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Second Sunday Group: 1996 Bordeaux (high end)
Marty's
Tasted March 13, 2016 by AllRed with 696 views
Introduction
We gathered for our regular double blind Sunday group tasting and our host threw us a curve ball. Typically we taste the eight wines double blind, rank the wines and attempt to guess the theme. This time, we tasted the wines and turned in our rankings as we normally do, however, instead of unveiling the wines, our host told us what wines were in the lineup. We then spent another fifteen minutes or so trying to figure out which was which and then we unveiled the wines. So the rankings in my notes below are based upon my double blind scores/rank, and then the single blind guess as to the wine's identity after we were informed of the bottles in the line up.
We had twelve tasters turn in rankings and our cost was $60/person (I cannot thank our generous host enough for doing this tasting at such a discount!).
Flight 1 - Warm ups (2 notes)
White
2013 Stéphane Montez / Domaine de Monteillet Condrieu Les Grandes Chaillées
88 points
Opens with a medicinal banana note; Rhonish. Apple and banana flavors on the palate, becoming more floral as it opens. Rich texture. Easy to pick out as Condrieu.
White
2014 Château Beauchêne Viognier Côtes du Rhône Blanc
89 points
Notes of citrus and banana with a bit of sulfur underneath, becoming quite floral as it sits. A bit more tropical than warm up 1, and I actually like it a little bit better. Guessed Viognier, though I was not so sure this one was French.
Flight 2 - Reds (8 notes)
Red
1996 Château Mouton Rothschild
93 points
Dusty garnet color in the glass. Immediately appealing with a smoky overtone with meat, currants, herbs and iron underneath. Medium-bodied with softened tannins and flavors of dark fruit, red berries and iron culminating in a long finish. Initial score 94-95 pts. Seems to shut down in the glass, becoming more "simple," showing generic red fruit and iron qualities. Perhaps 'simple' is a poor choice of wording, as it is still very much a good wine, but as I am retasting just before ranking it just doesn't have the complexity of others in the line up. 93+ pts.
Double blind:
My #5, Domino's #4
Group #1, 41 pts
Single blind guess:
Calon Segur- I guessed the Calon because I often find a smoky quality in St. Estephe as I initially found here.
Double blind:
My #5, Domino's #4
Group #1, 41 pts
Single blind guess:
Calon Segur- I guessed the Calon because I often find a smoky quality in St. Estephe as I initially found here.
Red
2006 Noble Wines Cabernet Sauvignon
91 points
Opens with aromas of black currants and mint. High-toned, with a touch a volatile acidity in the bouquet. Full-bodied- younger than the rest of the line up- with flavors of cassis and blackberry. Finishes nicely, and there's a nice bit of acidity here. Very different than the rest of the lineup. Good, and should drink nicely for a few more years.
Double blind:
My #7, Domino's #7
Group #7, 69 pts
Single blind guess:
Noble Cabernet- easy to pick out as the young Cabernet as it was so vastly different from the rest of the line up.
Double blind:
My #7, Domino's #7
Group #7, 69 pts
Single blind guess:
Noble Cabernet- easy to pick out as the young Cabernet as it was so vastly different from the rest of the line up.
Red
1996 Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande
94 points
Opens with notes of green, herbal qualities with black fruit underneath. Has some structure and tannin, but it's balanced by the fruit and feels appropriate. Flavors of red fruit and herbs, green tobacco and iron. Finishes with greater length than the first couple of wines and seems more accessible overall. This doesn't change much during the course of the tasting, but everything just becomes more amplified as it sits. Excellent. 94 pts.
Double blind:
My #2, Domino's #8
Group #6, 54 pts
Single blind guess:
Lafite- more due to process of elimination, as I have very little experience with Lafite and don't have identifying characteristics in my taste memory.
Double blind:
My #2, Domino's #8
Group #6, 54 pts
Single blind guess:
Lafite- more due to process of elimination, as I have very little experience with Lafite and don't have identifying characteristics in my taste memory.
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Comments (3)
Red
1996 Château Lafite Rothschild
93 points
Garnet color. Notes of plum and dark fruit followed by black raspberry and forest floor. Full-bodied and powerful, with a mélange of red and black fruit, pepper, spice box and tobacco flavors. Well-balanced with a long finish. 93-94 pts.
Double blind:
My #3, Domino's #2
Group #3, 48 pts
Single blind guess: Latour- I narrowed down everything else and was left with the Lafite and Latour. To me this was the more powerful of the two wines so I thought this was the Latour.
Double blind:
My #3, Domino's #2
Group #3, 48 pts
Single blind guess: Latour- I narrowed down everything else and was left with the Lafite and Latour. To me this was the more powerful of the two wines so I thought this was the Latour.
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Red
1996 Château Haut-Brion
90 points
Notes of red berry preserves, herbs and plum with a subtle hint of dried hay. Full-bodied with an abundance of red fruit along with iron, tobacco and hay. Lingering finish. I do not care for the hay quality, but the fruit is very nice.
Double blind:
My #6, Domino's #5
Group #4, 52 pts
Single blind guess: Haut Brion- I've had more Haut Brion than any other first growth, so once I knew it was in the line up I figured this had to be, mostly by process of elimination. I am fairly certain this was touched by brett (the hay notes), because it certainly didn't show the iodine that I associate with Pessac. A good bottle of wine, but it should have been better.
Double blind:
My #6, Domino's #5
Group #4, 52 pts
Single blind guess: Haut Brion- I've had more Haut Brion than any other first growth, so once I knew it was in the line up I figured this had to be, mostly by process of elimination. I am fairly certain this was touched by brett (the hay notes), because it certainly didn't show the iodine that I associate with Pessac. A good bottle of wine, but it should have been better.
Red
1996 Araujo Estate Cabernet Sauvignon Eisele Vineyard
90 points
Darker color than all the other wines with the exception of wine B. Notes of cherry, plum, black fruit and raisins. Medium-bodied and integrated, with flavors of stewed black fruit, plum and raisins. Different than the other wines in the line up- much more ripe. If this bottle is representative, I'd say it's time to drink up.
Double blind:
My #8, Domino's #3
Group #8, 70 pts
Single blind guess: Araujo- easy to pick out as one of the ringers, and given that one was ten years older than the other, it was easy to determine which CA ringer was which.
Double blind:
My #8, Domino's #3
Group #8, 70 pts
Single blind guess: Araujo- easy to pick out as one of the ringers, and given that one was ten years older than the other, it was easy to determine which CA ringer was which.
Red
1996 Château Latour Grand Vin
93 points
Aromas of tobacco, iron, red plum, black fruit and perfumed florals. Full-bodied and balanced, with flavors of red berry, tobacco and iron. Long finish. 93+ pts.
Double blind:
My #4, Domino's #6
Group #5, 53 pts
Single blind guess: Mouton
Double blind:
My #4, Domino's #6
Group #5, 53 pts
Single blind guess: Mouton
Red
1996 Château Calon-Ségur
94 points
Opens with a dominant green/herbal quality, along with dark fruit, iron and tobacco. Medium-bodied with flavors of red and dark fruit, herbs and spice box. There's good underlying acidity. Lingering finish. Very expressive and complex. 94-95 pts.
Double blind:
My #1, Domino's #1
Group #2, 45 pts
Single blind guess: Pichon Lalande- I remarked fairly early on that we were drinking Bordeaux and that if there were a Pichon Lalande in the line up, it was wine H. There were a couple of others that had the telltale PLL green notes too, but they were strongest in wine H so I was sure this was it. Anyway, this is drinking very well now and will hold for a quite a few years, I'm sure.
Double blind:
My #1, Domino's #1
Group #2, 45 pts
Single blind guess: Pichon Lalande- I remarked fairly early on that we were drinking Bordeaux and that if there were a Pichon Lalande in the line up, it was wine H. There were a couple of others that had the telltale PLL green notes too, but they were strongest in wine H so I was sure this was it. Anyway, this is drinking very well now and will hold for a quite a few years, I'm sure.
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Flight 3 - Dinner/dessert wines (13 notes)
All tasted nonblind.
White - Sparkling
N.V. Jacquesson & Fils Champagne Cuvée No. 734 Dégorgement Tardif
93 points
Notes of dried peach, apple and yeast. Fine bead. Flavors of apple, cream, almond and yeast; finishes very well. 54% Chardonnay, 20% Pinot Noir and 26% Pinot Meunier, disgorged October 2014. 3.5 g/l dosage.
White - Sparkling
N.V. Domaine de L'Octavin Arbois Foutre d'escampette
87 points
Somewhat simple, but pleasant. Orchard fruit and mineral notes with a saline undertone. Interesting.
White - Sparkling
2013 Reichsrat Von Buhl Riesling Sekt Brut
88 points
Stone, citrus and vanilla flavors. Fine bead, but it falls a bit short on the finish.
White
2006 Jean-Philippe Fichet Meursault Le Tesson
91 points
Notes of almond, white grape and florals. Orchard fruit and almond on the palate, with good acid and a medium+ finish.
Red
1990 Domaine Jean Gros Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Clos des Réas
92 points
Dusty ruby color with brown edges. Cherry, tea and herb notes. Soft on entry, with red fruit, forest floor, tea leaves and a medium finish. Very nice. Most people preferred this, but I thought the Suchots was more complex and the better wine today.
Red
1990 Jacques Cacheux & Fils Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Les Suchots
92 points
Tea, cherry, spice, rose and iron notes. Has more weight than the Reas, featuring flavors of cherry, tea, iron and lavender. Lengthy finish. Has a nice spice quality that lingers on the finish. I preferred this to the Reas as it seemed more complex, though I was in the minority. 92-93 pts.
Red
2001 Michel Magnien Morey St. Denis 1er Cru Aux Charmes
89 points
Cherry and floral notes with flavors that mirror the bouquet. There's a slight austerity in the finish that prevents a higher score.
Red
1996 Bruno Giacosa Barolo Riserva Falletto di Serralunga d'Alba
93 points
Leather, red fruit, rose petal, lavender and currants. Dusty red fruit on the palate with softened tannins and good acidity. Finishes very well; balanced. 93+ pts.
Red
2009 Domaine Bernard Moreau et Fils Volnay 1er Cru Clos des Chênes
91 points
Notes of cherries, spice and stone/clay. The palate follows the bouquet. Elegant, with a nice finish, and drinking nicely now.
Red
2005 Château Pipeau
90 points
Dark fruit, herbs and incense. Black fruit, incense, licorice and earth with a medium+ finish.
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White - Sweet/Dessert
2005 Château Lafaurie-Peyraguey
86 points
Peach, pineapple and mango qualities. Shows a little bit of botrytis spice in addition to the tropical fruit on the palate. Finishes a little short though.
Red - Fortified
1985 Graham Porto Vintage
94 points
Notes of cherry, currants, cassis and licorice with subtle chocolate and floral notes. Drinking very well; flavors of cherry cordial, cassis and licorice. Long finish.
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