Siggy's Anti-AFWE Bordeaux Tasting

In response to Siggy's plea to give Bordeaux a chance, three of us (Brad England, Craig Vanderah and myself) agreed to join him for a night relatively free of Burgundy. We decided to meet at Tilia's, a great new restaurant in the Linden Hills neighborhood that reminds me of the original Heidi's with equally good food, a bit brighter atmosphere and superior service. We got there shortly after 5:00 so we could claim a table as they don't take reservations. Our server Kimberly was perfect, bringing glasses when needed and pacing the food at a leisurely but perfect pace given the number of wines we were pouring. I'll fill in the food pairings below, but it should be noted that everything we ordered was exceptional -- including the very much unneeded desserts that one of us doubled down on.

The champagne was served with a shrimp with a spicy scampi sauce and spring pea puree. The nutty, oxidative character of the champagne played well with the spicy sauce and the creamy puree. For the Chablis we had scollops with curry carrots and mushrooms that proved to be an equally inspired pairing.

• 1986 Alain Robert Champagne Blanc de Blancs Reserve Le Mesnil 88 Points

  France, Champagne

  Rusty yellow color. The nose is dominated by oxidation with some subdued musty apple/apricot and bread dough aromas breaking through. The taste is surprisingly good with some lemon and honey complimenting a dominating minerality. Has good intensity and is very lively on the palate. Finishes relatively clean and with good acidity. Enjoyable enough for what it is but definitely in decline as this showed as much more advanced than the last bottle tasted. Drink up soon.

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• 2002 Domaine Billaud-Simon Chablis Grand Cru Les Preuses 92 Points

  France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis Grand Cru

  Served from Bordeaux glasses (because that's what we had). Maybe a touch too cold at first. Medium yellow color. Delivers an expressive nose giving tons of smoke (camp fire/charred wood) and some pretty lemon and tobacco. On the palate this is surprisingly light (barely mid-weight) but with pretty good balance. The taste is more pretty lemon and grapefruit with some minerality and with great flavor intensity. Finishes with just enough acid. Got better as it sat in the glass and warmed up. A wine I'd love to try again in the near future.

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We quickly moved on to the Bordeaux starting with a '55 Brad thought might be fragile but in fact turned out to be quite hardy. Both the '55 and '78 proved to be a great pairing with the "potted duck" given their somewhat lighter personality and their acidity. With the '85 we moved on to meatballs and then an entree portion of duck breast. The '99 was served with the pork tenderloin with caramelized brussels sprouts and maple cider vinegar sauce. The '00 Cheval and '00 Pichon Baron ended up being served with beef brisket and creme fraiche potato puree.

• 1955 Château Cheval Blanc 95 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru

  My third go at this and a relatively consistent showing. This was double decanted (for sediment) about an hour or so before being served. The first pour was good but the wine improved for as long as it lasted (about an hour), putting on weight and adding layers of complexity. The color is a rusty red with brown hues. The nose becomes quite expressive in time, with some signs of age, but also complex aromas of leather, tobacco, raisins/plums, caramel/brown sugar and some iron/mineral. The taste started a bit tart, but improved considerably with time in the glass delivering layers of red fruit (strawberry/cranberry), brown sugar and some spice. Mid-weight and well-balanced with an incredibly smooth and elegant texture. The finishing taste is great if not overly long. Really just pure pleasure in a glass.

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• 1978 Château Cheval Blanc 93 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru

  Popped and poured. This too improved considerably as it sat in the glass, with the last taste being the best (about two hours after opening). The color is a lighter red with some orange hues at the rim. The nose delivers a big wallop of tobacco with sour red fruit, smoke, iron and spice. On the palate this is at least mid-weight with more muscle/structure than fruit but still smooth and elegant. Tastes of more red fruit and tobacco with surprisingly good flavor intensity and a very pleasant finish. Most enjoyable.

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• 1985 Château Cheval Blanc 95 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru

  Audouzed about 12 hours. The color is a beautiful dark ruby red. The nose is amazingly expressive, offering a blend of red fruit, tobacco and mineral along with some floral notes. Maybe a bit understated, but most exciting nonetheless. Even better on the palate with perfect balance, great weight and a freshness we had been missing from the first two Chevals. Extremely smooth and silky on the palate with expansive flavors of fresh red fruit (plum/cranberry) with some smoke and earthiness. Still some tannin present, but not obtrusive. Great, long finish. This is a most enjoyable wine that is showing great right now.

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• 1999 Château Cheval Blanc 94 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru

  Bright red color. The nose shows much younger than the previous wines, with fresh red fruit, coffee and toasted caramel. The taste is equally impressive with more red fruit along with some plum and earth. This is bordering on full-bodied but with enough structure to keep things in balance. Tons of tannin gives a drying finish that is otherwise very good. I thought it finished just a bit hot, but still great. Brad declared this to be cut from the same cloth as the '90 (given the toasted caramel and the weight) and I'm inclined to agree this has the potential to achieve those heights. Brad let me take the remnants home so Desiree could get a taste and it was as good or better two hours later.

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• 2000 Château Cheval Blanc 98 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru

  Decanted for about two hours and then put back in the bottle. Served about two hours after that. The color is a dense, opaque black/red. The nose is a bit subdued but thrilling with dark fruit, caramel and iron/mineral. Nothing subdued about the taste however -- it's big and burly with tons of perfect fruit, great flavor intensity and that great silky smooth texture that is seemingly so prominent in every Cheval I taste. Has layers of complexity with tons of caramel to go with the ripe fruit but nothing phony or contrived; just pure greatness. Tannin is present but in no way detracts from the drinking pleasure. Spectacular and destined to be legendary.

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• 2000 Château Pichon-Longueville Baron 96 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

  Double decanted at least four hours before serving. My first go at this and it is most impressive. The color is a deep, opaque red. I was worried this was corked when I first smelled it, but no just stern dark fruit with espresso. Brooding but excellent. The taste is equally stern with a big, burly character yet great intensity, great balance and tons of dark fruit flavors. Still extremely tannic but enjoyable with a great long finish. I'd been looking forward to tasting this and had high expectations that were not disappointed. A great wine in desperate need of many, many years in the cellar.

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This was an absolutely perfect night. It was so great to reconnect with Steve, Brad and Craig. The food and service were perfect and every wine delivered at or above expectations. It's hard not to call the '00 Cheval wine of the night, but the '85 Cheval and '96 Pichon Baron were strong contenders. Thanks to Steve for inspiring such an enjoyable tasting. I'll continue to hold some Bordeaux in the cellar for more nights like tonight.