TN: End of year tasting

[Blanquito]

1995 Château de Chamboureau Savennières Roche aux Moines Chevalier Buhard Cuvée d'Avant Doux
Served double blind. I immediately get honey and orange blossoms, and it makes me think of Baumard. Chenin blanc? Yes. This is flat out terrific, quite sweet but showing some of that mellow aged character as well. Plenty of acid and a somewhat bitter, medicinal note on the finish keeps this real. With air, florals and a soapy note come out. There's plenty of acidity to spare and this holds up open for 2 days just fine. More of a dessert wine in my book, but a really good one. 92-93 pts. 92 pts

2001 E. Guigal Ermitage Ex-Voto
Wow, this was stellar. The youngest and deepest of the Guigals, with a great smoky core of dark fruit. Long and layered with great balance, I like this one the best because it showed the most sauvage character. 94-95 pts.

1998 E. Guigal Côte-Rôtie Château d'Ampuis
This was flat out killer. Beautiful nose of lavender, tapenade, wood. The palate was resolved and smooth with good depth and concentration of fruit. In a great place. 93 pts

1985 Château Mouton Rothschild
A really pristine bottle with the fill into the neck. However, when I took off the capsule, the top of the cork smelled a bit of TCA. Uh oh. I decanted the wine and none of us got any TCA on the wine, but this could have been an ever so slightly compromised bottle... The wine was still quite good, really the quintessence of an elegant and effortless wine. It has sneaky depth and some classic claret cigar box and cedar. The bouquet was just a bit dialed down in volume though. Fully mature and a treat, but a bit of a let down. 92 pts

1997 E. Guigal Côte-Rôtie La Turque
This was a lovely, somewhat understated Cote Rotie. The bouquet showed some sweet new oak, floral notes, the sweeter and gentler side of syrah. The palate was seamless without a note out of place, and it drafted towards the elegant end of things. More pretty than powerful, this was quite seductive. 92-93 pts. 92 pts

2001 Araujo Estate Cabernet Sauvignon Eisele Vineyard
I liked this a lot. Very Cali cab, but in an older school gear, showing minty, cool fruit and very pretty sweet and floral notes. Smooth, resolved, long. In a great place right now, I see no reason to hold this further. 92 pts

1982 Château Prieuré-Lichine
A nice, fully mature Bordeaux, still going strong. There is a good core of cool fruit with plenty of acidity. It actually got deeper and longer with a bit of air. Silky smooth. Showing more of the earthy side of Bordeaux, without any Margaux florals. I would drink soon, it can't get any better. 91 pts

1983 Château Gruaud Larose
Another fantastic bottle of this. Perfectly mature, even tertiary with all of the rough edges pretty much gone now. Lots of complex, earthy, cedary Bordeauxness here. The fruit is quite bright for claret, with top notes of cranberries mixed in with sweeter black cherries. Indeed, the fruit is still intact in a lovely secondary role, but I wouldn't push it too much longer. Man, was Cordier on fire between 1982-1988 or what? 93 pts

1986 Château Climens
Beautiful, classic, understated, balanced, integrated. This is by no means a flashy Barsac, at times it even tastes dry, but what a wine. I get tons of orange and ginger here, and it's only by itself that the sneaky sweetness is really on display. Good acids, good depth and length, this is another wine tonight that doesn't show any chink in its aristocratic armour. 93 pts

[Nicklasss]

Like Jim Morrison said:

"Yeah Rhône baby Rhône"

Great selection but Hermitage is a great underevaluated wine.

Nic

[stefan]

That is one hell of a before Xmas tasting.

[AlexR]

Interesting to see Château d'Ampuis's high score in comparison to wines that cost several times as much.

I have enjoyed this wine on several occasions and have one bottle of the 2007 in the cellar. The previous (last year) was very good, but too young.

I'm more surprised by La Turque's so-so showing than I am by Mouton's. 2007 was a very fine vintage in Côte Rôtie.

AR

[JimHow]

I remember bringing a magnum of 1985 Mouton to a family Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner about ten years ago. It was very nice, very 1985.

[Claret]

Nice tasting.

I have found memories of 85 Mouton. I used to drink a fair amount of Savennières and they get very interesting with age.

[Blanquito]

This was my first LaLa, and while very very good, it didn't induce any fireworks but my expections were of course very high. It was on the younger side -- though not tight -- so it could blossom with further age. The table was in general agreement on the showing of the wines, with the Ex Voto wowing the room, but I was a bit higher on the d'Ampuis and others liked the Mouton more. The Mouton was so classy.

[AKR]

Very cool spectrum of wines. Guigal is really so great, top to bottom.

[Comte Flaneur]

Nice tasting Patrick. I have a very soft spot for Gruaud 1983. A good bottle of Mouton 85 would be effortlessly in the high 90s. I find Guigal's Cote Rotie's to be overoaked, but I still like Chateau D'Ampuis.

[DavidG]

Wonderful selection Patrick. Not all vintages of LaLas are created equal. My first were the 1988s and they made a lasting impression. Haven't had one live up to that ideal since, but I haven't been willing to pay the tariff on more recent top vintages.

[AlohaArtakaHoundsong]

Reads like an End of Days/Morning Dew/Wooden Ships/On the Beach tasting. Drink up while we can.

[jal]

I have tasted a bunch of these. I would have similar notes on everything except that I liked the two La Turque (different vintages than yours) a lot more. Patrick, you and I travel in the same circles.