BWE Saturday night… Wow. Just wow.

[JimHow]

Incredible.

[Nicklasss]

Like it always been on BWE convention.

You made my day. Keep the news coming...

[JimHow]

When you have five glasses in front of you, and each of them contains a different one of the five first growths, you know it's going to be a good night. That may be a first for me at a BWE event. Not since Rudy handed me a Petrus in one hand and Mark Golodetz handed me a Petrus in the other at NYC '03 have I seen such decadence.

[JimHow]

A couple pictures from Friday night.
I didn't take any pictures from last night, I was too busy drinking the five first growths, and '82 LLC, and '79 Figeac, and '79 Cheval Blanc, and those wonderful Cordiers of Talbot and Gruaud Larose from the '80s, and on and on and on....
Wow, BWE really outdid ourselves, the crowd was in a festive mood, just really fun to meet up with BWEers old and new.
I really feel Joel is leading a new generation of BWEers that will keep us in great stead after some of us retire to the great tasting room in the sky.
The food was delicious!

[marcs]

The three 2002 Pauillac first growths lined up for tasting in front of me (Lafite, Latour, Mouton). And, separately, a magnum of 1986 Latour

[Michael-P]

As usual it seems impossible to taste everything, so my top wines may not be inclusive:
82 Trotanoy
82 Forts
86 Latour
02 Haut Brion

I felt the 62 Conseillante was too thin for me but all intact, complex.

Michael-P

[barsacpinci]

This was my first BWE convention and I was amazed at all the wonderful wines! Just unbelievable! The Champagnes were wonderful (Demiere is a new one for me to seek out). I'm not sure what I'd consider my WOTN but perhaps 2002 Lafite - whoa! All the first growths were a special treat for me. So many '82's were opened - rare to see that, too! I also liked the 80 Cordier wines as well as all those '79 wines that were drinking beautifully. And how often do you see a '75 Sauternes. The food was excellent. I can't wait until next year!

[ericindc]

Great Night!! Of the Champagnes, I think the

Although I loved all the first growths, I really loved how some of the humbler wines showed. It was a real privilege to have so many great wines in one place! My first real tastes of Lafite and Cheval Blanc, so great on that!

I was really surprised at how well the 2002s were showing, but although they were beautiful (especially the Mouton and Lafite) they didnt have the mature notes that i love. My top 3 included some of the humbler wines, the '82 Talbot and '78 Beycheville (in Mag) but my top was the '62 Conseillante.

So yeah, shocking that my favs were some of the oldest wines.

[JoelD]

What an amazing night, an absolute embarrassment of riches. Qualitatively, this might have been the biggest/best collection of wines at one event that I've ever been to. The only competition was La Paulee a few years ago.

We made our table the 2002 First (and second) growth table. So fun to try these all by each other. We had all the firsts except Margaux from 2002. Plus Palmer, Cos and VCC. Adding in two awesome 1990's in Pichon Baron and Lynch Bages. Rounded out with a 1985 Gruaud for some Cordier funk. Thanks to Marcus, Stefan, Lucie, Lee and Regan for a great table.

Of the 2002's, my favorite first slowly but surely became the Haut Brion. The Lafite was beautiful and floral early. The Latour was a beast. The Mouton was a tad pedestrian. The Cos was in a great spot, and so was the VCC. But my winner of the 2002's was the Palmer. It was the most balanced, harmonious and giving of them all. With the 39.99 Macarthur's heist price tag on it. Lovely.

The 1990's-
1990 Lynch Bages- Started out so well early, with the lovely Lynch green pepper and structure. Did fade a little as the night went on.
1990 Pichon Baron- Fun chat with Lee about the variation on this wine. This started slowly but unfurled so well. The best bottle of this I've had

Elsewhere around the room. A bunch of 82's
The top ones for me were:
1982 Trotanoy- Probably the best combination of fruit and age in the room.
1982 Les Forts de Latour- Showed clearly what a big structured wine can turn into in this vintage. In a perfect spot right now.
1982 Talbot- Some Cordier funk, which I'm partial to. To go with great structure and a bit of fruit left.

Sadly the La Lagune was once again a slightly off bottle. The Branaire Ducru was good but had stiff competition. The Las Cases was thin and odd early, but I had a taste later that was awesome. That could go in the top group.

Some 1979's from Tom, Gail and Chris-
The 1979 Figeac was the clear winner to me over the Margaux and the Cheval Blanc. It was just so vibrant and fresh for an aged right bank.

Magnums:
1986 Latour
1978 Beychevelle

Both great, lots of acidity. Both similar in their slight astringency. I'd pick the Latour.

Other highlights were:
1962 La Conseillante- Cool old label. Probably a past it's peak but held up well over the evening. A good approximation of the 82 Trotanoy.
2000 Montrose- Big and dense but mineral and giving. Definitely need some in my cellar.
1975 Rayne-Vigneau- Lovely, perfectly complete, balanced and aged sauternes. Lighter than the 1975 Climens that wowed me last year.

Top 5 of the night with no clear winner/order-
2002 Palmer
1990 Pichon Baron
2002 Haut Brion
1982 Trotanoy
1982 Les Forts de Latour

I'm not sure why but it's getting harder and harder for me to pick favorites at dinners and events these days. Maybe because of all the wonderful friends I've made (many through BWE) and great selections of wines that we all love to share with each other. Such a great night. I was quite happy to meet a lot of new faces in person finally as well as everyone else that I've had the pleasure with of seeing before. It was certainly sad to miss some of the regulars, hopefully next year!

[Comte Flaneur]

Sounds like another resoundingly triumphant BWE extravaganza…thanks for meticulous impressions Joel so we can enjoy the experience vicariously - and really interested in your assessment of the 2002 Palmer - have a solitary bottle.

[JimHow]

MichaelP and I were talking about coming to London for a visit Ian. The 2002 is in no rush, give it at least another blanquito.

[NoahR]

Very sad to miss. The one weekend I could not be there.

[RPCV]

Regan and I want to thank everyone, but especially Joel. Such a nice group of people enjoying excellent food and wine. Long live BWE!

[Chateau Vin]

Good to see that everyone had a great time and cherished the moments... As a non attendee of the event, it doesn’t go unnoticed the work put in by Joel to make the event a success. He deserves a big thanks...

[DavidG]

Glad to see you had such a wonderful time - never in doubt with this crew! So sorry to have missed out.

[JimHow]

A quick note on the 2012 Dom Perignon, which I really liked.
It seemed very forward and drinkable but not in any way a "light" effort.
Gerry, there is like no Champagne in the New Hampshire system right now, what is up with that?
Has the 2012 Dom come and gone or is that the next vintage hitting the shelves?

[JoelD]

Sounds like another resoundingly triumphant BWE extravaganza…thanks for meticulous impressions Joel so we can enjoy the experience vicariously - and really interested in your assessment of the 2002 Palmer - have a solitary bottle.

Sorry I didn't post more detailed notes but it was such a whirlwind night. I really should have done more in depth impressions of the 2002's that we tasted all side by side each other before sharing with other tables.

The 2002 Palmer was in such a great spot for me that night. Fresh and vibrant, but still with great structure and spices. Lovely red fruit, but a little dark fruit mixed in. Just a touch of tobacco. A little of that sexy Margaux feel. Basically just the perfectly balanced Bordeaux wine. This is how I imagine that some of those classic 80's wines tasted on the younger side (from the softer vintages).

I would definitely like to source some, even at the current tariffs if I can get well stored bottles. If you only have the one, I hesitate to say that you should drink it now. It's one of those lovely fresh, early/mid window wines that drink well now and could definitely improve but also might lose some of those fresh qualities that I loved. (Similar to 2000 Lynch and 2000 La Conseillante in that way, although not in the notes as much)

[JoelD]

On other notes. I would very much like to make a London trip as well. Maybe we can all coordinate something. Or even a convention. Are we ever reviving the 2020 Bordeaux trip?

Great to meet Lee and Regan. I got to sit with them both nights. Sorry to miss Noah, David, Peggy and all other BWE'ers that couldn't make it. Hopefully next time or smaller get togethers in the interim. We do dinners in DC often, that everyone is welcome to join as well.

[tim]

Wow, looks like an amazing night! Wish I could have been there, but was on a plane back to the motherland. Looking forward to the next BWE in France!

[JimHow]

Oui oui! We missed you Timmy.
Maybe London in the spring and then across to Paris/Bordeaux for a few days.

[tim]

Sounds good! I'll be up for a trip to London, it's been too long!

[dstgolf]

Joel

Based on your Palmer 2002 review I think I'll bring it out of the cellar for a dinner tomorrow with my local longstanding wine buddies who were both attending years back at Chicago BWE at Bin 33. Hopefully they'll enjoy it as much as you did. Thanks.

[dstgolf]

Sorry Bin 36...corrected by my wife!!!

[JimHow]

Give it plenty of air, Danny, the 02 Palmer is still very young.

[dstgolf]

Jim,

Thanks for the advice. I'll open it before we head to the restaurant.

[JoelD]

Joel

Based on your Palmer 2002 review I think I'll bring it out of the cellar for a dinner tomorrow with my local longstanding wine buddies who were both attending years back at Chicago BWE at Bin 33. Hopefully they'll enjoy it as much as you did. Thanks.

I hope it turns out for you! I'll be curious to hear what you think.

This bottle that we had, did not need a decant. But I did wait to taste it for at least an hour or two once opened at the table. I didn't find it quite as young as Jim did. The Haut Brion, Latour and Lafite all seemed much younger. It was drinking at about the same accessibilty as the 02 Cos next to it, but much better IMO.

For what it's worth, I think I was more enamored with this wine than most and it could definitely have been a right place/right time. Or slightly contrasting style to all the other 02 First Growths at our table.

[JimHow]

I’m sure it’ll be great, I remember Marcus pouring me a glass while I was inundated with riches and I do remember it being styled differently than the others. I thought it was big and substantial, delicious.