A wonderful/thoughtful theme from Stu, per usual. Very nice restaurant and space. Wonderful array of wines with many pairings, horizontals and verticals. This night was a bit more of a free for all compared to how Friday was somewhat flighted. I think it all worked out in the end as people got to choose their own mix and match flights. Probably more first growths than I've ever had in one place. Almost all of the wines were double decanted. I'm still torn on this but I'm coming around. I believe that it lowers the margin for error in terms of aeration/coaxing. I'd say half of the wines tonight benefited from it and half suffered. Stu expressed an extremely valid opinion that I don't want to misquote but along the lines of ("I'd rather see the wine fall off/show it's flaws from a double decant than trying to coax a borderline wine") This was an interesting point of discussion over the evening and very informative to learn from the different perspectives. I've definitely been converted on wines that generally drink on the younger side (ex 89 left bank and 98 right bank, or younger) and will be selective moving forward.
Long story short, Margaux defeated Pauillac handily tonight in my opinion but I'll be curious to hear if others feel differently.
TLDR: The 15 pavillon blanc was stunning. Rare treat. Margaux beat Pauillac last night imo. The only one in consideration for top 3-5 of the night was the wonderful 90 Latour. I think the clear wotn for me was the 96 Margaux. The 90 Palmer was very good early as well but the 90 Margaux slowly unfurled in the glass. The 89 Palmer was another top 5. The 85 lynch overperformed for me and most, as usual. However a few picked the 85 mouton over it. I’d say the 82 and 86 mouton slightly underperformed. Good but not great examples. 86 Margaux and 89 latour were too structured, the latter a bit thin and astringent as 80s latour can be. 89 lalande slightly underperformed also. 04 lafite was quite good but a bit out of place in this lineup. Very fun to have all 5 correct Margaux in front of me at the same time. The 82 was a little barnyardy but still solid and the 83 was good but this bottle tasted a bit more advanced than my last. Same with the 83 Palmer. The 90 Yquem was absolutely on fire and in a perfect spot to cap it off. Only truly flawed wine was a heat damaged 85 Margaux. The lovely mixed red fruit on the 96 and the amazingly pure red fruit on the backend of the 90 Palmer really stood out to me. Very pretty wines. Juxtaposed with the power of my other top 4 wines in the 89 Palmer and 90 latour. While both being very fresh and balanced at the same time
The starters:
2007 Ruinart Bdb en Magnum- Another example of a Champagne magnum outperforming multiple times with the 750ml version. Not my style of wine (at least not at the price point) but I found this quite enjoyable. However not enough to go back to often 92+pts
2015 Pavillon Margaux Blanc- This was stunning. A rare treat for me. As I almost never enjoy white Bordeaux with DdC blanc being the exception. However, I have started to pinpoint that it's mostly the Semillon that I'm not partial to. Funny enough, while raving about this wine and mentioning that fact, I was told that this is of course 100% sauv blanc. That explains everything. Wonderful acidity, despite a warmer vintage. Perfectly balanced. So much tart fruit and zip in that lovely linear/acidic style while still having weight and fruit. Everything I want in a white wine. If blinded, it's possible that I would have guessed a high level white Burgundy. The best white Bordeaux that I've ever had, although 2010/2014 DdC blanc give it a run for its money. Maybe the best dry white that I've had outside of Burgundy. Although a couple of Vatan's might have something to say about that. Top 5-6 on the evening for me. 96+pts
The Margaux wines:
1982 Margaux- A slightly better example than my first time having this wine (about a year ago next to the 79, 83, 86, 96 where it also placed last of the non flawed wines). A bit funky/barnyardy. Similar to the 1982 Figeac from the night before. However not as off putting and I'd be happy to drink it on it's own, although not at the price. Still a bit of fruit left but just not a great wine. 92pts
1983 Margaux- Not quite as good as the wonderful bottle from the tasting mentioned above. I think that this bottle was a bit more advanced and less fresh. Maybe not stored as well. However still a very good wine that I was happy to try. It just suffered a bit from an incredible lineup. A bit of muddled fruit left but without much zip. Tannins mostly integrated. Well balanced but no real extra gear from any angle. 94pts
1985 Margaux- Thankfully the only truly flawed bottle of the evening. We had very good luck overall with this again tonight. I suppose you could say it was drinkable but it very clearly had the stewed fruit of heat damage or storage issues. Did not seem to be a winemaking problem. NR
1986 Margaux- Very similar to the bottle at the tasting referenced above. More tannins than fruit, but accessible. With the caveat that I'm almost never partial to the monolithic 1986 vintage. Not thin at all, just a bit overly structured without enough fruit to balance that structure. But it still had good acidity and if you like the 1986 vintage, I think you'd be happy with it. I took the last of this bottle to Catalina's parents the next day and it held up well, possibly even better than tonight. The tannins finally softened. 93pts
1990 Margaux- A bucket list wine of mine and it was an interesting one to me. Somewhat like my minor gripes about the 1990 Angelus and 1990 Haut Brion the night before. Just not a lot of fruit/zip/oomph. Initially paired next to the wonderful 1990 Palmer, I thought this was outclassed at first. However coaxing it in the glass for 20-30 minutes brought out a long deep, subtle finish with spices and clear elegance. I still give the final nod to the Palmer at this tasting but I'm sure it could easily flip with two different bottles. 95+pts
1996 Margaux- This was stunning. A clear upgrade from the bottle at the tasting last year (and that's really saying something as that was a very good wine. This had absolutely everything that I want in a 30 year old bottle of Bordeaux. So much elegance and lift. While at the same time having an array of different fruit flavors that fired almost simultaneously. I compared it to eating mixed fruit preserves from France. Wonderful acidity and by far the freshest wine on the table. Even with a touch of creaminess. The only wines I've had that can somewhat compare in terms of array of flavors are the 1989 La Mission Haut Brion and the 1998 Penfolds Grange. If I knew for sure that every bottle of this vintage would taste like this, I'd load up, even at the high price. Sadly I already know that's not the case so I'll have to be judicious. Clear WOTN for me and most from who I polled. Early candidate for WOTY. 98+pts
1983 Palmer Similar to the 1983 Margaux. Definitely a better bottle than I had with Jimmy a year ago. Subtle and balanced. But seeming to possibly be on the early downslope. Maybe it suffered in this big lineup and is more of a wine to sit with by itself or just a few bottles over many hours. Just no real lift or oomph. A very solid wine but the clear #3 of the Palmers for me. 94pts
1989 Palmer- The best bottle that I've had of this. It's possible that it's just finally coming around. Also the first time that I've had one that was double decanted which I think helped a lot. Lovely structure that took a bit of time to coax, but once I did, wow. So lively and held together with layers and layers. Similar in style to the 89 Angelus from the night before but I liked this even better. I hope that my lone bottle is like this one but there is still clear upside for this wine. 97pts
1990 Palmer- What a treat to try this early. So similar in flavor profiles yet so different in style from it's 89 counterpart. Open and giving. Not showing the ripeness of the vintage except in its accessibility. It had this fresh red fruit on the back end that really spoke to me. Closest to the 96 Margaux in how the structure and acidity balanced the in-your face fruit. Although this was more subtle. So hard to pick between this and the 89 Palmer. But it still edged the 90 Margaux for me in the end. 97pts
The Pauillacs
1982 Mouton- Another very solid but not exceptional example of this bottle. Maybe I'm a little ruined from the first one I had that was stored in OWC since release. This was a very balanced expression without anything that really stood out in this lineup. Clearly exceptional quality and has all the stuff. However without that much tannic structure left and no roaring fruit, this showed in the middle of the pack. I don't remember going back to it much though. Maybe someone else can weigh in. 94+pts
1985 Mouton-One of my contributions. Similar to the 82 in that it was a good bottle without anything that truly stood out to me. Others noted that it was a very typical expression of Mouton (in a good way). I agreed, however noted that Mouton generally underwhelms me a bit. The 1970, 1989 and one great bottle of the 1982 being the exceptions to the rule. Soft and supple. Light on its feet. Mostly integrated fruit. But not still not that many tertiary notes. I thought that the 85 Lynch handily beat it. Many agreed but some did not. I think Mouton may just not be my style. 94pts
1986 Mouton- Another bucket list wine of mine that I was even more curious about trying after the wonderful 1989 in London with Ian last August. My theory was that I may prefer Mouton from more structured vintages that balances out the more approachable style that it seems to have. It's possible that this one suffered from some of the competition and also my general dislike of the vintage. It clearly had all the stuff. The tannins were quite sexy in a way that I don't often see in Bordeaux. Well made stuff, although not as deep/complex on the mid palate as I'd like. Very fun to try these but I would say that all 3 Moutons very slightly underperformed versus previous experiences and/or expectations. 95pts
1989 Latour- I was very curious to try this bottle. Latour being the opposite of Mouton in that I'm fairly sure that I prefer it in softer vintages as opposed to structured. But the 1990 was a WOTY candidate before and I always enjoy trying 89/90 counterparts as I'm 50/50 on which vintage is better. Just producer dependent. Based on these bottles, it's not even a discussion for Latour. This had all structure and almost no fruit. A bit thin and astringent as 80's Latour can be (with 82 being the exception). However, it's still a first growth and clearly hard for it to be a bad wine. 91pts
1990 Latour- Another one of the wines that I was extremely excited about on paper. And this one delivered. Definitely the best Pauillac of the night for me. Perfect structure balanced with the fruit and roundness of the vintage. Powerful and deep but just enough lift to create a near perfect wine. Almost identical to the bottle that I had around a year ago that was my WOTN at the first growth dinner that had the Margaux vertical + the entire 1996 Horizontal of firsts. This wine is in a perfect spot right now, I suppose that it could improve but not by much. It should hold well for at least another 10-15 years though. Probably my #2 of the evening. 97+pts
1985 Lynch Bages- My other contribution. As discussed before, this is my "1989 Lynch Bages." It never disappoints for me unless it's a truly flawed bottle. I've had mid shoulder fills that were amazing. And this one that looked like it was bottled yesterday. First time double decanting and this one may have needed it. Very fun to try next to the 85 Mouton. I blinded some on both bottles with many guessing this was a 1978 and noting the rusticity and green peppers. Two things that I'm partial to in balance. I also blinded Jim on the vintage only and he guessed it was 1989. Stu seemed impressed as well and somehow this was the first time he ever tried. I always love sharing my favorite wines with Stu that he hasn't tried before. Mixed results of course, but this turned out well. Probably rounded out my top 5 for the reds 96pts
1989 Pichon Lalande- My other "1989 Lynch Bages" wine. However this bottle was just fine. Lost in the crowd a bit and slight underperformer for me like the Moutons. Perfectly solid but after loving this bottling the first 2-3 times trying it, I've had a few examples that didn't live up to those first ones. Everything about the wine was just decent and balanced. Nothing stood out. And I stopped going back to it. 93+pts
2004 Lafite- Second time trying this in the last few months. Will end up being a very good wine and I posited that it might just be coming out of its slumber. Definitely accessible but I would suggest giving a long decant if you're going to open one now. Lovely dark fruit with a long finish and good structure. Sadly just a bit out of place in this lineup and the only example that was close to closed. 94+pts
To finish:
1990 Yquem- Second time having this in the last few months as well. I was so busy going back through the reds at the end that I almost didn't get a taste of this. However, that last half of a glass left in the bottle that got the most air was near perfect. Just a fantastic wine. Bright, rich but balanced. Sweet but good tart fruit during the taste. My kind of Yquem. Not overly viscous. Great color, deep gold. A great way to cap off the evening once I was done tasting the reds. 96+pts
This was a wonderful dinner. Such a ridiculous lineup of wines to cap off an amazing weekend in Miami. I'm very thankful to be included by Stu even though I know he has moments of regret when he has to sit next to tornado Joel who can't stop talking about wine
Every once in a while I take a hint though and I really enjoy his Florida crew. Great to mix them in with the crowd from here. I look forward to seeing Ryan, Allison, Austin and Eileen again. Along with a couple I hadn't met before in Jason and Dawn. Jason was the prosecutor who put RudyK away. Bet he has some stories. Such fun to see Peter, Julia and Jim again. So many great wines they shared. I'm glad that my girlfriend, Catalina could join and provide some yin to my yang wine obsession and Jimmy is always a good addition. I don't have the group picture of this evening if anyone wants to post it. I know that this website may be winding down but the best parts (the people and experiences getting together) will continue to live on regardless. I look forward to continuing to be a part of that as much as possible and anyone is welcome to reach out to me to do so. I will always go out of my way to organize for anyone that does. Especially in the DC area but also in NYC and even Napa/SF from time to time (another meetup coming in late March if anyone wants to join the festivities). Wine is my passion but it's the people that I get to meet (that I never would have otherwise) that keep me steadily moving forward. I hope to see everyone from this weekend again in the near future. Along with many others. This was a fantastic way to start off 2025 after a very tough year that I had in 2024 and I appreciate all of it and everyone involved. But as always, special thanks to Stu and Kathy. They're a joy to get to know and incredibly generous with their time, inclusivity and the wine of course. I appreciate the slight push to put these notes together and I'm going to try to continue moving forward.
