I needed to make a trip to DC to pick up some 2015 futures that a friend generously offered to have shipped to him and to hand off a few bottles of 2015 Canon I picked up for him, so we decided to take advantage of the opportunity and opened a few bottles at always reliable Dino's Grotto last night. A few of the DC BWE crew met and some DC Berserker buddies joined us. We had a great time as always.
I’ll eventually get around to transcribing some notes. Marcs was scribbling away on his phone as well. In the meantime, here are some pics. The standout reds were the 1989 Conseillante and the 2000 and 2001 Pichon Baron, but all were quite enjoyable.
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The seven of us had a great time - four hour dinner with a lot of wonderful wine. Food was excellent and pleasant conversation with a nice group of people.
Thanks to David and Chris for helping make this happen! It was an epic lineup of wines -- the reds alone were the 1989, 2000, 2001, 2002, and 2003 Pichon Baron, the 1985 Cos d'Estournel, the 1989 Conseillante, the 2004 Ducru Beaucaillou. Then Chris also brought a 2006 Bollinger Rose and a half bottle of 1996 Yquem. All for just seven people! The kitchen staff drank well after we left I'm sure, or at least I hope they did since it would have been quite a waste to throw out the remains of those bottles. We stayed for about four hours but there was still plenty left.
Contrary to David's implication I didn't take good notes, sadly. Or maybe happily -- the wine and conversation were just too good to spend time hunting and pecking away on my phone. I also find myself running very short on adjectives and descriptors at events where more than two or three wines are opened. At my next get together I am going to corner someone smart and ask them what their adjectives are for describing red Bordeaux, even after all these years I do not have names for what have become very familiar perceptions.
My main takeaway is that Pichon Baron is really good. Just head and shoulders above some other very fine chateau like e.g. Leoville Barton or Leoville Poyferre. What is striking to me is that it mixes classically rigorous left bank structure and elegance/freshness with an exotic and hedonistic touch, without ever losing the balance between the two. All of these Pichon Barons had a really beautiful element of violets-blackberries-perfume-incense on the nose that I found really seductive and beguiling. Some a lot more than others but they all had it. Then there was also a savory-meaty quality on the nose that mixed seamlessly with that perfumey element to add a crucial extra layer of complexity and depth. So subtly exotic without a hint of being overdone or cloying.
On the palate there wasn't quite that same sweetness with all of the wines, even the 1989, having a slightly tart and tannic edge on the palate, even as most had beautiful depth of fruit that made them very pleasurable.
In terms of the vintages, the 2000, 2001, and 2003 really stood out for me, with the 2000 being the best of all. The 2000 had that ravishing exoticism on the nose to the greatest degree of any of the wines. The purity and intensity of fruit on the 2000 were such that the nose had a certain grape sorbet or grape ice quality -- pure distilled essence of fruit -- that I really love. The palate was a bit constrained and not yet completely relaxed or unfolded but had a pure depth of fruit like a beam of light running through the whole thing that made it very pleasurable today. I tasted the 2000 when it was quite young (a few years after bottling) and I remember it having a super exotic "barbecue sauce" component -- rich, sweet, smoky -- on top of the classic Bordeaux element, which made a big impression. Now, almost fifteen years later, I can see how that quality has calmed down and mixed in with the rest of the wine in a really beautiful way.
The 2001 and 2003 were also superb and gave the 2000 a run for its money. They both had striking depth of fruit, surprisingly so in the case of the 2001. I have had the 2001 a number of times over the years. Early in its life it was a somewhat "pinched" and narrow wine, very "linear" and didn't feel particularly rich or concentrated, even as it clearly had a good amount of fruit locked away. Now, judging by this bottle, the fruit core has really blossomed and added a lot of depth to the wine. The nose in particular is gorgeous. But living up to vintage stereotypes I found the palate to be just a bit less deep and rewarding than the 2000. Still, a beautifully intense wine with a richness that I would not have suspected previously.
The 2003 was in the running for the best 2003 I have had, up there with the Cos d'Estournel and better than the Leoville Barton (very good) and the Leoville Poyferre (overrated). Like the others, it had a beautiful nose, but the palate, in line with vintage stereotypes, was a bit looser / sweeter and less focused than the 2000 and 2001. But not in an unpleasant way at all. It had a brown sugar/caramel quality to it and a really nice unobtrusive sweetness that it made it very enjoyable even if a classicist could criticize it for being a touch less structured than the 2000/2001. (But that's a relative term since it was still quite elegant by any normal standards). A very seductive wine without the crude tannins one sometimes finds in 2003s.
The 2002 could not really stand up to the surrounding company, even if it would have been fine (perhaps more than fine) on its own. The palate was thin and green, not devastatingly so, but enough that it just felt clearly inferior to the other PBs which had effortless classical elegance while adding on much more depth of fruit and complexity than you got in the 2002.
The 1989 was fine, better than the 2002 but not up to the 00/01/03 in my view. It felt a bit tired to me in comparison to those wines, but was hardly on its last legs. It had some of that nice perfumey quality on the nose and a sternness mixed with sweetness the palate that eventually expressed as a very nice licorice component. Good stuff but it's possible that I simply prefer wines in that "early peak" period when you get more fruit. I felt like I got to the 1989 maybe five years too late and the 2000 maybe five years too early for an absolute peak.
Other wines -- last night was really about Pichon Baron for me, but the other wines were obviously good. The 1989 Conseillante stood out, with a pleasant stalky/vegetal component mixed with a certain light/elegant brown sugar sweetness I find is a consistent note in Conseillante. I didn't spend as much time with the 1985 Cos or the 2004 Ducru as I would have liked, both due to lingering over the PBs and to biological limits on alcohol consumption. However, I remember the 2004 Ducru as having an absolutely gorgeous nose, really subtle and delicate, more delicate than the PBs.
Last edited by marcs on Fri Feb 15, 2019 3:46 am, edited 1 time in total.
I needed to make a trip to DC to pick up a some 2015 futures that a friend generously offered to have shipped to him and to hand off a few bottles of 2015 Canon I picked up for him, so we decided to take advantage of the opportunity and opened a few bottles at always reliable Dino's Grotto last night. A few of the DC BWE crew met and some DC Berserker buddies joined us. We had a great time as always.
A welcome bottle of Champage accompanied the introductions and a shift to a larger table. Dean could see we were packing more bottles than we’re going to fit.
2006 Bollinger Champagne Brut Rosé (Special Edition) - France, Champagne
A fun starter to the evening. Light salmon color, strawberries, bit of sweetness, nice balance, medium body, medium finish.
We enjoyed these over a leisurely 4 hour dinner. Food was excellent, especially the home-made pastas. Black truffle was an added bonus. Standouts were wild boar tagliatelle, duck lasagne, and a vegetable risotto.
1989 Château Pichon-Longueville Baron - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
Cellared since release, perfect cork and fill. Pop and pour, drank over 4 hours. Dark red to rim, nose was less forward than a few years ago, but showed dark fruits, pencil shavings and clean moist earth. Medium bodied, not as full or as focused as before, good balance, moderate complexity, medium finish. Very good to excellent, this didn’t live up to expectations. Fading or just a below-par bottle? One left in the cellar, will make a note to open it relatively soon.
2000 Château Pichon-Longueville Baron - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
Cellared since release, perfect cork and fill. Popand pour, drunk over 4 hours. Dark red, minimal lightening at rim. Nice full nose of cassis, tar, leather and earth. Full bodied, ripe fruit, good balance, long finish, some complexity. Excellent to outstanding. Best of the 1989, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003 group of Barons, and with the 1989 Conseillante one of my two favorites on the night.
2001 Château Pichon-Longueville Baron - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
Part of a 5-vintage vertical. Perfect cork and fill. Pop and por and drunk over 4 hours. Dark red core. Decent nose but a bit thin and astringenton opening, I wasn’t much impressed. But when I came back to it 2 hours later the wine had really opened up with a fragrant nose of cassis, earth and hints of veggies. Full bodied and rich with excellent balance and a subtle streak of green adding complexity and freshness. No real aged complexity yet but plenty of fruit, tannin and acid to have a long and promising future. This kept improving through the night and finished behind the 2000 but a little ahead of the 1989 and 2003 Barons on the night. Excellent.
2002 Château Pichon-Longueville Baron - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
The weak sister in the 1989, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003 collection of Pichon Barons. Perfect cork and fill. Pop and pour, drunk over 4 hours. Dark red core. Somewhat shy nose, medium body, a bit too green and acidic for the amount of fruit but maybe in the wheelhouse of the hard-core AFWE crowd. Medium finish. It didn’t round out with time like the 2001 did. Very good.
2003 Château Pichon-Longueville Baron - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
Perfect cork and fill, pop and pour and drunk over 4 hours. Dark red core. Forward nose with cassis and smoky tarry notes. Full body, ripest fruit of the vertical with some palate-coating sweetness but still well balanced, plenty of tannins, medium-long finish. Behind the 2000 and nipping at the heels of the 2001, but a modernist might place it higher. Should drink well for years, hopefully with increased complexity with further aging. Excellent.
1989 Château La Conseillante - France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol
Perfect cork and fill. Pop and pour, drunk over 4 hours. Dark red core, minimal lightening at rim. Good from the get-go, but itreallyramps up after a hour or so with a complex intense nose of ripe red fruits, spices and earth. Medium to full body, lush layered fruit mixing beautifully with some minor green notes, fresh balancing acidity, long finish, outstanding. This and the 2000 Pichon Baron were my 2 favorites on the night.
1985 Château Cos d'Estournel - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe
Pop and pour, drunk over 4 hours. Dark red core, fading at the rim. Dusty, mushroom and earth nose with faded cassis and cherry fruit, hints of cedar. Medium body, nice complexity and balance, medium-long finish. Though a step behind bottles from a few years ago, still excellent and one of the stars of the night.
2004 Château Ducru-Beaucaillou - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien
Pop and pour, drunk over 4 hours. Dark red to rim. Subtle delicate nose with cassis, tobacco, earth. Medium body, good balance, no real complexity yet, drinking well but would expect it to improve with more time in the cellar. Very good to excellent now with a promising future.
A half-bottle of Yquem appeared as we were ordering desserts. No one complained.
1996 Château d'Yquem - France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes
Perfect cork and fill. From a half bottle, pop and pour and drunk over an hour. Light-medium gold. Enveloping nose of peaches, honey, flowers, crème brûlée, medium body, intense on the palate, still plenty of sweetness, excellent balance, medium longfinish, excellent to outstanding.
The 7 of us had an outstanding time. We couldn’t come close to finishing all 10 bottles, so we invited the staff to partake after we left.
Votes for favorite wines were divided. Not a one was bad. There was a lot of love for the 2000 and 2001 Pichon Baron andthe 1989 Conseillante, butalmost all the wines garnered some praise.
Nice reports and good to see the DC crowd having fun!
Pichon Baron is surely a great wine. It rarely is a deception. The 1989 we had in SF two years ago was just great. I really appreciated the 2001 in the past, more than the 2003 who is very fair for a 2003 but thebottle i had in the past was severely impacted by the 2003 vintage.
Never had the 2000 that looks glorious. The trio 2008-2009-2010 we had at the Chateau in 2015 was just "one of the best trio" i ever had.
I had the 2000 Lynch Bages with Jim in Maine. This is also a super 2000. After 1989 Purple Baron vs the 1989 Poor man Mouton, should we start a new era in 2020, the 2000 Purple Baron vs the 2000 Poor man Mouton? Blind, that could be the new rivalty of the next 7-10 years...
