M&PD Zoom Tasting: Bordeaux around the world

This was the fourth distributed zoom tasting of our group. We all delivered our wines to one member of the group, and they decanted, sub-divided the wines, and delivered them all back out to us a few hours later in smaller portions. Then we met on Zoom to discuss the wines.

In general, while the format has risks, all of the wines thrived and had no problem with the format. And what an utter joy to taste all of these together, blind.

Just on the noses alone, I easily and correctly guessed 2, 4 and 6 as Bordeaux and 3 and 5 as New World. Things went downhill from there though, as I picked my favorite (the Las Cases) as mine (the Beausejour).

In the end, hindsight is 20-20, and the Left Bank wines were actually pretty obvious once I stopped chasing my wine and actually paid attention to what I was smelling and tasting...

• 2014 Morlet Family Vineyards La Proportion Dorée

  USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast

  14.8%. 32% Sauv Blanc. 66% Semillon, 2% Muscadelle. Tropical nose, crazy, pineapple and mango. Screaming Sauvignon Blanc on the approach that moves to a rich palate with a layered, creamy, oily, lush texture that screams much more if Semillon. This really needs to be close to cellar temperature to be enjoyable, but it is highly impressive.

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• 1990 Château Léoville Las Cases

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien

  Guessed as mine but just totally wrong! Screams of Bordeaux with graphite and some barnyard. Gunpowder. Smoky. Lighter color. Gorgeous chocolate covered cherries. Endless layers of depth and flavor. OMFG. This is just bursting, mineral, and cherry, but also roasted, ripe, surprisingly soft and ready. Pure pleasure. Open some if you have it. This is the rare Las Cases that is just ready to go.

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• 2009 Sloan

  USA, California, Napa Valley, Rutherford

  Feels like Harlan or maybe Shafer HSS in a very ripe vintage, pure liqueur of Cabernet. Rocket fuel. Incredibly concentrated, powerful, almost painful, especially alongside the Old World examples. Still, on its own, it is a concentrated, pure, beautiful wine. Just don’t drink it next to classic Bordeaux…

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• 1996 Château Mouton Rothschild

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

  Very Bordeaux-like. Pretty. Really lovely tobacco. Sweet, delicate, cherry. Mineral. Quite austere at first, stunningly so. In the end, I did correctly guess Pauillac, as it just had the signature flavors and aromas. It also fleshed out quite a bit over the night, quite considerably, but it never fully opened. It really wants 10-20 more years. A gorgeous wine.

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• 2010 Screaming Eagle Cabernet Sauvignon

  USA, California, Napa Valley, Oakville

  Mmm, mint. Makes me think classic Cali-Cab. Deep cola flavors, really concentrated. Mark is sure this is Screaming Eagle, and he was totally correct. There is a seamless, pure, silky, textural aspect to this wine that is utterly unique.

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• 1990 Château Beausejour (Duffau Lagarrosse)

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru

  Very Bordeaux-like. Quite earthy. Tobacco. Getting some pine notes. Mineral, precise. Cherry. Ausone? So much structure! In the end this was my wine. Not a shining example compared to other bottles. I feel like this needed a lot more air to really shine, although it is a gorgeous wine.

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Another amazing tasting with incredibly generous wines from everyone's cellars.