Guys and steaks

After hanging out with Jason Goldberger on Friday, Saturday AND Sunday, we figured why not go for a fourth day in a row and break open some Bordeaux. Jason had invited his friend and co-worker Chris Plambeck (a lurker here who MAYBE I can draw out into the open) to get steaks at Jak's in West Seattle, and he kindly asked me to tag along.

And so with some delicious and (cooked quite rare) Delmonico's, we dipped into the three Bordeaux. For me both 86's showed very tannic and young, but with the steak they improved considerably. The 82 Lynch was gorgeous from the get-go and showed steadily for 3+ hours.

• 1986 Château La Mission Haut-Brion 90 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan

  At first I wondered if this was corked, as I was picking up an odd, high-pitched scent. However, over the course of an evening I convinced myself that it was not. This was a deeply tannic wine that was very different from my only other La Mission experiences (1981 and 1990). Very spicy with clove and roasted nuts on the nose, the palate was black, forbidding and tannic. On its own it was not very enjoyable at first. However, with steak and 2 hours of air it did open up a bit more and provide good drinking.

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• 1982 Château Lynch-Bages 95 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

  This was my wine of the night (and my bottle). The nose showed loads of cedar and cigar box with a hint of barnyard. The palate was surprisingly sweet and sultry with very ripe fruit on the attack and then a finish that was very medicinal, black, complex and long. This is a lovely bottle. 95+ points and drinking exceptionally well right now.

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• 1986 Château Rausan-Ségla 92 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux

  This is a bottle which Jason recently picked from Esquin as part of a private cellar sale. Upon decanting the aromatics were faint, but I loved what I smelled with nice earthy notes of peat moss and tobacco. When we got to the restaurant this had gone somewhat mute and took quite a while to wake up in the glass. At first it was quite resinous with notes of black fruit. The palate also wasn't very giving at first showing a lot of tannin and astringency. I was worried that the wine was cooked, but in fact it was just quite closed. With steak and another three hours of air this slowly woke up and got better and better as the night wore on. The hallmark aspect of this wine was truly amazing and gripping structure that just stuck your front teeth to your lips. A real hammer of a wine with a LOOOONG time ahead of it to come to maturity. 92 points for now, but this clearly has a bright future and a lot of depth waiting to come out.

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We finished up the evening with a 375ml of Vin Santo before they finally chased us out of the restaurant.

• 1996 Isole e Olena Vin Santo del Chianti Classico 91 Points

  Italy, Tuscany, Chianti, Vin Santo del Chianti Classico

  Tasted from 375ml. I have a hard time understanding how the Wine Spectator could rate this at 83 points and compare it to blanched almonds. The nose is quite volatile with a candied edge and some obvious heat. On the palate however, this explodes with honey, roasted nuts and amazing length and complexity. It reminded me of a sherry without the saltiness. Very long, very enjoyable, terrific stuff!

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Cheers!