Tasting Group Dinner - '75, '83 and '85 Bordeaux

Brad's House, Minneapolis
Tasted Friday, January 23, 2009 by Siggy with 1,643 views

Introduction

Several members of the Kitchen Tasting Group gathered at Brad England's home in Minneapolis for a raucous evening of steaks, loud music, and Bordeaux. Brad and I had originally planned to put together a 1983 horizontal tasting (Margaux vs. Palmer), but as is typically the case for this very fun group, the theme quickly expanded. In the brutal winter cold, Chris Palm grilled marinated hangar steaks from Clancey's, which we enjoyed with roast potatoes and vegetables. If you know how the Kitchen Tasting Group and Brad roll, it won't surprise you that, for this Bordeaux-themed evening, our near-unanimous WOTN was... the '88 La Turque. Brad claims that he could drink only LaLas for the rest of his life, and be happy. I'm pretty sure he wasn't kidding.

Thanks to everyone and especially Brad for hosting and generously sharing so many unbelievable bottles.

Flight 1 - Champagne (1 Note)

Jeff Samuelson brought this unreal magnum of Krug. We guzzled this while chowing on a variety of cheeses.

  • 1990 Krug Champagne Vintage Brut 96 Points

    France, Champagne

    From magnum. Light copper color. Rich, citrus-infused, nutty, crisp, and incredibly long on the palate. Beautifully balanced. Needle-prick bubbles. Creamy, velvety mousse. Shows this producer's signature, lightly oxidative style. Still youthful, and a fantastic, classic Krug.

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Flight 2 - 1952 & 1962 (2 Notes)

I wasn't as enamored with these as others in the group; both struck me as over-the-hill.

  • 1952 Château Lafite Rothschild 70 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

    Very light tea/rose color, with a clear rim. Somewhat attractive initial nose, but quite thin and dilute on the palate. Watery strawberry fruit, herbs, brown sugar, and VA. Almost no tannin or structure remaining. Barely drinkable for the first 5-10 minutes. Cracking up and over-the-hill, although still interesting as a historical artifact.

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  • 1962 Château Montrose 85 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe

    Youthfully dark color. Nice plummy nose. The palate is soft, ripe, and a touch horsey/funky, showing tart dark cherries, mushrooms, and leather. Good length. Slightly muddy/mushy on the midpalate and finish. The tannins are fully resolved. A bit over-the-hill, but still quite drinkable.

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Flight 3 - 1975 (3 Notes)

The '75 La Conseillante was true to form.

  • 1975 Château La Conseillante 93 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol

    Third time I've tasted this. A touch more mature than the bottles tasted in '06 and '07. Expressive, smoky, plummy nose. Smooth, palate-coating layers of black plums, chocolate, and dark cherries. A touch of brown sugar creeps into the finish. Medium-bodied, with a velvety, silky texture and a long finish. The tannins are fully resolved. Delicious as always and my WOTF.

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  • 1975 Château Mouton Rothschild 90 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

    Medium maroon color with significant amber. Expressive nose. A classic, medium-weight, mature Pauillac with cassis, pencil lead, and cedar flavors. Well-resolved tannins on the moderately long finish. I spent 10-15 minutes with this and didn't revisit it later; according to Dave it completely imploded with additional time in the glass.

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  • 2000 Château Angélus

    France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru

    Popped and poured. I couldn't wrap my palate around this after tasting through several older wines. Dense, tannic, primal, and completely closed down. Massively structured, powerful, and monolithic on the palate. Did not budge after 3+ hours in the class. Do not open for many more years.

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Flight 4 - 1985 (3 Notes)

After the steaks came off the grill, we tasted this flight of '85s, led (for me) by the spectacular Margaux.

  • 1985 Château La Mission Haut-Brion 93 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan

    Second time I've tasted this. Great nose of dark fruit. The palate is wide open for business, sporting layers of sour cherry fruit, iron/mineral, and an interesting herbal/menthol/spearmint flavor that was difficult to pin down. Smooth texture; long finish. Perhaps not textbook Graves (where's the scorched earth?) but still delicious.

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  • 1985 Château Margaux 94 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux

    Second time I've tasted this. Another terrific showing. Floral, beautifully perfumed signature Margaux nose. The palate is rich and silky, with a core of dark cherry fruit and complex secondary flavors. A touch of green pepper and smoke. Sweet and savory. Delicious. WOTF.

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  • 1985 Château Lynch-Bages 92 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

    Second time I've tasted this. Leafy tobacco and earth-tinged nose. The palate is medium-weight, showing an interesting combination of black fruit, mushrooms, ground coffee, and soy. Well-structured. More herbal/green pepper flavors than the previous bottle I tasted.

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Flight 5 - 1983 (3 Notes)

The '83 Palmer and Margaux were neck-and-neck; I think most of us gave the slight edge to the Margaux. All of these wines were amazing, including the seriously underrated Pichon-Lalande.

  • 1983 Château Margaux 96 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux

    Gorgeous perfume. Sweet, complex, and long on the palate, with a big core of ripe dark cherry fruit and an array of expressive secondary flavors. Elegant, beautifully pure, and amazingly textured. Pure silk. WOTF.

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  • 1983 Château Palmer 95 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux

    Tasted alongside the '83 Margaux (see TN), the Palmer was smooth, expressive, and deep. Concentrated red cherries surrounded by truffles, spices, and tobacco. Does not quite have the silk or perfume of the Margaux, but a beautiful bottle.

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  • 1983 Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande 94 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

    Second time I've tasted this. Another great bottle. Leafy, beautifully ripe fruit. Dark cherries and moist cigars. Classic weight and balance; long, herb-laced finish.

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Flight 6 - Mystery Wine (1 Note)

This really threw me for a loop. At least I got the country right.

  • 2005 Cayuse Syrah Bionic Frog 88 Points

    USA, Washington, Columbia Valley, Walla Walla Valley

    Tasted blind. Totally unlike the wines in our previous flight. I guessed this was a CaliCab. Sweet red fruit and blueberries, mint/eucalyptus, and new oak. Very ripe and extracted, with a super-creamy texture -- tastes like it underwent malo in barrel. Long, slightly hot finish.

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Flight 7 - Miscellaneous (6 Notes)

The hip-hop started cranking and Brad kept popping bottles. Both LaLas were clean bottles, and true to form.

  • 1982 Château Latour Grand Vin Flawed

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

    Corked.

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  • 1988 E. Guigal Côte-Rôtie La Turque 97 Points

    France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie

    Tasted alongside the '82 La Mouline (see TN). I slightly preferred the more explosive, sluttier, hedonistic '88 La Turque to the more focused and intellectual '82 La Mouline, but these are both fantastic wines. Saturated purple color. Fantastic nose. Unreal combination of meat, bacon, olives, and flowers on the nose and palate. Smoky, sweet, and meaty. Amazingly fresh. Endless finish. Unreal stuff. WOTN.

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  • 1985 Château Coutet Barsac Flawed

    France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Barsac

    This had an odd, plastic/cheesy note on the nose. Not much sweetness. Flawed bottle.

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  • 1989 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage 95 Points

    France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage

    Fourth time I've tasted this. Slight Band-Aid on the initial nose that quickly blew off. Red cherries, animal, baking spices, and leather. Wonderfully rich and expressive. Earthy, seamless, and elegant. Power and intensity without weight. Terrific as always.

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  • 1982 E. Guigal Côte-Rôtie La Mouline 96 Points

    France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie

    Tasted alongside the '88 La Turque (see TN). I slightly preferred the more explosive, sluttier, hedonistic '88 La Turque to the more focused and intellectual '82 La Mouline, but these are both fantastic wines. Meat, olive juice, and bacon flavors, wrapped around a laser-focused core of cassis fruit. Endless finish. This was a perfect, very clean bottle.

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  • 1940 Bodegas Vega-Sicilia Ribera del Duero Único 50 Points

    Spain, Castilla y León, Ribera del Duero

    Completely maderized. Bizarre, off-putting flavors of cheese and paint thinner. Undrinkable.

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