Party Like It's 1999: A 10 year look back at 1999 Bordeaux

Public Restaurant, NYC
Tasted Thursday, September 24, 2009 by MRichman with 735 views

Introduction

Overall I think I liked these wines better than most folks around the table. I found them generally to be open and easy to drink, but a bit heavy and a little tiring by the end of the evening. The Margaux was the clear winner and the Palmer was excellent too. The Leoville Poyferre was a surprising treat as well.

The restaurant was very good, if a bit loud for our purposes. The food was very good and although there were a lot of flavors that I feared would clash with the wine, in the end I found it not to be the case. The service was very good and they treated us really well, we reciprocated by sharing our wines with the staff and after the rest of the party had gone home, Brian and I poured samples for the waitress and somillier and sat around discussing the region, wines, and vintage. (Full disclosure: the restaurant manager is a friend of mine and was kind enough to hook us up with the “special” treatment and a no-corkage deal).

I didn’t take notes on the Mobousquet blanc, as I believe it was flawed. I remember as I sat down (a little late) and the first drop hit my mouth I actually said “this is wonderful”. As the wine sat a few seconds on my toungue I said “hey, what’s wrong with this?” Guess I was just excited to drink some wine!

Flight 1 (1 Note)

Flight 2 (2 Notes)

  • 1999 Château Trotanoy

    France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol

    Juicy, bright with acidic tannins and some slight coffee. Not closed, but not exactly ready to drink either. Light on it’s feet. I found this to be a beautiful wine, delicate and restrained and I believe it will mature very nicely.
    B++

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  • 1999 Clos l'Église (Pomerol)

    France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol

    Deep, dark, smooth with fairly heavy weight. Soy, oily. Dense and ready to drink but a bit flabby.
    B+

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Flight 3 (2 Notes)

Flight 4 (3 Notes)

Flight 5 (2 Notes)

  • 1999 Château Palmer

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux

    Wonderful. Well balanced with fine tannins, dense sweet herb and coffee. Very complex with a long finish. Still drinking young, but very enjoyable.
    A

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  • 1999 Château Margaux

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux

    Smooth with a long long finish. Coffee, sap, dense and oily (in a good way). Very concentrated. Excellent.
    A/A+

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Flight 6 (3 Notes)

Flight 7 (1 Note)

  • 1999 Château Rieussec

    France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes

    Strong, bright, outgoing. Drinking well but young and has many years ahead of it. A bit candied. Not the greatest vintage, but very very good.
    B++

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Closing

Here were the votes for WOTN:
Margaux 25
Palmer 16
Mouton 9
Leoville Poyferre 4

A few people mentioned that they would have voted for the Mondavi if it were eligible, but I would not have.

Thanks to everyone for coming and bringing their wine. Looking forward to the next one!

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