Second Annual First Growth Tasting

Bellevue, WA
Tasted Saturday, April 14, 2007 by Eric with 971 views

Introduction

For the second year in a row, Michael Gordon hosted a small group to eat Lobel's steaks and enjoy first growth Bordeaux. (Read about last year.) This year we actually cooked the steaks to perfection (thanks Justin), but the wines got a lot younger as well. Still, a terrific time was had by all.

Flight 1 (3 Notes)

We started with a pair of blind wines which ended up being the Silex. The 2002 showed much more tipicity and frankly was a wine to curl up with for an evening to follow. The 2003 lacks a bit of acid. We also had a somewhat disappointing Corton-Charlemagne.

Flight 2 (4 Notes)

We started off with a flight of Latour. In retrospect, this was the most underwhelming flight. Brooding, reticent and not showing a ton was a pretty general comment. You had to work really hard to unlock these, and none could ever be considered hedonistic. But I guess that is what happens when you get into these 2-3 decades before their prime.

  • 1993 Château Latour Grand Vin 88 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

    Vitamin moving to urea with a green streak. Somewhat astringent and lean. Not a horrible wine and it blows off the stink eventually but not terribly inspiring either.

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  • 1994 Château Latour Grand Vin 94 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

    Nice notes of briquette, brett and some heat. Tight on the palate with cranberry and pomegranate, mineral, really clean but a bit shy.

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  • 1995 Château Latour Grand Vin 92 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

    A ripe nose with some spicecake, hints of raisin, graphite and pine. Unforgiving on the palate, very dusty, a little bit bitter, opening slow, a classy wine but just so darned tight!

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  • 1996 Château Latour Grand Vin 97 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

    Cassis, cocoa, ash and smoke. Really starts to express itself in the glass. Mmm, me likey. Big waves of cassis, textbook Latour, very pure, a stunning wine that needs to sleep for another decade or two.

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Flight 3 (3 Notes)

We served this next flight with gorgeously grilled Lobel strips. I generally don’t consider myself a huge fan of the Lafite style, finding it a bit intellectual and not always hedonistic or rewarding. The 1996 however could make a believer out of anyone. Darned compelling wine!

Flight 4 (3 Notes)

We finished out with a young flight of Haut Brion, probably my favorite first growth. These were gorgeous, complex, hedonistic wines, right up my alley!

  • 1995 Château Haut-Brion Flawed

    France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan

    Smokey and roasted, some vanilla and then a whiff of TCA. Bummer, corked!

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  • 1998 Château Haut-Brion 96 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan

    Bright, violet, a hint of VA, mineral. Mmm, a gorgeous balance of acidity, tannin and mineral, a toothsome wine. Very suave, polished and vibrant, very tight, cedar tinged, packed and stacked with minerals. Let 'em rest but this will be a beauty.

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  • 2000 Château Haut-Brion 98 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan

    A little heat, white flowers, menthol, wood shavings and then BAM, some coffee wakes up and explodes from the glass. This features incredible concentration and density, utterly unevolved, Graves-liqueur. The weight, seamlessness and sheet silkiness of the tannins is just shocking. After a brief display of brilliance, this quickly gained structure and then shut down in the glass. This is going to be a fantastic wine.

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Flight 5 (1 Note)

Finally we finished up with a sweet wine to have with some chocolate torte. Nice match.

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