Winona Chief and Marjorie arrive at BWE Mecca in Maine.

Post Reply
User avatar
JimHow
Posts: 20106
Joined: Thu Nov 20, 2008 10:49 pm
Location: Lewiston, Maine, United States
Contact:

Winona Chief and Marjorie arrive at BWE Mecca in Maine.

Post by JimHow »

We had a splendid evening in Maine tonight at the JimHow estate, drinking:
1996 Dom Perignon
1998 L'Evangile
2001 Prum Spatlese
1998 Vieux Chateau Certan
2014 Coutet
1989 Lynch Bages (from half bottle, with whoopie pie)

Everything was spectacular, a beautiful evening on the back deck, the wines were perfection, and the company, of course, was a point.
Attachments
FullSizeRender-20.jpg
FullSizeRender-20.jpg (177.03 KiB) Viewed 1276 times
FullSizeRender-18.jpg
FullSizeRender-18.jpg (163.31 KiB) Viewed 1282 times
IMG_9798.JPG
IMG_9798.JPG (106.31 KiB) Viewed 1271 times
User avatar
Nicklasss
Posts: 6384
Joined: Tue Jan 27, 2009 5:25 pm
Contact:

Re: Winona Chief and Marjorie arrive at BWE Mecca in Maine.

Post by Nicklasss »

Great. How were the two 1998 Pomerol?

Nic
User avatar
JimHow
Posts: 20106
Joined: Thu Nov 20, 2008 10:49 pm
Location: Lewiston, Maine, United States
Contact:

Re: Winona Chief and Marjorie arrive at BWE Mecca in Maine.

Post by JimHow »

Magnificent. I'll report more later.
User avatar
Winona Chief
Posts: 806
Joined: Mon Jan 26, 2009 9:11 pm
Contact:

Re: Winona Chief and Marjorie arrive at BWE Mecca in Maine.

Post by Winona Chief »

Both the l'Evangile and Vieux Chateau Certan showed us the greatness of the 1998 vintage in Pomerol - stunning.

All the wines were wonderful. We enjoyed them over a period of 6 hours so we had time to really appreciate each wine. The 1989 Lynch was perfection. I thought the 1996 Dom was at its peak.

Chris Bublitz
User avatar
JimHow
Posts: 20106
Joined: Thu Nov 20, 2008 10:49 pm
Location: Lewiston, Maine, United States
Contact:

Re: Winona Chief and Marjorie arrive at BWE Mecca in Maine.

Post by JimHow »

It was amazing how well every one of the wines performed.
The BWEers arrived about 4pm, we uncorked the '96 Dom out on the back deck with cheese and nuts, as Chris said the champagne was in just a perfect place.
Really a different level from the very youthful Doms that I usually drink when I drink Dom. Very educational.
The weather was perfect, not too hot, no humidity. The cork on the 2001 Prum was in pretty bad shape but not to worry, the wine was fresh and vibrant, a splendid golden color, lightly chilled, the bottle was gulped down pretty fast.
The two 1998 Pomerols were brilliant, the bouquets absolutely stunning. These wines are 19 years old now, they will continue to age well for years to come but they are in a great place now with beautiful complexity, chocolatey, it really is great to experience this "next level" once in a while.
It was great to be able to focus on these wines over six hours of leisure.
OMG the 1989 Lynch Bages from half bottle was devastating. THIS is Bordeaux at its very best. The last few bottles I've had from 750 format have been very closed, but this half bottle was breathtaking, that cedar, tobacco, and lead pencil that is the definition of '89 Lynch. True greatness. Wow.
And the 2014 Coutet... wow wow wow! The three of us finished off the whole bottle without any problem.
Reminded me of that 2011 d'Yquem we had at the estate.
We finished off every drop of all 5.5 bottles between the three of us, plus cheese, steaks, vegetables, steak fries, bread, and, yes, la pies de la whoopie, fresh from the bakery.
Great August Maine evening out on the back deck with two great BWE friends.
Great times indeed!
User avatar
Winona Chief
Posts: 806
Joined: Mon Jan 26, 2009 9:11 pm
Contact:

Re: Winona Chief and Marjorie arrive at BWE Mecca in Maine.

Post by Winona Chief »

That truly outstanding 2014 Coutet is widely available at $35 to $45. If you are fan of Sauternes/Barsac it should be on your shopping list. A 2001 Spatlese from JJ Prum is guaranteed to please and this Graacher Himmelreich was no exception - wonderful stuff.

Jim is not exaggerating, that 375 of 1989 Lynch Bages was perfection.

It was a magical evening - thanks, Jim, for making it happen.

Chris Bublitz
User avatar
Comte Flaneur
Posts: 4863
Joined: Mon Jan 26, 2009 9:05 pm
Contact:

Re: Winona Chief and Marjorie arrive at BWE Mecca in Maine.

Post by Comte Flaneur »

Heroic effort to drink 5.5 between three. Which Pomerol was preferred and why?
User avatar
JimHow
Posts: 20106
Joined: Thu Nov 20, 2008 10:49 pm
Location: Lewiston, Maine, United States
Contact:

Re: Winona Chief and Marjorie arrive at BWE Mecca in Maine.

Post by JimHow »

We kept going back and forth over six hours, Ian. They both had splendid perfumes. The l'Evangile may have been ever so slightly more evolved, but that's nitpicking. If I had to pick one with a gun to my head I'd probably go with the VCC. I know you had the VCC recently. I just don't get to drink wines like this every day, so that gigantic step up in quality is a shock to my senses these days, especially as we got to drink them over six hours. Those 1998 Pomerols are on the big side it seems to me, but not like a 2005 Gazin or anything like that. If I recall your recent note correctly, you may have thought the VCC needed a little more time. I think it is at the beginning of a long window of opportunity. As is the magnificent l'Evangile. It was great fun to drink these magnificent wines.
User avatar
JimHow
Posts: 20106
Joined: Thu Nov 20, 2008 10:49 pm
Location: Lewiston, Maine, United States
Contact:

Re: Winona Chief and Marjorie arrive at BWE Mecca in Maine.

Post by JimHow »

Here are the critics notes on 2014 Coutet:

Wine Advocate:
93-95+ Points, Neal Martin, Robert Parker's Wine Advocate: ""The Château Coutet 2014 is a blend of 75% Sémillon, 23% Sauvignon Blanc and 2% Muscadelle and delivers...cue the drumroll...a whopping 162 grams per liter of residual sugar, the highest level of any Sauternes that I have data for. As you would expect, the total acidity is slightly, but not dramatically lower than its peers at 3.9 grams per liter (compared to say, 4.3 grams per liter at Doisy-Daëne.) This Coutet '14 has a complex bouquet with razor-sharp, minerally, citrus fruit mixed with wild honey and a touch of Riesling-like petrol. The palate is totally convincing. There is a great thrust of rich botrytized fruit sliced through with Coutet’s trademark acidity, despite the spoonfuls of sugar, that lends this such vibrancy and tension. It possesses and almost clinical precision with long persistence on the finish. This is a divine Coutet that may warrant a higher score subject to how it evolves in barrel."""

Wine Spectator:
96 Points, Wine Spectator: ""This shows the vivid, racy side of Barsac, with streaming flavors of pineapple, yellow apple, green plum and white ginger, displaying lovely energy from start to finish. Ends with enough honeysuckle and orange blossom notes to balance the richness. Best from 2020 through 2035. "" 3/17"
User avatar
AKR
Posts: 5234
Joined: Thu Mar 19, 2015 4:33 am
Contact:

Re: Winona Chief and Marjorie arrive at BWE Mecca in Maine.

Post by AKR »

Wow stunning spectrum of wines. That's a lot of wine to consume!
User avatar
DavidG
Posts: 8280
Joined: Sat Nov 22, 2008 1:12 pm
Location: Maryland
Contact:

Re: Winona Chief and Marjorie arrive at BWE Mecca in Maine.

Post by DavidG »

Well done! Not to take anything away from the wines, but everything goes better with a beautiful day and great friends.

And Jim, it looks like you do like aged wines with some complexity.
User avatar
JimHow
Posts: 20106
Joined: Thu Nov 20, 2008 10:49 pm
Location: Lewiston, Maine, United States
Contact:

Re: Winona Chief and Marjorie arrive at BWE Mecca in Maine.

Post by JimHow »

Indeed, David, those wines were a real treat.

Just ordered six bottles of 2014 Coutet from MacArthurs for $37 each, I think they have about six left.
Post Reply

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: Bing [Bot], esl, Google [Bot] and 12 guests