Tasting Group Dinner - '75, '83 and '85 Bordeaux
Brad's House, Minneapolis
Tasted January 23, 2009 by Siggy with 1,640 views
Introduction
Several members of the Kitchen Tasting Group gathered at Brad England's home in Minneapolis for a raucous evening of steaks, loud music, and Bordeaux. Brad and I had originally planned to put together a 1983 horizontal tasting (Margaux vs. Palmer), but as is typically the case for this very fun group, the theme quickly expanded. In the brutal winter cold, Chris Palm grilled marinated hangar steaks from Clancey's, which we enjoyed with roast potatoes and vegetables. If you know how the Kitchen Tasting Group and Brad roll, it won't surprise you that, for this Bordeaux-themed evening, our near-unanimous WOTN was... the '88 La Turque. Brad claims that he could drink only LaLas for the rest of his life, and be happy. I'm pretty sure he wasn't kidding.
Thanks to everyone and especially Brad for hosting and generously sharing so many unbelievable bottles.
Flight 1 - Champagne (1 note)
Jeff Samuelson brought this unreal magnum of Krug. We guzzled this while chowing on a variety of cheeses.
White - Sparkling
1990 Krug Champagne Vintage Brut
France, Champagne
From magnum. Light copper color. Rich, citrus-infused, nutty, crisp, and incredibly long on the palate. Beautifully balanced. Needle-prick bubbles. Creamy, velvety mousse. Shows this producer's signature, lightly oxidative style. Still youthful, and a fantastic, classic Krug.
Flight 2 - 1952 & 1962 (2 notes)
I wasn't as enamored with these as others in the group; both struck me as over-the-hill.
Red
1952 Château Lafite Rothschild
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
Very light tea/rose color, with a clear rim. Somewhat attractive initial nose, but quite thin and dilute on the palate. Watery strawberry fruit, herbs, brown sugar, and VA. Almost no tannin or structure remaining. Barely drinkable for the first 5-10 minutes. Cracking up and over-the-hill, although still interesting as a historical artifact.
Red
1962 Château Montrose
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe
Youthfully dark color. Nice plummy nose. The palate is soft, ripe, and a touch horsey/funky, showing tart dark cherries, mushrooms, and leather. Good length. Slightly muddy/mushy on the midpalate and finish. The tannins are fully resolved. A bit over-the-hill, but still quite drinkable.
Flight 3 - 1975 (3 notes)
The '75 La Conseillante was true to form.
Red
1975 Château La Conseillante
France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol
Third time I've tasted this. A touch more mature than the bottles tasted in '06 and '07. Expressive, smoky, plummy nose. Smooth, palate-coating layers of black plums, chocolate, and dark cherries. A touch of brown sugar creeps into the finish. Medium-bodied, with a velvety, silky texture and a long finish. The tannins are fully resolved. Delicious as always and my WOTF.
Red
1975 Château Mouton Rothschild
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
Medium maroon color with significant amber. Expressive nose. A classic, medium-weight, mature Pauillac with cassis, pencil lead, and cedar flavors. Well-resolved tannins on the moderately long finish. I spent 10-15 minutes with this and didn't revisit it later; according to Dave it completely imploded with additional time in the glass.
Red
2000 Château Angélus
France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru
Popped and poured. I couldn't wrap my palate around this after tasting through several older wines. Dense, tannic, primal, and completely closed down. Massively structured, powerful, and monolithic on the palate. Did not budge after 3+ hours in the class. Do not open for many more years.
Flight 4 - 1985 (3 notes)
After the steaks came off the grill, we tasted this flight of '85s, led (for me) by the spectacular Margaux.
Red
1985 Château La Mission Haut-Brion
France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan
Second time I've tasted this. Great nose of dark fruit. The palate is wide open for business, sporting layers of sour cherry fruit, iron/mineral, and an interesting herbal/menthol/spearmint flavor that was difficult to pin down. Smooth texture; long finish. Perhaps not textbook Graves (where's the scorched earth?) but still delicious.
Red
1985 Château Margaux
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux
Second time I've tasted this. Another terrific showing. Floral, beautifully perfumed signature Margaux nose. The palate is rich and silky, with a core of dark cherry fruit and complex secondary flavors. A touch of green pepper and smoke. Sweet and savory. Delicious. WOTF.
Red
1985 Château Lynch-Bages
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
Second time I've tasted this. Leafy tobacco and earth-tinged nose. The palate is medium-weight, showing an interesting combination of black fruit, mushrooms, ground coffee, and soy. Well-structured. More herbal/green pepper flavors than the previous bottle I tasted.
Flight 5 - 1983 (3 notes)
The '83 Palmer and Margaux were neck-and-neck; I think most of us gave the slight edge to the Margaux. All of these wines were amazing, including the seriously underrated Pichon-Lalande.
Red
1983 Château Margaux
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux
Gorgeous perfume. Sweet, complex, and long on the palate, with a big core of ripe dark cherry fruit and an array of expressive secondary flavors. Elegant, beautifully pure, and amazingly textured. Pure silk. WOTF.
Red
1983 Château Palmer
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux
Tasted alongside the '83 Margaux (see TN), the Palmer was smooth, expressive, and deep. Concentrated red cherries surrounded by truffles, spices, and tobacco. Does not quite have the silk or perfume of the Margaux, but a beautiful bottle.
Flight 6 - Mystery Wine (1 note)
This really threw me for a loop. At least I got the country right.
Red
2005 Cayuse Syrah Bionic Frog
USA, Washington, Columbia Valley, Walla Walla Valley
Tasted blind. Totally unlike the wines in our previous flight. I guessed this was a CaliCab. Sweet red fruit and blueberries, mint/eucalyptus, and new oak. Very ripe and extracted, with a super-creamy texture -- tastes like it underwent malo in barrel. Long, slightly hot finish.
Flight 7 - Miscellaneous (6 notes)
The hip-hop started cranking and Brad kept popping bottles. Both LaLas were clean bottles, and true to form.
Red
1988 E. Guigal Côte-Rôtie La Turque
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie
Tasted alongside the '82 La Mouline (see TN). I slightly preferred the more explosive, sluttier, hedonistic '88 La Turque to the more focused and intellectual '82 La Mouline, but these are both fantastic wines. Saturated purple color. Fantastic nose. Unreal combination of meat, bacon, olives, and flowers on the nose and palate. Smoky, sweet, and meaty. Amazingly fresh. Endless finish. Unreal stuff. WOTN.
Red
1989 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage
Fourth time I've tasted this. Slight Band-Aid on the initial nose that quickly blew off. Red cherries, animal, baking spices, and leather. Wonderfully rich and expressive. Earthy, seamless, and elegant. Power and intensity without weight. Terrific as always.
Red
1982 E. Guigal Côte-Rôtie La Mouline
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie
Tasted alongside the '88 La Turque (see TN). I slightly preferred the more explosive, sluttier, hedonistic '88 La Turque to the more focused and intellectual '82 La Mouline, but these are both fantastic wines. Meat, olive juice, and bacon flavors, wrapped around a laser-focused core of cassis fruit. Endless finish. This was a perfect, very clean bottle.
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