Patrick Halstead's "Boxed wine vs. aged Bordeaux" tasting

Bellevue, WA, USA
Tasted Friday, December 5, 2003 by Eric with 2,085 views

Introduction

Patrick Halstead hosted a tasting at his house with the goal to see if people could distinguish aged fine wine from box wine. Ten red wines were served single-blind, side-by-side, into 10 glasses. Each taster then had 45 minutes to determine which wine was which.

To make things more interesting, you could also bet a bottle against Patrick. You deposited a suitable bottle into the 'pot' and if Patrick got more correct than you he kept your bottle. However, if you guessed at least 6 correctly, you also got to take a grab from Patrick's cellar...

Flight 1 (2 Notes)

First we had some starters to warm up:

  • 1999 Hanzell Chardonnay 87 Points

    USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Valley

    Very gold in color with lemon and buttered toast in the nose. On the palate this shows butterscotch with impressive depth, intensity, and vibrant acidity.

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  • 1999 Von Schubert Maximin Grünhäuser Abtsberg Riesling Auslese 82 Points

    Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer

    Some ash on the nose without much else. On the palate this is somewhat dilute with limp acidity. The bottle had been open for a couple of days, but I would expect more from an Auslese. (A.P. Nr. 3 536 014-5-00)

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Flight 2 (10 Notes)

Then onto the 10 reds, all poured single blind, egads!

  • 2000 Château Thébot 84 Points

    France, Bordeaux

    Tasted single blind and guessed correctly. Somewhat weedy, green and young on the nose with a hint of charcoal. On the palate this was initially quite astringent, but with time it opened to show impressive structure with a grippy, tannic finish.

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  • 1994 Quilceda Creek Cabernet Sauvignon 94 Points

    USA, Washington

    Tasted single blind and guessed correctly. This was unmistakeably Quilceda with the classic violet, very 'bright' aromatics. On the palate this showed supercharged chambord with massive structure. This was the most closed 1994 Quilceda I have ever tasted, a brooding monster. Still gorgeous of course.

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  • 1982 Château L'Evangile 89 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol

    Tasted single blind and guessed correctly. This was clearly aged Bordeaux from the faded rim and the gorgeous aromatics of soy, mushroom, earth, forest floor, and iron. Unfortunately, this seemed very oxidized (overdecanted or a bad bottle?) with very prominent acid and a paucity of fruit. This started out tight and choppy but did gain some length with time in the glass. A nice wine, but in my opinion it was over the hill.

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  • 1989 Château Pichon-Longueville Baron 92 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

    Tasted single blind and guessed incorrectly as the 1997 Falesco Montiano. The nose on this is exotic and floral with a stern, black character on the palate and loads of structure. I was upset that I missed this one, as this was the one of the few wines which I had tasted before.

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  • 1986 Chateau Montelena Cabernet Sauvignon The Montelena Estate 93 Points

    USA, California, Napa Valley

    Tasted single blind and guessed correctly. The nose on this was somewhat herbal with caramel on the edge, very explosive. On the palate this shows a very big entry with a lot of structure. This is not even close to resolved, wow! The finish is very powerful showing somewhat drying tannins. Very, very impressive for a 17 year old California wine.

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  • 2001 Hardys Cabernet Sauvignon Stamp of Australia

    Australia, South Eastern

    Tasted single blind and guessed correctly. This stood out quite clearly as the box-wine in the lineup. On the nose there is caramel with a very grapey, young character. Very youthful color although somewhat see through and showing a lack of concentration. On the palate this is very stemmy, but it does show a surprising amount of structure on the finish with fairly coarse tannins. Not rated. Call me a snob, but I'm not sure if I would even cook with this stuff.

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  • 1997 Famiglia Cotarella Lazio Montiano 92 Points

    Italy, Latium, Lazio

    Tasted single blind and guessed incorrectly as the 1990 Dominus. On the nose this was very high-toned and unique with come exotic coconut and a bit of band-aid. On the palate this is very broad with dusty and silky tannins and a long, powerful finish. This bottle was quite different from the last one I had in March but equally impressive, as I rated that one at 93 points.

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  • 1986 Château Cheval Blanc 88 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Saint-Émilion Grand Cru

    Tasted single blind and guessed correctly. You know, this is the third time I have had a Cheval Blanc (1986, 1990, and 1996), and none have bowled me over. I was able to correctly guess it tonight for exactly that reason. It makes me wonder if there is something wrong with me if I am not impressed by a wine like this. Anyway, this was somewhat light in color with obvious bricking. The nose was fairly bright and high-toned, almost minty but not really, obviously an aged Bordeaux of some sort. Initially I thought this was dilute, but increasingly I was impressed by the balance and earthy finish. Where is the power though?

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  • 1990 Dominus Estate 95 Points

    USA, California, Napa Valley

    Tasted single blind and guessed incorrectly as the 1989 Pichon Baron. This was very medicinal with a hint of barnyard. I was initially thinking this was the 1986 Montelena, but then the palate showed so much earth, mineral, and brawny structure that I started to think this was Bordeaux. Very long and persistent, wow. With time a very distinct black olive flavor appeared, and this wine showed more and more masculinity. I would never have picked this as Californian!?! My #2 WOTN.

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  • 1994 Joseph Phelps Insignia 96 Points

    USA, California, Napa Valley

    Tasted single blind and guessed correctly. This was my WOTN and the overall WOTN with 3 out of 9 tasters picking it as such. The explosive and powerful nose showed roasted plum, mint, some latex, and bit of heat, wow! On the palate this was an explosion of flavors, a real cacophony with a ton of complexity and power, simply gorgeous!

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Flight 3 (4 Notes)

We finished with a series of dessert wines:

Closing

I ended up guessing 7 out of 10 to Patrick's 8, so I lost my bottle of 1996 Pichon Lalande. However, I did get to make a blind cellar grab and ended up somehow finding a 1996 Lafite, so I made off like a bandit in the end!

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