Community Tasting Note

Phredd wrote:

Sunday, September 4, 2011 - 25th Anniversary (a few days early) (Charleston Grill, Charleston, SC): Poured at the Charleston Grill, Charleston, SC., notes from memory a few days later. After the disaster of a flawed Pichon Lalande, I was faced with making a choice from the extensive list at the Charleston Grill, while the meal waited in the wings. The Maitre d' proposed the '86 Pichon Baron, and while I would very much have liked to go with that, the $325 price tag was too much for me, especially since I was already down a bottle. I went with the 2005 Langoa Barton, instead. Right there with the customer service, Micky suggested a splash decant, which was a must. Even so, the purple color suggested a wine that was too young, and that proved to be correct. The wine was too big, and although it had powerful fruit, it wasn't quite enough to overcome the wall of tannin. After about an hour, the wine started to relax and sing a bit, but of course by that time the entrees were done. It's a very good wine, though, with big cassis, a shot of Rhone-like licorice, great acidity, and a very intense mineral core. It needs another five years, though, and then will no doubt drink well for 20. I gave the wine a 91 score now, but I believe it has the potential to add significantly to that as the tannic wall begins to break down and the fruit mellows with secondary depth. This was a very good bottle, it just wasn't quite ready for prime time. Micky called it "a nice little wine". If only I could afford such wine every day....

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