Pre-Harlan Warm-up at Brad England's House

Brad England and Greg Gregory planned a tasting of every released vintage of Harlan Estate for 10/14/06. Since many attendees were flying in on Friday, Brad invited everyone over to taste some wine and get to know each other. About eleven of us took him up on the offer. Brad encouraged everyone to bring their best, and boy did we deliver. This proved to be a spectacular line-up of world-class wines.

I arrived early to prepare some appetizers before the others arrived. Most people arrived around 6:00, and by 6:15 a crew was in place to begin pulling corks and decanting the wines. When Jeff and Marya arrived, I asked Marya to help prepare the first appetizer: a wild mushroom and goat cheese bruschette. Marya took care of slicing the baquette and applying the goat cheese, while I cooked down the mushrooms (portobella, oyster, and shitake). We then added this to the goat cheese and broiled before topping with chives and lemon zest. I tasted the champagne and the white wine will finishing the appetizer. We also got the ahi tuna ready to grill and finished preparing the spicy gingered slaw.

• 1996 Veuve Clicquot Champagne Brut La Grande Dame

  France, Champagne

  Chris Larson brought this and it proved to be a great way to kick off the evening. I was busy preparing some appetizers, so I didn't get to take detailed notes. I found this to be very elegant with subdued notes of fresh bread doug, mild nuts, and a hint of mineral. The mouth feel was very light due in part to the very small bubbles. Very nice.

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• 1993 Marcassin Chardonnay Gauer Upper Barn

  USA, California, Sonoma County, Alexander Valley

  Greg claimed that this would be the best California Chardonnay we had ever had. It had a beautiful straw yellow color that appeared very youthful. The nose offered up a strong floral element, some minerality, and a hint of lemon. Excellent. In the mouth this has terrific concentration without appearing heavy. The flavor builds through the mid-palate with good acidity and finishing with decent length. I'm no expert on California Chardonnay, but I can't think of one that I have liked better.

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Served wtih wild mushroon and goat cheese bruschette. I though this paired pretty well with the Burgundy and older bordeaux.

• 1999 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Echezeaux

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Echezeaux Grand Cru

  The color is a dark orange/red. The nose gives a complex melange of black cherry, a strong spice, and earthy elements. Very interesting. On the palate this gives plenty of red fruit, fine grained tannins, good acidity, and a long finish. An excellent wine, but at this point in its development the nose is showing better than the palate.

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• 2000 Domaine Méo-Camuzet Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Cros Parantoux

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru

  I had never heard of this vineyard despite having visited Meo Camuzet this summer. Raspberry red color. The nose shows strawberry and earth. This gives concentrated fruit on the palate, but in a controlled, structured way such that it seems extremely light. The taste is already complex including earth and mushroom components with good acidity and a very nice finish. I thought it tasted very elegant for such a young wine. This should prove to be a great wine in 5 - 10 years. Thanks Jeff (hope you have more).

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• 1966 Maison Leroy Chapelle-Chambertin

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chapelle-Chambertin Grand Cru

  The color is a faded, murky red. The nose is very enticing, offering a musky red fruit with orange notes complimented with mushroom and leather. On the palate this gives mature red fruit, good acidity, and a long finish. This wine has a great presence, and reminded me a bit of 1990 La Tache. I'd love to plan a main course around this wine, as it should be excellent if paired properly.

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• 1961 Château Pape Clément

  France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan

  Mature red color. The nose gives a subdued aroma of hickory smoke. In the mouth this is soft with mineral and red fruit. Nicely balanced. The structure and taste reminded me of the 1961 Lynch Bages tasted recently -- although the Lynch Bages was a much better wine.

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• 1961 Château Haut-Brion

  France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan

  I was looking forward to trying this. The nose shows earth and gravel. No hickory like the '61 Pape Clement. This is a much heavier wine with concentrated, yet mature, black fruit. This has great balance with just enough acidity on the finish to keep things interesting. The mouth feel is very silky and was slightly drying on the finish (presumably not from tannin after all these years). All-in-all a very impressive wine.

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• 1964 Château Haut-Brion

  France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan

  I found this to be much better than the 1961 served before it. Complex bouquet of dark fruit, tobacco, and earth. This wine tasted much more structured than the 1961 and had more concentrated and darker fruit. It was a real treat to taste these side-by-side.

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Served with grilled marinated ahi tuna and spicy gingered slaw (although I removed most of the spicy ingredients to help pair this better with food). I had intended this to be paired with the Burgundy, but we were past that and on to these wines before it was ready. Seemed to match these OK, although I went and poured a glass of the Meo Camuzet while I was eating, and this proved to be an excellent match.

• 1998 E. Guigal Côte-Rôtie La Turque

  France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie

  This proved to be quite a shift from the 40 year-old wines that preceded it. The nose gives smokey red fruit with licorice a slight earthiness. The taste is big and concentrated with red fruit, caramel, and earthiness. Lots of structure to go along with the sweet fruit. Great balance and a great finish. This should be spectacular with 10 more years of development.

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• 1985 Château Margaux

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux

  My first Margaux, and what a treat. The nose enticed with an expressive mix of mature black fruit and floral notes. However, the real thrill with this wine is how seductive it is in the mouth. The texture is just so, so silky. The fruit is concentrated but is not heavy. Flavors coat the palate. The finish is long and seemless. This is a very special wine.

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• 1996 Château Margaux

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux

  My second Margaux. I thought the nose on the 1996 showed much better than the 1985 with more intensity and more secondary notes. However, in the mouth this is thicker and more concentrated -- favoring power and structure over silkiness. It is probably a bit closed. I would guess that this will develop very well. Hopefully I will get to try it again in 10-20 years.

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• 1986 Château Mouton Rothschild

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

  The color is a dense black/red. This is extremely closed on the nose. With coaxing you can sense brooding black fruit. I didn't detect any barnyard funk that I traditionally get with Mouton, this smells very clean. In the mouth this is extremely concentrated but compact and structured with more brooding black fruit. Decent length on the finish. I would guess this needs about 20 years just to get to the point where it starts to drink well at all.

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• 1995 Château L'Evangile

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol

  Possesses an attractive nose offering subdued raspberry with floral notes. In the mouth this is thick and concentrated. Slightly more expressive than the Mouton with black fruit and licorice dominating the flavors. Tannins are mild and the finish is decent. This is enjoyable now, but should get considerably better with additional bottle age.

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• 1996 Bruno Giacosa Barbaresco Riserva Asili

  Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barbaresco

  This was quite a shift from the Bordeaux and Burgundy -- more along the lines of the La Turque. The nose contains bright red fruit with licorice and fresh tobacco. Very uplifting compared to the more brooding Bordeaux. This carried through to a taste that is dominated by red fruit but also had a strong mineral component. Balanced. Chunky tannins on the finish. Maybe a bit compact right now, but this should develop nicely with additional bottle age.

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• 1997 Dominus Estate

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  From magnum. The only California red poured, and this fit right in. Many seemed to react negatively to the nose, but I loved it -- horse, leather, earth, and black fruit. It bordered on too much brett for me, but came up just short. In the mouth this tasted very clean with red fruit and earth. Very elegant. Maybe a touch thin, but in a refined way. Great length on the finish. This is unlike any California wine I've had and I reallly loved it.

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Served with grilled, dry-aged sirloin, a salad featuring candied pecans, wild rice, and tomatoes mixed with mozzarella. The round dining room table seated eleven of us comfortably, and really allowed for interesting conversation during dinner. For dessert Brad had arranged for two chocolate tortes that proved to be a great finish to a great evening of food and wine.

• 1982 Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

  Served beside the 82 Pichon Baron. This was a stunning bottle of wine. Big expressive nose of black fruit, mineral, and a slight green streak that was positively endearing. The texture of this is exquisite -- even surpassing the 85 Margaux. The complex taste includes a silky blend of black fruit, licorice, earth, and a slight green pepper. Balanced, fully integrated tannin, and a beautiful finish. This paired exceptionally well with the grilled steak.

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• 1982 Château Pichon-Longueville Baron

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

  Served with the 82 Pichon Lalande. Expressive nose featuring tobacco and lead pencil. Very nice, but no nearly as good as the Pichon Lalande. The weight of this wine in the mouth is similar to the Pichon Lalande, but this gives more power (structure and concentrated fruit) and less elegance. On this night the Pichon Lalande was my clear favorite.

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• 1968 Bodegas Vega-Sicilia Ribera del Duero Único

  Spain, Castilla y León, Ribera del Duero

  My second time trying this wine (thanks Brad!). Looks far younger than its age. On the nose this gives black fruit with a strong minerality. Thrilling to taste -- mouth coating, concentrated, balanced, fully resolved tannin, long finish. This has everything you can ask from a great wine. Last time this was WOTN, but tonight the company was too strong.

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• 1990 Château Léoville Poyferré

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien

  No notes taken, and to be honest I was more fixated on the '90 Conseillante that was paired with it, and the magnum of '75 Conseillante that appeared in front of me during this flight. I recall it being a beautiful Bordeaux with layers of dark fruit, great balance, and a long finish.

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• 1990 Château La Conseillante

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol

  No notes taken. I really liked this. Expressive nose. Plenty of ripe fruit with expresso and chocolate. Should develop into something very special with additional bottle age.

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• 1975 Château La Conseillante

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol

  No notes taken. From magnum. An amazing bottle of wine. Big, expressive nose. Mouth-coating and velvety texture. Dark fruit with expresso, chocolate, and earth. It is extremely similar to the 1990 served before, but this is so much more smooth and velvety and has so much more flavor. We drank a lot of great wine, and I called this WOTN. It was that good.

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• 1967 Château d'Yquem 99 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes

  I'd pretty much hit the wall at this point, but struggled on. This was a great change of pace from the sea of red wines. The color was a fairly deep amber. An amazing glass of wine. Tons of sweet flavor but so well balanced. I thought this was as good as the '55 Brad served last time, and preferred it to the 1990 served next (although the '90 will probably be the better wine in the long term). Thanks Brad.

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• 1990 Château d'Yquem

  France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes

  Tasted right after the '67 d'Yquem. Thick gold/yellow color. A beautiful glass of wine. Thick, honeyed, yet balanced. This shows much more concentrated fruit than the '67 and tastes almost primary by comparisson. Based on these quick tastings I thought the '67 showed better tonight, but that the '90 should develop into something special with additional bottle age.

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It was great to get to know so many more people from the Parker Board. It was also great to reconnect with the local crowd. And what a great night of wine. Not one corked wine. All the wine showed so well. It is hard to narrow down to a WOTN given such a great line-up, but I have to say that I really thought the '75 Conseillante was my favorite on this night. Beyond that I would include the '82 Pichon Lalande, '68 Unico, '85 Margaux and '67 d'Yquem.