BWE Swan Song
Balvanera, Manhattan
Tasted Friday, August 4, 2023 by blanquito with 94 views
Introduction
A great night of old wines and old friends, in what turned out to be (my) final BWE-sponsored event. It was a fantastic night, with epic wine, excellent food, and a welcoming, comfortable atmosphere.
There were so many terrific wines, it was tough to vote for a top 3. Just voting on the reds, I initially had the 96 Cos as my favorite (by a hair), but upon reflection I had the 96 Mouton as my fav, the 85 LLC as number 2, and the 96 Cos in third. Everything showed so well. The 96 Latour was also brilliant, as well as the 98 Lafite, but both are still a long ways from their apogee.
One thing about the 90’s wines that was mentioned— for all of their brilliance, they didn’t have the body of the 80’s wines, at least not yet. I used to wonder about that, but not anymore — I think they’re just different.
Probably because we are so spoiled on BWE with epic red wines, the ones I keep thinking about from that night are the champagnes and the Ygrec. They just stood out so much.
2018 Ultramarine Sparkling Rosé Heintz Vineyard
USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast
The 18 Ultramarine Rose was delicious and interesting (effusive of blood orange and ginger) and had a refinement to the texture that sparking wines outside of champagne never seem to attain, but it was hard pressed to match the Ruinart and I found the slight cidery note it developed less than optimal. 93+ pts
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
2007 Ruinart Champagne Dom Ruinart Brut Rosé 96 Points
France, Champagne
Spectacular, and the best rosé champagne I’ve had, hands-down. Rich, almost sweet but elegant, poised, harmonious, and thrillingly bright and long. The magic of this was it tasted, first and foremost, like a great champagne, with the rose motif playing a secondary role. It had all the peach, blood orange, hard candy, gingery notes you could want from a rose, but these were accents and nuances that support the lemon and brioche core of the wine rather than overwhelm it. Loved it.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
2015 Château d'Yquem Y de Yquem
France, Bordeaux
Served double blind, except we knew it was a Bordeaux Blanc. Immediately compelling stuff, much more on the gooseberry-driven/ Sauvignon-Blanc end of the spectrum with notes of fresh fennel, kaffir lime, and musk melon. Yet for all its feral energy, this is still regal and balanced, clearly a great wine (I guessed Pavillon Blanc de Chateau Margaux). Young but oh so tasty already. 94-95 pts.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
2001 Château Laville Haut-Brion Blanc
France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan
The 01 Laville, for such an exalted wine, we must assume (hope) was either over the hill or a flawed bottle. 87-88 pts.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
1996 Château Cos d'Estournel
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Saint-Estèphe
The 96 Cos was terrific this night and I voted for it as WOTN as it was drinking the best of the young wines, and I found its ironesque and pyrazine-accented profile wonderfully goth. It doesn’t have the depth of the very, very best wines though and seemed a touch dilute or under-fruited next to the 80’s wines (but that is a common concern I have with the 90’s era). Nevertheless, sensational. 94-95 pts.
Post a Comment / 3 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
1996 Château Mouton Rothschild
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
The 96 Mouton was so stellar and in a great place between youth and maturity, it was wonderful from the first sniff to the long finish. Sexy but still classy. The only quibble might be, is it too friendly now to attain nirvana in a decade or two? 97 pts
Post a Comment / 1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
1996 Château Latour Grand Vin
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
The 96 Latour is a powerful wine and an outlier in an age of friendlier tannins, and I loved its dark fruit, lead pencil and exhilarating old vine vinosity, but when will this ever be ready? 95+ pts.
Read 1 Comment / Post a Comment / 1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
1998 Château Lafite Rothschild
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
The 98 Lafite was regal and seamless, but still young and as noted by one attendee, all too easy to overlook in a lineup like this.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
1985 Château Léoville Las Cases
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Saint-Julien
Served blind, the 85 LLC was beautifully resolved, deep, and delicious, with probably my favorite palate this night for current enjoyment, but like other LLCs from that era, I found the bouquet quiet and fairly one dimensional. Even so, probably the best mature LLC I’ve had, surpassing the 82, 86, 89 and 90. 97 pt palate, 90 pt bouquet.
My issue with LLC’s bouquet applies to LLC in general, as I find it kind of boring aromatically, especially compared to the stunning noses in this lineup on the PLL, Mouton, Latour, etc. ironically, given how much I liked it this night, I often feel the same way about Cos.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
1989 Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
The best bouquet of the reds for me was the 89 Pichon, but I thought the palate was a touch acrid from a little brett. 93-94 pts.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
1982 Château Cos d'Estournel
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Saint-Estèphe
The 82 Cos had a wonderful palate layered and long with vim and fruit still, but the bouquet was dull and had a faint sulfurous note I disliked. 95+ palate, 91 bouquet.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
1994 Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
The 94 Pichon was surprisingly good (to me) with a classic bouquet for this chateau and plenty of depth despite the vintage reputation, but it did show the blockiness of the year. 92-93 pts
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No