Impromptu Bordeaux on a Sunday Afternoon

We got a text from Hsien Min on Sunday saying that he had some leftovers that I would like to try. After missing out on the last "leftover" we did not hesitate to rush over to his place for a short catch-up over two yummy glasses of wine. I was a bit off on the guesses, saying Pauillac before plumping for Margaux - on reflection, both wines were actually good torch bearers for their appelation, with the 1959 really representative of both its terroir and its vintage. What a treat.

• 1959 Château Rauzan-Gassies 92 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux

  Just perhaps starting to slip a little, but this was nevertheless a real gem of a Margaux. It showed its terroir really well both on the palate and the attractive nose, which showed gentle wafts of preserved red dates and dried cranberries, with slightly woody, dusty earth notes and some dried flower accents at the edges. Nice. The palate had perfectly resolved into a silken mouthful, with lovely juicy flavours of red cherries and cranberries, a touch of prune or plum maybe, and a little lick of tobacco towards the finish. All still quite lively with a nice little hint of grip to its velvety textured and surprisingly long finish. Yummy. A real treat of a Margaux wrapped up in a classically elegant, mid-weighted style. At a very nice place now.

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• 1998 Château Palmer Alter Ego de Palmer 92 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux

  This was very impressive for a second label. It had a nice nose of plums and black cherries flecked with earth, spice and tobacco aromas. Somewhat straddling the left and right banks I thought, with a nice little nod to the abundance of Merlot in the blend. The palate was very elegant, with a fresh, lively feel and fine bone structure underlying its cassis and black fruited flavours. It was very clean, slightly lighter styled than the Grand Vin, but very pleasing in its own way. The merlot showed up in the finish once more, with lots of spice notes playing on an earthy background. Still young, with hints of fine tannin peppering the palate, but this was very drinkable even now. For best effects, I would wait a couple more years before popping one of these.

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