AWSEC French Connection

AWSEC, Hong Kong
Tasted Saturday, January 14, 2012 by DonalOB with 662 views

Introduction

This was the supposed to be a collection of French wines from the 90s, with a vertical of three Pichon Lalandes. Although we had bad luck with the '95 Pichon Lalande, Stephen grabbed a Penfold's Grange '97 instead which did very nicely, thank you. I enjoyed this tasting very much - lots of great wines - but the '61 La Lagune was certainly an interesting highlight. I really enjoy very old wines when they manage to survive like this.

Flight 1 (8 Notes)

  • 1997 Salon Champagne Blanc de Blancs Brut 95 Points

    France, Champagne

    Pale yellow, tiny bubble trace. Slight, bready smell from autolysis but note dense or very concentrated. Light citric nose.
    Elegant and floral with mineral and some smokiness on the palate. Good acidity - Med(+). Balanced with great length.
    After I left some in the glass for an hour it was clear that this is just like a great burgundy.

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  • 2005 Château Grand-Pontet 92 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Saint-Émilion Grand Cru

    Deep purple core, slight rim. Smell of Cabernet Sauvignon (only 15% - 70% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Franc). Menthol nose with sweet spice.
    Not huge oak (70% new).
    Medium acidity, some fine-grained tannins - not gritty. Medium length.
    Faded slightly after an hour in glass.

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  • 1996 Mas de Daumas Gassac Flawed

    France, Languedoc Roussillon, Languedoc, Pays d'Hérault

    Bricking on rim but dense core.Nose of leather, cedar and mint. Some tobacco even. We think this was a little corked though as there was a trace of TCA and the palate was rather hollow and sour.
    Indeed, after an hour in the glass this became more apparent.

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  • 1995 Paul Jaboulet Aîné Hermitage La Chapelle 91 Points

    France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage

    From 40-60 year old vines. Bricking on edge, dense core.
    Gamey, smokey, and leather. Damson fruit on the palate.
    Good structure - fairly gritty tannins, although balanced by some acidity.
    Faded a little after an hour in the glass.

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  • 1961 Château La Lagune 94 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Haut-Médoc

    This was the surprise of the tasting.
    Very light brown but with good shoulder height in the bottle. Took considerable skill to get the cork out.
    We didn't expect much of this after so long, and with that cork, so we poured and tasted right away.
    Quite a shock. Really interesting - lots of complex aged notes from some oxidation: caramel, toffee, game, smoke, even roasted coffee beans. Savoury but sweet (from the remaining fruit).
    Very delicate and a great pleasure - we were lucky! I gave it 94 for the pleasure it gave.

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  • 1996 Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande 95 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

    My favourite wine of the tasting.
    Some signs of age with slight bricking but dense core still.
    Concentrated sweet fruit on nose with vanilla and sweet spice.
    Medium acidity. Still plenty of tannins - probably what preserves the colour so well. Great length - smoke and spice on finish.
    After an hour in the glass, more graphite on the nose.

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  • 1994 Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande 92 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

    Bricked - still solid core.
    Slight cabbagey / vegetal smell - not unpleasant.
    Muted fruit notes. Similar to the '96 but in a much lighter style.

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  • 1997 Penfolds Grange 95 Points

    Australia, South Australia

    This is the wine Stephen grabbed from his collection when the '95 Pichon Lalande proved off - happy days.
    Dense purple core with light rim. We opened and poured this straight from the bottle but I didn't even approach it for an hour, and after I had tasted everything else.
    A great nose - incredibly minty flavour on both the nose and palate. The oak is very well integrated. It's got medium acidity and tannin but it's the density and length of the fruit /chocolate / mint that is so compelling. This looks like a baby and I'm assured that we drank it far too young! I can believe that. I think I'd like a few of these resting in the lower shelves.

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