BWE 20th Anniversary Dinner DC - Witness the Carnage

[NoahR]

First of several

[NoahR]

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[NoahR]

No clue how to make these things stand up straight...

[NoahR]

A few more

[NoahR]

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[Nicklasss]

Effectively Noah, what a night! The DC wine lover group is something. Great people to hang with, especially with these type of bottles.

I can just raise my hat to you guys, and David/marcs for organizing.

Lot of Bordeaux wines last night, very hard to keep track of everything. A few comments:

First i did not tried all the wines.

Champagnes were all good, but i slightly preferred the 2002 Bollinger Grande Année. The 1990 Perrier-Jouet Belle Époque was at a good spot, showing still some richness, bubbles and some aged characteristics.

My favorite wines last night were the two 1982 (LL and LLC), the 1986 Pichon Lalande (from a... 3 liters!), the 1990 Figeac and the 1990 Pichon Baron. A special mention to the 1995 Beauséjour-Duffau that came my way late but was in a right spot and a true terroir driven claret.

Among the numerous 2000, i prefered the Pichon Baron, the Léoville Barton and the Conseillante. Canon La Gaffelière was really exotic oak and fruit on the nose, with good complexity too.

For the 2000 Y, basically i liked it but what impressed me is the fact that the wine looks still very young for a 20 years old dry white!

I could also feel that Ausone is a very special Chateau. The 1990 was excellent, truly aristocratic lightly austere terroir blackfruit wine. Having taste the 1989 last year in Denver, what hits me is that the 1990 Ausone has the same mold and style that the 1989, even if the two vintages are quite different. This is impressive when you think that the 1989 and 1990 of many Chateaux are so different (Pichon Baron, Lynch Bages, LLC, Léoville Barton, La Conseillante, Palmer, Sociando Mallet).

Last, i failed so much at the blind tasting. I guess David is a genius to have built a blind tasting made of 1990-2000-2010 Figeac. The 2000 was filled with green pepper and dill on nose and mouth, so vegetal hard to understand.

Finally, i did not had any gel left for my medium length hairs, so i'm sorry they were so out of control. Marie-Claude is still making jokes about me, attending that 20th convention, with a " Lyle Lovett" look, like said Mrs. Vino.

See you back soon.

Nic

[OrlandoRobert]

Wow what a night! I was wondering who the Lyle Lovett dude was. You all enjoyed some incredible wines!

[Blanquito]

I didn’t recognize you in that pic at first, Nic. Lyle Lovett indeed!

[NoahR]

Bobby - you would have loved it. That 2000 Figeac blind to start the night was right out of the Loire. 2000 Sociando was great. And Friday night had 1989 and 1997 Couly-Dutheuil, 1990 Raffault, and a bunch of good N Rhône’s. Come up from Orlando for the next one!

[AKR]

Impressive lineup.

[William P]

Well done gentlemen and gentlewomen. Wish I had been there. The spirit is willing, the flesh a little weak.

Bill

[marcs]

What an epic evening. This was really a true Saturday night BWE dinner. Very different than the Friday night experience, which was leisurely and exploratory, lingering with bottles to learn about different regions. This was like trying to surf a stormy sea of Bordeaux, hanging on for dear life as wave after wave of wine swept over you. Even if you managed to keep a glass of a particular favorite full for a while, you soon lost track of what your other three glasses held. You only had a few minutes to contemplate a new wine before a fellow BWE-er appeared at your elbow with yet another legendary bottle, politely asking if you cared for a once-in-a-lifetime sample before your fellow guests drained it. Only the 1986 Pichon Lalande managed to last out most of the dinner and that's because it was a 3L. Perhaps all Saturday night bottles should be 3Ls from now on.

Truth is, on Friday night I had a very distinct impressions of the wines, but tonight the wines seemed after a while to meld together into a broad impression of left-bankness. It was on a continuum of sorts, from the LLCs at one end of masculine crispness and the Pichon Barons introducing a somewhat more exotic floral layer on top of the strict cabernet frame. (Surprisingly, I found the 2000 Leoville Barton, which showed very well, to have a touch of that exoticness as well). Perhaps I will add more impressions of specific wines later, but tonight was a night to just float on the tides of Bordeaux, and do it in great company.

P.S. one quick impression -- wow for the 1982 La Lagune! Not so much that it was my WOTN but that I preferred it to a very solid 1982 LLC and quite a number of other big name wines. Really didn't know about this producer...maybe takes the Haut Medoc crown from Sociando Mallet...are there any other vintages this good?

[DavidG]

It was great to see everyone again and to meet some new people from the DC area. More local carnage to follow, no doubt.

I thought it would be fun to throw the 90, 00, and 10 Figeac at you all blind. Too bad one of the two 1990 bottles was corked. From my recollection of which bottle ran out when as I was pouring, I think most who had a pour from the good bottle of 90 voted it first. Most of those with a corked sample who didn't get to share a sip of the good one had the 2010 first. It was 35-40% for each, with the remaining 20-30% picking the 2000. I voted for the 1990. The 2010 was clearly much younger and more tannic. Some thought it reflected a change in style but I don't believe Rolland got involved until 2012. The 2000 was leaner and more vegetal, but not excessively so to my palate. Still a very good to excellent wine. Alfert, you would have loved it.

Once my blind tasting duties were over, I didn't even try to keep track of all the bottles. I'm sure I missed some - didn't try the Sociando or Palmer. Marcus said it well: a night spent in great company floating on the tides of Bordeaux.

Standouts for me were:
2002 Bolly RD - unless the glasses were mixed up, I thought this demonstrated more depth and complexity than the 02 Grande Année
1982 La Lagune - a repeat performance of the greatness it showed in Ft. Lauderdale a couple of weeks ago, maybe a half-step behind that bottle but right up there with many of the best bottles last night
1982 Leoville Las Cases
1990 Leoville Las Cases
1990 Ausone
1986 Pichon Lalande
1989 Pichon Baron - tasted side-by-side with the 1990 PB, I gave the edge to the 1989. Both outstanding wines
1990 Pichon Baron
1988 Gruaud Larose - seriously, this was up there with the best of the

Most of the 2000 Bordeaux we had last night, for me anyway, have not yet hit peak and will get better with more time as they develop greater tertiary complexity. I still loved them all. The 2000 Magdelaine was most ready of the bunch and was more classic than many of the others.

The staff at Bistro Cacao did a great job dodging between us as we shuttled bottles from table to table. Much nicer room than the space they used to occupy. Highly recommended.

[marcs]

That opening Figeac tasting was terrific, thanks David! I thought the 2010 was in such a strikingly different style than the first two that Rolland or no Rolland I can't believe it didn't reflect some kind of change in philosophy. More chocolatey and more booze-y. 2010 right bank has that character in general in my experience, but it seems to me that whatever process was used to create the 2000 they must have moved away from it by 2010

[marcs]

BTW -- I brought a 2000 Leoville Poyferre, 2000 Grand Puy Lacoste, and 2005 Grand Puy Lacoste and I'm not sure they ever got opened (the other three bottles I brought did). Did anyone notice those bottles, open/taste them, or see what happened to them? Thanks!

[JimHow]

Just got home to Maine, many thoughts to share, will return when I regroup a little.
Another absolutely epic weekend.

[SF Ed]

Glad to see the true spirit of BWE! I'm sorry I missed it but it looks like everybody had a good time.

I like the idea of focus on top double magnums. 1986 PLL is a great wine. Not sure when to pull it, maybe BWE 2030 or so, but I have a 3L of 2000 Lynch Bages already mentally set aside for an epic BWE Saturday night event.

SF Ed

[ericindc]

Janet and I had great time. Thanks for Marc S for getting the venue all set up! It was great meeting everyone who flew in for the event.

So. many. good. wines. The food was quite good as well. I agree with the sentiment that alot of the wines started to blend together. Generally I was really happy how the wines I brought showed and was glad people enjoyed them. I have notes on all the wines, and I'll probably add them to CT at some point. Thanks again for a great night!

[stefan]

It was indeed a great weekend. David and Marcus did a fantastic job of organizing the convention. The venues were excellent, as were the food and service. The wines were overwhelming, especially on Saturday. No way I could taste everything. Still, I did appreciate the tertiary characteristics of the 1990 Figeac. The other 1990s (Ausone, Pichon Baron, and Leoville Las Cases) I drank were mature and full of fruit; really good. Unfortunately, the 1990 Mouton was corked. As my taste and smell abilities have declined, I have enjoyed young Bordeaux more and think that the 2000 are drinking well now. I did not see the 2000 Leoville Poyferre, Grand Puy Lacoste, or Grand Puy Lacoste, but the Pichon Baron, Léoville Barton and Conseillante were all excellent. I liked the Barton best. Both 1982s (La Lagune and Leoville las Cases) were full of life and impressive. I drank a full glass of the wonderful wine from the 3 liter bottle of 1986 Pichon Lalande, which is one of my favorite Comtesse. It was great with my duck breast.

[AKR]

I had not realized this was the annual confab. For some reason I thought this was the precursor to the France trip, and everyone was flying out tomorrow or something.

[DavidG]

Marcus, I noticed a few unopened bottles on the front table as I was leaving. Didn’t look closely but one was a Léoville Poyferré. They were there when we left around 11. Hope someone rescued them.

[Chateau Vin]

Great lineup and looks like an epic time you all had... Congrats...