Saturday dinner

[Nicklasss]

I agree with everyones here : this Saturday night tasting of 1989 was fabulous. Can’t think about a better night. I can just incline myself to thanks Tom, Blanquito and Krista!
Thank you to all for your generosity and your friendship, impossible to describe. Thank you to DavidG, that couldn’t attend with Peggy, and sent anyway the two magnums.
I think that the vintage is awesome, being ripe, intense, complex and still having balanced. Interestingly, great wines at every levels of the Crus Classés in the Médoc.
Note are difficult to assess in such event so I guess I’m better doing like Comte Flaneur, ratings by range of quality. Also I did not taste that much wines, and depending on which bottle was tried and at what time in the evening, that can differ much from others. All 1989 except if noted with another vintage.

Tremendous wines

La Mission Haut-Brion : Poise, power, balance, length, a wine of very long tobacco, smoke, spicy all kind of dark berries. The wine is great on the nose, and in mouth. 99-100.

Petrus : Still young but what a wine! The utterly example of Pomerol, definition of Pomerol. Long, violet flowers, black and red fruits, blood, truffle, light tobacco. Extremely long, incredible tannic and structured balance. 99.

Exceptionnal wines

Lynch Bages: from the magnum, less evolved but it was the ‘’Poor man Mouton’’ that night. Soooo Pauillac, with blackcurrants, blackfruits, graphite, some cedar, noble wood, with kind of dry unsweeted brownies element. Perfumed and dense and blanaced and long. 97.

Montrose : I had it later in the night, it probably helped. Nose was not 100 % opened but all the signature of blackfruit and blackcurrant were there, with some licorice and that nice ripe but austere blackberries and blackcurrants in mouth. Mixed with dense minerality, integrate oak, light spices, again a very long and structured mouth. 96-97.

Pichon Baron : Just a bit more fruity than the Lynch. A terribly good bottle, but I don’t know why less Pauillac signature than some other bottles in the past. Blue and blackfuits, sexy oak vanilla, intense and creamy. Long. 96.

Super wines

Léoville Las Cases : Probably the best bottle of that wine I ever had. Blackberries, spices, good tannins that are ripe, long. Showing more things, less LLC austerity. Very good power and balance. 95.

Vieux Chateau Certan : I like this Pomerol with good amount of Cabernet. Dark, tobacco, hemp, blackberries, blackcurrants, light touch of vegetal cabernet. Powerful mouth, light austerity, long dense fruity finish. 94-95.

Rausan-Ségla : (the good bottle, the one not at our table SFed) Super nose of Margaux berries, spices and a nice black element. Maybe a bit of licorice. Balanced powerful mouth, complex, fruity and long. 94.

Ausone : My first Ausone, thanks to Stefan. Clearly a roasted fruit nose, lots of minerals, licorice, light blue fruits. Mouth was not as powerful as I would have thougth, but what a complexity, definition and very good length. A Saint-Émilion with character and it own personality. 94.

Angélus : Creamy, sexy, wood integrated. Sexy fruit, ripe and almost lightly sweet blue fruit, rich in mouth, soft spices cinnamon, noble vanilla, rich blackberries. Perfumed final but medium length only. 94.

Palmer : Even if the bottle I had was having a mouth a bit closed, nose was mixture of flowers, Margaux berries, rich spicy vanilla oak and blackberries, perfumed and powerful. Mouth was very good fruit and oak, rich but a bit dry on the finish. 94.

1996 Lynch Bages : Great blackcurrants, light graphite, cedar, a touch of vegetal Cabernet. Very 1996 by it power, tannins and freshness. Very good fruit in mouth, with a blackcurrants component and graphite. Very Pauillac. 93.

1995 Certan de May : I like Certan de May. Again a kind of slightly austere wines, with rasberries, black cherries, lot of iron minerals, earthy tones and slight vegetal spicy tones. Very Pomerol. 93.

Excellent wines

Talbot : Spicy, lots of concentrated red berries, some noble wood tones. Leather, something slightly roasted but with a medium to semi-powerful balanced mouth. Medium length, some tannins. A very good showing for this magnum. 92.

La Lagune : Super perfumed, with some flowers and light balsamic notes, to the powerful blackberries aromas. Silky in mouth, slight roasted fruit, nice oak, something blues. Medium perfumes on the final, low tannins. 92.

Haut Bailly : Decent good concentration fruit, ripe cranberries and rasberries. Something smoky and meaty. Medium power mouth, balanced with soft tannins. Final of smoke and blackfruits. 91-92.

??? wines

Rausan Ségla : (the bottle on our table) Fruity and spicy, but very angular with lots of acidity.

1986 Pichon Lalande : All the time I had this wine in the past, I always thought it was too young. That bottle seemed evolved to me with leather and lighter fruit.

1989 Haut Brion : Slightly to mediumly corked. What a shame. Muted nose with wet cork. Mouth was also weird.

1989 Canon : it was a bit tough in mouth. Black fruits and calcaire rocks.

Of the Sauternes, the 1959 Yquem was extremely good, with still having some great fruit and botrytis mixture. I must admit, I was getting tired when I got to the Sauternes. The 1986 Raymond Lafon tasted young, citrusy, zesty with good botrytis. The 1988 Rieussec was rich, honeyed, peaches, apricots with a long fruit sweet final.
A great night and I will not thank you enough everyone, for being there and making it a great success. I’m just sorry that it is impossible in those nights to pass lot of time with each person who were there, but that will force me to try to attend more offlines…

Nic

[Nicklasss]

Other stuff done on Saturday

AM : Denver Art Museum (where I met Jal/Jill).

Noon : Lunch with other BWEers.

After lunch : Pool and push ups (ok just 30 min) and a power nap.

After dinner : Stout with the late timer BWEers, a few minutes bowling with Gail/Tom and Marjorie/Chris, back to the hotel for 2-3 last small glass of leftover wines in Jim's room.

Busy day.

Nic

[JimHow]

One of the great moments in BWE history, Nicola invokes the lyrics of Paul McCartney singing to John Lennon....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YkzgAJbfme8

What a night!

[Chateau Vin]

As BD has promised, seems like Lynch Poor man’s Lafite Bages has come on top of Pichon Purple Baron...

[Nicklasss]

That night, it is clear to me that the Poor man Mouton won, by a small margin, but won anyway.

Nic

[Nicklasss]

Ok Jim, you achieved to make me pour a tear!

I was happy to get that idea at the very last last last minute, so could sing my sentence without a tear, but it was near!

Nic