1990 Bordeaux dinner with Latour, Beausejour Duffau, Montrose and etc
Capital Grille Tysons, VA
Tasted Friday, January 18, 2013 by dcwino with 1,088 views
Introduction
Assaf kindly organized a cost sharing dinner to drink the 90 Bordeaux. It was an extremely interesting and educational dinner. For me, the dinner demonstrated the validity of the 100 point scale to clearly and simply represent my preferences of the bottles at least in Bordeaux yet it also demonstrated the absurdity as there are no great wines only great bottles and although I may have liked the 06 Bourchard Corton Charlie, I rated the Aubert Ritche higher to somehow being objective. The power of suggestion was also live and kicking as I was making an attempt to guess the wines and as soon as I thought I found them, I started to notice a couple unique characters that are associated with the wine. Although I only got three our of nine reds, I was happy to clearly recognize the 90 Latour which is not a big monster like the 90 Margaux but a true grand vin that is perfectly balanced and seamless.
Flight 1 - Whites (6 Notes)
The 02 Dom was the most open example I have ever had.
Flight 2 - Bordeaux Flight 1 (3 Notes)
Flight 3 - Bordeaux Flight 2 (3 Notes)
Flight 4 - Bordeaux Flight 3 (3 Notes)
Flight 5 - 90 d'Yquem (1 Note)
Closing
This must have been the right phase of the lunar cycle as the wines showed exceptionally well. I felt confident that I would be able to recognize the 90 Beausejour Duffau but clearly failed. I highly recommend not to decant the 90 BDL and the 90 La Conseillante if you want to experience the opulent fruits. Once again, a big thanks goes to Assaf for organizing this memorable diner. Another thanks goes to seven friends who shared this wonderful occasion.
P.S. The 90 Montrose don't suck!
2007 Kistler Chardonnay Durell Vineyard 90 Points
USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast
Ripe yellow fruits, lemon curd, butter, vanilla, a hint of limestone and oak. Warm ripe fruits, a hint of mineral expression, lacking acidity and slightly bitter finish. It is slightly advanced and a bit cloying. Excellent provenance.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
2008 Aubert Chardonnay Ritchie Vineyard 94 Points
USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast
This is a typical Aubert chardonnay, a lot of everything. Starting note is seashell and saline, than very ripe yellow fruits, a hint of sweet and sour sauce and smoke. Unctuous palate, sweet ripe yellow fruits, noticeable mineral expression and bright acidity. Although all components are there to counterbalance each other, it is a bit too much. A good contract to the 06 Bouchard CC served next. It is ready to go but will improve for a couple more years and will last ten.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
2009 Château d'Yquem Y de Yquem 94 Points
France, Bordeaux
This is definitely riper and the nose is not as expressive as the 08. White fruits, lanoline, lilacs, mountain streams and saline. Chewy palate, good acidity, a hint of residual sugar, strong mineral expression and long finish. For me, I prefer the 08 version for the nose and the precision.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
2006 Bouchard Père et Fils Corton-Charlemagne Domaine 93 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru
The last bottle drank two years ago was not showing much. This has opened up nicely. Pear, white fruits, lemon, mineral and saline. Fat oily palate, noticeable mineral expression and good acidity. I still find the wine a bit fat and ripe but having the typical CC minerality and the lean fruit expression makes the wine very enjoyable without being cloying. Assaf like the wine more than me, although his rating maybe lower due to his conservative 100 point scale.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
2002 Dom Pérignon Champagne 95 Points
France, Champagne
This is the most opened example, honey, yellow fruits, lemon curd, apple tart, brioche and seashell. Round and sweet palate, excellent concentration and good acidity. Very enjoyable but definitely more advanced.
Post a Comment / 1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
2010 Sine Qua Non The Monkey 89 Points
USA, California
This is the second time having this wine and it just is not my cup of tea. This bottle seems a bit darker than the first and the nose reflects that. The first note once again is lychee then orange peel, tropical fruits and tea. Quite chewy, a hint of sugar and noticeable heat as the end note. I have no clue whether this will improve with time.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No