TN: Pomerols

[AKR]

Pomerols 1989 - 2006

An elite cadre of SMF BWE gathered last night to drink some Pomerols, hosted and fed by gracious Bill & Linda. They had made sous vide / bbq prime rib, roast creamers in clarified butter, and broccoli with an anchovy dressing. Everything was prefaced with a homegrown arugula salad, dressed with pears & walnuts. We had a spectrum of JP Mouiex's traditional estates, in fine vintages, as well as two newer wave Pomerols. Three of these had been held since release, but the 1995 and 2006 had been sourced later. All the wines were sound, and in good condition. We mostly had the wines by age, older wines first.

1989 Latour a Pomerol [Pomerol] 13% abv. Very traditional, orange rims, full bodied, complex nose of sandalwood and forest. Kept getting better as the night went on.

1995 La Grave a Pomerol [Pomerol] This was an Italian re-import. Smooth, garnet color, fabulous flavor. Orange and citrus rind flavors too.

Look at the color on this 20+ year old Trotanoy

1998 Trotanoy [Pomerol] 13.5% abv. This is a legendary Pomerol with huge blackberry fruit, cocoa, and a nose that has some grapefruit citrus and then sandalwood. Darker than the other Mouiex wines. This was the only wine that was decanted.

2000 La Croix St Georges [Pomerol] 13.5% abv, which would surprise people given how dark, rich and full bodied it is. Lots of density, and still so primary at age 21. All of Janouiex's wines are sort of in this style - to various degrees - so worth checking out others if enthused. This is a neighbor of Le Pin.

Le Moulin gets lots of new oak

2006 Le Moulin [Pomerol] 13.5% abv Full bodied and rich but showing a lot of the new oak that the estate loves. Not seen all that much. About 1200 cases of production. There's a slug of cab franc here btw. After a few hours of air, the oak starts to integrate better. Perhaps a splash in the decanter would have been good for this.

Trotanoy, La Croix St Georges, Le Moulin

We closed out the dinner with a cheese course of 3-4 local cheeses (from Sonoma, Roseville, and ?) a slab of honeycomb, and gauva jam pus a special bottle from Pappadoc (!).

2001 Fritz Haag Braunenberger Juffer Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese [Mosel Saar Ruhwehr] I think this is a multi vineyard blend? 7.5% abv. Unlike most low alc auslese this was not hugely zippy, but had developed complexity, but not much petrol notes. Fairly pale still. More like an off dry wine than a dessert wine. But it went very well with all the cheese, bread and honey.

A tremendously fun night and a superb spectrum of wine. I think we drank every last drop of wine before staggering (Ubering!) home. All these wines were rich and full bodied, and those who don't trust merlot as a monovarietal bottling, should try some Pomerols. There's nothing soft or weak with any of these. I'd also think most of these wines have plenty of life on them.

[Claret]

Another great gathering with the Sacramento gang.

I did not take any notes, but my 2 favorites were Latour a Pomerol and Trotanoy. Not far behind were La Grave a Pomerol and La Croix St George. The Moulin initially came across and ripe an rich and I did not revisit it.

The Auslese was a gift from PappaDoc, and we payed homage to this BWE Legend. I have held it for at least 15 years waiting for the right moment to open it. This was the perfect occasion. Incredibly yellow in color, as opposed to old gold, it defied 20 years of aging. Still youthful on the plate, it was singing like a Diva with perfect balance and purity. Than you John Dawson!

[William P]

All the wines were fantastic. It was a fun time to talk and eat with friends after two fairly ugly years. Thank you gentlemen for a superlative evening of wine.

[DavidG]

Nice! Where was the '98 Trot on the aging curve?

[Claret]

Still young, David. There is tannin to further resolve and more complexity to come.

I will hold my last bottle for another 5 years.

The 89 LaP was ready to go.