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Tasting Group Dinner - Lynch Bages
JP's American Bistro, Minneapolis
Tasted December 4, 2007 by Siggy with 1,255 views
Introduction
Our regular tasting group met at JP's American Bistro on a snowy Tuesday evening to share some Lynch Bages. In attendance were Dave Dalluge, myself, Chris Larson, Brad England, Chris Palm, Steve Orloff, and Brad Weiss. We opened 9 vintages in mini-flights of two, all tasted non-blind. We reversed our usual serving order by starting with the youngest and finishing with the oldest, which seemed to work very well. The service and food were excellent, and we had plenty of wine to share with chef JP Samuelson and the waitstaff. JP's paprika fries, calamari, pizzas, and perfectly prepared seared hanger steaks with hoisin sauce matched beautifully with the wine. I loved both the 1989 and 1990 and picked both as my co-wines of the night.
Flight 1 (1 note)
White
2003 Peter Michael Chardonnay La Carrière
93 points
Deep gold. Unctuous, floral, and honeyed. Ripe tropical fruit and well-integrated oak. There was a nice streak of minerality running from the midpalate through the finish. Delicious.
Flight 2 (1 note)
Red
1982 Château Léoville Poyferré
flawed
This showed an expressive, plummy nose, but mostly coffee and acid on the palate. Short finish. Much less exuberant than it should have been. We debated whether this was a bad bottle, and I believe it was probably slightly corked.
Flight 3 (2 notes)
Red
2003 Château Lynch-Bages
91 points
Single decanted for approximately 6 hours. Super-ripe and California-like on the nose. On the palate, this shows creamy, jammy dark fruit, mocha, and dark chocolate. Hard to identify as Lynch-Bages at this point in its development, although the herb/tobacco/leafy flavor signature is there if you hunt for it.
Red
2000 Château Lynch-Bages
93 points
This was closed, but hinting at very interesting things. The nose shows more Pauillac pencil lead and cedar than the 2003. Coffee, dark fruit, licorice, and chocolate, with a hint of the classic Lynch-Bages herbal/leafy tobacco flavor profile. Seems very true to its terroir. Tightened up considerably after an hour in the glass. My score may be conservative here.
Flight 4 (2 notes)
Red
1996 Château Lynch-Bages
93 points
Redder fruit than the 2000. Mid-weight plummy fruit and expressive, complex secondary flavors of mushrooms, tobacco, and herbs. Long finish. Seems to be coming into its own. I was expecting this to be dense, blockbuster, and hugely concentrated, but it was actually quite elegant and full of finesse.
Red
1995 Château Lynch-Bages
89 points
This bottle was consistent with my prior tasting notes, and undoubtedly suffered alongside the 1996. Light cherry fruit and plenty of tobacco and herbs. Light- to medium bodied. Good minerality, but not quite enough depth of fruit.
Flight 5 (2 notes)
Red
1990 Château Lynch-Bages
95 points
Now we're talking! Enchanting nose featuring dark fruit, spice, pencil lead, and tobacco. Gorgeously ripe black fruit, herbs/leaves, with a smoldering, smoky finish. Youthful. Silky minerality on the palate. Wonderful balance. Co-WOTN for me.
Red
1989 Château Lynch-Bages
95 points
Big deep nose of rich dark cherries and herbs. The palate shows layered dark fruit, coffee, and licorice, framed by tobacco and herbs. Grew richer and more expressive as it sat in the glass. Great minerality. Marginally more structured and slightly less ripe than the 1990, and equally thrilling to drink. Co-WOTN for me.
Flight 6 (1 note)
Red
1984 Château Lafite Rothschild
87 points
I expected this to be DOA given the horrible character of the vintage, and wow, what a pleasant surprise. Ripe red fruit (rhubarb) on the nose, with a hint of VA. The nose is gorgeously expressive. On the palate, this shows red cherries, baking spices, herbs, and light funk. Light-bodied and fully mature (somewhat over the hill), but still lively. This was undoubtedly a super-clean bottle and an unusually good example of this wine.
Flight 7 (1 note)
Red
1970 Château Lynch-Bages
94 points
Beautiful nose after an initial touch of VA blew off. Youthful color with no amber. Very ripe, fresh, dark fruit. Plums, spice, and tobacco. Complex, layered, and expressive. Well-resolved tannins. Probably an unusually well-stored example of this wine. Delicious.
Flight 8 (2 notes)
Red
1988 Château Lynch-Bages
89 points
Great expressive nose of dark fruit and mushrooms. On the palate this shows coffee/espresso, green herbs, and some black fruit. Still quite tannic. The palate is not very expressive, bordering on stern and hard-edged, but the nose is interesting enough to make this a fun bottle.
Red
1986 Château Lynch-Bages
92 points
Much more fruit than the 1988. Dark coffee, melted licorice, smoke, and tar/asphalt. The tannins seem to be coming around, and the fruit is still youthful and fresh.
Flight 9 (2 notes)
Red
1986 Château Lagrange (St. Julien)
flawed
Swampy/cheesy nose. Odd and nasty. Definitely a bad bottle.
Red
1990 Château Lagrange (St. Julien)
92 points
Very ripe. Plush and plump. The palate shows dark plums, licorice and coffee. Soft and lush in the mouth. Quite fun.
Flight 10 (2 notes)
White - Sweet/Dessert
1989 Château Climens
92 points
Exotic, orange/salmon/pink color. Lush ripe cantaloupe, tangerine, and petrol flavors. Plump and lush. Well-integrated residual sugar. Fully mature.
White
1985 Château Lynch-Bages Blanc de Lynch-Bages
70 points
Smells like a ripe Brie. Orange zest and cat pee. Dilute on the palate, with some minerals. Very odd.