2002 Franck Bonville BdB Grand Cru Brut - what a nice way to the start our wine dinner. Lots of tiny bubbles. A very bruised apple nose and palate. Not too sophisticated but drinking very well. Nice QPR wine 91
1978 Heitz - So surprised this one was still kicking! Deep red color with hardly any bricking on the edges. Definitely cedar and perhaps the famous Heitz eucalyptus on the nose. A very interesting wine . Enjoyable to drink over the evening. I kept going back to it. 96
1985 Forman - We paired this with the Heitz and at first I preferred this wine. It had a very strong Jalapeño nose and palate to it . Nice fruit and acidity. It did fall off a bit after several hours and got a bit “green”. Still an excellent older wine. 94
1986 Beaulieu Georges de Latour - I’ve always loved this wine. This was slightly past prime. It showed a nice nose of red fruit. On the palate it was all ripe Montmorency cherries with some graphite notes on the finish. 92
1993 Byrd Estate Cab - Served blind. Our friend Marc has some of the most interesting older wines that are always fun to drink. On PnP this was quite revolting. I let it sit for a while. Then someone said, try it again, it changed. It definitely did! Showed very interesting white pepper on the nose and palate. Not in the league of the other wines that night but surprising for an old Maryland winery that no longer exists. 88
1989 La Mission Haut Brion - I've been sitting on this for a long time and when Joel suggested an aged Bordeaux and Napa tasting, I decided to open it. We didn't decant but it sat open for about an hour. And I left some in my glass over three hours. This was something else! Really deep color and a nose of cigars. On the palate lots of dark black fruit with hints of leather on the finish. Just superb! Now I have to decide when to open the 89 Haut Brion! I took the last pour of the evening and got hit with the dregs - silly me! I should have used the filter. 97
1989 Pichon Comtesse de Lalande - Paired with the La Mission. A lovely wine. A very light nose and dark ruby color. On the palate it showed the bramble fruit that was resolved with the tannins, although I did get a bit of hotness at first which blew off. A very classic Bordeaux. A discussion around whether we should say “Pichon Comtesse” or “Pichon Lalande” when giving a short name to this wine. 96
1997 Dunn Howell - This was drinking very well. My last bottle. We did not decant but opened and it sat for a while. We drank at one hour and for 3 hours following (tiny pours) Deep, deep color. Lovely nose very much like a Graves - cigars and leather. The fruit was superb, definitely plums and spicy berries. Hard to tell the difference between this and the older Bordeaux we had this night. Except this came off as a bit brighter, less mature tasting. 96
1998 Dunn Howell - Paired with the 97 Dunn. This was very good but outshone by the ’97. Less dense. I got black currants on the nose and palate. Served on it’s own it would be a favorite but so many wines this night eclipsed. 94
1975 Mouton - A very reticent nose. Ruby colored. A bit of a sour red berry palate with wood notes. Off balance a bit. I remember when the ’75s were released everyone said they’d take forever to mature. I think we are still waiting. I was a bit disappointed in this bottle. I’ve always enjoyed Mouton wines and was expecting more. 91
1970 Latour - Definitely a forest floor nose with a deep purple color. Some sour cherries on the palate but after a while showed more moss and morel notes to it. Odd, but a little bretty on finish for me. I liked this more than Eric who brought the wine. 93
1985 Raymond Selected Late Harvest Riesling - On initial pour, I thought what a horrible looking color - it was a muddy grey! I thought this will be a dump wine. Was I surprised! Just lovely. Viscous orange marmalade with an apricot finish. Reminded me of the sweet rieslings from Phelps and Ch St Jean. 95
