First Growth Dinner (plus some La Mission)

I was really happy to be able to attend this dinner. The assembled group has an incredible wealth of knowledge when it comes to wine...and as a relative newcomer, it's nights like tonight that provide me with the perfect environment to soak up incredible information. I walked away from tonight's dinner having tasted my first Krug, and my first First Growths, but more importantly with a far deeper knowledge base.

We dined at Ruths Chris in DC and were taken care of by their expert team. Big thanks to the organizational efforts of Panos and the incredible generosity of all who attended. A truly memorable evening!

An incredible start to the evening with two wonderfully deep and complex chardonnays.

• 1988 Krug Champagne Vintage Brut 94 Points

  France, Champagne

  Incredibly deep nose of sweet mousse, baked bread and roasted almonds. Darryl compared it to being in between a boulangerie and a patisserie on a street in Paris - the yeasty component was relatively balanced by a wonderful sweetness on the nose. Could have easily sniffed this wine for hours...it continually ebbed and flowed between yeasty notes and more mousse-driven notes. Palate had great depth and considerable weight for the vintage. Thought that the freshness and acidity were close to perfect. The bead on the wine was considerably diminished, but the structure was still there. Wonderful wine.

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• 2002 Domaine Darviot-Perrin Meursault 1er Cru Charmes 91 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Meursault 1er Cru

  Thought the nose had interesting seashell and "tidal pool" tones. For me, these are classic notes for moderately aged white burgs, but this had a distinct weight to it that I found unique. The palate followed the nose and was deep, full and polished. Really nice wet rock, lemon oil, and roasted herbs constitute this robust palate. Was drinking very well tonight.

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Overall, both of these wines were satisfying and displayed the value of good provenance. I thought the '81 wasn't as complex as my last '81 La Mission, but the vintage continues to be an interesting off-vintage for my tastes.

• 1976 Château La Mission Haut-Brion 91 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan

  Beautifully dusty nose of cranberry, red florals and smokey minerals. The palate showed very noble cranberry fruits with subtle red-fruited tobacco and dark cherries. There was a very nice floral lift that I enjoyed very much. Many at the table commented that this wine showed the typical red fruit for the vintage (a hot one). I felt this showed quite well.

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• 1981 Château La Mission Haut-Brion 90 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan

  While not as satisfying as the '81 LMHB I had in August, I was still impressed by this bottle. The nose was like a roller coaster - shifting from iron-driven bloodiness to a more feminine dried-red-rose nose. It was hard to ignore the wonderfully characteristic smokey-mineral component that powers so many La Missions. This had a decent finish, but didn't have the depth and concentration of some of the other wines of the evening.

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This was the "wow" flight for me. Both wines could have been the wine of the night (on any other night). Incredibly deep, complex and fresh...both exemplify what people seek in older Bordeaux.

• 1978 Château Haut-Brion 96 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan

  Among a tasting of various first growths from varying vintages, this, in my mind, stole the show. The nose was deep...characterized by subtle aromas of brown sugar, roasted herbs, light tobacco, sous bois, cassis, and mushrooms. While sitting in the glass, the complexity kept growing and deepening - all I wish was that I had many hours to sample this wine. The palate was just, wow. Silky on entry, it coated the mouth with subtle tones of cassis, roasted mushrooms, and some bitter chocolate. Fascinating wine and my WOTN.

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• 1978 Château La Mission Haut-Brion 94 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan

  Incredible wine that I didn't give enough time in the glass to evolve. Had a really interesting meatiness compared to the more subtle, floral driven 78 Haut Brion that was drank alongside. The palate of this wine was masculine and powerful - and probably could have benefitted from a couple hours of decanting. Nevertheless, this was an impressive effort. Palate was decidedly more rustic than the 78 Haut Brion drank alongside with a very sexy chocolate component woven throughout. Luckily, Faryan saved some of this wine to be sampled ~2+ hours after its first pour and the nose only deepened and showed more complex notes of herbs and minerals. Could easily have spent the entire night on this wine.

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The '66 Mouton was impressive. Mr. Bublitz commented that of all the '66 Mouton's he's had recently this bottle was in the best shape...and it certainly showed. Despite the damage to the cork the Mouton was kicking like a donkey...what a wine!

• 1976 Château Latour Grand Vin 89 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

  Distinct carmel notes on the nose with a nice dried rose lift. Wasn't as fresh as the 76 La Mission that was drank earlier in the night, but did have more earthen tones woven throughout. In addition to the earth tones, there was a very nice cherry fruit core with subtle herbs. Didn't think the nose was overly complex or deep, but the palate was quite enjoyable. Extraordinarily silky, I thought the mouthfeel really carried this wine. The noble red fruit took over on the palate for me, and combined with nice, subtle, sous bois tones. Not a "wow" wine for me, but that was probably more to do with its company this eve.

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• 1966 Château Mouton Rothschild 95 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

  So the quality of this wine surprised many people at the table. The process of extracting the cork was the most dramatic of the night...and it emerged in many pieces. Luckily, the wine proved to be a show-stopper. I was really impressed (and surprised) by the meatiness of the nose. From time to time, bacon seemed to ooze from the nose - eerily reminiscent of many Hermitages I've tasted. In addition to the animale characteristics, I thought it had lovely brown sugar, roasted herbs, dried coffee, and soy sauce tones throughout. The easily could have captured my attention for an entire night...my biggest mistake with the Mouton was not pouring enough!

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Had high hopes for this flight, but the wines were a bit off. It happens with older Bordeaux. Luckily, we had some backups.

• 1970 Château Mouton Rothschild Flawed

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

  General consensus was that this bottle was oxidized. The palate wasn't totally awful, but no question that this was a flawed bottle. Shame.

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• 1970 Château La Mission Haut-Brion Flawed

  France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan

  Cork city.

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• 1970 Château Latour Grand Vin 89 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

  Many at the table didn't think this bottle was correct - wasn't flawed, but wasn't where it should have been. Having no previous experience with the wine, I figured I'd give it a go anyways. I thought that the nose was delicate with nice cranberry and red floral components. Palate had a nice cherry tobacco edge to it with roasted herbs and mushrooms. I found the palate to be quite nice (I think I was an outlier in this regard).

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An impromptu flight after the issues with the '70 Mouton and '70 La Mission. I was in the minority ( i think ) with my thoughts on the Las Cases, but the Pavie was a surprise for me!

• 1979 Château Léoville Las Cases 89 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien

  Felt this was slightly corked. While not perfect, I thought the palate was far better than the nose suggested. Palate was driven by cranberry, red florals, dried cherry tobacco and some smoke. Might not have shown its best stuff tonight, but again, I think I enjoyed this more than most.

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• 2002 Château Pavie 90 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru

  Compared to the elderly wines from Bordeaux drank alongside this, it's easy to consider my perception of this to be flawed. I did however, find it to more enjoyable and restrained than I had imagined it being...so that's a good thing. Very deep nose of cherry tobacco, cassis, smoke and vanilla. Palate was concentrated was bright with there was a freshness to it that seemed to hold any overblown fruit or alcohol in check. Overall I was impressed.

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What can I say about the Dal Forno? It was incredible.

• 1995 Romano Dal Forno Nettare 95 Points

  Italy, Veneto, Veneto IGT

  I was blown away by this wine. Shockingly good. Agree with other tasters that this has distinct creme brulee tones and the intensity of molasses in the mouth without the viscosity or cloying nature. I probably should have taken more notes on this, but I drank it too quickly...it was so bloody good. Safe to say that everyone at the table was incredibly impressed with this offering from Dal Forno. Simply incredible.

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• 1975 Château Coutet Barsac 92 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Barsac

  Sadly, this was tasted alongside an incredible Dal Forno Nettare Veneto IGT that stole the show. Despite its company, this was a very enjoyable Sauternes. Great freshness on the palate with lovely apricot and peach juice on the palate. The fresh juiciness was augmented by a great acidic backbone. Thought this was drinking incredibly well...god, aged Sauternes is so satisfying!

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This was an exciting night for me. I was able to try some first growth wines for the first time in my life. Had some incredible highs (Krug, Haut Brion, '66 Mouton, Dal Forno) that will always stay with me.