TNs: fantastic line-up for Ted's birthday in Fort Collins

[Blanquito]

My wine buddy Ted had a birthday and invited five of us over for a night of awesome food and wine. His birth year is 1980, so he blinded us with a terrific flight from that year, and opened a special 1971 as well for me and Royce for our birth year. We ate and drank and talked and laughed into the wee hours.

• 1999 Billecart-Salmon Champagne Cuvée Nicolas-François Billecart
  A compelling, steely, classy, seamless bubbly here, with great verve. The bouquet was a little subdued and understated, but the palate was sensational with killer depth and acid, terrific bubbles. This seems young. Went great with oysters. 92-93 pts.
• 2002 Pol Roger Champagne Brut Vintage
  After the Billecart, this Pol was expressive and sexy. Redolent with yeast, brioche, some honey. The palate was excellent, very well balanced but with enough fruit and acid to give it some pizzazz. Seriously delicious. In early maturity now, this was much more expressive than other bottles I've had in the last year. 92-93 pts.
• 2008 Domaine William Fèvre Chablis 1er Cru Vaulorent
  This was nice, but too young. Had an amalgam cork, showed zero signs of premox. Fairly classic Chablis in the making here, with grass, stones, good fruit and balance, but a bit dull for current drinking. 89 pts.
• 1983 Trimbach Riesling Cuvée Frédéric Emile
  This was a controversial wine, but I really liked it. Musty at first, but this blew off to reveal a bouquet with ridiculous levels of petrol/kerosene, and additional nuances of almonds, lime, and ginger. The palate was silky and showed surprisingly little acidity, but I loved the ginger spiciness, the lime zest, and the sherry-like bitterness. Got better deeper into the bottle, with fantastic length too. Certainly not your average wine-- rather, a singular, complex and special one. 92 pts.
• 1971 Produttori del Barbaresco Barbaresco Riserva Cavalieri Tartufo Ovello
  Served non-blind. This was a quintessential aged nebbiolo bouquet, complex with menthol, tar, roses, bright cherries, some medicinal notes, black tea. The palate was so silky and smooth, yet it still retained an edge of structure and brightness. This had a depth of fruit that wholly belied its almost 45 years. So, so good. This seemed like a perfectly stored bottle, with an ideal color and bottle fill. My WOTN. 95 pts.
• 1980 Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande
  Served double blind, we quickly zeroed in on 1980s cab-based Bordeaux. Beautiful old-school bouquet here, loaded with roasted poblano pepper, wintergreen, leafy notes, mint and some cedar. The palate was round and smooth, with terrific fruit and acids. I thought this was in a great place, can't get any better than now. Someone commented this smelled like the 85 Beychevelle we'd had recently, and that seemed about right. Was surprised on the reveal, didn't know the 1980 vintage could be this good (though PLL was pretty bullet-proof in that era). 93 pts.
• 1980 Mayacamas Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon
  Served double blind. The bouquet on this didn't seem quite right, with a stewed, tomato-prune note suggesting either heat or oxidation. The palate with much better with good fruit still and nice length, this was quite drinkable but got passed over with so much other great wine on the table.
• 1980 Diamond Creek Cabernet Sauvignon Volcanic Hill
  Served double blind, I immediately thought 1980's Rioja from a classic producer, like the 1985 CUNE Vina Real Reserva. It tasted like Rioja to me because there was this beautifully sweet, candied red fruits married with notably bright acids, and all blessed with a kiss of American oak. I never got Cab or Cali. Nevertheless, this was a beauty, quite resolved and silky, with that aged fruit allure and complexity that only old wines get. This started to fade an hour or so into the bottle. 93 pts.
• 1980 Chateau Montelena Cabernet Sauvignon The Montelena Estate
  Served double blind. Wow, this was compelling. Zesty, sweet, deep, fully resolved, showing some mint that averred cabernet. Didn't say old world or new world overall though, it seemed to combine elements of both, and I wasn't sure of the varietals either. Showed much younger than its years, I was amazed how good this was. Second time I've had this (the guy who brought it the first time guessed that it was this wine straight up). 94 pts.
• 2001 Château La Tour Blanche Sauternes
  Glorious sticky here. In early maturity, showing some classic hallmarks of an older Sauternes while retaining the power of a youngster. Quite aromatic, expressive with apricot, saline, oyster shell, terrific acidity and length, not a hair out of place. Hard to imagine this going higher, but it could. Will probably last for ages. 94-95 pts.
• 2001 Tommaso Bussola Recioto della Valpolicella Tb
  Fantastic red dessert wine. Still young and primary, but with sensational aromatics and drive on the palate. Earthy yet sweet, grapey yet spicy, port-like but with no booze or heaviness and well-integrated sugar. I have no idea how these age, but this seems like it will improve for a long time to come, adding nuance and integration. Label says 12% alcohol. I rated the Sauternes higher, but I'd rather have some of this wine in the cellar as it is unusual and needs more time to peak. 93 pts.

[Comte Flaneur]

Terrific and fascinating line up Patrick - especially interested in the 1980 Pichon Lalande, an estate which really was on a roll at the time. One of my work colleagues is bringing me a 1984 to try.

[Nicklasss]

Thanks for the report Blanquito. A very nice selection of wines from your friend, including some 1980.

I have some Trimbach Frederic Émile (2008 I guess), that I will wait a bit more.

When I think about The 1979 PLL we had in DC in 2014, and reading your comments about 1980, i guess we need to do a 1978-1979-1980-1981 PLl review sometine at the BWE event.

I like Barbaresco, but unfortunately for me, not my wife. This 1971 seems like a real treat!

Nic

[JimHow]

I am not shocked by the performance of the 1980 PLL. I remember the winemaker at Mouton years back, must've been at least 15-16 or more years ago, they asked him, what are your favorite vintages? And without missing a beat he said, oh, 1987 was great, and 1980 was excellent, and 1984 was one of my favorites, etc. These vintages are better than people think in this Parker-influenced society in which we live. A 1991 Lynch or Latour or Cos may be a bit more stern but they are different, they have their own personalities. Same with the 2013 all-cabernet La Lagune. I wouldn't pay $50 for it, but I'd pay $25. Alfred Tesseron complained that he "wished he had more" of the 2013 Pontet Canet. I'll be bringing a bunch of wines to a family birthday party today with lobster and some will say "this is their favorite," or "I don't really like this one," etc. But you can't really analyze the great wines of Bordeaux that way, you have to look at the glass half full and see the greatness and uniqueness in the individual wines, even in off years. Surely, Francois would agree.

[AKR]

I didn't know you were a 1971 vintage Blanquito. The late 60s-late 70's were a good era for Napa if you ever want to try things proximately your age.

Sounds like a very interesting lineup.

[Blanquito]

It's hard to find a well stored 1971s at this point. I've had the most luck with various dessert wines, which still seem fairly abundant and vibrant.

[JimHow]

I had a corked 71 Latour once.

You think 71 is hard, try finding 58.

[Michael Malinoski]

This was a fun set of notes to read, thank you for sharing. I especially liked the old Produttori note, as I fondly recall how delicious a 1970 Produttor Rabaja Riserva was about a half dozen years ago.

I've also had some memorable bottles from 1980 here and there over the years, including a delicious Yquem from 375 ml this past weekend.

Michael