1982 Château Haut-Brion

From 29 JAN 2012:  All I can say is that I couldn't be any more grateful to have such generous friends.  In the past year, I have had the chance to drink amazing bottle of Krug, Burgundies from Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, and many first growth Bordeaux, including this one, poured by my good NYC pal Philipe on this gorgeous Sunday afternoon.

The cork came out of this bottle and was about 90% soaked through.  The bottle was then decanted through cheesecloth, and served at cellar temp.  This was allowed to warm up in the glass and decanter, and consumed over the course of 4 hours.

First thing you notice is in the glass is the garnet, ruby color, and there is definitely some bricking going on. 

On the nose, this is pure Graves Bordeaux, aged, and gorgeous!  There was however a bit of funk on the nose, but this seemed to blow off after about 20 minutes.  When I say funk, I am referring to some dirty barnyard, and perhaps a hint on green pepper.

Once this blew off, the plum overwhelmed the nose, with some nice hint of cassis, and dark black fruits.  In all honesty, the fruit was a bit subdued compared to the two other times I have had this wine.  Perhaps storage was an issue with this wine, or perhaps this was a fake!  Kidding of course, but that is a funny topic for another blog entry!

Aside from the fruit, this had some classic pencil lead, tobacco, leather saddle, toast, and hints of Asian spice on the nose.  Again, not the best nose of an '82, but it was still opening up at this point.

Upon first sip, you get can tell this is a classically aged Bordeaux.  On the palate, there is some tart blackberry, more cassis, plum, and dark currants.  There is still plenty of life left in the fruit on this wine, and it continued to evolve as we consumed this bottle.   The longer in the glass, the more the fruit started to come out over the course of 2 hours.  After that, it seemed to plateau. There were also some nice spice notes. 

This wine was very smooth on the palate, and it went down easy peasy as expected.  This finish was very nice, and lasted a good 30-45 seconds.  The tannins were there during the first glass, but at the 2 hour mark, it was almost as though they were non-existent. 

All in all, I couldn't be anymore thankful to have had the opportunity to have this wine again, and if I did have any in my cellar, I wouldn't hesitate to pop one.  Though this has many years still ahead of it, I just cannot see it getting much better than this.  This was one of those wines that I will always remember.  Thank you Philipe!  Cheers!

1994 Château Pontet-Canet (France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac)

Definitely a different wine that the Leoville Barton that we had before this, but would have been a great representation in the difference between St. Julien and Pauillac had the vintages been identical.  This however showed that I think the '90 Bordeaux are drinking far superior than the '94's like this one.

Decanted for sediment, and this didn't show as dark in the decanter as the Leoville.  The nose on this wine was a bit more floral than the previous, with some hints of lavendar.  On the fruit side, some nice cherry, currants, cigar box, cassis, spice, and wet slate.

On the palate, this was a bit sour at first, with some sour plum, black cherry, and ripe currants.  No idea what the final blend was here, but you could really tell there was a good amount of merlot in this wine.  Not a bad thing in the least!

Nice tannins, and a lingering finish made this really nice to drink.  This wine is still very youthful, and has plenty of years left in front of it.  Huge thanks to Dee for opening up some of these fun wines tonight!  92 points!  Cheers!

1990 Château Léoville Barton (France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien)

Leave it to Dee to bust out some mature Bordeaux that she always says is over the hill, and that she is always so nervous about opening.  LOL!  You gotta love her, and as always, she was again proved wrong here!

Decanted for sediment, showing a gorgeous dark color in the decanter.  Gorgeous nose of dark currants, cassis, cherry, tobacco, and spice. There was just a bit of bret on the nose, but this blew off with a few minutes of swirling in the glass.

On the palate, this was some great classically aged Bordeaux.  I wish I had a cellar full of stuff like this, as it is drinking so well.  Very nice, mature palate with a bit of prune, plum, blackberry, and black cherry.

Nice lingering finish made this an absolute joy to drink, and this was definitely up there as a wine of the night contender.  Very nice after drinking a bunch of new world pinot noir tonight.  93 points!  Cheers!

2001 Château Lafite Rothschild (France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac)

All I can say about this wine is thank you very much to fellow Wine Berserker Mont Stern for bringing this tonight to Berserkerfest 5 at Peking Duck House. Never was there a mention of anyone bringing any first growth Bordeaux, and had I know, I probably would have stepped it up a bit with some Haut Brion so we could do a little side by side comparison.

When I first saw this wine, I told Mont that he was insane, and told him to bring this home and save it for another time. We had plenty of amazing wines on the table, but he wanted to open this. This ended up sitting on the table for quite a while unopened, and I really didn’t think it was going to get popped. Then I saw Jay grab it and open it, so it was pretty much popped and poured.

Gorgeous deep purple/violet color in the glass, but not as dark as I would have expected. Classic Pauillac nose with some pencil lead and cigar box, along with some nice red currants, blackberry, black cherry, and just a hint of plum. The nose is rounded out by some creamy vanilla, oak, and spice, and just a touch of alcohol showing its youth.

Definitely showing some youth as it thins towards the rim in the glass, and from first sip, you can detect a well made wine that just needs more time in the bottle. This wine was very young, with a nice minerality to it, along with more currants and cassis. The fruit here is definitely ripe, but not over ripe. Some blackberry and raspberry round out the palate, with a little stew of red fruits. The tannins were chewy and grippy at first, but as this wine opened, it developed more and more complexity. I detected just a touch alcohol at first, but as this wine opened up over the next two hours, it showed less and less, and the tannins subsided as well.

This was hands down Zelda’s wine of the night, and when she saw ½ the bottle sitting there towards the end of the night, she couldn’t help but revisiting it a for a few more tastes! Do you blame her? Heck no! For me however, this came in second place behind the Ghost Horse. With time, I think that this wine will be amazing, regardless of what people want to say about this vintage. So far we’ve enjoyed all of the ’01 first growths we’ve had, and this was the best ’01 Lafite showing to date for me. 93 points, and thanks again Mont for your generosity! Cheers!

2005 Château Malmaison Baronne Nadine de Rothschild

In seeing some notes, I was really curious to see how this wine was developing as we have not had one yet.  I thought I had seen a bunch of great notes on this, so figured it would go nicely with pizza at Delorenzos Tomato Pies tonight in Robbinsville.  Unfortunately, Delorenzos was packed, and we ended up going out for Thai, so this was not an optimal pairing by any means, but we figured we had it, so why not drink it.
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Chateau Malmaison is your typical $20-ish Bordeaux.  It is mass produced, and in some vintages it has been outstanding.  The 2000 is still the best that we’ve had to date, and it had amazing fruit to it.  Was had the 2000 on multiple occasions, and I have yet to have a vintage that compared to it.  When I saw the 2005 in the stores, I figured I would pick up a few bottles to cellar.
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Dark ruby in the glass with a super tight nose.  You could smell some cassis and currants, as well as some strawberry and raspberry.  Definitely some oak and alcohol on the nose as well, and you could pick out a bit of vanilla tones.
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On the palate, this seemed like a thin alcoholic cluster to me.  The alcohol was overwhelming at first, but it did begin to soften in the glass.  More red and black fruits, but the fruits were definitely subdued, and the alcohol was the star, which obviously was not a good thing.  The finish of course had some alcohol and some tannins, and this wine just needs more time in the bottle.  I do not however think that this is going to develop like the 2000.
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In short, hold onto these for 3-5 before you open one.  Not sure the blend here, but you could definitely taste the merlot influence here, and the cabernet took a second seat along with the rest of the blend.  83 points.

1975 Château Léoville Las Cases

I was very skeptical about this bottle, but knew that it has been well stored in our cellar for the last few years. Popped and poured tonight, Valentine's Day at Tastebuds in New Hope, PA. This was a classic example of a mature Bordeaux, from what was supposed to be a weak vintage. Regardless, this showed well, and had a good fill well into the neck. Cork was soaked 80% of the way through, with the faintest sign of mold under the foil. Nonetheless, it came out in one piece, which surprised me...or maybe our server was just that good with the corkscrew! Regardless, we gave him a nice taste, and he seemed to appreciate and enjoy it. Good on ya! Nice to see someone with a nice appreciation for the nectar of the God's at a BYOB! Deep garnet color in the glass, with the slightest bit of bricking, but this was more of a purple color with a slight fading around the rim, which surprised me. A bit of band aid on the nose, with some nice hints of cherry, pencil lead, wet slate, tobacco, leather and cedar. There was also the slightest bit of sweetness on the nose. On the palate, I was absolutely shocked, not expecting much in the least. Very nice mature cherry and strawberry on the palate, with a little bit of spice and cedar/leather. Some other red fruits were on the palate, but didn't really dominate, and were hard to identify, but had some berry like qualities. Overall, I was surprised there was as much fruit on the palate as there was. The finish was nothing to write home about, and albeit a bit short, it was smooth, the acidity was nice, and the tannins were well integrated. It was no 1982, but it was nice and pleasant, and worth of 92 points. Happy Valentine's Day! Cheers!

2003 Château Villa Bel-Air

"Raffy Two Sleeves" brought this wine over tonight, and was the second wine following the 2006 Kosta Browne Russian River Valley. This too was popped and poured through the Vinturi and into the decanter. This wine had a great, dark ruby color in the glass, and a classic Bordeaux aroma on the nose. From the nose, I would think that this wine was predominantly merlot, but I am not sure. Hints of lush, ripe fruit on the nose, with more hints of cigar box, tobacco, mocha, and earth. Raph and Zelda also picked out a bit of cappuccino, but again, I couldn't find it because of my challenged nose. On the palate, I still could not really tell what varietal was dominant here, but it had a nice ripeness to it, with hints of cherry, mocha, and oak. A smooth finish rounded out this 2003, with very little tannin and acidity. For what Raph paid for this bottle, I wouldn't mind seeking out this chateau and vintage to revisit. A solid wine for the money, and a good QPR. 88 points. Cheers!

2005 Château Tour de Gilet

This wine was part two in the tasting today, and yet one of the best under $20 Bordeaux I have ever tasted. Sure, we have had lots in the $10-$15 range, but none of them have the fruit that this one seemed to have. Nice earthy nose, with some red fruits. With this wine being 60% petite verdot, with the rest rounded out by cabernet sauvignon and merlot, I figured there would be more fruit on the nose, but it had also only been decanted for 2 hours. Slight hints of cigar box, leather, red fruits, spice, and pepper round out the nose. On the palate, the red fruits shined through with lots of blueberry, cherry, and cassis. This is a good example of why 2005 was such a great year or Bordeaux, and this one from Medoc is shining. The finish is very young, and again, this wine will benefit from more time in the bottle. At this price however, I think it will be hard to stay away from these, so I can see picking up some more, and keeping a few to age. 2 purchased at $17, but I see many more in our future! Leave it to CoolVines for another great wine at their tasting today! Cheers!

2006 Chateau Corbin

Great Bordeaux, but I have no idea what it cost since Zelda bought it on the way to the airport in Paris. Gifted to her parents, and they brought it to dinner tonight at Ted's on Main. Great berry nose, with some hints of oak. This wine smells absolutely delicious. On the palate, you can tell this wine is still young, but nice raspberry, with hints of strawberry and plum maybe? Some minerality to this wine in my opinion, with a nice medium body, but a rather short finish. Regardless, this would make an outstanding house wine or daily drinker. Definitely needs some time in the bottle to improve, but there is absolutely nothing wrong with this now, and we just popped and poured with no decant. Wish we had more, or knew where we could find more stateside. We need more Bordeaux like this one...tasty, and affordable! 87 points! Cheers!

2005 Château Clos Chaumont Premières Côtes de Bordeaux

An end of night bottle here, this is what you get for a $13 Bordeaux. Decent fruit on the nose with some black currants and blackberry. On the palate, this wine was watery thin, and actually a bit on the sour side, with some sour cherry and black cherry. The finish was a bit on the tannic side, and showing it's young age, but wasn't offensive in the least. Another bottle that would befefit from a splash decant and a few hours in the decanter. Overall, a decent QPR. 84 points. Cheers!

2000 Chateau Malmaison

This is a classic example of a great QPR (Quality to Price Ratio) Bordeaux! Pulled from the cellar, stored at a perfect 55 degrees, and decanted through the Vinturi, this wine displayed great notes of raspberry jam and other dark fruits on the nose. Hints of earth, pepper, and straw also evolved with other floral notes. We enjoyed this "on the bistro" with an incredible antipasto that Zelda created, accompanied by K-Fed and M-Dog.

On the palate, the fruit shined, with more hints of raspberry, currants, and tons and tons of fruit. This wine was very jammy, and continued to evolve in the decanter and in the glass with time. Notes of plum later shined. The fruit was definately the star, and this wine was not shut down to say the least. It is drinking beautifully now, and the tannins were very supple, almost non existent. Hints of cherry on the 30 second finish, and this bottle was a true treat at $20. I would love to find more at this price. Overall, 90 out of 100 points, and a great value!

2004 Peachy Canyon Jester

First tried this wine at Jester's Cafe, and I really enjoyed it, so I picked up a few bottles at the first place I saw it around here. This wine is a very strange blend, almost like a Bordeaux, but a lot like a Rhone wine as well. Grapes used were cabernet sauvignon, syrah, petite sirah, and cab franc. On the nose, hints of raspberry jam, plum, cherry, and cedar shine through. On the palate, tons of blackberry and raspberry, with currants, and lots of wood. Cedar, oak, you take your pick, but they are both there. There is something about this wine that I absolutely love, but I cannot put my finger on it. Maybe it is because it has the same qualities of two regions that we love, Bordeaux and Rhone. Maybe because it's a bigger wine. I only wish I knew. What I do know is that we have 2 more bottles, and I look forward to opening them. In short, a fun wine, worthy of 89 points. Cheers!

1988 Château Cos d'Estournel

We enjoyed this wine very much tonight at our friend Dee's house, on the Bordentown Garden Tour night.

Nice dark ruby color in the decanter and glass, with a nose of pencil lead, earth, anise, leather, dirty black fruits, and cedar. This wine has a nice balance, and is drinking well now, but I wouldn't be surprised if this wine would last another 10-15 years in the bottle under proper storage conditions.

Unfortunately, the fruit was not as prevelant on the palate as it was the nose. I thought for sure this would be a very fruit forward fruit bomb, but not the case. Don't get me wrong, it was still there, and there was still a ton of fruit in the mouth, but not like the explosive nose. This wine got better and fruitier with time in the glass. Tons of blackberry and black cherry, with hints of oak and subtle tannins made this wine a true treat!

A nice medium finish ended this wine, and I would give it 93 points, with more points possible in time perhaps. Time will tell! Cheers!

1995 Château La Louvière

Another fun bottle to go along with the 1990 opened previously! This was decanted and filtered for sediment, and spent a good couple of hours in the decanter breating. Nice ruby color with signs of bricking. Similar nose of cassis, slate, herb, and cigar. Some dark fruits on the nose, but nothing really stood out. On the palate, this wine was showing very mature, with slight hints of raspberry and boysenberry. Medium length finish, but nothing really to write home about. This wine is either getting past its maturity, or this was an off bottle. Based on this wine, I would say drink now! 88 points. Cheers!