Bonham's and Butterfield Pre-auction tasting
San Francisco, CA
Tasted Thursday, July 25, 2013 by aagrawal with 1,101 views
Introduction
This was a fabulous pre-auction tasting at Bonham's and Butterfield in San Francisco. The pours are tiny (about 2 sips per wine) and so my notes are more abbreviated and probably somewhat less accurate, but the experience that I gain at these events is invaluable.
Flight 1 - Red Bordeaux (4 Notes)
I think it's rare that a super-expensive wine justifies its price point, but the 1988 Mouton is completely worth its price. It's among the best wines I've ever tried with an incredibly complex and haunting nose. Truly exceptional. The Haut Brion was excellent as well but perhaps less unique and clearly outshadowed by the elegant and complex Mouton.
Flight 2 - Red Burgundy (6 Notes)
All of these were very enjoyable wines. The Comte de Vogue Musigny had a fabulous nose and was my favorite from this flight, although it was very delicate and perhaps on a downslope. The Forey Echezeaux was just very intense, and that may be a very good or a very bad thing as it ages and develops complexity (unsure where it will go...).
Flight 3 - White Burgundy (5 Notes)
I started at this table. Despite not being the biggest fan of chardonnay, some of these were quite excellent. I like the Le Montrachet the best (so complex...), but the Raveneau was also superb. The Leflaive was a little disappointing for me.
Flight 4 - German Riesling (6 Notes)
This was a truly superb flight. All the wines were good to superb. They were complex, unique, and interesting, and they were all wines that I don't normally get to try (well aged German riesling from great producers). The Eiswein was truly superb as expected, but the spatlese also punched much higher than their weight. That's where my money would go for interesting aged wine.
Flight 5 - Italians (7 Notes)
This should have been a high powered flight, but in general it was disappointing. The Pio Cesare and Ceretto were both decent but uninspiring, and the Gaja didn't hold up its reputation. The clear winner here was the Antinori Solaia, which was a truly superlative wine.
Flight 6 - Domestic Chardonnay (2 Notes)
This was the domestic chardonnay table. There were a few more wines that I didn't try. I wasn't a huge fan of any of these.
Flight 7 - Domestic Pinot/Merlot (3 Notes)
Both Williams Selyem Pinots were fairly good and certainly wines that I would be happy to drink. It fits in well with my previous Williams Selyem experience: Well made wines, not unique enough to search out but certainly enjoyable. The Merlot was awful.
Flight 8 - Domestic Cabernet (5 Notes)
All of these were fairly decent wines, but the clear winner here was the Ridge Monte Bello. That wine is among my favorites of the evening... truly superb and complex.
Closing
My favorite wines of the evening:
1988 Château Mouton Rothschild
1990 Château Haut-Brion
1983 Domaine Comte Georges de Vogüé Musigny Cuvée Vieilles Vignes
1985 François Raveneau Chablis 1er Cru Montée de Tonnerre
1985 Remoissenet Père et Fils Montrachet Le Montrachet du Domaine Chénard
1980 Ridge Monte Bello
2003 Antinori Solaia
1983 Zilliken (Forstmeister Geltz) Saarburger Rausch Riesling Eiswein
All of these were truly superb wines, and any one of them would have been worth my time to come and try. To try all of them at the same event was really a fantastic experience.
1975 Château Léoville Las Cases 90 Points
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien
Ruby-tawny color with bricking; spice, earthy, cinnamon; balanced, loses fruit on the palate but enjoyable. Drink up, a pass at today's prices. 90
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1979 Château Palmer 90 Points
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux
Youthful, leafy, floral; great black fruits, balanced; medium finish. A good wine, ready now and will last in the short term; a good aged bordeaux but nothing compelling that makes me want to buy it. 90
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1988 Château Mouton Rothschild 98 Points
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
Intoxicating nose, elegant, floral, complex, brambly greens; palate has distinct bell pepper, slight green, asparagus, fantastic fruit; med-long finish. This was a superb mature bordeaux reaching perfection; my favorite wine of the evening. Probably the first 1st growth bordeaux that I think is worth its price. 98-99
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1990 Château Haut-Brion 96 Points
France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan
Powerful, youthful nose with cedar, graphite, very complex; palate is full bodied, balanced, integrated tannins. A superb wine with great balance and classic bordeaux character, lacking only a bit of uniqueness to take it into the stratosphere. Excellent now, likely a life ahead of it. 96
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