| | This was one of our every other month get-togethers. The theme was 1982 Bordeaux (I know, how can you possibly go wrong with a theme like that? You obviously can't!) This particular tasting and dinner included a special guest and CT friend, Marvin a.k.a. WBW. Marvin made the trip to the Twin Cities to hang out for a few days and share some wines. I suggested he attend this tasting and dinner, because, if you know Marvin, he has a difficult time letting wines age! He also recently attended a tasting where he was blown away by a 1961 Bordeaux, so I figured there was hope for him! Just kidding Marvin!
I am getting off track....sorry readers! So, I had several single bottles of 1982 Bordeaux, and usually I would have drank them on their own so I could savor them and enjoy them with having to. compare them.....but in this case, I really wanted to compare the Haut Brion with the La Mission Haut Brion, and I am glad I did! Throw in a 1982 Montrose, a 1982 Lynch Bages, a 1982 Sociando Mallet, a 1982 Salon Segur and add a 1982 Lafite Rothchild, and well....you have one heck of a tasting! Then add some good food and some great friends, and you have a memorable tasting and a spectacular time! Champagne Flight Paired with Deviled eggs with caviar, and Parmesan and Prosciutto di Parma breadsticks - 2002 Mailly Champagne Grand Cru Exception Blanche - France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru
Serviceable Champagne, but a little disappointing considering the vintage. Nose showed lots of yeasty bread with notes of almond extract and some steel and flint, and hints of honeycomb. Palate showed lots of tart apple, some chalk and some pear notes, with hints of honey and saline. Finish and acidity were slightly lacking, but a good wine that likely will not improve. 90 - 90+. (90 pts.)
- 2005 Louis Roederer Champagne Cristal Brut - France, Champagne
Very nice Cristal, but understated compared to other vintages. Still shows off nice fruit, citrus and toast on the nose with hints of Marzipan and spice. Palate shows tart and sweet apple, pear, melon and oysters stir, with notes of almond oil, brioche and creamy mouse. Avery nice Champagne that I could sit with and sip throughout the night! Drank this over the course of 2 hours, and it kept my interest and was in my wheelhouse the whole time! Easy 95! (95 pts.)
White Wine Paired with Smoked Trout with Horseradish on Corn Pancakes - 2013 Marcassin Chardonnay Marcassin Vineyard - USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast
PnP - Similar to previous notes.....Marcassin just makes world class Chardonnay! Nose showed plenty of stone fruit and some citrus with notes of spice and herbs and some bread, chalk and baked pie notes. The wine has a creamy mouthfeel and the palate shows equally as well! I typically don't repeat wines so soon, but a friend was in town who never tasted Marcassin, and I wanted to share the experience....it definitely did not disappoint! Remains my benchmark Chardonnay. along with the 2009 and 2010 vintage! (98 pts.)
1982 Bordeaux - Flight 1 Paired with Roasted Garlic and Wild Mushroom Soup with Fried Pasta - 1982 Château Sociando-Mallet - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Haut-Médoc
This wine was rather tasty, and nice start to a 1982 Bordeaux tasting! Wine was PnP. This wine was on the lighter side, but still very elegant....showed cherry and cigar box and a little spice on the nose and palate. Palate added tertiary flavors of earth, tobacco and leather. I would have liked to have tried this about 10-20 your ears earlier, when the fruit would have been more prevalent, but still a very tasty wine! 91+ to 92 points! I would recommend drinking up, as I don't see this improving, and is likely on a slow downhill slope! (92 pts.)
- 1982 Château Calon-Ségur - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe
Unfortunately, this wine was flawed. Others thought it was palatable, I did not....too bad but I am surprised I don't run into this more often with these older wines purchased on the secondary market. What can I say....Sh*t Happens! (FLAWED)
1982 Bordeaux - Flight 2 Paired with Veal Saltimbocca with Cauliflower Mash and Arugula Salad (with Balsamic Dressing and Shaved Parmesan) - 1982 Château Lynch-Bages - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
I am a fan of Lynch Bages, except they typically take forever to age, boy do they show pretty well when they get there! This bottle was no exception! Splash double decanted for sediment. Nose was somewhat floral with some lilac notes and some dark fruit notes, and plenty of graphite, leather and earthy notes. Palate still showed fading fruit, but enough there to satisfy me (and I need fruit in a wine). Tertiary notes followed the nose with the added notes of sweet tobacco and hints of charcoal. A really nice, sophisticated wine that was paired with a 1982 Montrose, and held its own! This went well with a veal saltimbocca! Easy 94 for me! (94 pts.)
- 1982 Château Montrose - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe
This wine had plenty of fruit (a huge plus in my book, and enough to get it to the next level (95 and above). A very nicely balanced wine (balanced between tertiary and fruit)...and for me, in a perfect place right now (although can likely go longer, I don't see it improving for my. palate, but those who crave more tertiary flavors in their wine may want to wait a couple more years). Palate showed plenty of red and dark fruit (cherry, black cherry and cassis) with just the right of tertiary notes, including earth, old leather and tobacco, along with some spice and herbal notes. An excellent showing! 95 points easily! These are great buys on release if you have the time and patience! (95 pts.)
1982 Bordeaux - Flight 3 Paired with Akaushi Beef Filet with a Red Wine Sauce and Baked Garlic Herb Potato Wedges - 1982 Château La Mission Haut-Brion - France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan
3 hour decant (decanted when we sat down to dinner...was part of our last flight 3 hours later). This wine was part of a special flight...I only had one of each of the following: This wine, an Haut Brion and a Lafite, which quite honestly wasn't sure it would even be good, so I really wanted to compare the La Mission to its cousin Haut Brion, and I added the Lafite as a blind wine, because it seemed good when I opened it, and was curious how it would compare to the other two wines in the flight, without any bias. Of course, per the theme of the dinner, all were 1982's.
We had already had impressive showings from a few other 1982 Bordeaux wines (How can you ever go wrong with this epic vintage? Although, as with most tastings, you end up giddy, like a kid in a candy store who has just been told to eat what you want! I will say all three wines were outstanding! Score one for getting lucky, as none were purchased on release! This trio reminded me of a horse race....the LMHB took the early lead with a strong nose and a glorious palate...then the Lafite drove up along the rail to challenge with a perfumed nose and some awesome fruit on the palate coupled with tertiary goodness...the Haut Brion tried to challenge late, but was just slightly outclassed by the other two, although it remained only a step behind the leaders throughout the race! In the end, it was a close race, but the aromatics coupled with a well-balanced palate between fruit and tertiary flavors pushed the Lafite to front of the pack by a head! OK...so back to this wine....
TN - The nose was classic graves (even better than the Haut Brion....much stronger aromatics). Tons of gravel, earth, leather, red fruit, lavender and a potpourri of dried herbs. On the palate, this wine had a good amount of fruit, especially for a 40 year old wine, but was clearly leaning on the tertiary side of the fence, which, even for me (I am a fruit whore) was not a bad thing! The tertiary flavors were seamless and really fit my expectations for not only the vintage, but for Graves, and especially for LMHB.....for me it was classic, and I enjoyed this wine as much, or damn close to as much, as I have enjoyed any wine! This was my number 2 wine of the night, and it didn't miss #1 by much! Easily a solid 97 (and that may be conservative, even on my scale, which tops out at 98, to date) (97 pts.)
- 1982 Château Haut-Brion - France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan
3 hour decant (decanted when we sat down to dinner...was part of our last flight 3 hours later). This wine was part of a special flight...I only had one of each of the following: This wine, a La Mission Haut Brion and a Lafite, which quite honestly wasn't sure it would even be good, so I really wanted to compare the La Mission to its cousin Haut Brion, and I added the Lafite as a blind wine, because it seemed good when I opened it, and was curious how it would compare to the other two wines in the flight, without any bias. Of course, per the theme of the dinner, all were 1982's.
We had already had impressive showings from a few other 1982 Bordeaux wines (How can you ever go wrong with this epic vintage?) Although, as with most tastings, you end up giddy, like a kid in a candy store who has just been told to eat what you want! I will say all three wines were outstanding! Score one for getting lucky, as none were purchased on release! This trio reminded me of a horse race....the LMHB took the early lead with a strong nose and a glorious palate...then the Lafite drove up along the rail to challenge with a perfumed nose and some awesome fruit on the palate coupled with tertiary goodness...the Haut Brion tried to challenge late, but was just slightly outclassed by the other two, although it remained only a step behind the leaders throughout the race! In the end, it was a close race, but the aromatics coupled with a well-balanced palate between fruit and tertiary flavors pushed the Lafite to front of the pack by a head! OK...so back to this wine....
TN - This wine showed the gravelly notes you expect from Graves and from Haut Brion, but it was never as intense as the La Mission HB. The nose also showed plenty of old leather, sweet tobacco and tar to go along with some red and blue fruit (a cross between dark red cherry and blueberry) coupled with dry herbs and hints of spice. But it was the earth and gravel that stood out most, as this wine, like the LMHB, leaned slightly on the tertiary side of the fence. On the palate, this had slightly more fruit than the LMHB, but not nearly as much as the Lafite. While I typically favor older wines with more fruit, I found the LMHB to be the more compelling wine. IMO, it showed off the terroir much better. This is a great wine, and I likely would have enjoyed it even more if I was drinking this alone, and not comparing it to other wines. It was heads and tails above the wines from previous flights, but always seemed a half step behind in this flight. 96+ points, and that is being conservative (plus, to date, my highest rated wine is 98) (96 pts.)
- 1982 Château Lafite Rothschild - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
3 hour decant (decanted when we sat down to dinner...was part of our last flight 3 hours later). This wine was part of a special flight...I only had one of each of the following: This wine, an Haut Brion and a Lafite, which quite honestly wasn't sure it would even be good, so I really wanted to compare the La Mission to its cousin Haut Brion, and I added the Lafite as a blind wine, because it seemed good when I opened it, and was curious how it would compare to the other two wines in the flight, without any bias. Of course, per the theme of the dinner, all were 1982's.
We had already had impressive showings from a few other 1982 Bordeaux wines (How can you ever go wrong with this epic vintage? Although, as with most tastings, you end up giddy, like a kid in a candy store who has just been told to eat what you want! I will say all three wines were outstanding! Score one for getting lucky, as none were purchased on release! This trio reminded me of a horse race....the LMHB took the early lead with a strong nose and a glorious palate...then the Lafite drove up along the rail to challenge with a perfumed nose and some awesome fruit on the palate coupled with tertiary goodness...the Haut Brion tried to challenge late, but was just slightly outclassed by the other two, although it remained only a step behind the leaders throughout the race! In the end, it was a close race, but the aromatics coupled with a well-balanced palate between fruit and tertiary flavors pushed the Lafite to front of the pack by a head! OK...so back to this wine....
TN - I may have been jaded slightly because although I served this wine blind, I knew what it was (so not blind for me). I like to think I was still being objective, and at any rate, I had to be at least as objective as I was with the HB and LMHB, because I knew what those were too! This wine had the most perfumed nose of the trio (not surprising), and smelled like classic Bordeaux with plenty of florals and sweet fruit on the nose, paired with tons of tertiary goodness from leather, earth spices and tobacco to hints of spice and cedar. The palate was silky and followed the nose with red and black fruit leading the charge, along with some violets and all the other flavors attached to the aromatics. The only thing that stops me from scoring this even higher is that as sexy and lovely as this wine is, I can't help but feel that for my. palate, I would have enjoyed this even more a few years back when I feel these flavors would have been more pronounced. I think this wine is on a very slow decline, i.e., I don't see it getting any better for my palate, but if I had more, I wouldn't be in a rush to drink them. 97+ points (out of 98, so far) with no reservations! (97 pts.)
Dessert Flight Paired with French Apple Cake with Vanilla Ice-Cream - 1998 Zind-Humbrecht Pinot Gris Rangen de Thann Clos St. Urbain Sélection de Grains Nobles - France, Alsace, Alsace Grand Cru
A great way to end a spectacular tasting of 1982 Bordeaux! I know ZH makes some excellent dessert wines, but who would have thought they could pull it off with Pinot Gris! I can say this is by far, and I mean BY FAR, the best Pinot Gris I ever tasted!
PNP from a half bottle. When Rocknroller suggested bring this instead of the 2001 Suduiraut I had planned, I thought this wine sounded more interesting, as I had never tasted one and had tasted the 2001 Suduiraut on a number of occasions (don't get me wrong, I love 2001 Suduiraut!). I must say, it is this kind of intermittent wisps of showing good judgement that gives me the false sense of feeling I actually have good judgement! This wine was stupendous! It showed all the elegance of a top notch Sauternes with a focus on honeyed stone fruits (apricots and Colorado peaches) with hints of pineapple and mango, coupled with honeycomb and orange peel, followed by liquid butterscotch. The wine was viscous, but also had enough acidity to balance out the wine and prevent it from being cloyingly sweet. Very elegant and an unforgettable experience if you have never had one! Thank you Kevin for sharing this! 97 points and probably only bested by Yquem in a great vintage! (97 pts.)
It was a great night of good food, great friends and spectacular wines! Seriously, with that combination, how could the night have been anything less than stellar?! Thanks for reading the story, and hope you were able to some useful information and a little vicarious enjoyment! Cheers!! |
