Amazing Bordeaux To Mark A Special Birthday

A great evening of stellar wines, great company, excellent food and song

• 2006 Taittinger Champagne Comtes de Champagne Blanc de Blancs Brut 91 Points

  France, Champagne

  Lovely balance wine with real presence. Consistent with other bottles recently. There is a lemon oil and sherbet pip character to the nose. Good length and poise on the palate with some sliced Jonagold and the faintest dusting of nutmeg. Later some lime zest too.

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• 2011 Y de Yquem 90 Points

  France, Bordeaux

  Served ever so slightly warmer than would be ideal. Palate has an intriguing nose of pineapple stalk, tarragon and pampas grass with some grapefruit pith freshness. Palate is crystalline and savoury. Fully mature to my palate and an effortless pleasure to sip. Limited acidity on the palate.

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• 1998 Château Figeac 94 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru

  Rich damson fruit on the nose here with some redcurrant reduction, some orange zest and a little cinnamon. Later there are some liquorice and hawthorn notes. Plate starts a little tight and for this remains a wine that whilst ready is on the upslope. Lovely breadth and resolving tannins. What a start to the reds.

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• 1999 Château Cheval Blanc 90 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru

  Nose showing a lot of Cab Franc graphite, with green bell pepper, some tomato leaf, earth and underbrush. Palate is rich focussed and savoury. Some around the table with more experience of the wine suggest possibly in a slightly closed phase or possible showing some of the 1999 vintage character. Still a very good wine if not quite at the level of its flight mates.

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• 2014 Vieux Château Certan 93 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol

  Whilst clearly a young wine this is not unready and really will be belter in a decade's time. Nose opens out with some subtle mintiness some Earl Grey tea leaves, some hints of dark chocolate Bounty and some freshly carved and juicy rare venison. Later some steeped Morello cherries too. Palate is subtly spicy, mouth coating and oh-so more-ish. Impressive length. Chapeau.

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• 1996 Château Ducru-Beaucaillou 96 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien

  Oh my word. I don't recall many better Saint Juliens. This has everything you could want with the nose showing layers and layers of cool blue fruits, cigar box, some blackcurrant leaf and a gentle touch of spearmint. Around this core there are suggestions of desiccated blood orange, cassia bark and smoke. Palate is perfectly balanced, rich, savoury and great length. In an outstanding and tightly bunched line up, this is my second favourite wine of the night.

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• 2000 Château Gruaud Larose 93 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien

  More overtly meaty than the Ducru 1996, this take a little time to get going but when it does there's a redcurrant freshness and later some notes of Hoisin as well as some classy saddle leather (not to suggest a Brett problem, I only perceived a very modest and charming smidgen) This is a wine for the long haul, with a 2-3 hour decant could give huge pleasure right now.

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• 2002 Château Léoville Las Cases 95 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien

  Very classical LLC nose here with structure, poise and fabulous cool dark fruits. There is also a redcurrant coulis character and some blackcurrant leaf. A fine dusting of cinnamon accompanies some blueberries on the palate. With some air that Quink ink character emerges on the nose.

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• 2001 Château d'Issan 92 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux

  There is some speculation around the table that this might be slightly corked. After some time resting in the glass this is a wine that is correct but has that greenness and cool fruitedness that is not dissimilar. Although in the shadow of its flight mates, this is still a charming claret. There is a summer greenhouse pungency to the nose with some pineapple stalk exoticism.

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• 1999 Château Palmer 96 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux

  Wow. Nose has a lovely florality to it, a carnation button hole? Some smoky raspberry too, a little torn mint leaf and later some rosebed. Palate is one of the best showings of any wine in the line-up. Multi-layered beautifully resolved tannins, so well balanced and texturally gorgeous. My third favourite wine of the night.

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• 1999 Château Margaux 95 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux

  Complex, multidimensional nose with some soy top notes. There's some cassis and pomegranate with ground white pepper and smoky blue fruits. Palate takes a while to come out to play but this is a serious wine for the vintage. With some air some lilly of the valley emerges on the nose.

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• 2004 Château Smith Haut Lafitte 93 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan

  Lovely wine. There is suggestion of sweet pastry with a contrasting / balancing cranberry tartness something that reminds me of banana leaf and plenty of blue fruits. Palate is well balanced and long with a spine of acidity that a few others have shown less of. With air there's a suggestion of smoky tea leaves. Really like this.

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• 1998 Château Haut-Brion 95 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan

  Tomato leaf, aniseed, a rich redcurrant coulis, smoke and white pepper leap out of the glass on pouring. Palate is rich and oh so long, someone suggests there is an almost oatmeal character here too - I agree. Another top-drawer wine. My fifth favourite of the night.

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• 1996 Château La Mission Haut-Brion 94 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan

  The subtle red fruits here are complemented by some freshly sliced mushroom, some Parma ham some sweated leeks and a little planed white chocolate. Palate is charming and cool with a little creamy spearmint. Very fine.

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• 1989 Château Mouton Rothschild 97 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

  Wow. This is wonderful and so exotic. There's a broad mixed fruit backbone of real pedigree. On top of this there are all the elements of a virgin mary with some Worcester Sauce, tomato and crunchy celery. Palate lasts for ever and has beautifully fine tannins with some herbal richness. A spot of soy umami richness. My wine of the night and wine of the year to date.

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• 1997 Château Lafite Rothschild 93 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

  Blueberry cream and macaron nose with some subtle smokiness. Palate fine and correct. Very refined and charming. Unfairly suffers in the stellar company; on its own this would be a delightful accompaniment to a dinner.

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• 1996 Château Latour Grand Vin 95 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

  Another outstanding wine. I'm sure in 20 years this will be right up there. Somehow just outside my top five on the night primarily as I rated based on their readiness / pleasure giving on the night. This has a young and exotic nose with the damson and raspberry core being complimented by a brandy snap ginger / creaminess. There are also elements of rosehip and a faint grenadine sweetness. Palate, whilst not fully resolved is rich, savoury, more-ish and with great length.

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• 1963 Château d'Yquem

  France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes

  A final treat at the end of the evening, this is very darkly coloured and not all that sweet, there is little barley sugar and a savouriness / acidity similar to that one see's in old Moulin Touchais. Hard to assess but by this point palates were tiring.

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Don't recall a dinner I've attended with such a line up, huge thanks to our generous host.