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Tasting Group Dinner Series (1 of 6) / Andrew's 28th Birthday
Red Room, Langdon Hall, Cambridge, Ontario
Tasted September 15, 2012 by alittle with 826 views
Introduction
Exactly 5 months ago, our group agreed to change the format of our tastings to a system in which each person in the group would take turns providing all the wine, food and also setting up the venue. I volunteered to kick things off first, picking a date that coincided with my birthday. For my theme, I chose a retrospective of 1989 Bordeaux, which later evolved to add a flight which compared 1989 Graves vs. 1990 Graves as well. After months of lamenting the venue, I ended up going with Langdon Hall, in particular, their "Red Room", to allow us to focus on the wines and have adequate discussion that these wines surely warranted. I supplied the list of wines to the talented chef and sommelier, who worked their magic to come up with the food pairings.
Flight 1 - A Quick Champagne in the Limo (1 note)
This was essentially a filler bottle for kicks.
White - Sparkling
N.V. Gaston Chiquet Champagne Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs d'Aÿ
88 points
Consumed in the limo on the way to our destination, followed approximately 45 minutes. Notes are informal; from memory. After having the 2004 Special Club 1er Cru just a few days in prior, I would have to say this was quite a letdown, and to be frank, a poor value. A rather simplistic nose of creamy citrus, mineral, caramel, apple and yeast. On the palate, like notes, with a good acidity, but a short, borderline astringent finish. Based on this bottle tasted, I would not recommend this. Spend the extra ten bucks and buy the 2004 Special Club 1er Cru.
Flight 2 - Miscellaneous Start Champagnes (2 notes)
This flight was served with a chanterelle tart, an oyster with seaweed butter, sea rocket and buckthorn, and closed out with a finger of fried brioche topped with sturgeon caviar.
White - Sparkling
1988 Moët & Chandon Champagne Cuvée Dom Pérignon
94 points
Popped and poured, followed in the glass for approximately 2 hours. Light golden colour in the glass, still showing vigorous micro-sized bubbles. On the nose this showed light citrus notes, with caramelized sugar, mushroom, biscuit, yeast, and with further time in the glass, interesting notes of mint and coffee. On the palate, nice brisk acidity, a touch dry, with creme brulee, mushroom, mineral and citrus notes dominating the moderate length finish. Excellent showing for this bottle, and one of my favour Dom Perignons to date.
White - Sparkling
1980 Moët & Chandon Champagne Cuvée Dom Pérignon
88 points
Popped and poured, followed in the glass for 2 hours, although at its best within the first 15 minutes. Deep golden colour in the glass, still showing a very small amount of bubbles that dissipated within the first few minutes. This was quite a contrast to the lively 1988 Dom Perignon served alongside it, showing some sherry notes, with spice, caramel, bruised apple, yeast and a predominant earthiness. On the palate, still some hefty acid that keeps some level of interest, despite the moderate oxidization present, and a surprisingly lengthy finish. Certainly still drinkable, but pales in comparison to the 1988, and is clearly past its prime for my tastes.
Flight 3 - Something Sweet; A Sole Sauternes (1 note)
This single bottle flight was served with a duck and pistachio galantine, with red onion confit and chervil.
White - Sweet/Dessert
1989 Château d'Yquem
97 points
Popped and poured, followed in the glass over the next few hours. Medium, nearing deep golden colour in the glass. Gorgeous nose of honey, beeswax, spice, white florals, dried apricot, burnt sugar, lemongrass, and some light terpentine, mushroom and earth, showing a bit of age, despite overall, being quite youthful. On the palate, this really shines, very elegant and understated, while maintaining an immense richness, showing exceptional balance, and a massive finish characterized by notes of honey, botrytis, cloves, dried fruits and creme brule, that just glides across the palate with ease. A beautiful wine, and a wonderful way to set the stage for the reds.
Flight 4 - A Trio of Right Bank Wines (3 notes)
A tasting trio of Wild Boar accompanied this flight, as well as flight 5.
Red
1989 Château La Conseillante
97 points
Popped and poured, followed in the glass for the evening. Deep ruby, with a light brick in the glass, showing a lighter wine than its two other right bank counterparts. A perfumed nose of black cherry, red fruits, truffle, earth, cedar, florals, exotic spice blend and a nice funk that adds further complexity. On the palate, very elegant, with nicely balanced streak of acidity, giving way to tastes of tart red fruits, cherries, earth, spice and dried flowers. Almost fully integrated tannin, showing only a slight grip on the moderate plus finish. Overall very feminine, especially compared to the others in this flight, approaching the nature and character of a well constructed pinot noir.
Red
1989 Château La Fleur de Gay
92 points
Popped and poured, followed in the glass for the course of the evening. Deep garnet in the glass with a mild brick. On the nose, this is the least impressive of the flight, showing some caramel notes, presumably from the more heavy handed oak, with accompanying notes of roasted plum, tomato leaf, licorice, a touch of pyrazine, and tertiary notes of mushroom and undergrowth. On the palate, nice and rounded, showing notes of candied plums, licorice, and under complimented by medium acidity, with some a slight grip on the moderate finish from some unintegrated tannin. A nice wine in its own right, but outclassed by the other two wines in this flight.
Red
1989 Tertre Rôteboeuf
96 points
Popped and poured, followed over the course of the evening. Similar in appearance in the glass to the La Fleur de Gay; deep garnet, with mild brick. On the nose, the complete opposite end of the spectrum compared to the La Conseillante, giving way to intense aromas of crushed raspberries, dark cherries, beef jus, truffle, earth, brine, black tea leaves, soy and a touch of volatile acidity that compliments this rich/raw style quite nicely. On the palate, the plushest and most concentrated of the flight, with tastes of ripe red fruits, plums, spice, decomposing leaves and leather. Moderate acidity helps to counterbalance the nice ripe fruits, with a slight dryness on the long finish. Going in to this tasting, I thought the group would love or hate this wine, and it turns out the general consensus was quite positive.
Flight 5 - Graves; 1989 vs. 1990 (5 notes)
A tasting trio of Wild Boar accompanied this flight, as well as flight 4.
Red
1989 Domaine de Chevalier
92 points
Popped and poured, followed for the course of the evening. As with many of the other wines tonight, similarly un-evolved in appearance, showing a deep garnet with the slightest amount of bricking. On the nose, very fresh red fruits, currants, crushed rocks, fresh herbs, with some light pyrazine and smoke notes. On the palate, showing nice crisp red fruit notes, mineral and earth notes, with a moderate finish. At this stage in time, the tannin is mostly integrated and slightly elevated acid provides a real freshness to this wine. This is seemingly less advanced than the last bottle that our group shared in June of this year, and held strong in the glass with air time. Overall, this is a really nice wine, that could be the star on another evening, but unfortunately tonight, up to some very stiff, even legendary, competition.
Red
1989 Château La Mission Haut-Brion
98 points
Popped and poured, followed over the course of the evening. Deep garnet, bordering on purple in the glass. A fantastic nose of blackberries, licorice, smoke, cured meats, spice, gravel, light florals and cedar. On the palate, very rich dark fruits, complimented nicely by spice, a tough of pyrazine and mineral. Texturally, this is also quite rich, showing a bit of glycerin, however this is balanced by superb acidity, and results in a finish that lingers in the mouth for quite some time. Tannins are not yet fully integrated at this time, although they are quite soft and plush. An extraordinary wine now, but I'd love to revisit this in a few years as the tertiary notes come out a bit more.
Red
1989 Château Haut-Brion
100 points
Popped and poured, followed over the course of the evening. In the glass, similar in appearance to the 1989 La Mission Haut Brion served alongside it. An incredibly complex nose that takes half of me to Bordeaux, and the other half to Cote Rotie in Northern Rhone; blackberries, pure red fruits, campfire, olive brine, crushed rocks, graphite, herbs, light mint and dried tobacco. On the palate, even more rich than the 1989 La Mission Haut Brion, but a touch less glycerin and slightly more acid, with flavours of tart red fruits, blackberries, mineral, smoke and tobacco, rounding out the incredibly long finish. This wine is just so seamless, and I can't even comprehend the level of intensity in this wine, while still remaining elegant, and almost understated. To me, this is what sets this wine apart from the other wines in this flight, as well as the incredible purity of fruit here.
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Red
1990 Château La Mission Haut-Brion
97 points
Popped and poured, followed in the glass for the course of the evening. Showing a touch more brick in the glass than the 1989s. The character of the vintage shows up immediately, with riper fruit aromas of blackberries, roasted figs, licorice, smoke, gravel, dried tobacco, brine, and exhibiting more tertiary characteristics than its older brethren, with notes of decomposing leaves, leather and earth. On the palate, this is luxuriously textured, with massive amounts of glycerin, showing slightly less acid than the 1989s. The finish here shows great length, rounded out by flavours of dark fruits, red cherries, smoke, herbs, mineral and a touch of game. Another exceptional wine, but while slightly more integrated and developed, lacks the precision and purity of the 1989s.
Red
1990 Château Haut-Brion
98 points
Popped and poured, followed for the course of the evening. In the glass, deep garnet with mild brick. A soaring nose, that was slightly more complex than the 1990 La Mission Haut Brion, showing notes of blackberries, plums, dried fig, iodine, smoke, brine, crushed rocks, cedar, leather, dried tobacco, pyrazine, and some brettanomyces adding a nice funk that contributes to the overall complexity. This is one of those wines that you could sit there a keep picking out different scents and aromas that waft out of the glass. On the palate, again, quite lush, with an ample amount of glycerin, with flavours of dark fruits; blackberry, blackcurrant; leather, dried tobacco and mineral, paving the way to a nice long finish. As with the 1990 La Mission Haut Brion, I prefer the style of the 1989s a little more, which show more focus, are a touch less ripe, and have better purity of fruit.
Flight 6 - A Quad of Left Bank Wines (4 notes)
These wines were served alongside the main, which was slow roasted roe deer, with smoked beets, salsify, and black pepper jus.
Red
1989 Château Palmer
96 points
Opened at the beginning of dinner, with a small tasting portion poured into the glass. By the time we got around to this flight, I thought the wines had a faded in the glass, so we opted to re-pour from the bottles, which they had essentially decanted in for about 1.5 hours. Deep garnet in colour, with a mild brick. The nose was a fragrant perfume of black fruits, red berries, spring flowers, spice, undergrowth, cedar, humidor and a touch of graphite. On the palate, nice fresh crisp acidity keeps this very lively, and serves as a nice counterbalance to the ripe blackberry, cherry and licorice notes, which are also accompanied by light notes of leather and tea leaves. The finish here is quite long and mouth coating, with still some moderate tannin that grip on the finish.
Red
1989 Château Léoville Barton
91 points
This wine received the same treatment as the others in the flight; essentially decanted approximately 2 hours in bottle. Purple in the glass, with slight garnet brick. This was slightly less complex than the better wines of the flights, showing notes of blackcurrant, plums, cedar, leather, spice and a touch of mushroom on the nose. On the palate, this is not as well rounded as the better wines tonight, showing some hard edges. Finish is moderate, but rather dry, and is accented by dark fruit, spice and undergrowth notes. Beautifully mature Bordeaux but outclassed by a number of wines at the table tonight, as well as other wines within the flight.
Red
1989 Château Montrose
96 points
Received the same treatment as other bottles in this flight; essentially decanted approximately 2 hours in the bottle. Followed in the glass for the remainder of the evening. Purple in the glass, minor bricking. A wildly funky nose, with quite a bit of brettanomyces on first pour, accented by notes of blackberries, red fruits, spice, earth, iodine, cedar, smoke, light mushroom and dark chocolate. On the palate, still going strong structurally, with firm tannin and moderate acidity. The finish is long, and ends with a lingering sense of dark fruits, spice, earth and a touch of leather. An exceptional wine.
Red
1989 Château Pichon-Longueville Baron
90 points
Received the same treatment as the other wines in this flight; decanted approximately 2 hours in bottle, followed over the course of dinner. Deep purple in the glass. This wine was rather perplexing after the string of good luck we'd had tonight. To me, this wine was the definition of brooding; you could tell there is a lot of underlying substance here, but this was still quite primary and overall, very tight. Although rather reticent, the nose did eventually give way to notes of dark fruits, blueberry, graphite, with a touch of vanilla and cedar. On the palate, again, quite tough to evaluate at the moment, as this seemed to still be quite hard and tannic, but still showing notes of dark fruits, spice, pencil lead and a touch of earthiness on the moderate finish. I'm not sure if this was a representative bottle, as if someone had told me this wine was 5-10 years old, I'd certainly believe them. Overall, strangely un-evolved, and a bit of a disappointing way to close out the wines tonight.
Closing
Overall, the wines showed even better than expected. There was a disappointment or two, but I think the successes far outweighed any poor showings. The wine service was generally well done, and the food pairings were well thought out and immaculately executed.