Second Sunday Group: Margaux

M's
Tasted Sunday, February 22, 2015 by AllRed with 697 views

Introduction

The 2nd Sunday group gathered for the normal double blind tasting. For this group, we are presented some whites, double blind, as warm ups before the main flight. The whites are discussed & unveiled before moving on to the themed main flight.

We spent forty five minutes or so tasting and evaluation the nine wines for the main flight before ranking the wines and then making guesses on what we were tasting. Wines were ranked 1-9, one point for each place, and then unveiled from last place to first place. After the tasting, dinner is served with the additional wines brought by the group, nonblind.

All are shown in the order tasted. For this tasting, we had 11 tasters and the cost was $75.

Flight 1 - Warm ups (2 Notes)

  • 2013 Wente Vineyards Chardonnay Nth Degree 92 Points

    USA, California, San Francisco Bay, Livermore Valley

    Pale color. The bouquet shows citrus, stone fruit and floral qualities with very subtle hints of banana as well. It became lighter and more floral as it sat, with an underlying peach/stone fruit quality. The palate is a bit restrained and light, featuring mineral, hints of tropical fruit, stone fruit and peach; elegant. Although it didn't have the typical richness, on account of the floral qualities I guessed Viognier.

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  • 2002 Wente Vineyards Chardonnay Nth Degree 93 Points

    USA, California, San Francisco Bay, Livermore Valley

    Deep color. Notes of wool, toasted vanilla, orchard fruit and marzipan. Pear and toasted apple qualities on the palate, with mineral and wool notes on the finish. Guessed older white Burg.

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Flight 2 - Reds (9 Notes)

So in M's usual fashion, he threw us a curve and hinted at themes a couple of weeks ahead of time, telling us we would have a horizontal and vertical, young and old, and asked if we preferred that he concentrate on better vintages or better producers. The day of the tasting, he asked us to try and peg down the specific vintage of each of the wines in the flight. This ended up a nearly impossible task, and I gave up. Even our host, who knew the wines in the flight but not the order (he had his sister bag & label the wines), had a difficult time figuring out which was which, save for the 1970 Palmer which was obviously the oldest. I should add that these were popped & immediately poured- no decanting or breathing in advance.

Guessed were all over the place, though I thought mostly Bordeaux the first time through. Some others thought older Pinots, or CA cab. With the mixed theme in mind at one point I thought we may have had old world vs new world pairs, Bordeaux versus Napa. In the end I settled on a mix of Bordeaux- Pauilllac, St. Julien and Pessac. As often ends up- a very humbling experience.

As to the wines, other than the 1970 Palmer, which is a bit past prime if this was representative, and the 2000 Giscours which needs another 5 years in the cellar, I thought these were drinking well but have plenty of life ahead. Even the '85s should last a while at this level. Thanks, M, for a fun tasting.

  • 2000 Château Palmer 93 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux

    Crimson color. Aromas of earth, bell pepper, sous bois and tobacco leaf. Lovely berry and currant flavors on the palate, with a slightly sweet edge to the fruit on the finish. Clay, red berry and floral notes as the wine sits in the glass, with a terrific herbal undertone. Long finish.

    My #3, Domino's #1
    Group #1, 34 pts

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  • 1970 Château Palmer 88 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux

    Faded brick color, obviously the oldest in the flight. Initial aromas of sweat socks, red fruit and horse blanket. The horse blanket quality follows through on the palate, along with sweet red fruit. Develops aromas of black tea leaf, berries and lavender. Nice acid, with red fruit and tea on the palate.

    My #7, Domino's #3
    Group #3, 44 pts

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  • 2000 Château Lascombes 93 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux

    Aromas of taboacco, dark fruit- currants and cassis, as well as red berries. The palate follows the bouquet with a nice herbal undertone adding depth. This is balanced and has terrific weight across the palate, lingering on the finish. Younger, with some tannin to shed, but damn it is very tasty now too. Adds floral and roasted bell pepper notes as it opens further. 93+ pts.

    My #1, Domino's #2
    Group #5, 51 pts

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  • 1985 Château Lascombes 92 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux

    Shows some age with a bit of bricking. Tobacco, iron, red bell pepper and red fruit aromas. Currant, roasted bell pepper, vegetal and green tobacco flavors on the palate. This really changed the more it sat and I wish I'd have held my rankings a bit and been one of the last to turn them in instead of one of the first. This added notes of tar, red fruit and florals and still has some tannin too. Lovely. 92+ pts.

    My #5, Domino's #5
    Group #4, 50 pts

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  • 1988 Château Margaux 90 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux

    Dark crimson color with a bit of bricking toward the meniscus. Cassis, currant and scorched earth notes. Cassis and vanilla on the palate with a medium plus finish. Clay, dark fruit, spice and herb notes later on. Tannins are somewhat firm compared to the others; red berry fruit with a subtle floral component. Fairly high acid too.

    My #6, Domino's #7
    Group #8, 66 pts

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  • 1990 Château Palmer 92 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux

    Notes of iodine, scorched earth, red berries and hints of vegetation. Sweet red fruit on the palate as well as toasted, burned ember qualities. Has some tannin, but a lengthy finish too. Really opens as the tasting continues. Herbs, green Cabernet fruit and iodine qualities. Iron, red fruit and vegetal qualities on the palate. Reminds me of Pape Clement in some ways. 92+ pts.

    My #4, Domino's #6
    Group #6, 52 pts

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  • 2000 Château Giscours 92 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux

    Aromas of currants and black fruit, but quite reticent overall. Extremely stubborn, this really didn't show much more until it had been in the glass for an hour, but once it did, whoa. Aromas of tar, black currants and herbs. Wonderful dark fruit on the palate, with terrific balance and length on the finish. Florals, plum and subtle earth tones add complexity. Excellent, but I had already turned in my rankings at this point and was waiting for the votes to be tallied. 92-93 pts.

    My #8, Domino's #8
    Group #7, 63 pts

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  • 1985 Château Margaux 93 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux

    Herb, green currants, red berry and tobacco aromas. Soft tannins are still present. Flavors of red currants, cassis and florals. With air this takes on a very distinct eucalyptus note with underlying red fruit and florals. I wonder if this could be an older Heitz Martha's? Long finish dominated by dark fruit and floral qualities. Got better as it sat, and would have taken my top spot had I been one of the last to turn in my rankings. 93-94+ pts.

    My #2, Domino's #4
    Group #2, 39 pts

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  • 1986 Château Palmer Flawed

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux

    As soon as the glass came anywhere near your nose you knew this was corked. A real shame as the palate did have a bit of fruit showing under the TCA. Too bad.

    My #9, Domino's #9
    Group #9, 99 pts

    This is the first time I recall a unanimous vote in the group. There's a few people who are not as sensitive to TCA and will sometimes have a tainted wine ranked 2nd or 3rd to last. I don't know why I find this interesting enough to note, but I do.

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Flight 3 - Dinner/dessert wines (10 Notes)

Except for the 1970 Wente, these were served nonblind with leg of lamb, rice pilaf and haricots verts. M's sister made some fantastic individual apple tarts for dessert. A wonderful dinner start to finish.

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