In the context of Goisses, this is a leaner, more structured wine, without some of the weird, flabby pinot qualities that most other (earlier) vintages often have. The greenness of the 2011 is certainly part of the reason here -- there's just not enough sun to yield that kind of flab. Clearly some green astringency here on the back end, but it almost kind of works because this wine is otherwise so flabby.
Having loved so many old bottlings of Laville, this showed quite differently from what I would have expected. The sauvignon blanc is incredibly dominant here, and even with the benefit of a few hours of air, never receded into the background -- green gooseberry notes, and cat pee, and all that stuff. Where's the semillon? Where's the waxy intensity of the Laville of old? I can't help but wonder if this bottling has turned into one of those more high-acidity racy styles of modern wines and lost all that rich potency and distinctiveness of the wines of yore. Truth be told, a disappointment.
I love HBB; it may well be one of the most special wines made in France, and certainly far more unique for the estate than the already brilliant red. This was fantastic, and one of my favourite wines this evening. Very intense, with a savoury quality to it, and plenty of palate weight and waxiness. Minerally, with just the right amount of acidity here -- if anything, this is a wine light on its acidity, but with just the bare minimum needed to keep everything in balance. Layered and complex, this reminds me in a good way of those early 1990s Leflaives with its intensity, breadth, and potency. I've not had modern iterations of this bottling, but these old ones always scratch an itch that I didn't know I had.
France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Saint-Émilion Grand Cru
A stunning bottle, especially right when it was opened. There is still so much going on for a wine of this age. A generous amount of fruit remaining, with tannins that are mostly resolved. It's perhaps not as structural as the 1961, but there is a plushness to the fruit here that I really like. While I felt that this held up just as well (if not better) than the 1961 alongside, most others at the table thought the 1961 was the long-distance runner over the course of the evening. A very special wine to taste.
France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Saint-Émilion Grand Cru
A brilliant bottle, though not immediately as showy as the 1959 alongside. Over the course of the evening, this was consistently more structural and firmer than its older sibling. The fruit here is prominent but still isn't as juicy and ripe as in the 1959. The tannins are silky and for the most part resolved, though there's still a bit of graininess on the back palate that gives this a coarser profile than the silky 1959.
France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Saint-Émilion Grand Cru
Something just not right here. Not corked, as it clearly didn't bloom over the course of the evening, but on the other hand, this was tinny and thin with some generally off notes on the nose. Can't win 'em all.
I dunno, man. I keep chasing the high of the magnum from a couple years back, but it just doesn't play out. For one, this was from a small lot I purchased from auction, and these bottles may have been part of the case-of-wine equivalent of the village bicycle. Initially a bit muted and stern, and with air, much more expressive, but missing the oomph and excitement and everything else from what should have been a superlative bottle of Bordeaux. If anything, this is but a very ripe, slightly over the hill (as many 1982s are these days) bottle of Bordeaux. Quite ripe, which at this time would still have been an anomaly, but beyond that, not much else to commend.
France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Saint-Émilion Grand Cru
This bottle wasn't as convincing as the bottle from a tasting last year. While it still had some of the expected silky Cheval Blanc elements, there was just a touch of dirty rusticity here that, for me, ruined the overall experience. Relatively darker fruit, and clearly a wine of a riper vintage that shows a good amount of maturity here.
A good, but not great 1990. I admit expectations were quite high here, and while they were mostly met, this bottle didn't show the extra gear that I expected it to have. There's a strong note of brett on the palate (and much less so on the nose here). Good intensity and power, and the ripe fruit of 1990 is on full display, but that intense brett note really distracts from everything else, unfortunately.
A very disappointing showing of this otherwise great wine, and one of my favourite Bordeaux bottlings of the last 30 years. The nose and palate were generally muted, and while there was good overall material, there never was the extra degree of depth and intensity that I expected. Clearly a wine of a riper vintage, what with the black fruit and all, but the pencil shavings and general Pauillac aromaticity seemed to be on vacation today.
A great showing of this wine -- of the trilogy of Haut-Brion, this was the most ready to go and drinking the best tonight. It's less structural (which might be surprising for the 1988 vintage) and leans towards red fruit. Fully resolved on the palate, with again a surprising dearth of tannins, this bottle might have felt a little older given the maturity. Drinking fantastically well right now.
Among my favourite red wines tonight. I opened this a few hours before dinner to simply slow-ox -- my last experience with this bottle was an overdecanted one, so I erred on the other side. It was initially quite firm and unexpressive, but the few hours did seem to broaden this wine. There's almost a porty intensity to the fruit here, with just a touch of sweetness as well. I can easily see here that this can go a few more decades given the sheer amount of material on the palate here, though I have some relative value questions here versus some of the other great bottlings in the 1989 vintage (especially the LMHB).
This was but a good bottle of this legendary wine -- I felt it slightly eclipsed by the bolder and brasher Haut-Brion today, even if this came across tauter and more minerally. For drinking today, this was a touch too structural for my palate, and the nose wasn't as expressive and giving as I expected it to be. That said, I believe this may have surpassed the Haut-Brion in this vintage, and especially as the relative value play, the LMHB is the far more interesting wine to buy.
From a half-bottle, slow-oxed for about 30 hours. Which is the right way to do this, by the way. This is an actuarially eternal wine. There's really not much to say here that I haven't already said. Intense, complex, layered, botrytis, lots of fruit, blah blah blah. Just make sure to give this the air it needs (which I have been saying since my first note on this wine back in 2015). A phenomenally great pairing with Helen Goh's ginger spice cake. That was probably what ticked this up that notch to perfection tonight.
#16-77. From half-bottle. Intensely spicy, even if this isn't anywhere as sweet as it must've been 50 years ago. The texture is a lot lighter than the 2001 Yquem alongside, and with the heightened acidity, there is a very nice raciness to this wine, keeping it fresh despite all that rich spice. Very impressive, old school TBA.
2011 Philipponnat Champagne Extra Brut Clos des Goisses 90 Points
France, Champagne
In the context of Goisses, this is a leaner, more structured wine, without some of the weird, flabby pinot qualities that most other (earlier) vintages often have. The greenness of the 2011 is certainly part of the reason here -- there's just not enough sun to yield that kind of flab. Clearly some green astringency here on the back end, but it almost kind of works because this wine is otherwise so flabby.
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2013 Château La Mission Haut-Brion Blanc 90 Points
France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan
Having loved so many old bottlings of Laville, this showed quite differently from what I would have expected. The sauvignon blanc is incredibly dominant here, and even with the benefit of a few hours of air, never receded into the background -- green gooseberry notes, and cat pee, and all that stuff. Where's the semillon? Where's the waxy intensity of the Laville of old? I can't help but wonder if this bottling has turned into one of those more high-acidity racy styles of modern wines and lost all that rich potency and distinctiveness of the wines of yore. Truth be told, a disappointment.
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1998 Château Haut-Brion Blanc 95 Points
France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan
I love HBB; it may well be one of the most special wines made in France, and certainly far more unique for the estate than the already brilliant red. This was fantastic, and one of my favourite wines this evening. Very intense, with a savoury quality to it, and plenty of palate weight and waxiness. Minerally, with just the right amount of acidity here -- if anything, this is a wine light on its acidity, but with just the bare minimum needed to keep everything in balance. Layered and complex, this reminds me in a good way of those early 1990s Leflaives with its intensity, breadth, and potency. I've not had modern iterations of this bottling, but these old ones always scratch an itch that I didn't know I had.
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1959 Château Cheval Blanc 95 Points
France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Saint-Émilion Grand Cru
A stunning bottle, especially right when it was opened. There is still so much going on for a wine of this age. A generous amount of fruit remaining, with tannins that are mostly resolved. It's perhaps not as structural as the 1961, but there is a plushness to the fruit here that I really like. While I felt that this held up just as well (if not better) than the 1961 alongside, most others at the table thought the 1961 was the long-distance runner over the course of the evening. A very special wine to taste.
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1961 Château Cheval Blanc 95 Points
France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Saint-Émilion Grand Cru
A brilliant bottle, though not immediately as showy as the 1959 alongside. Over the course of the evening, this was consistently more structural and firmer than its older sibling. The fruit here is prominent but still isn't as juicy and ripe as in the 1959. The tannins are silky and for the most part resolved, though there's still a bit of graininess on the back palate that gives this a coarser profile than the silky 1959.
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1964 Château Cheval Blanc
France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Saint-Émilion Grand Cru
Something just not right here. Not corked, as it clearly didn't bloom over the course of the evening, but on the other hand, this was tinny and thin with some generally off notes on the nose. Can't win 'em all.
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1982 Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande 93 Points
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
I dunno, man. I keep chasing the high of the magnum from a couple years back, but it just doesn't play out. For one, this was from a small lot I purchased from auction, and these bottles may have been part of the case-of-wine equivalent of the village bicycle. Initially a bit muted and stern, and with air, much more expressive, but missing the oomph and excitement and everything else from what should have been a superlative bottle of Bordeaux. If anything, this is but a very ripe, slightly over the hill (as many 1982s are these days) bottle of Bordeaux. Quite ripe, which at this time would still have been an anomaly, but beyond that, not much else to commend.
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1990 Château Cheval Blanc 95 Points
France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Saint-Émilion Grand Cru
This bottle wasn't as convincing as the bottle from a tasting last year. While it still had some of the expected silky Cheval Blanc elements, there was just a touch of dirty rusticity here that, for me, ruined the overall experience. Relatively darker fruit, and clearly a wine of a riper vintage that shows a good amount of maturity here.
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1990 Château Haut-Brion 93 Points
France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan
A good, but not great 1990. I admit expectations were quite high here, and while they were mostly met, this bottle didn't show the extra gear that I expected it to have. There's a strong note of brett on the palate (and much less so on the nose here). Good intensity and power, and the ripe fruit of 1990 is on full display, but that intense brett note really distracts from everything else, unfortunately.
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1990 Château Latour Grand Vin 95 Points
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
A very disappointing showing of this otherwise great wine, and one of my favourite Bordeaux bottlings of the last 30 years. The nose and palate were generally muted, and while there was good overall material, there never was the extra degree of depth and intensity that I expected. Clearly a wine of a riper vintage, what with the black fruit and all, but the pencil shavings and general Pauillac aromaticity seemed to be on vacation today.
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1988 Château Haut-Brion 95 Points
France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan
A great showing of this wine -- of the trilogy of Haut-Brion, this was the most ready to go and drinking the best tonight. It's less structural (which might be surprising for the 1988 vintage) and leans towards red fruit. Fully resolved on the palate, with again a surprising dearth of tannins, this bottle might have felt a little older given the maturity. Drinking fantastically well right now.
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1989 Château Haut-Brion 95 Points
France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan
Among my favourite red wines tonight. I opened this a few hours before dinner to simply slow-ox -- my last experience with this bottle was an overdecanted one, so I erred on the other side. It was initially quite firm and unexpressive, but the few hours did seem to broaden this wine. There's almost a porty intensity to the fruit here, with just a touch of sweetness as well. I can easily see here that this can go a few more decades given the sheer amount of material on the palate here, though I have some relative value questions here versus some of the other great bottlings in the 1989 vintage (especially the LMHB).
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1989 Château La Mission Haut-Brion 95 Points
France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan
This was but a good bottle of this legendary wine -- I felt it slightly eclipsed by the bolder and brasher Haut-Brion today, even if this came across tauter and more minerally. For drinking today, this was a touch too structural for my palate, and the nose wasn't as expressive and giving as I expected it to be. That said, I believe this may have surpassed the Haut-Brion in this vintage, and especially as the relative value play, the LMHB is the far more interesting wine to buy.
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2001 Château d'Yquem 100 Points
France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes
From a half-bottle, slow-oxed for about 30 hours. Which is the right way to do this, by the way. This is an actuarially eternal wine. There's really not much to say here that I haven't already said. Intense, complex, layered, botrytis, lots of fruit, blah blah blah. Just make sure to give this the air it needs (which I have been saying since my first note on this wine back in 2015). A phenomenally great pairing with Helen Goh's ginger spice cake. That was probably what ticked this up that notch to perfection tonight.
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1976 Weingut Baumann Oppenheimer Sackträger Riesling Trockenbeerenauslese 93 Points
Germany, Rheinhessen
#16-77. From half-bottle. Intensely spicy, even if this isn't anywhere as sweet as it must've been 50 years ago. The texture is a lot lighter than the 2001 Yquem alongside, and with the heightened acidity, there is a very nice raciness to this wine, keeping it fresh despite all that rich spice. Very impressive, old school TBA.
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