Saturday Group Kicks Off with Haut Brion

The crew gathered for our weekly tasting again. It was a scorching day in St. Louis. My parents were in town visiting from South Carolina and were nice enough to let me scoot out to be with friends. John Joyce had a dinner yesterday evening and didn't want to push it by going out in the afternoon -- so, we missed him. The rest of us celebrated the revival of my blog with some really terrific wines. Everything was showing quite well. A great time, as usual.

• 1994 Château Haut-Brion 93 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan

  Joel went first here with this lovely, smoky offering. We discussed how, in its youth, this wine was very green, and unpleasantly angular. It has filled out nicely, with medium weight and pleasant plummy fruitiness on the palate. The smokiness suggested Graves -- the lack of density, color, and resolution 1994. This is a wine I've only come to appreciate in the past couple of years, as it was rather unpleasant in the mid-1990s. A very good showing and a generous contribution from Joel.

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• 1998 Domaine du Pégau Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Réservée 89 Points

  France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape

  Stewed fruit -- prunes on the nose, actually. There's a good bit of funk and that distinctive and slightly reduced 'Pegau' signature. With air, a slight floral note appears. Modest finish. Served blind (and identified to be Pegau -- but guessed to be the 1999 initially) this bottle reinforced my already strong opinion that this wine isn't what it once was. As I have a good bit of this, I'm hopeful that this is simply in an odd place right now. Craig and I discussed this very topic with Dan Kravitz (Pegau Importer) during his visit to St. Louis and he suggested it needed more time. I'm not so sure, but he deserves the benefit of the doubt.

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• 1999 Château Talbot 91 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien

  Here's a refreshing and elegant wine... (and Tim, no, elegant is not a pejorative wine term). Spectacularly aromatic, and herb-tinged -- with Craig even suggesting it had a 100 point nose. Just a bit of funk -- not enough top detract. On the palate, it's a middle weight wine but it really shines in the mid-palate. This is another 1999 that continues to drink very well.

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• 1999 Château Léoville Poyferré 90 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien

  Served along-side the second bottle of 1999 Talbot as a flight, this showed more youth, with slightly riper and more blueberry-like fruit. International in style was one comment, and I can't disagree -- at least relative to the Talbot. Guesses ranged from places spanning the planet -- so, this one really can't fit into the classic camp. Nice purity of fruit and good density on the palate. The finish is a bit longer too -- but, in the end, it's a bit soulless for me. This could be interesting in a few more years, but today, I like the Talbot.

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• 1999 Château Talbot 91 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien

  This is the second bottle of Talbot for the tasting -- this time, poured along side the Leoville Poyferré. I was the source of the trickery. Craig was joining the tasting from a funeral and didn't have time to run back to his cellar to bring a bottle. I used this as an opportunity to test the group. The first 1999 Talbot (from the same case) was poured on its own. It was followed by this bottle in a flight with the Leoville. While there were many favorable comments on the beautiful nose (which was identical to the first wine) -- no one rang the bell with 'this must be another St. Julien', let alone a 'hey, haven't I just had this wine'.
  
  It's a dirty trick -- but, one that's fun to witness. This bottle showed essentially the same as the first. A very good QPR bottle of Bordeaux.

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• 2000 Carruades de Lafite 89 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

  Whiff of brett at first. But then, pure Cab fruit with a little bit of cedar and tobacco too. On the palate, there's a heavy dose of CA-like cabernet. There's a roundness to the wine -- some fat -- and it misses the mark for me a little. The wine needs a bit more grip or cut. I could go either way with this one -- but in the end the palate weight was too Bordeaux to be CA. A nice wine and there's no hurry to drink up.

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• 2005 Snowden Cabernet Sauvignon 89 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  Very strong smell of Flintstones vitamins. Densely fruited blueberry stewiness. A bit overwhelming -- Lewis-like -- on the palate, which is too much for me, personally. Just a lot of intensity to the wine. Very CA -- really, it couldn't be from anywhere else. Some drying tannins cut the finish short. Not my thing, really. But, I might like it with a book and some cheese. I can see why some might enjoy this more than I.

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• 2005 Domaine du Pégau Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Réservée 88 Points

  France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape

  This is unpleasantly tight for me. It reminds me of what I thought of the 1995 when it was first released. And, like that one, I am not sure there's enough stuffing to outlive the wine's structure. Sure, it seems plenty fruity now, but it's missing some baby fat and I suspect this one will become quite angular with time. Drink it very soon or bury it and say a short prayer. Based on all of the other reviews (professional and otherwise) it looks like I'm definitely the odd man out. Maybe we had an off bottle -- maybe it's closed? Of course, everyone was going gaga over the 1995 when it first came out as well...

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• 2002 Leeuwin Estate Cabernet Sauvignon Art Series 91 Points

  Australia, Western Australia, South West Australia, Margaret River

  Somehow, and not unlike wines like Penfold's 707, Heitz Martha's or Silver Oak Bonny's, this wine manages to combine ostentatious herbal aromatics with ripe plummy fruit. Great balance and persistence on the palate. It's a take-it-or-leave-it kind of wine -- and, if you're green averse, it won't be your thing. The wine split the table, but those of us who enjoyed it opted to split a case as it was being closed out at 50% off it's regular price. I really enjoyed it -- but, I'm a fan of a little green. The balance is impressive here... would be a terrific food wine.

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• 2005 S.A. Prüm Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese #56 92 Points

  Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer

  Spectacularly rich palate -- I was amazed to see this was from Wehlener Sonnenuhr. It reminded me of something we would taste from Josef Leitz -- just obnoxious and electric on the nose. The one negative, if thee was one, was that the wine was a touch front-loaded and flabby -- but, barely. It could use a bit more precision -- something that might come with time. There's a lot of material here and this should age well.
  
  I think to a person, we looked at each other and thought it would be hard to top this one. Amazingly, the two stickies that followed did.

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• 2001 Château Sigalas Rabaud 95 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes

  This is the best showing for a 2001 Sauternes I've tasted in a while. The nose is, well... noble -- regal -- something understated and grand at the same time. It's hard to pin down, but something about the subtle yet intense aromas on this wine really are exciting. On the palate, it's long and wide -- cutting a broad path. It begs another sip... who can ask for more in a sticky? Outstanding.

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• 2005 Joh. Jos. Prüm Graacher Himmelreich Riesling Auslese Goldkapsel 98 Points

  Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer

  Absolutely stunning wine. Beauty in a bottle. Notwithstanding Joel's generous contribution, I think it's fair to say that this was the wine of the day. Amazing purity of fruit, depth of concentration, and balance. This is perhaps the best sticky I've had in the past year -- the finish lasts and lasts. Everything about this wine flirts with perfection.
  
  I brought some home from the tasting this evening for my parents to try. Both are fans of German wine but with no particular expertise to speak of. They asked that I find more for their next visit... (which is saying something).

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Attending today:

Craig
John M.
Joel
Tim
Paul
Clint
Cory

With dinner, compliments of Mr. Fanning, we enjoyed a very rich bottle of 1989 WENDEL Binger Scharlachberg Auslese from Rheinhessen. Thanks, Craig -- my dad was in heaven.