Mostly 89 Bordeaux

All 5 Bordeaux were decanted about an hour before service and were served single-blind. Notes are a combination of before/after reveal.

• 2001 Joh. Jos. Christoffel Erben Ürziger Würzgarten Riesling Spätlese 90 Points

  Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer

  Classic Riesling: petrol, citrus, slate. Very nice balance between sweetness and acid, with nice layering on the palate between the fruit and minerality. With air, it developed an odd, slightly bitter flavor on the finish, almost like tannin, but that may have been due to retasting it after trying a bunch of reds. Long finish. Perhaps lacking just a bit of oomph in the mid-palate but otherwise very nice.

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• 1995 Luis Pato Bairrada Quinta do Ribeirinho Pé Franco 87 Points

  Portugal, Beiras, Bairrada

  Served blind. Wasn't quite sure what to make of this. Deep color, fairly extracted, dark fruit, leather, quite a bit of tannin still left. A little blocky and rustic. This didn't do much for me but others seemed to like it a lot more.

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• 1989 Château La Conseillante 93 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol

  Redcurrant fruit profile, with cedar and a slightly greenish minty element that adds complexity rather than detracting. On the palate the fruit is elegant and silky with a lovely core of dense sweet fruit in the midpalate that is perfectly poised and remains medium-weight despite the density. Great wine. At peak.

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• 1989 Château Montrose 89 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Saint-Estèphe

  Plenty of cedar, cigar, rocks, and currant fruit, with a lot of fierce tannin, but this was clenched down pretty hard and refused to wake up, even after 2-3 hours of air. It's complex and there are a lot of interesting parts here, but it never quite all comes together. There was nothing "wrong" with this wine, but it also wasn't anything particularly remarkable, either. Did it need more time/air? I don't know.

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• 1990 Château Léoville Poyferré 93 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Saint-Julien

  Took a while to get going, but once it did, boy did it ever. Certainly the biggest wine of the night, with wonderfully deep and full blackcurrant fruit, supported by ample chocolatey structure that gave the wine a slightly chewy quality. Not only will this last quite a bit longer, I think this wine is still on the way up, but not everyone agreed with me.

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• 1989 Château Grand-Puy-Lacoste 87 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

  At first this showed lots of brawny black cherry fruit and espresso/chocolate, but as it was exposed to air it steadily got redder, thinner, and greener, with the tannin drying it out. Well past its prime, and couldn't hold its own against the others.

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• 1989 Château Lynch-Bages 88 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

  Dark, riper and more extracted than some of the others, with a rounder and fleshier texture. I was tricked into thinking it was merlot. But the whole package was fairly unimpressive; it lacked depth and intensity. Disappointing.

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• 1977 Gould Campbell Porto Vintage 92 Points

  Portugal, Douro, Porto

  Lovely VP. Boysenberry and fig flavors, a bit of cinnamon/nutmeg. Deep, rich and smooth, with only a touch of fine tannin showing, and carrying the alcohol very well. Even better paired with cheese.

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