Thursday night dinner: A lot of great wines and friends.

[JimHow]

Just getting up and about, will report in soon on last night's great dinner here in Denver....

[Comte Flaneur]

1966 Haut-Bailly - Gene 2, Ted 3, Comte 2, Patrick 3, Brendan 1 - total 11 votes (third)
1975 Gicours - Nic 1, Steve 1 - total 2 votes (ninth equal)
1982 Cos - Jim 3, Nic 3, stefan 2, Chris 1, Comte 3 - total 12 votes (runner up)
1982 Ducru Beaucaillou - declared corked
1982 Talbot - Jim 2, Lucie 3, Patrick 2, Brendan 2 - total 9 votes (fourth equal)
1982 Branaire Ducru - Jean-Fred 1 - total 1 vote (12th)
1982 Certan De May - Gene 1, Tom 1 - total 2 votes (ninth equal)
1983 Talbot - Steve 3, Jean-Fred 2 - total 5 votes (seventh)
1983 Gruaud-Larose - Jim 1, stefan 3, Lucie 2, Tom 3, Ted 2, Chris 2, Jean- Fred 3 - total 16 votes (winner)
1983 Canon - no votes - this wine was oxididative but was deemed fit to vote on
1983 Pichon Lalande - Nic 2, Gene 3, Chris 3, Comte 1 - total 9 votes (fourth equal)
1983 Pichon Baron - declared corked
1983 Lynch Bages - Lucie 1, Ted 1 - total 2 votes (ninth equal)
1983 Latour - Brendan 3 - total 3 votes (eighth)
1990 Pape Clement - no votes
1990 Cos - stefan 1, Tom 2, Steve 2, Patrick 1 - total 6 votes (sixth)

Fabulous wines, very close, one clear winner.

It was agonisingly difficult to choose a top three...

This poll was limited to the reds, we also had some superb champagne, including two Krugs, and sauternes.

[Bordhead2000]

That is awesome! I would love to read more about the 1966 Haut-Bailly, to compare to my experience with it a few weeks back.

Wow- 2 corked bottles out of 16. That's a high percentage, no?

[jckba]

That is indeed pretty awesome and I think it’s safe to say that you can never count out any of those illustrious Cordier wines from the 1980’s!

[JimHow]

To me those Cordier wines from the 80s were the stars of the show, even though I picked the '82 Cos as my WOTN.
Those Talbots and the Gruaud were just brilliant, quintessential St. Julien, with clasic Cordier funk.
As I told Ian, it is wines like that that are the reason why I became a Bordeaux lover in the first place.
What a treat! Most of the wines were very interesting and compelling.
More notes to follow.

[johnz]

I'm very jealous. What happened with the '90 Pape Clement? I've always considered that a near-great wine . . .

--Gary Rust

[stefan]

Bordhead2000, the 82 Branaire also had enough TCA to bother me. So we really had three corked bottles and the seriously oxidized Canon. All of the other wines were wonderful. In fact, any of the non flawed bottles could be the star of a dinner. That an 83 Latour makes the top three for only one person says a lot. The Latour was perfectly balanced, excellent in every way, but just did not have a "wow" factor. The surprise of the night for me was 1983 Gruaud-Larose. Among these great wines it stood out. I did not want to finish my pour.

[Winona Chief]

Gary,

I thought the 1990 Pape Clement was very good but I it was in the last flight of red wine served. Hard to really focus at that point. There were a lot of great wines.

Chris Bublitz

[Winona Chief]

Have to agree with stefan's comments - think about it, an excellent 1983 Latour finishes 4th or 5th place among the 1983s. So many wonderful wines.

Chris Bublitz

[JimHow]

Gary, I thought the 1990 Pape Clement was stunning.
Unfortunately it was the very last of all the wines served.
I was definitely considering putting it in my top three but i decided to go with '82 Cos, '82 Talbot, and '83 Gruaud.
The '83 Talbot was brilliant as well for my taste. What a night! It was a fun event, we made some new BWE friends.
The Krugs were great, especially that second bottle.

[Comte Flaneur]

Just discussing with Patrick, the Pape was extremely good, very ripe with lowish acidity but it really came on strong ...the 1990 Cos, its flightmate was even better, however, a good night for Cos.

The Latour 1983 is a very good wine which has been drinking well for 20 years. It was evenly matched with its flightmate Lynch Bages, but the Lynch was more interesting.

[Bordhead2000]

Please tell me about the 1966 Haut-Bailly! I'm dying here...

[JimHow]

We had the 1966 Haut Bailly and 1975 Giscours together in the first flight of reds.
They were both just really lovely.
The 1966 Haut Bailly had crossed over into the realm of "old" Bordeaux, showing off tobacco, leather, coffee notes, but just great complexity. Chris was concerned about the cork but it seemed to be a well stored bottle. An absolute treat. I don't think I've ever had a disappointing Haut Bailly, old, middle-aged, or young.
The 1975 Giscours still had some youth to it, the color was still dark, it had not crossed the rubicon into an "old" Bordeaux. Not young of course, but really in a good place.
The thing that struck me about these two wines is that it confirms for me that you can often throw out vintage generalizations.
there was absolutely NO concern here about these two supposedly "stern" vintages, no concerns about the fruit outlasting the tannins, etc., etc.
These wines were both just really beautiful aged Bordeauxs, very cerebral and complex, I'll have to go back and read Ian's score but I think the Haut Bailly got a fair amount of discussion for WOTN.

[Bordhead2000]

Wonderful, Jim, thank you. I have not had a 1975 yet, though that is my birth year. Your words are inspiring me to seek one out. Thank you for the confirmation of the 1966 Haut-Bailly. That is how I felt about it, as well. Loved my bottle. I love that Chateau. The 1981 is perfect, too, if you haven't tried it yet.

[Nicklasss]

Thank you everybody for your generosity. It was fun to see the old friends and meet some new enthusiasts.

I concur with others here, voting for a top 3 was almost impossible, especially with the rumble discussions around the table, the great food and the speed that everything went on.

I'm a bit sad for the 90 Pape because it was extremely good, but all the good wines last night merits rating between 93-96, so very a tough call.

Nic

[johnz]

Bordhead 200- said "I have not had a 1975 yet, though that is my birth year. Your words are inspiring me to seek one out."

Many Left Bank 1975s have dried out so be careful. Top 1975s are most likely Pomerols like Petrus, L'Evangile, Lafleur and other Right Bank wines like Cheval Blanc, but VERY pricey now. For a good '75 not as costly seek out Pichon Lalande, and even Beychevelle is still quite good. La Mission is legendary but expensive.

[Comte Flaneur]

My - somewhat illegible - notes from last night for the clarets.

Really loved the first Krug - blend of 1996 and 2008 according to Gene, and the De Fargues of the two Sauternes.

1966 Haut-Bailly

Smoky, resolved, beautiful texture, relaxed, cool-fruited, smooth as velvet, long languid finish. Outstanding. 95

1975 Giscours

Earthy, gravel, good line. In a very good place. 92

1982 Cos D’Estournel

Shy nose, olive-infused, iodine, minerals, superb texture, terrific, fabulous length. Top drawer. 96

1982 Ducru Beaucaillou

Had a stinky SO2 nose which meant it was corked; shame because there was a terrific wine underneath. NR

1982 Talbot

Perfectly resolved, classical Cordier St-Julien, complex, salinity, I detected some Chave-/Rhône-like quality? 94

1982 Branaire Ducru

Menthol, classic, but slightly attenuated, tapers off, not as good as the bottle Patrick, Tim and I drank last April. May have been corked? NR

1982 Certan De May

Caressing, iron/mineral scented, generous, tobacco and plums and trademark endearing Certan De May rusticity. Excellent. 93

1983 Talbot

Cordier funk initially before taking you on a thrill ride, this wine has a wild streak and a frisky red fox feral quality. Chewy, rustic, seashore, sea spray. Fabulously enjoyable. 93

1983 Gruaud Larose

Same Cordier funk, silky texture, earth, tobacco, graphite, perfect equilibrium, refined, classy. 94

1983 Canon

Oxidation on the nose. Pure inner core of sweet fruit. NR

1983 Pichon Lalande

This was singing joyously last night, classical, lead pencil, leafy earthiness with decadent raspberry fruit. 95

1983 Pichon Baron

Stripped/corked

1983 Latour

Another good showing for this wine, which is fully resolved and has, atypically, for Latour, been drinking well for 20 years. No real weaknesses here but lacks the excitement of other 83s. 92

1983 Lynch Bages

Dark chocolate, masculine, somewhat brooding and edgy in a good way. 93

1990 Pape Clement

In a good place, ripe fruit, lowish acidity, coal bunker, cool fruited. 93

1990 Cos D’Estournel

Very good showing, complex, minerals, iodine, idiosyncratic, punchy. 94

Rankings, all ranked were no less than excellent.

1. Cos 82
2. Haut-Bailly 66
3. Pichon Lalande 83
4. Gruaud-Larose 83
5. Cos 90
6. Talbot 82
7. Certan De May 82
8. Lynch Bages 83
9. Talbot 83
10. Pape Clement 90
11. Latour 83
12. Giscours 75

[andtheodor]

Great to meet all of you! Looking forward to coming back down there on Saturday night.

-Ted

[JimHow]

Nice to meet you, Ted, we'll see you tomorrow.

[Comte Flaneur]

https://share.icloud.com/photos/07apC4v ... 3HgGdFaJEw

[JimHow]

The Brothers Blanquito... Patrick and Brendan Martin.

[dstgolf]

Great start everyone. Some classic beauties served up and nice to see the 83 Gruaud and Talbot are still stellar. The 82 C de M in my view has been beyond its prime for 5+ years at least. Still drinking well but this was absolutely stunning 5-10 years back. That 82 Cos and 83 PLL I could still close my eyes and taste those beauties.

Well done everyone and look forward to hearing about the next two days.

Did anyone get any skiing in before the start to the festivities and if so how was it at this time of year? I skied Monday here with my daughter and the conditions were spectacular.

[dstgolf]

Thanks for the photos Ian. We're sitting after dinner a little envious but looking forward to Mexico in the morning and hopefully we'll have a good wifi connection to stay in the loop. Keep the photos coming.

[JimHow]

The '82 Certan de May was really in good form, it was a Merlot beauty. It was one of the more distinctive wines of the night, so chocolately merlot good. I didn't think it seemed old at all.
The '83 PLL knocked out the '83 Baron in the first round.
The '83 Latour was one of the least profound wines of the night, it just seemed to get lost in the shuffle.
'83 Lynch is such an interesting wine, it is right at that cusp where Lynch transitioned from old style tobacco and leather Bordeaux to the Cazes golden era of cassis, cedar and ripe black fruit that was the gateway to the great Lynches of 85, 86, 88, 89, 90.