1983 VCC and 1995 BAMA

[JoelD]

Last weekend of any real wine drinking for a while and the 1979 Bordeaux horizontal got postponed so I decided to open a few that I have wanted to try for a while. First time opening my own bottle from either producer and they did not disappoint.

1983 VCC- Wonderful acidity on opening that is subsiding nicely. Showing some of the dark, slightly sweet fruit underneath. This was likely once a very masculine wine that has now softened just enough to be really pretty. Great color, no bricking. Somewhat similar to the 1982 from the Thursday dinner this year. But I found that to be a bigger, harder wine than this. Early on I found this to be better without food than with. It really allowed the layers of flavors to melt and last in my mouth. Wonderful purity of fruit, balanced by fantastic spice notes and rounded as a nearly perfectly balanced wine that had so much going on that over 5 hours, it was almost always better by itself than with food. Just wonderful. 96-97pts

1995 Bel Air-Marquis d'Aligre- Opened this last night and finishing the last glass today with the VCC. This is what truly old school Bordeaux must taste like. I've only had wines like this a handful of times, and most were much older than 1995. Little to no fruit early on, and it was a bit of a struggle to love it. However with air, it gained density and unfurled layers of pretty/sweet red fruit that really balanced the wine. Very lean, but not thin. Not the longest finish in the world, but really benefited to having food. The rillettes and cheese really bring out the flavors of this wine. It may have fallen off just a tad on the second day but is still very similar to last night. 93-94pts

[AKR]

Lovely picture, but the wines sound like a 'no fat' supper at a sibling's house. I like some love handles on the swill

[Nicklasss]

Nice report Joel.

Only time i had the 1983 VCC was in 2003 in Montréal. Dstgolf brought that wine for the Friday dinner. I remember it being a big Pomerol, still half-primary tham

For the 1995 BAMA, after reading your text, i would have never guessed you would have rated the wine 93-94 points.

[JoelD]

Nice report Joel.

Only time i had the 1983 VCC was in 2003 in Montréal. Dstgolf brought that wine for the Friday dinner. I remember it being a big Pomerol, still half-primary tham

For the 1995 BAMA, after reading your text, i would have never guessed you would have rated the wine 93-94 points.

It has definitely come around since then. 18 years has done it really good.

And thats a fair point, the 95 was opened yesterday. So I was more focused on the VCC. But the VCC is also just on another level. It is amazing tonight. So in comparison my notes did not reflect. I am giving the VCC 96 points which is one of the higher scores I've given. Just wonderful. Surprisingly better on its own than with food though. It has so many complex flavors that the food dulls them.

[Musigny 151]

Nice note. It’s not often that mature VCC shows its best in the first hour.

Newer vintages seem to be a bit more user friendly and easy to love. I have found with older vintages, that they need a bit more coaxing, and are ultimately incredibly rewarding.

[Comte Flaneur]

Very similar impressions with the 95 BAMA to you Joel. It is so important to given them several hours to unfurl. They are pretty obdurate out of the gate, like a female Giant Panda with a headache rather than a bucking broncho.

[JoelD]

Nice note. It’s not often that mature VCC shows its best in the first hour.

Newer vintages seem to be a bit more user friendly and easy to love. I have found with older vintages, that they need a bit more coaxing, and are ultimately incredibly rewarding.

I consumed over about 5 hours PNP. 30-60 min of slow ox first. But then yes around the 1hour mark seemed to bring it close to peak and it stayed at peak until almost the very end. Just a wonderful wine that needed less coaxing than the BAMA actually.

Now this is what I imagined great VCC to be.

[JoelD]

Very similar impressions with the 95 BAMA to you Joel. It is so important to given them several hours to unfurl. They are pretty obdurate out of the gate, like a female Giant Panda with a headache rather than a bucking broncho.

It definitely appears so, however it did appear to peak around the 2-3 hour PNP mark with beautiful sweet fruit. This was the opposite of the VCC and needed food to really bring out the wine. It did fall off a bit after 3 hours. Still held decently until the following day but never reached that peak again. Very good wine, happy to have one more and a 2000. To try this, at the price point was a treat even if it's not a wine that I will highly seek out. When they pop up at good rates I'm sure i'll nab a few without going long. (Once this buying freeze is over)

[Jay Winton]

female Giant Panda with a headache rather than a bucking broncho
This is a new descriptor to me. I learn mucho from BWEs.