Wine Olympics
Picasso Restaurant, Bellagio Hotel, Las Vegas, Nevada
Tasted Friday, January 7, 2005 by Blair Curtis with 2,054 views
Introduction
These notes are from the Las Vegas sitting of the Wine Olympics. Identical tastings were held elsewhere in the world within 24 hours of each other.
The same 10 wines were tasted in 3 vintage flights: 1985 followed by 1990 followed by 2001.
We knew what vintage we were drinking, but did not know which of the 10 wines was in each glass.
I have provided my personal notes and my personal scores. In addition, at the end of the note, I have provided the raw average of the scores given by the 15 Las Vegas tasters. These are not the final scores, which remain to be tabulated and published by the Grand Jury Europeen. The notes appear in the order in which I tasted the wines (this order was not the same for each taster).
Enjoy...I sure did!
1985 Chateau Montelena Cabernet Sauvignon The Montelena Estate 84 Points
USA, California, Napa Valley
Mature nose with apple skins, a little port-like on the palate, very tannic and backward, old style, minerally and a touch astringent on the finish, high acid and a bit narrow. Maybe Ausone? (Group = 82.5)
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1985 Château Lafite Rothschild 92 Points
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
Nose of capiscum (green pepper) and fall leaves, silky in the mouth with excellent palate coverage, good healthy acids, a little feminine, nicely integrated tannins. Maybe Lafite? (Group = 88.7)
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1985 Tenuta San Guido Sassicaia 94 Points
Italy, Tuscany, Vino da Tavola
Nose of mocha/chocolate - this must be Merlot, rich, ripe and plush in the mouth, lovely wine. Wow, the chocolate just explodes out of this glass. Conseillante? (Group = 83.7 with some believing we had a bad bottle)
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1985 Château Margaux 96 Points
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux
Nice nose with some green tobacco and ripe fruit. Velvet in the mouth - seamless. Very light/airy palate impression. Near perfect balance. Is this Chateau Margaux? (Group = 89.6)
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1985 Château Sociando-Mallet 95 Points
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Haut-Médoc
Ripe cassis nose with some thyme and dried herbs. Youthful with considerable potential. Powerful but remarkable balance. Latour? (Group = 88.4)
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1985 Château La Conseillante 90 Points
France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol
Sweet, slightly maderized nose. Black tea on the nose too. Sweet entry - a fully resolved wine. But is it a little cooked? Seems to lack a bit of freshness. Very different from the others so far. Is this the Sassicaia? (Group = 84.7)
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1985 Château Mouton Rothschild 92 Points
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
Another silky Bordeaux wine. Lovely perfume on the nose. Excellent balance with nice density and persistance. Maybe Mouton? (Group = 90.2)
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1985 Château Latour Grand Vin 91 Points
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
Ripe fruit on the nose and a bit of bruised apple. Great mouthfeel and balance. A little short on the finish, though. Haut-Brion? (Group = 90.3)
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1985 Château Haut-Brion 88 Points
France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan
Clean ripe nose. A bit simple on the palate - monolithic. Medium finish. Sociando? (Group = 89.4)
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1985 Château Ausone 89 Points
France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru
Cherry cough syrup nose. Very ripe palate. Sweet Tarts candy. Is this Montelena? (Group = 86.5)
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