2000 Bollinger, 2010 Sénéjac, 96 Lynch Bages, and 96 LMHB

[AlexR]

Hi,

Sunday lunch with a wine buddies visiting from Japan and New Zealand.

2000 Bollinger La Grande Année: The showed beautifully – creamy, biscuity, sleek and elegant with some oak nuances. Pretty much ready to drink though will, of course, hold for quite some time. Bollinger is, of course, not inexpensive, but I am always impressed with their Grande Année. Impeccable.

2006 Yquem: Had this with melon and Parma ham. At age 12 it was unfortunately very closed. The hallmarks are all there, just waiting to develop. A friend suggested decanting hours ahead next time. I have nothing to lose by trying this.
With grilled duck breast and pommes sarladaises, we had:

2010 Sénéjac, Haut Médoc: My friend Jenny Dobson visiting from N.Z. was winemaker at Sénéjac for years before she returned to her native country. She left in 1994, so I thought she might enjoy seeing how the wine had developed since her departure. It showed, in fact, very well and everyone was impressed with the wine’s structure and good fruit. Not at peak, but still quite enjoyable. Excellent value for money.

1996 Lynch Bages: At age 22, this was actually past its best, starting with the color. The bouquet was ultra-classic, with plenty of lead pencil nuances to accompany the fruity and tertiary aromas. But there was also an apple element, possibly green apple, that was a little off-putting. Good acidity and length on the palate, but I’d have preferred to drink this some time ago.

1996 La Mission: I thought it would be fun to serve another wine from the same vintage. This had a marvellous nose of humus, tobacco, and an exquisite complex bouquet of old Bordeaux. The wine was somewhat unbalanced on the palate though – while fruit had faded somewhat, there was a firm and somewhat unyielding tannic presence on the finish. For my taste, this, too, would have been preferable a few years ago. Even if the wine’s make-up is conducive to long ageing, this particular vintage did not have the freshness and fruitiness to accompany the tannin.

All the best,
Alex R.

[jal]

Alex, thanks fo the notes. Quite a disappointing showing for 1996s. I sold a case each of the Lynch and La Mission in 2010 after a ho hum showing by both. Seems like I should have no regrets.

[Racer Chris]

I like the 2010 Senejac. Wish I would have bought more.

[JimHow]

I have one bottle of 1996 Lynch left, my recollection from the last bottle several years ago is that it was on the downslope then.
This was great when it was young, but should have been consumed within its first 15 years.

[dstgolf]

Last 96 that I had was shared in Jim's hotel room in Dc. One left. I guess that I should drink up this Summer.

[Blanquito]

I’m still a fan of the 96 Lynch. I’ve had it twice, at BWE Conventions in 2016 and 2017, and both bottles had plenty of upside for my tastes (no surprise there). The bottle in 2016 even took a few hours of air to come together.

[Nicklasss]

The Bollinger and Senejac seem like the big hits that night. Sad and intriguing for the two 1996 Bordeaux. At 22 years old, they should be at their top. That makes me think about a good thread.

I miss these international unexpected super friendly dinners with Christine and Alex in the wine City.

Nic

[AKR]

Nice spectrum of wines. BillP, myself and our spouses had the 04 Bolly Grand Anee a couple nights ago before diving into some Rhones.

I don't think I've tried Senejac yet, despite all the positive comments, and its general availability on the shelf at TW and K&L.

I must commend putting the umlauts over the e's in Senejac. Powerful interweb skills.

[Racer Chris]

é
It's called accent aigu. Umlaut is not French.
I copy & paste from someone else's post when I want to use it.

[marcs]

Wow, I don't think of classed growths from good vintages as being on the downslope at 22 years old. I think of 20-25 years old as the peak for a good vintage and any decline thereafter to be very gradual. If that's too optimistic maybe I had best get to work soon on my 2000s!

[Claret]

I need to open my 96 Lynch.

[marcs]

I had the 1996 LMHB a few months ago and didn't think it was fading. Very balanced, cool, and elegant and thought it still had some unfolding to do.

[Blanquito]

Most 96 Classified Left Banks are either not really ready (my bet) or they were never really all that good.

Which is a different proposition than someone who generally prefers their claret young.

[felixp21]

Thanks for the notes Alex.
I purchased a case of the 96 Lynch EP and it was at it's best around 10-15 years post vintage, although in saying that, it's "best" never really achieved any great heights. The last couple of bottles looked tired, fortunately i have only 1 or 2 to go.
2009 and 2010 Senejac are superb values IMO.

[JimHow]

As usual, Felix, I believe you nailed it on the '96 Lynch.
Although, of course, I think it was at its best when it was REALLY young, like around 2000.

[Nicklasss]

BWE enabler, I bought a few 2016 Sénéjac.

Nic