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Black Lion Wine Club - Latour and Friends

The Black Lion

Tasted September 30, 2016 by Andrewbdc with 284 views

Introduction

A special session of the club for a select group, based primarily around a 1982 Latour provided hugely generously by Bernard, but with some special additions from my cellar and a lovely Alsace from Ben.

Present: Bernard, Jon, Ben (Wyse) and Andrew

Flight 1 (4 notes)

White
2008 Maison Albert Bichot Corton-Charlemagne Domaine du Pavillon France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru
93 points
The wine is clear and pale gold in colour.
The nose is clean with pronounced aromas of citrus (lemon), green fruit (apple), stone fruit (peach), floral (white blossom), oak (vanilla, toast), tertiary (hazelnut, caramel, marzipan). The wine is developing.
The palate is dry with high acidity, medium alcohol, full body, pronounced flavours of lemon, peach, vanilla, hazelnut, marzipan, caramel. The finish is long.
The wine is outstanding quality. It has great concentration of flavour of complexity from multiple primary, secondary and tertiary flavour clusters. The finish is very long. The acidity is balanced by the fruit concentration and the oak is well integrated.
The wine should be drunk now and is not suitable for further ageing. There is however no hurry to drink as it feels like it will remain at its peak for some time (next 3 years) although personally I would suggest that this is drinking perfectly now and there is no point waiting. It is interesting to note that the wine definitely develops with time and contact with air - I decanted it 2 hours before drinking and it continued to develop over the next 2 hours, with the caramel note in particular becoming more noticeable.
Red
1998 Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
95 points
The wine is clear and medium garnet in colour (with noticeable sediment, so needs decanting).
The nose is clean with pronounced aromas of cooked and candied red fruit (red currant, strawberry), citrus (orange peel), dried fruit (figs, raisins, prunes), spice (liquorice, cinnamon), oak (smoke, clove), tertiary development (leather, farmyard, earth, chocolate, vegetal). The wine is fully developed.
The palate is dry with high acidity, full body, medium (+) alcohol (13.5%, feels more), medium tannins, ripe and fine, pronounced flavours of figs, prunes, toast, smoke, leather, farmyard, cinnamon. The finish is long.
The wine is outstanding quality. It has great concentration of fruit and complexity - almost all now from tertiary development with many different flavours. The acid and tannins are balanced by the flavour concentration and the finish is long and persistent.
The wine should be drunk now and is not suitable for further ageing. The primary fruits are almost all gone. However there is no hurry to drink, given the concentration of flavours and the structure provided by the acidity. It won't develop further but it likely to remain at this plateau for another 5 years or so.
Very hard to fault this wine - absolutely delicious.
2 people found this helpful Comment
Red
1982 Château Latour Grand Vin France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
98 points
The wine is clear and medium garnet in colour.
The nose is clean with pronounced aromas of ripe and opulent black fruits (black currant, blackberry, black cherry), spice (liquorice), herbaceous (blackcurrant leaf), oak (clove, vanilla, smoke), dried fruit (prune, date), tertiary development (cedar, tobacco, mushroom). The wine is developing.
The palate is dry with medium (+) acidity, medium (+) alcohol, full body, medium soft ripe fine tannins, pronounced flavours of blackcurrant, blackberry, vanilla, cedar, tobacco. The finish is long.
The wine is outstanding quality. The concentration of aromas and flavours is extraordinary, opulent, with multiple layers. The descriptors above do not really do justice to the complexity of the wine. The finish is incredibly long and persistent. The acid and tannins do however still provide balance to the fruit.
The wine can be drunk now but is suitable for further ageing (general opinion seems to be up to 2040, I wouldn't argue with that). It has the concentration of fruit, supported by the acid and tannin structure, to continue to develop for many years to come, adding greater tertiary complexity. Arguable the wine is remarkably youthful for its 34 years.
One of the most extraordinary wines I have drunk. Why haven't I given it 100 points? Possibly because I lack a benchmark (first time for a Bordeaux First Growth). Possibly because, amazing as it was, it didn't quite blow me completely away. But that is nit-picking, it certainly is an amazing wine.
White - Sweet/Dessert
2005 Zind-Humbrecht Pinot Gris Rotenberg Sélection de Grains Nobles France, Alsace
95 points
The wine is clear and medium amber in colour.
The nose is clean with pronounced aromas of stone fruit (apricot jam), citrus (lime marmalade), floral (acacia), spice (candied ginger), tertiary development (hazelnuts, honey). The wine is developing.
The palate is luscious with high acidity, low alcohol (8%), full body, pronounced flavours of apricot jam, lime marmalade, ginger, nuts, honey, acacia. The finish is long.
The wine is outstanding quality. The sweetness is balanced by the high acidity. It has great concentration of flavour and complexity from primary, secondary and tertiary flavour clusters. The finish is long and persistent.
The wine can be drunk now but is suitable for further ageing. It has the concentration and acidity to allow if to develop for many years (at least 20 years), and to develop greater tertiary complexity. At the moment it remains remarkably youthful.

Closing

Possibly the most extraordinary selection of wines I have ever drunk in one evening - I feel very lucky to have had the chance to taste such extraordinary wines.

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