Wine Dinner at Batard

Jennifer, Charmaine, Boris, Justin, Carolyn, Aaron, Russ and I participated in this wine dinner together. It was the first time going to this fabled place for a lot of them and we brought out some nice wines, as per usual.

The wine pours a golden straw color with incredibly long legs. A huge concentrated nose shows great extraction from this legendary winery. At 14.4% abv, there is an explosion of sugarcane, candied lemons, honey, citrus, creme brulee and butter. The nose is so concentrated that the bouquet just leaps out from the glass. On the palate, the wine just effortlessly glides down the tongue and throat, leaving a delicate coating of candied lemons and sugarcane. Alcohol is very present and there is a slight burn. Nevertheless, the wine is incredibly well structured and well balanced. There is a strong taste of honeysuckle, citrus, candied lemon peel and butter. A lot of butter even. Finish is very long (close to a minute) and the feeling just lingers on. Incredible.

The CdP pours a deep purple color, even a bit inky black. Legs are long and they just cling onto the glass. The nose is very concentrated, with an explosion of cherries, kirsch, hay, tobacco and stone fruits. The alcohol (14.5% abv!) is apparent just from the nose, and this is clearly shown as the wine hits the palate. Notes of blackberries and macerated cherries dominate the core, with secondary notes of tobacco, plums, Earl Grey and hay. Tannins are still apparent (somewhat abrasive) but this gave the wine much needed structure and balance. Finish was very long. Quite incredible.

The wine is popped and decanted for an hour before drinking. At 13.5% abv, the juice pours a deep garnet color with a faint hint of bricking along with long legs. On the nose, the wine is very concentrated with notes of pepper, leather, tobacco, mulch and blackberries. The wine is slightly green. On the palate, the wine, although green, has well-integrated tannins and a well defined and elegant structure. There are notes of leather, kirsch, tobacco and a lot of smoke. The wine is also somewhat astringent. Finish is of medium length and there is adequate acidity in the end to keep it from being too cloying.

The wine is consumed last after being popped and decanted for over an hour. At 13.5% Abv, it pours and inky black and purple color with very long legs. The concentrated nose is very spectacular and feminine. In fact, it is somewhat rustic, quite atypical of Bordeaux. There is a strong preponderance of hay, rosemary, blackberries and smoke. On the palate, the alcohol is noticeable. Along with it comes an explosion of plums, stewed berries, mushrooms, lead pencil shavings and cigar box. Tannins are there but very velvety and well integrated into the wine. The finish is incredibly long with a fine lingering scent that just coats the tongue. Not much acidity to speak of but the tannins kept it fresh. Incredible and I can only imagine how good the 2000 will be.