Great Wines at Brad's House

Minneapolis
Tasted Monday, January 16, 2006 by Ben Andersen with 870 views

Introduction

Brad and Diane graciously had a few of us over for an evening of great wines, steaks, and conversation. Thank you again for your hospitality!

Flight 1 (7 Notes)

  • 1982 Château Latour Grand Vin

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

    Same bottle as Siggy's TN... Absolutely fantastic. Deep, dark fruit, with broad, seemless texture, intriguing elements of earth and tobacco, and a finish that lasts forever. A wine of perfect proportions and balance - despite it's impressive underlying structure. Still young, I think we all agreed this wine will live for a very, very long time under good storage conditions. Thanks, Brad!

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  • 1961 Château Lynch-Bages

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

    Same bottle as Siggy's TN... Again, this was a dynamite bottle of Bordeaux. I slightly preferred the other-worldly '82 Latour tonight (thanks, Brad!), but the '61 L-B did have an extra dimension in its aroma and texture - due to its extended bottle age - that was quite flattering for the wine, IMO. Dark fruit, tobacco, cedar; earthy aromas rose effortlessly from the glass. Gorgeous, and amazingly youthful for a 40+ year old wine...

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  • 1990 Château Léoville Las Cases

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien

    Same bottle as Siggy's TN... Beautifully expressive nose that reminded me a bit of a more evolved, slightly scaled down version of the 1982 Latour that followed this wine. Gorgeous aromatics of cigar box, cedar and smoke. I loved the weight and texture. This wine is nicely mature, though I'm sure will hold for a while. Thanks Steve!

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  • 1997 Michel & Stéphane Ogier Côte-Rôtie Cuvée la Belle Hélène

    France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie

    Same bottle as Siggy's TN... Basically a year since my last bottle (see TN), this bottle was decanted, left to stand for about 45 minutes, and then poured in the middle of a Bordeaux flight. Surprisingly, it fit in quite well. Interesting to look back and see my "Graves-like" comment from last year... In addition to the fully resolved, earthy elements, it showed an interesting mint component and a light pepperiness that perhaps slightly differentiated it stylistically from the other wines in the line-up; however, blind, I think we would have all been way off base and probably have guessed Bordeaux... This bottle seemed softer than it was a year ago (admittedly, I did not decant that bottle, so that extra air exposure could explain the difference in this case). All of us agreed that there was no noticeable new oak showing on this bottle, which is in-line with my prior two experiences with this wine, though in disagreement with other TNs I have read... Excellent, though slightly outclassed by the '82 Latour and '61 Lynch-Bages!

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  • 2003 Le Vieux Donjon Châteauneuf-du-Pape

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

    Same bottle as Siggy's TN... A few of us opened this just to see if it was worth buying more while there is still more available at a cheap price... Almost like a cask sample. Raspberry liquor, herbs, and a slightly raisiny / medicinal component that I found a bit off-putting. Rather hard-edged and hot. This wine is clearly way too young to enjoy - and, unlike many other CNPs, V-D seems to be made in a style that can be unflattering in its youth. For example, I remenber being equally on the fence with the '95 at release, and that wine turned out great in time; the '99 and '00 were even less impressive upon release. FWIW, I have had a little more success drinking the '01 in its youth (see TNs), but it needs air and might be closing down...

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  • 1999 Château Lafite Rothschild

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

    Same bottle as Siggy's TN... (Thanks, Dave!). It was interesting to try a youger wine of similar pedigree next to the '82 Latour, '90 Leoville Las Cases and '61 Lynch-Bages (see TNs). However, the '99 Lafite seemed to suffer due to the extra dimensions the other, more mature wines offered. That said, the '99 did improve with air exposure (decanted and consumed over a few hours). This wine is in its first phase of life, with tannins yet to resolve - as well as some obvious new oak that will no doubt become more integrated over time. Deep notes of cassis and asphalt. I think that this showed us only a fraction of what will come in time, and it could end up benifitting tremendously from consumption during peak maturity - as was the case with the '83 Mouton last night (see TN).

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  • 1996 Etienne Sauzet Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Combettes Flawed

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru

    OXIDIZED.... FWIW, it was better in the mouth than on the nose, but we still dumped it and moved on... I loved this wine on release, and I had high hopes for the lone bottle I purchased and have cellared for the last six or seven years... Bummer.

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