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Charity Lafite Dinner
Holyoke, MA
Tasted January 24, 2010 by indiscriminate palate with 491 views
Introduction
Each flight was served blind.
Flight 1 (1 note)
White - Sparkling
1995 Drappier Champagne Grande Sendrée
Very yeasty; mid-palate dominated by green apple, long lemon finish.
[I believe this was the Grand Sendree, but am not 100% sure]
[I believe this was the Grand Sendree, but am not 100% sure]
Flight 2 - 1975 (2 notes)
Red
1975 Château Lafite Rothschild
91 points
Double decanted one hour prior to serving. Easily identified as the Lafite. Dark brick. On the nose, mushroom, funk, cigar, cedar. Bright acidity, bright red fruit. Held quite well over almost an hour in the glass but did not improve.
Red
1975 Château La Cardonne
87 points
Opened just before serving. Brighter red than the Lafite with slight bricking. Fairly muted nose, pencil. Unidimensional and simple, but not at all bad.
Flight 3 - Lafite 1979 & 1981 (2 notes)
Red
1979 Château Lafite Rothschild
92 points
Double decanted one hour prior to serving. Deep ruby red with a slight bricking at the rim. Musk and leather on the very classic nose. B+
Red
1981 Château Lafite Rothschild
85 points
Double decanted one hour prior to serving. Fairly simple, with a muted nose, fading but slightly harsh tannin, and good acidity. Completely outshined by the 79 in the same flight. C.
Flight 4 - 1982 (3 notes)
Red
1982 Château Lafite Rothschild
95 points
Double decanted a bit over 2 hours prior to serving. A brilliant, captivating nose; black fruit, musk, floral perfume, slight funk/mold/fungus. Just brilliant. Owner commented that the wine was disappointing--perhaps the palate and finish were less than stellar, but the nose if worth the price of admission. A
Red
1982 Carruades de Lafite
Double-decanted half hour prior to serving. This was no slouch alongside the Lafite and was surprisingly youthful. The table was fairly evenly split in picking out the Lafite or thinking it was the Carruades.
Red
1982 Château Duhart-Milon
Double-decanted one hour prior to serving. Took very few notes as the Lafite had my full attention. Dark fruit, sweet oak, cherry. Very nice. B.
Flight 5 - Lafite 1983 and 1986 and Napa ringer (3 notes)
Red
1983 Château Lafite Rothschild
Double-decanted one hour prior to serving. Intense nose! Big and young. Tobacco, musk, red and black fruit.
Red
1986 Château Lafite Rothschild
97 points
Double-decanted two hours prior to serving. Muted, elegant, captivating nose. This was an awesome wine. Some thought that it faded after an hour, though my glass didn't last that long. Group's wine of the night. A.
Red
1987 Joseph Phelps Cabernet Sauvignon Backus Vineyard
Slipped in blind as a ringer in a flight with an '83 and an '86 Lafite. Huge nose, eucalyptus/mint, clearly new world, no chance of confusion with the Lafite.
Flight 6 (1 note)
White - Sweet/Dessert
1971 Bodegas Toro Albala Montilla-Moriles Don PX Gran Reserva
Very thick, syrupy, intense. Fig. Sugar-covered raisins and prunes.