late" in the sense that Patrick alluded to. AFAIK he is still alive and tasting in that other world.

RG, let any other bottles you have of the '03 L-P rest. Even though mine was stored at 62F since release and is likely further along than yours, I don't intend to try another bottle for a couple of years. Having said that, I should add that I do not think that it will evolve into a fine example of wine from this estate.

[Claudius2]

Folks
I have been attacked on BWE for some of the comments I have made about 2003 and I have to say that I have often found them to be disjoint and charmless too.
There have been a few exceptions such as Montrose but 03 was such a hot year in France (and elsewhere in Europe) that any sense of typicity is lost.
The colder clay soils of the northern Medoc seemed to cope better, but I have been to a few 03 tastings and with only a few exceptions, I thought I was drinking southern Italian wines with burnt fruit flavours and dry, spiky tannins.
Okay, RP rates the vintage highly but the winery he has given the most 100 point ratings to is Greenock Creek in the Barossa Valley whose wines reach 18.5% alcohol (shiraz, Grenache and cabernet) and taste more like road tar than wine (and have the density too).

[JimHow]

At BWE DC '18 we'll have to do a 15 year retrospective on the 2003 vintage….

[Blanquito]

I think the 2003s will always be a conversation point. At this point, there are so many expectations about what these wines are or should be, that they will always be viewed through that prism. At the ends of the range are "wow, this is much better and/or more restrained and classic than I would have ever expected" to "ugh, this is overripe, hot, flabby and/or atypical, just like all Parkerized, global warming wines".

That's one great thing about double blind tasting, our baggage is (at least temporarily) suspended.

For me, this is half the fun of wines, analyzing, comparing, learning, even over-intellectualizing them. Others prefer to see the good in wine, while others focus on the hedonistic and gastronomic aspects.

[Claudius2]

Jim
I'd love to attend if I can, but DC is a long way from Singapore.
Are you still in Baltimore??
I think that a handful of wines form 03 will turn out to be absolute wonders, with an array of flavours that blow you away.
And there will be a lot of wines that are disappointing.
It was just a bizarre vintage.
Can I say that I've been in Bordeaux during several vintages from 1985 to 2014, and the best indicator of the quality is the faces of the winemakers as the grapes enter the chais.
In vintages like 1990, 2000, 2005, 2009 and 2010, and to a point, even in several other vintages, the winemakers and cellar rats looked happy. I wasn't there every vintage - so can't comment on all.
In 2003, they were completely befuddled. Like, what the hell do we do now????
I can tell from first hand experience that in several estates, the grapes looked like Amarone grapes (semi-dried).
One winemaker said that the conditions were a little reminiscent of 1947 in that temps were very high - and maybe it is one of those vintages that will give some absolute freak wines.

I've decided that I will not brave any more 03s for a few more years, partly as I think the best wines will need a very long time to really come together.
In the meantime, there ae so many wine to enjoy from other vintages.

[JimHow]

We'll be in California next spring, Marc, if that's any closer!
I live in Maine.
I agree, I'm not sure what to make of the 2003 vintage.
I really liked the 2003 Leoville Barton in DC last month.

[AKR]

I think at this point the folks who like/own some 03's can enjoy/hold them, and those who are unsure/uncertain are probably best off focusing on other years.

There is a ton of good Bordeaux in the market, from a variety of different years/styles, and at least for those purchasing with strong USD (or pegged currencies) prices outside of 20-30 estates are fair enough. (e.g. a few days ago 5 bottles of 02 Pichon Baron popped up for $50 per, gone now, I didn't nibble)

That 03 Kirwan I had the other day is one of the scant 03's I bought from outside the clay soil zones. The few others were consumed in their youth, and underwhelmed. The aforementioned Margaux only survived (to the ripe age of 13) because of the PC shipping glitch, and my mothers closet.

[Nicklasss]

No 2003 for me. So I'll miss DC 2018!

I still have some 2003, but don't know when to open them and with who? With people I like or not?

Nic

[Claudius2]

Jim
The only time I ever hear about Baltimore in the Asian or even Australian media is about crime, race riots or urban decay.

Is it as bad as the media makes out?

[tim]

FYI, to quash any rumors, Francois is fine, I'll be joining him at a dinner in two weeks.

Cheers,

Tim

[AKR]

Jim
The only time I ever hear about Baltimore in the Asian or even Australian media is about crime, race riots or urban decay.

Is it as bad as the media makes out?

It's probably worse. Big city police are pressured to stay in their patrol cars and away from street policing.

Here's some recent riot pictures

https://www.google.com/search?q=baltimo ... eddie+gray