TN: way too much wine with the SF crowd

Post Reply
User avatar
AKR
Posts: 5234
Joined: Thu Mar 19, 2015 4:33 am
Contact:

TN: way too much wine with the SF crowd

Post by AKR »

I was visiting SF so MichaelP, SF Ed, me and our spouses along with a few new friends got together last night to drink way too much Bordeaux. None of us took formal notes so these are more flash impressions. Overall we got very lucky with a large number of bottles, many quite old, all being sound, in great shape, and with no taint problems. SF Ed brought his Durand, which got a workout with all the older corks. A good portion of these wines had all been cellared by the participants either from release, or were purchased decades ago. Everything was also pop and pour, no decanting.

55 Haut Maillet [Pomerol] A legendary vintage in Pomerol. And very delicious, much cleaner example than the last one we had maybe a year ago. I think it was my SO's favorite wine. Bottle shape a bit different than modern 750ml's btw.

70 Clos Rene [Pomerol] Very smooth, silky, and delicious. One of the sandy soil terroir Pomerols but seems to age well enough in the good years.

82 Kirwan [Margaux] Very good too, maybe not as floral as the typical older Margaux. Masculine. We talked a little about this is such a good estate in the years people have tried, but it seems somewhat underrepresented in people's cellars, and tasting experiences.

89 Clos Rene [Pomerol] This might be the first time I've ever seen multiple Clos Rene at a tasting. This was deeper than the 70, more concentrated. It was an excellent vintage in this AOC. If I saw this at fair price, I'd be tempted.

95 Pichon Lalande [Pauillac] This was a great example. We've had some variability with this, but this was a point. Based on this bottle the argument over this versus the 96 came up again. Love the cedar, the depth here.

95 Bon Pasteur [Pomerol] A chunkier Pomerol than the other on the table. Fleshy, fruity, mature and quite lovely. Great way to compare Rolland's influence versus other peers.

98 La Conseillante [Pomerol] Another excellent, elegant wine. Very classy. Still has a long life ahead of it. Fabulous vintage in the right bank, and most are drinking very well today.

09 Giscours [Margaux] Brilliant, deep, concentrated, and very youthful. Compared to all these mature wines its still showing the youthful fruit and big tannins.

We had started with a Ganevat white from the Jura. These are unusual, made in a sherry like manner.

Closed out with sweet Bordeaux too

76 Lafon [Sauternes] very light color. I'm not familiar with this estate, nor this vintage in Sauternes. It was pretty good. This is not Raymond Lafon btw. It's not seen much in the US.

01 Coutet [Barsac] very thick, dark, and rich. not as crisp as other years. it has lots and lots of life yet. We all bemoaned the foolishness of buying Sauternes EP.

I might have missed a wine. We consumed a lot, and I wasn't feeling so chipper this morning!

Last night reinforced how well Bordeaux can age, when kept properly.
Last edited by AKR on Sun Nov 13, 2016 12:37 am, edited 1 time in total.
User avatar
Comte Flaneur
Posts: 4863
Joined: Mon Jan 26, 2009 9:05 pm
Contact:

Re: TN: way too much wine with the SF crowd

Post by Comte Flaneur »

What a fabulous night Arv!

Interested very much in your and other impressions of 1998 La Conseillante which has generally and mostly underwhelmed expectations (until your note) but I have always suspected it would come good; ditto the 2000; we know the 2001 is a strong performer
User avatar
SF Ed
Posts: 710
Joined: Mon Jan 26, 2009 11:08 pm
Contact:

Re: TN: way too much wine with the SF crowd

Post by SF Ed »

Great notes, Arv, and a great evening.

The Ganevat was the 2010 Cuvee Prestige. I brought it. I am a huge Ganevat fan, and starting with a bold white to me is always a good move. The rest of the table didn't really agree, but that's OK - we were there to drink Bordeaux!

I've had the 1998 La Conseillante on a number of occasions, and this was a typical showing. It does not have the depth of other great years of La Conseillante, like 1989 or 1990, but is long and tasty.

I was lucky enough about 15 years ago to have a 1953 La Conseillante, and the 1998 reminds me of what that became. Flavorful, sweet, but without the depth or concentration of the greatest years.

SF Ed
User avatar
stefan
Posts: 6224
Joined: Mon Jan 26, 2009 9:08 pm
Location: College Station, TX
Contact:

Re: TN: way too much wine with the SF crowd

Post by stefan »

It is nice to see how well old wines from less exalted estates performed.
User avatar
Nicklasss
Posts: 6384
Joined: Tue Jan 27, 2009 5:25 pm
Contact:

Re: TN: way too much wine with the SF crowd

Post by Nicklasss »

Great report Arv, and great night with the SF crowd. Can't wait to have a glass with you guys.

Only had the 09 Giscours from your list, happy to read it still an excellent wine. And like you say, even less known wines of Bordeaux age well.

For my part, the weekend was hard: i went to see a friend playing bass guitar in a black metal band. Not that i'm a big fan of the style but live music if always great. After the show, we tasted too much scotch (he is also my scotch mentor) so had a very slow Saturday and... no wine.

Nic
User avatar
Michael-P
Posts: 783
Joined: Sun Feb 01, 2009 5:49 am
Contact:

Re: TN: way too much wine with the SF crowd

Post by Michael-P »

Arv's notes are consistent with my memory, which I'd guess is a bit faulty based on how I felt the next day. I guess that next day effect shouldn't be a surprise since at the end of the dinner there were only two bottles left with only about 20% in each, so 11 bottles for 8 people.

My WOTN was the 89 Rene. A close second place was the 98 Conseillante. The 82 almost won for me in the first 30 minutes we had it, but it started to fade significantly after that while these other two did not.

Great to see everyone!

Michael-P
User avatar
AKR
Posts: 5234
Joined: Thu Mar 19, 2015 4:33 am
Contact:

Re: TN: way too much wine with the SF crowd

Post by AKR »

And realistically, the ladies didn't drink very much, compared to the foolish men. So the topline numbers conceal the true excess!

I liked the Pichon Lalande the best IIRC.
User avatar
Blanquito
Posts: 5923
Joined: Mon Jan 26, 2009 9:24 pm

Re: TN: way too much wine with the SF crowd

Post by Blanquito »

The 95 and 96 P. Lalandes are both so good.
Post Reply

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: Bing [Bot], Google [Bot] and 4 guests