Pomerol Fest at Black Salt, 9/30

[JimHow]

What a treat.
A fantastic dinner set up by Winona Chief.
Just one interesting and spectacular wine after another.
The champagnes were distinctive and unique.
The Billecart-Salmon 2002 was really classy, shy on the nose at first but it was so light on its feet on the palate and blossomed into something special.

The three La Conseillantes were brilliant as you might expect.
I agree with Patrick, the 2000 is in Howquito at this time.
The 2010 was in a pure state of Howness, loved it.

The VCCs were racy and seductive, we laughed at the 2015 for its overblown alcohol, we predicted it was a Leve kind of wine and, sure enough, Marcus looked it up and it was a JL100. I think I liked it more than Marcus, yes it was alcoholic but raarrr.
The 1982 was pure ecstasy, candidate for WOTN, but the 2011 was a real revelation, as Ian would say, great balance, restraint and class. Loved that 2011.

Everyone was looking healthy and stunningly resplendent, a sight for sore eyes.
We had many other wines as well, I'll get to those as well...

[Michael-P]

Full TNs for the evening please....

[AKR]

VCC = Very Classy Cadre !

[Comte Flaneur]

Keep the vicarious notes and anecdotes coming!

Like J-C, I wish I was there - sounds like a fabulous evening in so many ways

With you spiritually if not in the flesh and wishing you new zeniths for the Friday and Saturday events

In BWE veritas!

[Blanquito]

Jim summed up the highlights with a perfect closing argument.

Here’s the full list of wines from last night:
2000 Bollinger La Grande Année — delicious, mature, in a richer, nutty style — 93 pts
2002 Billecart-Salmon Cuvée Nicolas François Billecart — still showing young but much better than the bottle I had a year ago, pitch perfect balance, stylistically middle of the road, with great acids, palette and length — 94 pts
2006 Piper-Heidsieck Cuvée Rare — intense and thrilling as usual. Perhaps just off the quality of the 02, this is still killer and my favorite of the 3 with great chalky length and laser beams of light — 94-95 pts

2012 JM Boillot La Garenne Puligny Montrachet — bright and zippy, with a big hit of fresh lemon juice. Great mouthfeel and length, just a bit foursquare — 91-92 pts
2015 Bernard Moreau Chassagne Montrachet Morgeot — delicious, round (for burg), fruity yet classy, will improve — 91 pts

1982 VCC — sensational bouquet, rich and exotic, fully mature and seductive, quintessential old school claret profile from a profound vintage — 94+ pts
1989 Fleur de Gay — I enjoyed for its more red-fruited profile, but it was a little overshadowed by the company — 90 pts
1989 l’Evangile — terrific, complex, mature merlot here with plenty of grip and depth still. A top wine. 93-94 pts.
1990 l’Evangile — I got the first pour and was underwhelmed but everyone liked (the bottle was drained quickly), so NR.
1990 La Conseillante — red fruited, spicy, fully mature, complex, classy, integrated and seamless, my fav — 95+ pts.
2000 La Conseillante — still young but drinking at point, a worthy successor to the 89/90 duo. Deep and concentrated but nothing forced. Brilliant — 93-94 pts now, but 95+ once at peak.
2001 VCC — a little forgotten at the table, but I thought terrific. Early days here still at age 20 but integrated and complex for such a young wine — 93 pts
2001 Certan de May — also flew under the radar, but sneaky good with a wonderful minerality combined with black cherry fruit. 92-93 pts.
2010 La Conseillante — ok, a great young wine, a powerhouse in the making. Easily the class of the young wines and it wears it’s (stated) 15% alcohol with ease. Flashy and fun yet still true. Should have a brilliant future — 93+ pts
2011 VCC — I didn’t love, I found the nose a little over ripe, but shows promise. Surprisingly packed and stacked for a 2011. Too young for me to judge — NR
2015 VCC — see Jim’s note. Could come around someday a become a legend but kinda gross now — NR

1986 d’Yquem — a class unto itself, nuff said — 95+ pts
1999 Climens — very very good, but lacks the spark of the others — 92-93 pts
2001 La Tour Blanche — terrific as always, in a great spot with lots of saline-oyster shell notes to go with great verve and depth — 94 pts

[greatbxfreak]

Blanquito,

You're quite low on points and what tke f... with your NR remarks??

[Comte Flaneur]

How to win friends and influence people

[DavidG]

Great reports gents. Between Jim's and Patrick’s notes it is pretty clear to see what is going on.

Blanquito,

You're quite low on points and what tke f... with your NR remarks??

Izak, better NR than a number that you can’t rely on. The descriptions tell the story. And I appreciate the avoidance of point inflation that so many critics have succumbed to. When everything is 98-100 points, it’s difficult to tell which was preferred.

Also, what Ian said.

[OrlandoRobert]

Blanquito,

You're quite low on points and what tke f... with your NR remarks??

This post is in astonishingly bad taste.

It’s like you have two different personas at times.

Blanquito has a phenomenal palate, and I tend to share a distinct commonality with his views on Bordeaux, vintages and the modern pariahs. His scores are his scores, you may not like them, but at least they are honest and transparent, with no agenda or guile. The NR is a normal designation when you just do not know what to say about a wine. I did it recently on a Chateau Ausone, ironically from the same blowsy vintage, 2015. You seem to like these big ripe high-ABV wines, the modern stuff made by the ubiquitous consultants like Rolland, and stuff like that. Classic Bordeaux purists tends not to like those wines. Not that my palate is anything as quality as Pat’s palate, but I own hardly any 2015s. I love VCC, a top-5 estate for me, but did NOT buy 2015. I did buy 2014 and 2016. And 2012 and 2011. I found Pat’s post and his notes to be excellent, and thankful that he shared them.

[greatbxfreak]

Cool down and relax OrlandoRobert,

I was only saying that INMYHONESTOPINION ratings were kind of low. I personally only write NR when the wine in question is oxidized, corked or totally dead. That's why I was a bit surprised by Blanquito using it as an insecure valuation.

I like both traditional and semi-modern wines, not the big ripe ones.

I only said that La Conseillantes should have higher points and VCCs as well. NRs could have been rated as 90-94p. Otherwise, a great collection of wines to taste. Jealous, that's what I am.

VCC isn't a Rolland wine. In 2015, VCC wasn't allowed to add water to the wine to get the alcohol per cent down! (irony can be present here).

[DavidG]

Izak, you managed to prompt 3 people to respond almost immediately to your post, all of whom thought it was inappropriately derogatory. If you were joking, it sure didn't come across that way. Do you know how the smileys work on this forum? They can help indicate when you are kidding - something that often doesn't come across with the typed word as well as it does in person.

[jal]

Great evening everyone, love reading about the wine, the friendship and the conversation. Keep 'em coming.

I trust Patrick's taste buds over anyone's. Everything he likes, I like. Almost everything he dislikes I also dislike.

[greatbxfreak]

DavidG,

I know how the smiles work.

You're right - I should use them more often.

[JimHow]

...

[Blanquito]

Thanks, guys, you’re too kind. My notes are definitely snapshot impressions from memory, as I didn’t write anything down and we were all mostly focused on the outstanding company (the food was also out of this world). Everyone seemed in fine fettle, but Jim BD seemed especially radiant in the afterglow of his successful defense.

I am unashamedly old school in my preferences and conservative with my scores by the standards of the day. 95 pts is basically as high as I score for all but a handful of wines (my only 100 pt wine was the 86 Mouton), so I thought the standard last night exceptionally good. Wineries don’t send me complimentary sample bottles for a reason!

[robert goulet]

I'm disappointed Blanquito....I think that '90 Conseillante should be a 96+ wine...shame on u!

[Musigny 151]

I love the fact that somebody is very conservative with his scores. It is hard to differentiate between the various Suckling 100 point wines, and I could never buy any of those pesky 98 and 99 point wines. What are they doing even on the same page as all those wines with perfect scores?

And in case Izak missed it, here is the

[OrlandoRobert]

Thanks, guys, you’re too kind. My notes are definitely snapshot impressions from memory, as I didn’t write anything down and we were all mostly focused on the outstanding company (the food was also out of this world). Everyone seemed in fine fettle, but Jim BD seemed especially radiant in the afterglow of his successful defense.

I am unashamedly old school in my preferences and conservative with my scores by the standards of the day. 95 pts is basically as high as I score for all but a handful of wines (my only 100 pt wine was the 86 Mouton), so I thought the standard last night exceptionally good. Wineries don’t send me complimentary sample bottles for a reason!

I’m pretty much the same way. The only 100s that I have ever doled out have been to 1989 Petrus (twice), 1989 Haut Brion, 1986 Mouton and 1982 Mouton (twice). In the last 3 years, the notable wines that I have had at 97 or higher have been 1982 Haut Brion, 2000 Cheval Blanc, 1998 Trotanoy, 1982 Magdelaine, 1998 VCC, 2010 Marcel Juge and 2005 Rougeard Les P. I had Krug Clos Mesnil and 2002 Dom P2 recently that would be up there as well. I have also had a few DRCs from Bern’s in the past year, one from 1969, that are up there as well. The 2017 Le Pin and 2015 Ausone that I had a few months ago did not make that cut. It takes a very special, rare wine to break 97 for me. It seems like every critic and wanna-be critic tosses out scores this high with every tasting, it’s become incredulous, clownish.

[JimHow]

I’m a Bordeaux wine enthusiast, so my scores trend high.

[s*d*r]

Blanquito is da Man.

Excellent evocative notes with the perspective of years of careful tasting. Doubt they would be better if he took notes.

Scores if anything seem to be a trifle high to me. Almost everything over 90, lots of stuff 93-96, but fortunately parsimonious with anything higher.

Glad too see everyone is having a great time. Love to hear some more detail about the food at Black Salt.

[stefan]

Great descriptions, Patrick. For the ones I have had recently, your scores are consistent with my ratings. I am surprised that you liked the 2010 La Conseillante so much. I would like to try it early next decade.

[Blanquito]

Thanks, guys, you’re too kind. My notes are definitely snapshot impressions from memory, as I didn’t write anything down and we were all mostly focused on the outstanding company (the food was also out of this world). Everyone seemed in fine fettle, but Jim BD seemed especially radiant in the afterglow of his successful defense.

I am unashamedly old school in my preferences and conservative with my scores by the standards of the day. 95 pts is basically as high as I score for all but a handful of wines (my only 100 pt wine was the 86 Mouton), so I thought the standard last night exceptionally good. Wineries don’t send me complimentary sample bottles for a reason!

I’m pretty much the same way. The only 100s that I have ever doled out have been to 1989 Petrus (twice), 1989 Haut Brion, 1986 Mouton and 1982 Mouton (twice). In the last 3 years, the notable wines that I have had at 97 or higher have been 1982 Haut Brion, 2000 Cheval Blanc, 1998 Trotanoy, 1982 Magdelaine, 1998 VCC, 2010 Marcel Juge and 2005 Rougeard Les P. I had Krug Clos Mesnil and 2002 Dom P2 recently that would be up there as well. I have also had a few DRCs from Bern’s in the past year, one from 1969, that are up there as well. The 2017 Le Pin and 2015 Ausone that I had a few months ago did not make that cut. It takes a very special, rare wine to break 97 for me. It seems like every critic and wanna-be critic tosses out scores this high with every tasting, it’s become incredulous, clownish.

This would be a fun exercise, coming up with all the wines I recall having at 96-100. Right off the top of my head, I could add the 82 Haut Brion and Lafleur, the 82 Cheval Blanc, the 1990 DRC Richebourg, the 1987 Phelps Eisele, the 86 Lafite….

[AKR]

Nice to see representation by Fleur de Gay. It seems like there are so few mentions of that on this board.

[Nicklasss]

Thanks for reporting and the nice pictures.

I think Patrick's note are very well in line with his palate and quite interesting to read. Not every wines (especially merlot) need to be rated 97 to 99 points.

All great Pomerol wines, but i guess most of them a minimum of one more blanquito to start to fit blanquito's palate!

And the 95+ rating for the 1990 La Conseillante is a good score coming from blanquito. Personnally, i scored that same wine 97-98 in the past, but for me it is on the right spot. The 95+ for blanquito is saying that it can be even better for him in a few years.

[Winona Chief]

Thanks Blanquito, for posting your impression of the wines. Lots of great wines on Thursday night.

I didn’t take any notes but I can say I liked all of the Champagnes.

I thought the 2012 Boillot Puligny was a step up (just loved that lemon zest) from the 2015 Moreau Chassagne.

My favorite Pomerols were the 1982 Vieux Chateau Certan, 1990 Conseillante and 1989 L’Evangile.

I have had mixed results with 1986 and 1988 Yquem, so it was great that this bottle of the 1986 was top notch. The La Tour Blanche illustrated what a great year 2001 was for Sauternes/Barsac.

Many thanks to all the participants for sharing their cellar treasures.

Chris Bublitz

[robert goulet]

Orlbobby we had the 2000 Dom P2 ...though I did pop the 2002 P2 for my folks...its v.good but its no 2000...not yet at least

[OrlandoRobert]

Orlbobby we had the 2000 Dom P2 ...though I did pop the 2002 P2 for my folks...its v.good but its no 2000...not yet at least

Ok cool, I was confused. What vintage was that Krug?

[robert goulet]

Krug Mesnil was the '04 vintage

[Claudius2]

Guys
Sounds like a really good tasting, even if a bottle or two did not shine as expected.
I only occasionally drink wines from Pomerol.
I hardly ever see them here in Singapore though I do have a few bottles from 2005, 08 and 09.
There is a OWC of 2005 Lafleur in the storage unit somewhere but I feel almost scared to try it.
It is now going for SGD2,000 to 3,000 here (about USD1500-2300 plus tax) and I sometimes wonder if I will be disappointed.
For the record, I did not pay anything like that and as nobody else bidded on it, I bargained the auctioneer down.
It was right at the end of a long live auction and most bidders had either left or fallen asleep from the amount of wine served at the event.....

Yet that was several years ago, and there has been major price escalation since then and now there are few bargains to be had.
When they turn up at auction here (they are all sourced in Europe by the auctioneers) they are now very expensive and even the lesser ranked wines are multiples of what they would cost in the USA or Europe. The cost of air freight, customs clearance, taxes, commission and the like also take their toll.

I have had a few vintages of Conseillante and VCC but I cannot recall ever having tried L'Evangile - though will see if I can find any at auction next month.

In terms of points, I have given up on them and use a normative scale from DNPIM (do not put in mouth) to outstanding.
The absolute best wines I ever have may get outstanding+ but it is rare.

[JoelD]

Finally getting around to my notes from the evening. All from memory. I will say this though. AMAZING food. Well done and thanks to Chris(Winona Chief) for setting this up and getting them to do a special tasting menu based on the wines we brought. It's rare in a lineup as great as this that the food sometimes outshown it. (The branzino and veal breasts were insane)

Similar to my Saturday night notes, I'll put these in tiers instead of points. I definitely think that the La Conseillante wines showed the best across the board. But in fairness, they were from some of the best vintages. Where the VCC was mostly from average ones for VCC at least.

First Tier-
-2002 Billecart Salmon Nicolas- This was a tad young and took a bit to unfurl. However it was my clear champ of the night. The balance it showed with an hour of air was unmatched by the others. Probably my champ of the weekend next to the 96 Dom.
-1990 La Conseillante- Put a gun to my head and this was the WOTN. Great depth of character. Narrowly better than the great 89 in July. Spices and Balance. I do however feel that I would have preferred this wine 5 years ago. I think I like La Conseillante a tad younger and maybe this applies to Pomerol in general.
-2000 La Conseillante- The other candidate for WOTN, truly a Howquito wine. So fresh, bright, balanced. In the perfect spot. I noted a couple times during the evening that I think both the 1990/2010 may be better at their peak but this was in my complete sweet spot.
-1990 L'Evangile- This one slowly unfurled and crept up on the 1990 Conseillante. Similar characteristics. I shouldn't be surprised as I am a big fan of the vintage and preferred this over the 89.
-1986 D'Yquem- Beautifully balanced, creamy and rich. With good acidity and fruit left. This will go a long time and develop even more complexity.

Next tier-
-2000 Bollinger Grand Annee- More advanced than other champs of the night but very tasty and in a good spot.
-2006 Piper Rare- First time trying this, Almost as good as the 2002 Rare. It needs a few years but really showed well with the right air and temp.
-2015 Bernard Moreau Meursault Morgeots- Zippy and balanced. Fun wine, may develop with another year or two.
-1982 VCC- In fairness, I did not check back with this. Very classic, complex 82. Also a wine that I think I may have preferred a tad younger.
-1989 L'Evangile- A tad leafy although this blew off a bit. Similar to the 1990 but just a tad lesser
-1989 La Fleur de Gay- A subtle sexiness to this wine, right on pop. Faded as the night went, but probably most underrated wine of the evening.
-2001 VCC- Racy and balanced. Came around with air and food. Probably my favorite VCC of the evening.
-2010 La Conseillante- I could almost put this in the first tier, but I struggle with tasting younger Bordeaux. This was surprisingly more accessbile than the 2011 VCC. Glad to have a bottle of this on order. (This is actually 14% alc listed on bottle, not 15% as Patrick stated)
-2011 VCC- Fun to try, and had some sips that really shined while others did not.

The rest were all good wines, that could stand up at any tasting but just didn't speak to me. Only one bottle that was probably off.


Had a great time bullshitting with the Denver boys. And listening to "Jesus" regale us with stories about his recent murder trials!

As good as Friday and Saturday were, this was probably my favorite night of the weekend. Well done.

[Comte Flaneur]

Excellent notes Joel and Patrick.

Joel with all due respect to Our Dear Leader, he is not without sin, so I would suggest MLK, white version thereof, would be a more appropriate template.

[JimHow]

Comte: I believe he is referencing how I told them I felt during my recent closing.

Or, I think I told them the Hillary Clinton story late Friday night, that could be the reference.

Either way, indeed, I am not without sin.

[JoelD]

Excellent notes Joel and Patrick.

Joel with all due respect to Our Dear Leader, he is not without sin, so I would suggest MLK, white version thereof, would be a more appropriate template.

I agree with you. However he referred to himself as Jesus in regards to his recent murder trials. Of course I teased him about this in person, but felt it would be funny to share with those that could not make that amazing night. All in jest of course, no offense meant to anyone.

I would have loved for you to be there and hear your take on these wines, Ian. We had to settle for stories about Cleansing Ales, which figuratively paired well with the above Jesus references.

[Comte Flaneur]

Was that the time when HRC put her hand on your knee Jim?

I wish I was there Joel to meet you and catch up with the gang, so thanks for the vicarious pleasures!

It never ceases the amaze me the wines that appear at these conventions, as if there is a bottomless supply of great Bordeaux from the BWE archives.

[JimHow]

Yes, Ian.
She put her hand on my knee multiple times.
By the way, those VCCs were some of the most fun wines of the weekend, including the 2011 and 2015, in VERY different ways.

[Nicklasss]

Great notes Joel. Drinking so much good Pomerol make it hard to get a good judgment. I'm happy you liked the 1990 La Conseillante, and understand that you could have preferred it 5 years ago. Happy you also liked the two other vintages.

VCC is clearly a diffent beast.

Comparing Jim to Jesus is an insult for Jim. Jim can just be compared with J. Suckling!

And HRC flirting with Jim? That is interesting and never heard that. And i've been myself a few time in trouble with women, in Jim's company... but it always turn out ok as we have pure souls.

[Blanquito]

We also heard the enthralling tale of how Bill Clinton made Jim feel “special”.