New Year's Eve 95s

Tasted Friday, December 31, 2010 by Rob MacKay with 493 views

Introduction

All wines tasted together in a single blind format.

Flight 1 (4 Notes)

  • 1995 Pahlmeyer Proprietary Red 97 Points

    USA, California, Napa Valley

    Rich red color, nearly opaque. A touch of oak still shows on the nose mixed with some mint / eucalyptus, loamy earth and black currants. The nose just builds and builds in the glass. I even have the word 'wow' on my tasting card for this one. Palate is rich, complex dark fruits with a wonderful texture and a long finish. Fantastic wine that totally surprised me on this night.

    Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No

  • 1995 Château Haut-Brion 94 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan

    Deep crimson color with just a touch of bricking at the extreme edge. Gravelly, earthy nose with some dried fruits. As the wine gained air, the nose just opened and opened and was really expressive. Rich red fruits on the palate with great balance and depth. I think the finish would be my only negative point about the wine. While smooth and complex, it was of medium length whereas I was hoping for one of those epic finishes that last for minutes. Other then that, fantastic wine.

    Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No

  • 1995 Château Lascombes 91 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux

    Rich red color, slight bricking. Candy red nose, perhaps like red licorice, with a touch of mint. A little more acidity then I expected with smooth fruit flavors on the palate and a medium length finish. There wasn't that Bordeaux earthiness present so it reminded me of a 90s California Cabernet, which is why I mistakenly picked this as the California wine in the flight.

    Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No

  • 1995 Château Lynch-Bages 87 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

    Crimson color throughout. A muted nose of earth, spice and blackberries. Very smooth on the palate but doesn't seem to offer much in the way of depth or complexity and the finish was just average. On it's own, it would be an enjoyable but it showed poorly in comparison to the other 3 wines in the flight. Certainly left me wanting more.

    Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No

Closing

I was totally surprised by the Pahlmeyer, which for me was the wine of the night. I thought it was the 95 Haut Brion.

×
×