My faith in aged Bordeaux...restored! (and a beautiful 11 year old Napa Cab)

My wife invited two couples that she has become acquainted to through the respective wives to our home for a wine tasting dinner. The two husbands are brand new wine enthusiasts, so I thought I would try and do a fun, but educational tasting of stuff they would normally not have access to.

I organized the dinner tasting in 4 flights, the middle two designed to teach our guests something. All wines were served in Riedel stemware and each wine had its own glass so people could evaluate wine over the entire night if they so chose.

My wife cooked a wonderful meal that, while not thought in terms of the wines we would serve, was delicious nevertheless.

This wine was served with several simple appetizers just to get people started.

• 2005 Newton Chardonnay Unfiltered 90 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  This was very well received by all but me. For me, it was a rather lackluster start of the dinner tasting. I served it a bit cold, so it showed a muted nose. This 2005 has never shown as well as the flamboyantly ripe 2003. This is surely a very well made wine. Delicious, oily and all, but a bit simple for the price tag. My wife and our guests liked it a lot more than I did.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No

I chose this theme wanting to expose our guests to two wines from the same estate, made with the same winemaking philosophy but spaced almost 10 years apart.

• 2006 Pride Mountain Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon 86 Points

  USA, California, North Coast, Napa / Sonoma

  I have been a devoted Pride Cab fan since the 1996 vintage. This is why I was dissapointed with this showing. It doesn't happen often that a Pride Cab comes in last in a tasting I organize. This one did. Nose is dominated by milk shaky vanilla and lactic aromas. It lacks focus and definition. Disjointed in the palate and a bit flabby. There is, for sure a lot of fruit, but it is not showing well at this point. What a 180 degree experience from its older 1997 sibling that we drank alongside it.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No

• 1997 Pride Mountain Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon 95 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  Oh my! Oh my! Oh my! Age has been incredibly kind to this favorite of mine . Yesterday was probably the best showing yet. Aromatics were so attractive, that they are hard to describe. There is a nucleous of black fruit that is laced in a steely character that is not often found in New World wines. All baby fat is gone, oak and tannins are completely assimilated. The wine was firing on all cilynders in the palate. Full bodied, with incredible coverage, deep flavors and a long complex finish. The wine drew me back for sips all night and clearly outclassed its younger 2006 sibling. While I have not had a 1997 Pride Reserve Cab in the last few years, my recollection of my last bottle draws me to conclude that the regular 1997 is different in character, offering a more serious, less over the top experience without the caramel, lactic elements found in the 1997 Reserve Cab. What an amazing wine this 1997 is. This has not merely survived for 11 years. It has improved substantially.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No

I wanted to expose my guests to an extreme comparison between an Old World wine with age, and a New World extracted fruit bomb so they could determine what style/experience was more in tune with their preferences.

• 1990 Château Lagrange (St. Julien) 97 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Saint-Julien

  My faith in aged Bordeaux .... restored!
  
  I started collecting Bordeaux several years ago based on great experiences drinking aged Bordeaux. As a result, I started buying relatively large amounts of Bordeaux to age. While I wait for the majority of my Bordeaux to age into their 20s, I ocasionally pull well aged bottles from the cellar. Because I do not have as much Bordeaux from the 1980s, I don't drink these as often as I would like. The last several experiences had been underwhelming and I started to question whether all this Bordeaux in the cellar was worth waiting for. I started questioning whether perhaps my palate had changed.
  
  Those doubts were vaporized tonight. This is one of the greatest aged Bordeaux I have drunk. Usually, I find that there is a trade off with aging wine. What you gain in aromatics often comes at the expense of the palate. This wine defied that logic. The nose in this wine epitomyzes what I like in aged Bordeaux. The aromatics are dominated by the most complex, gorgeous, dressing of pencil shavings and cedar around a core of dried fruits. I smelled this all night and was mesmerized by it. In the palate, there was no trade off at all. This is a medium to full bodied wine with evolved flavors, very good concentration and a full plate. The finish is very long and oozes with class. An absolutely astonishing bottle of wine. This is substantially better than many higher pedigree Bordeaux, including the the first growths in many vintages. Too bad my guests were all too young in their wine journey to truly appreciate this beauty.

  Post a Comment / 1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No

• 2004 Robert Foley Petite Sirah

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  How do I start with this one?
  
  This is so packed with power and stuffing that it defies description. This tastes like 2 bottles of wine dessicated into one. The nose is very closed, offering an interesting cigar ash component. It is obviously packed with fruit, but the sheer concentration hides it. Very full bodied, tannic and very reserved. This is too much at this time. I cannot fathom somebody drinking more than a half glass of this wine, and it would have to be as an appetizer, as it will over power any dish. Maybe this will turn into something drinkable in 15 years. No rating possible at this stage.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No

I served this with the greatest home made flan.

• 2001 Clos Haut-Peyraguey 95 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes

  This was a great wine to end the evening with (it was drank at 3am!!!). I served it a bit too early and, as a result, we drank it a bit warmer than I intended. This seemed to help the wine show its vast array of aromatics. This is so much better than the first bottle from my stash that I drank a few years ago. The nose was very attractive, offering quince, peach and beehive. In the mouth, this is viscous, ripe and flamboyant. The acidity is awesome and it all comes together incredibly well.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No

I think our guests left knowing a little more about wine than they knew prior to getting here. As expected with new enthusiasts, they fell for the ripe, young wines. It is a shame they were not further along to appreciate how truly exceptional both of the aged wines were. The 1990 Lagrange was very likely the first Bordeaux they had all drank. It doesn't seem like they had an epyphany.

I was in hog heaven with the 1990 Lagrange, 1997 Pride and 2001 Clos Haut Peyraguey. I am a rather stingy rater, so don't think I dish 95+ point ratings often. These were truly exceptional wines drinking in a perfect window.

We spent over 5 hours talking and joking until someone realized that it was 3 AM. This, in my mind, is why wine is such a great beverage. It brings people together and makes life more enjoyable.