Bordeaux Wine Enthusiasts

A thread on another board critical of the 1996 Sociando Mallet prompted me open a bottle of it, as I hadn't had it since DC '16 en magnum...

I have to say, I'm really digging these first few sips. Not a blockbuster to be sure, but I get enough ripeness to be content. The midpalate is a tad lean, but not dilute. It has the signature SM greenery- pine resin, pyrazines, black pepper, a little ash. Yum.

Ok, this won't make you forget the 96 Pichon Lalande, but for the $30 this cost as recently as 2005, I'll take it.

My bottle tonight of the 96 S-M is brimming with character. It really is the antithesis of a Rollandized wine. Folks who prefer modern-styled St. Emilion probably hate wines like this. I'm in love.

This wine is not perfect. Not by any means. It's a little lean, a little green. But my bottle (at least) is wonderfully aromatic and interesting. It is fresh and engaging. There is the essence of juniper and pine and woodsy notes. There's enough fruit to be charming, but this is a food wine. And it has plenty of gravitas. In my opinion, it is a style of claret that should be celebrated, not hounded out of existence by market forces. To his credit, RMP has long appreciated this chateau and I thank him for that.

Incidentally, a vintage of S-M that fits the critical note on the 1996 could be the 2000, which was too lean to love for me last year. But I give the 1996 an overall score of 92 pts.

Well done, Blanquito, very well done indeed. Maybe I need to crack open my case of 2000 SM?

Yes, Jim, i think the 2000 is in the zone as well as the 96. I'm holding my bottles to see if a bit more bottle seeetness develops.

I have a case of the 2000 S-M but have not tried one. No hurry, I am sure.

I am a fan of the 1996 S-M. It is good for those of us who like the classic style of Bordeaux. 92 is a reasonable grade for it, IMO. The current low price is $75-$80. That is high. La Lagune 1996 is better, IMO, and a bit less. These are very different wines, of course.

If anyone has the '96 Baron its absolutely rocking.

I had another bottle last night (from a case held since release) and I found it on the lean, cool, Atlantic style side. It was double decanted a few hours before a meatloaf supper. I find the 96 S-M is starting to tilt acidic now, when I don't recall it like that in its youth. 2 of the last 3 bottles have been more this way, versus the dense, powerful wine of years ago.

I'm not overly fussed, but I would now consider this a medium bodied wine that needs food, rather than one that can be enjoyed with a book, or while puttering about the kitchen.

I think it is time to crack open my cases of 2000 and 2003.

robert goulet wrote:If anyone has the '96 Baron its absolutely rocking.

Robert

Interesting observation, because I was really disappointed last time I tried the 1996 Baron. That was Christmas 2015 when it was up against some very tough opposition but I was really underwhelmed.

Maybe it was a dud bottle, but I don't think Baron was all that good after 1990 and before 2000.

Ian

I was never impressed with the 1996 Pichon Baron. The '95 was good as I recall, but I agree it was not impressive from 1991-1999. And then a new era dawned commencing in 2000.

The 96 Baron was a dud at BWE DC '16.

Drank the '96 Baron 5 months back
....it ripped my frigin face off with classic Pauillac goodness, wish I had a bottle...possibly the best Baron I have tasted.

We did all love a bottle of the 96 Baron at a big Pauillac night way back in 2006.

For me the '96 PB suits me better than the 2000 and '90

Interesting dispersion of views here. For my part I regretted not buying the '96 PB way back when I purchased the '96 Lagrange and Leoville Poyferre for $30 or $35. But the reason I did not may have been borne out. It was a Tanzer review and rating, of 90 points, in which he concluded that ultimately this would be a good, not great, wine. Of course now the PB is well over my price ceiling in about any vintage. Them's the breaks.

How's the 96 Poyferre, Art?

Interesting you should ask that question, Patrick, I was eyeing my '96 Poyferre 3L tonight, wondering when this beast should be uncorked.

I have no idea. It's been a very long time since my last one. Jim, you're up.

JimHow wrote:Interesting you should ask that question, Patrick, I was eyeing my '96 Poyferre 3L tonight, wondering when this beast should be uncorked.

Easy

BWE convention '18!!

When you read the recent CT notes on 1996 PB you have to say that public opinion is very much with Robert. The price here has escalated to some thing like the equivalent of $1800 a case. I do have a case in storage. I was going to sell it. I think I might take it out and start drinking them. Can always sell the rest if they are not up to scratch.

Tonight's bottle was totally lacking any green notes. In fact it was a very compelling wine drinking at peak for my taste.