A BWE Sarasota rendezvous

[JimHow]

We had a splendid dinner here in downtown Sarasota last night with the lovely David/Peggy and Jacques/Jill, I hadn't seen any of these four for about 3-4 years. We had great service and food at Michael's on East restaurant, I don't know the 2014 Burgundy that Jacques brought, Carrillon?, but it was matched perfectly with our Maine lobster opening course. David and Peggy were married in 1988 so of course we had a Krug from that vintage, just in a perfect place and it will continue to drink well for years to come. It just had everything you look for in a great Krug, what a great treat! With dinner we saw the 1978 Leoville Las Cases match up with a certain 1989 from Pauillac known as Lynch Bages. We decanted the Lynch but this son of a gun is so damned backward. The LLC, on the other hand, was expressive, classic seventies LLC with tobacco, coffee, leather, very nicely developed, very expressive on the nose. As David said, "It is great to drink a Las Cases that is not closed." Or words to that effect. The Lynch at the outset was iodine, as David again noted, and angular, closed up, but then it really showed its mettle when matched up with our big main entrees of lamb chops, veal, etc. This wine really stood up and complemented the big meals. Two outstanding Medocs, both in different places. With creme brûlée and other extremely decadent desserts we drank 1988 d'Yquem, again from Peggy and David's wedding year, wow, wow, wow, like the Krug drinking spectacularly now but still lots more development to come, all the usual notes of peaches, apricots, pears, with just a perfect caramel note, like the thin candied layer atop our creme brûlée desserts. Heavenly. But, as a wise man from the province of Quebec once said, "BWE is about the people, not the wine," or words to that effect, and we had such a great three hours getting caught up, those two girls Peggy and Jill are just a couple of characters, we talked about myriad issues, health, hearing aids, politics, retirement, BWE gossip, Batman, Sarasota, and, of course, the obligatory grilling about the Jim How love life. Great fun and we really are going to try to do this more often. David and Peggy, of course, we will see in less than a month in DC. Everyone looked great, healthy, and happy. Viva Bordeaux Wine Enthusiasts, now in its 18th year!

[Nicklasss]

Great report and i'm looking forward to see everyone in less than a month!

I thought about calling you last night, but I was tired and my english speaking would have been painful!

For anybody who wants to try the 1989 Chateau Lynch Bages, i recommend that you try to have dinner with JimHow. For a reason I don't understand, you multiply your chance to have that wine by 3, when Jim is around!

Nic

[stefan]

Great BWE evening!

IIRC, the last time I drank 1989 Lynch Bages was on our patio with you, the Daytons, and Lucie in 2016.

I have fond memories of drinking 1988 Krug on Corinne's balcony at BWE-France in 2005.

1978 LLC and 1988 Yquem are great wines even if I do not have the same vivid memories of the occasion when I last drank them.

Shouldn't we do a 1978 and/or 1988 retrospective sometime this year? Maybe '78 reds and '88 Sauternes would be the easiest to arrange.

[dstgolf]

Well done Jim. Another wonderful evening amongst great like minded friends. Wines sounded great but the company probably edged the wine by a nose.

The 89 Lynch seems to have so much variability recently not sure what's going on but the wine doesn't seem like it's letting up anytime soon or leave something to discuss.

The 88 Krug memory from the balcony of Margaux is ever present each time I return to my office with a picture on my wall with the late Paul Pontelier and Corrine. Quite a memory.

Yquem always a treat regardless.

[Winona Chief]

Sounds like a great time. That 375 of 1989 Lynch Jim opened last August with Marjorie and me was perfection. Perhaps a little further along the evolution curve than 750s. Not at the 2005 BWE-France but I still have great memories of 1988 Krug.

Chris Bublitz

[jal]

That was such a great evening! The food was good, the wines were excellent but the company as always is what makes these evenings so much fun. Proof? David, Peggy, Jill and I went to a spring training baseball game this evening and finished with dinner at a hole in he wall Mexican joint, the only thing missing from yesterday was Jim, not the wines!

But the wines were great. The 88 Krug was amazing, very little effervescence left but it more than made up for it in complexity.

The 2014 Jacques Carillon Puligny Montrachet Champs Canet was fantastic as always. For me, Jacques Carillon makes the best Puligny 1er crus these days. Better than his brother Francois, and yes, better than Boillot, Sauzet, Olivier Leflaive, and all the others (maybe Domaine Leflaive is better, but the prices there are out of control so I may never know)

The 1978 Leoville Las Cases started weird, it had an astringent finish that I wasn't crazy about but after a few minutes and with food it turned to be a classic mature Bordeaux; earthy, balanced, complex, elegant. A wonderful wine!

The 1989 Lynch Bages was the best wine of the evening. It had to be because Jim was there, and Jim decreed that the 1989 Lynch Bages will always be the best wine of any evening no matter what . It does obey the Blanquito rule of "just wait five years" but it had a wonderful nose, some dusty tannins, a bit closed yes, but the power is all there and it will always be fun to drink it especially with Jim around.

There was some disagreement about the 1988 Yquem; Jim and David think it is the best of the trio 88-89-90, I find it too rich and powerful (if there's something like that) and slightly prefer the 1990 for its more nuanced balance. It was nevertheless fantastic and went great with my creme brulee.

Thanks guys, for coming out and bringing such great wines. Can't wait to do this again. I will miss you at the Convention but I will be there in spirit.

[DavidG]

It certainly was a memorable evening at Michael's on East in Sarasota. I actually "knew" Michael Klauber, the owner, from the Compuserve wine list back when the internet was new and before there even was a world wide web or a web browser. Fun restaurant. Excellent wine list though we brought our own. $20 corkage but can’t be on their list.

After 4 years there was plenty for us to catch up on, and Jim's skills as a raconteur have not slipped in the least. I’m not sure which he likes more, pimping the 1989 Lynch Bages or teasing us with hints of his mysterious love life. I found them equally enjoyable. As to the Lynch and the 1978 Leoville Las Cases, they were just as Jim described them. I preferred the complexity and aged elegance of the LLC. Towards the end of the evening, after more than 3 hours in the decanter and with my big and burly lamb dish, the power of the Lynch found its place.

The 2014 Jacques Carillon Puligny Champs Canet reminded me why I loved white Burgundy. I’d given up on the region due to premox and haven’t bought a bottle in over a decade. But this was soooo good young, and Peggy gushed over it as well. Despite my "done buying" status I asked if it was readily available or one of those Burgs where you have to know a guy who knows a guy. Of course like any great Burg, it’s the latter. But in true Jacques style, he pulls out a "backup" bottle and says "Here, take this home with you." The BWE Spirit is strong in this one.

The 1988 Krug and Yquem are wedding year wines, and having just celebrated our 30th on Valentine's Day there was no way for me to be objective. But both were drinking really well. The Krug with very little fizz, a light brass color, an enveloping deep classic bready Krug-y nose with aged complexity. Rich, powerful and complex on the palate, well balanced and without a hint of oxidation, this should continue to perform for many years. The Yquem was light gold, peaches/pears/apricots with honey and just a hint of caramel, a big palate coating Yquem, well balanced with a long finish. Still on the upswing if that’s possible. And yes, my favorite of the 88/89/90 trio. These heights weren’t reached again at Yquem until 2001.

It was after midnight before we split up, no doubt to the relief of our waitress who gamely kept up with our bottles and glassware demands.

And yes, Jacques and Jill invited us to an Orioles spring training game followed by a delicious dinner at a Mexican hole-in-the-wall place the next night. We had another fun evening but no wine (Mexican beer) and no Jim (no doubt tending to his mysterious love life).

[AKR]

Sounds like a great lineup of wines.