A Special Night at Taillevent
Taillevent Restaurant, Paris
Tasted Tuesday, February 19, 2013 by JonnyG with 461 views
Introduction
A quiet celebration dinner with colleagues turned into quite an inspiring 1985 Bordeaux horizontal, plus a pair of nice surprises on top of it.
Flight 1 (6 Notes)
Closing
Lots more satisfaction and inspiration than reviews of 1985 would have led me to expect.
1993 Domaine Méo-Camuzet Clos Vougeot 93 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Clos Vougeot Grand Cru
Showed much more life than I would have expected. Very light in color. Still powerful and lush out of the bottle, with a rustic nose of mushrooms and leaves. Complex and beguiling on the palate, with a smoky earthiness yet never heavy or clumsy.
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1985 Château La Mission Haut-Brion 92 Points
France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan
Served blind, after a quick decant. The only wine I called correctly by maker, though I was off a year on the vintage. For a brief few minutes, this wine played supernova, flashing a compelling bouquet and complex flavors of cassis, camphor and spices. Medium bodied and terribly charming. Admittedly thins out a bit on the mid-palate, but still structured and elegant, clearly a La Mission that was determined to "represent." A mere 10 minutes later, though, the wine closed down and never revived.
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1985 Château Haut-Brion 95 Points
France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan
Served blind after a quick decant, side by side with what turned out to be its sister '85 La Mission Haut Brion. Fully mature, super-rich and with a robust bouquet of pit fruit, minerals and spice. Almost full bodied, plush and well rounded, showing impressive structure and a touch of mocha on the finish. Silky and complex!
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1985 Château Ausone 92 Points
France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Saint-Émilion Grand Cru
Served blind, and correctly identified as St. Emilion, though no one got the vineyard. What might once have been accused of being thin and one-dimensional came across as delicate and pleasingly feminine on this evening, harmonious and balanced despite following Haut Brion and La Mission Haut Brion and being paired with Latour, all from 1985. A bit thin on the palate, and lacking in any real power, but a sheer pleasure nonetheless.
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1985 Château Latour Grand Vin 94 Points
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
Served blind. It took a while for the powerful vegetal, barnyard nose to blow off. I think this prevented anyone from correctly identifying this wine though the merlot component was evident to all. I was stunned to learn its identity, having always understood Latour to have badly underperformed in 1985, but I need to give kudos as the wine really sang on this night. Medium bodied, fleshy and smooth, with good structure and well integrated tannins.
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1961 Château d'Yquem 90 Points
France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes
An inspired birth year wine for two of the guests. Dark caramel in color, with dominant notes of pineapple, honey and citrus. A bit burnt if I am being honest, and clearly fading. Not much spine, but delivered enough the legendary Yquem sweetness and an impressively long finish for an off vintage.
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