Dinner with friends. Theme was originally 90s Bordeaux, but things were fluid. A fun night of exploration.
1975 Magdelaine: I loved this. Definitely feels earthier and more soil-inflected than the other wines at the table. I get a lot of tobacco on the palate framed with lovely purple fruit. Tannins are basically fully resolved at this point. Silkiness on the finish. Fabulous.
1996 Magdelaine: This improved a lot over the course of the night. A little tight at the beginning of dinner, but the nose becomes very expressive (strong cassis notes) during the course of dinner.
1985 Pichon Lalande: Popped and poured. Elegant, weightless, but intense depth of flavor and a hit of dark fruit on the palate. Less green than the 1988, but has a similar blast of freshness and good acidity. A graceful wine with very gentle tannins at this point of the evolution. My (and most people’s) wine of the night.
1986 Pichon Lalande: There is some funkiness on the nose that several folks think is subtle TCA taint. However, on the palate, there is good amount of dark fruit and its rather fresh and open. The funk on the nose does get progressively worse as the evening waxes on, but if this is corked, it is very low.
1988 Pichon Lalande: High toned, zippy acidity. Feels very fresh on the palate. Very savory, with a hint of cedar and graphite, some green bell pepper, and an undertone of dark, brambly fruit. A little austere when popped and poured, but benefits greatly after being in the decanter for several hours. The tannins are not particularly drying or astringent at this point, though I would not say they are fully resolved. They still provide a touch of grip.
1995 Bel Air Marquis d'Aligre: Feels a little more open and fruit-forward than the ‘96. It was actually quite striking to me how different this was from the ‘96. Still plenty of minerally, non-fruit flavors, and quite delicious, but it felt more strikingly different from its counterpart than the Pichon Lalandes did from each other (or the two Magdelaines).
1996 Bel Air Marquis d'Aligre: More structured and savory than the ‘95. A little more cedar, tobacco, and graphite on the palate. I read a couple of notes saying this was an underperformer for the vintage, but I thought this was an excellent example of restrained Bordeaux (which may be the reason why it got the negative notes).
1982 Maucaillou: A little sweaty, gym sock on the nose, but the palate is much better. Ripe, darker fruit with a little bit of mineral complexity. Not particularly thought-provoking, but enjoyable to drink.
2001 Cos d’Estournel: There’s a beam of ripe, dark fruit, but it isn’t overdone. Clearly a very different beast from the older Bordeauxs at the table, but it is not too over-the-top or jammy. It still feels very true to its place and not overtly modern. Enjoyable.
2003 Pichon Baron: Very ripe, very big when compared to the other wines at the table; it feels like a restrained Napa Cab. However, this is not bad, especially considering the vintage, and there is still elegance and restraint on the palate. It is also surprisingly fresh, if bulky. I would not consider this spoofed, although it's clearly the product of a solar vintage. The winemakers were clearly trying to keep this wine within the rubric of classic Bordeaux despite the ripeness of the fruit.
The person who brought this told us she was bringing a '95 BAMA, so she served this blind with it (wasn't too hard to tell which one was the BAMA and which one was not, but a very fun exercise).
1975 Rieussec: Fully mature at this point with a hit of apricot and caramel on the palate. An expressive nose. Still very fresh and lively. Delicious and great with Tarte Tatin.
1975 Magdelaine: I loved this. Definitely feels earthier and more soil-inflected than the other wines at the table. I get a lot of tobacco on the palate framed with lovely purple fruit. Tannins are basically fully resolved at this point. Silkiness on the finish. Fabulous.
1996 Magdelaine: This improved a lot over the course of the night. A little tight at the beginning of dinner, but the nose becomes very expressive (strong cassis notes) during the course of dinner.
1985 Pichon Lalande: Popped and poured. Elegant, weightless, but intense depth of flavor and a hit of dark fruit on the palate. Less green than the 1988, but has a similar blast of freshness and good acidity. A graceful wine with very gentle tannins at this point of the evolution. My (and most people’s) wine of the night.
1986 Pichon Lalande: There is some funkiness on the nose that several folks think is subtle TCA taint. However, on the palate, there is good amount of dark fruit and its rather fresh and open. The funk on the nose does get progressively worse as the evening waxes on, but if this is corked, it is very low.
1988 Pichon Lalande: High toned, zippy acidity. Feels very fresh on the palate. Very savory, with a hint of cedar and graphite, some green bell pepper, and an undertone of dark, brambly fruit. A little austere when popped and poured, but benefits greatly after being in the decanter for several hours. The tannins are not particularly drying or astringent at this point, though I would not say they are fully resolved. They still provide a touch of grip.
1995 Bel Air Marquis d'Aligre: Feels a little more open and fruit-forward than the ‘96. It was actually quite striking to me how different this was from the ‘96. Still plenty of minerally, non-fruit flavors, and quite delicious, but it felt more strikingly different from its counterpart than the Pichon Lalandes did from each other (or the two Magdelaines).
1996 Bel Air Marquis d'Aligre: More structured and savory than the ‘95. A little more cedar, tobacco, and graphite on the palate. I read a couple of notes saying this was an underperformer for the vintage, but I thought this was an excellent example of restrained Bordeaux (which may be the reason why it got the negative notes).
1982 Maucaillou: A little sweaty, gym sock on the nose, but the palate is much better. Ripe, darker fruit with a little bit of mineral complexity. Not particularly thought-provoking, but enjoyable to drink.
2001 Cos d’Estournel: There’s a beam of ripe, dark fruit, but it isn’t overdone. Clearly a very different beast from the older Bordeauxs at the table, but it is not too over-the-top or jammy. It still feels very true to its place and not overtly modern. Enjoyable.
2003 Pichon Baron: Very ripe, very big when compared to the other wines at the table; it feels like a restrained Napa Cab. However, this is not bad, especially considering the vintage, and there is still elegance and restraint on the palate. It is also surprisingly fresh, if bulky. I would not consider this spoofed, although it's clearly the product of a solar vintage. The winemakers were clearly trying to keep this wine within the rubric of classic Bordeaux despite the ripeness of the fruit.
The person who brought this told us she was bringing a '95 BAMA, so she served this blind with it (wasn't too hard to tell which one was the BAMA and which one was not, but a very fun exercise).
1975 Rieussec: Fully mature at this point with a hit of apricot and caramel on the palate. An expressive nose. Still very fresh and lively. Delicious and great with Tarte Tatin.
