A Really Nice Bordeaux Tasting Including 1986 Haut Brion and 1990 Climens
K&L Wines, San Francisco
Tasted Saturday, November 17, 2012 by drwine2001 with 446 views
K&L Wines, San Francisco
Tasted Saturday, November 17, 2012 by drwine2001 with 446 views
2000 Lur-Saluces "Y" Flawed
France, Bordeaux, Bordeaux Supérieur
Medium yellow. Nutty and dull. Oxidized (although the shop was unwilling to admit that this was flawed). Not a great start.
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2009 Domaine de Chevalier
France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan
Dark color. Not much in the way of aroma right now. Smooth, oaky base but overall, medium weight and not too fat. Cedary on the palate, roasted but not overripe fruit, powerful acidity, round tannins. Closes with olive flavors and some welcome austerity that is partially due to the wood but entirely appropriate for this young age. When I tasted the 1990 later in the series, it was amazing to reflect upon how much the style of vinification had changed over the intervening 20 or so years. This was very good but much more marked by the oak than by sense of place.
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1995 Château Calon-Ségur
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Saint-Estèphe
Medium core and only a hint of maturity right at the meniscus. Cedary, scorched earth nose (this smelled more like Graves than the Domaine de Chevalier!). Aggressive Cabernet attack, very classic and youthful. Lean, dry finish. Rugged wine that is probably never meant to be silky, but it still has years to go until maturity.
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1990 Domaine de Chevalier
France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan
Gentle gradation of maturing colors. Dill and other herbs on the nose. Light and very elegant. Earth and faded fruit, lacking some mid-palate intensity. Medium finish with some little remaining tannin. Almost completely resolved. While I admire its unadorned delicacy and more traditional style than its 2009 counterpart, I would not count on it to hang on for much longer.
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1986 Château Haut-Brion
France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan
Medium core with bricking edge. Very fragrant cigar box aromatics. Subtle remaining gently sweet fruit with a minty edge and a long, soil and mineral spiked finish which persists. Perfect weight and texture with a bit of residual tannic austerity, even at age 26. Outstanding but short of great (not quite enough depth), I could still see this improving for another 3-5 years, especially on the finish.
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1979 Château Lynch-Bages
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
Tawny core, lighter rim. Stalky, sweaty nose. Bigger and just bulkier and less fine than the Haut Brion with a brief flash of sweetness but then quite faded fruit. Very dry tannins, short finish. Old fashioned, more powerful than charming, and it gives the distinct sense of being slightly underripe. That said, this has lasted pretty well for a wine from a middling vintage.
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1990 Château Climens
France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Barsac
Light golden with a hint of orange. Glorious high toned citrus and honey. Complex mix of vanilla and pure fruit that again is more citric and less tropical than most ripe vintage Sauternes. Head spinning complexity, great acidity, dynamite finish. I loved this and would take it over larger scaled, more unctuous Sauternes any day.
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