Some bonus wines below:
2021 Beta Chardonnay Placida Vineyard: The aperitif before we started the St. Julien wines. Beautiful, powerful nose of florals and lemons. The palate has the feral edginess of a Jura Chardonnay with plenty of bright citrus, herbs, and salinity, with perhaps a bit more ripeness than what you would find in the Jura. Great tension sustained by racy acidity. Quite stony and minerally, especially on the finish.
1970 Château Léoville Las Cases: A bit of oxidation on the nose, though you can still smell the cassis. Darker black fruit on the palate, and while texturally it is rather elegant, lighter-bodied than what I normally associate with Las Cases, the tannins come roaring back on the finish, leaving a drying and astringent sensation on the palate. Perhaps a case of the fruit drying out before the tannins resolved. There might have been a closure issue as well (had a top shoulder fill).
1970 Château Léoville Poyferré: A little funky on the nose when I opened it, but it blew off. A discernible layer of cigar ash and cedar on the palate built a top of foundation of fading red fruit. The acidity is still there, and tannins just leave a mild hint of grip. Enjoyable, but definitely getting over-the-hill.
1975 Château Léoville Poyferré: This wine is quite fragrant: the cured tobacco and pencil shaving are prominent on the nose, though there's also clear aromas of cassis. There's a sharp, crunchy purple fruited character to the wine with flavors of smoke and graphite integrated throughout. The tart acidity and relatively silky texture carries through into the finish that leaves a scintilla of grip on the palate. Relatively light-bodied, elegant, and transparent: textbook old-school Bordeaux. Wine of the day for me.
1978 Château Léoville Las Cases: This has great balance and a fresh acidity gracing the rather delicate purple fruit while the nose has dark-fruited aromas and a subtle hint of pyrazine. Very elegant and transparent. While some thought there was a bit of a hole in the mid-palate, I was willing to look past that because I enjoyed the drinkability and silkiness of the wine. Finishes with just a subtle hint of grip; otherwise the tannins are pretty much resolved. An enjoyable wine that whispers rather than shouts, and is content to refresh rather than bludgeon you with extraction.
1986 Château Talbot: Wow, this is incredibly open and approachable. Tannins are pretty much resolved, endowing an incredible silkiness texturally. Dark fruit graced with just a hint of charcoal to add complexity. There's juicy, refreshing acidity and its very elegant, graceful, and quite light on its feet (for Bordeaux). This is probably at peak, and it is absolutely delicious.
1986 Château Gruaud Larose: Some folks detected brett on the nose, but it was not particularly noticeable to me. What I get texturally is an extremely refined silkiness, finely tuned and supple, that glides, caresses, and hovers in the mouth and over the palate. The mouthfeel really is extraordinary. The dark-fruited flavors seemed a little quiet and subtle, while the tannins are still assertive, but there seems to be something sneaky great lurking within all of that demure strictness, waiting to be unleashed with more maturity.
1986 Château Léoville Poyferré: Really beautiful nose of tobacco leaf, florals, and cassis. The palate is medium-bodied, with sappy purple fruit with classic signature flavors of charcoal and graphite. Juicy acidity to provide balance to the ripe fruit, but the tannins are still rather formidable and this needs time to mellow and resolve. However, this is impressively scaled, yet still classically oriented and elegant. Ripe without being over-extracted; structured without being overly stern.
1986 Château Ducru-Beaucaillou: "Corked." I don't know what happened to these mid-late 80s Ducrus, but a real shame that so many great vintages at this producer were lost to the cork taint. I actually tasted this and you get that fine, aristocratic, and elegant texture, but the flavors are marred by this weird, acrid, chemical saltiness.
1989 Château Gruaud Larose: This bottle was re-conditioned at the chateau in 2016. Really intricate and expressive nose that was a bit floral and dark. The palate is quite fresh and balanced, with dark purple fruit. While it doesn't have an incredible amount of mineral or smoky complexity, it is still really elegant and drinkable. I'm guessing there was some younger juice added in when this got reconditioned, which may explain the freshness.
1990 Château Léoville Barton: This has quite a bit of body (and alcohol) and is little soft. Lacking freshness and verve, and comes across as overly opulent. Tannins though are very ripe and approachable. It also has this radioactive "red"-fruited tone I notice from very ripe, Cabernet Sauvignon-dominant cepages. Comes across as a little roasted.
1990 Château Léoville Las Cases: This is surprisingly fresher tasting than I was expecting, considering this is an RO-era LLC. A basket of lush and opulent black fruit with just a hint of charcoal. Tannins are silky and approachable. However, I just feel this is a little too soft and rich for my palate. Not a Parkerized, shapeless mess, but a heavily-extracted form of winemaking that is just not my style.
1996 Château Léoville Las Cases: A very big, burly beast with lush black fruit that is able to cut through the wall of astringent tannins. I think the use of RO is more obvious here than in the 1990. Quite chewy and opulent. Nowhere close to ready.
1996 Château Léoville Barton: Has an imposing wall of tannin obscuring the dark purple palate. However, there is nice balance and good, refreshing acidity. It is just really astringent and backwards right now. Will be interesting to revisit this with a couple more years in the cellar. A definite hold.
1996 Château Ducru-Beaucaillou: Beautifully red-fruited and elegant, with great acidity and (relatively) open-knit tannins, though I would prefer to drink this with some steak. Nice classic and expressive Bordeaux nose. Seamless and spherical texture. Classy wine that I think will evolve into something truly beautiful.
Bonus Bordeaux (or Cab-adjacent wines)
1989 Château Haut-Brion: A beautifully fragrant nose of cassis and flowers intermingling with aromas of cured tobacco, cracked black pepper, spices, graphite, and camphor. The palate is still quite tannic and drying, with a substrate of rich dark fruit underneath a top layer of pronounced scorched earth, charcoal, and creosote. Texturally, this is quite polished, framed by a velvet, lush consistency (with a touch of chewiness) until the drying tannins assert themselves. Yet, despite this, the wine still comes across as quite fine and elegant. Acidity, while not elevated, is sufficient to provide balance. However, this still needs a couple of years to shave off some of the richness and baby fat of the fruit and to temper the tannins. This is an excellent wine that I would consider an archetypal Bordeaux, replete with earthy and mineral Graves terroir signatures that really add to its complexity and depth. However, I do think the 1989 Haut Brion (at least based on this bottle) has a lot of runway left for its development, so perhaps in a couple of years, when the tannins begin to melt and soften, it might find that extra gear.
1975 Château Mouton Rothschild: Beautiful nose of cassis, lead pencil, and a hint of cedar. Comes across as dark-red fruited on the palate with an intense, almost mouth-puckering acidity with just a slight dusting of tannic grip conveying a touch of bitterness. Despite being quite tart and sharp, it comes across as fresh, elegant, and rather silky for my palate. Finish though is a touch short. I could see some people finding this a touch too acidic, austere, and lacking in fruit, but, for me, it made up for it in its complexity and pure drinkability (and became much more accessible with some food). This has plenty of life to it and is nowhere near decline, but I did drink this out of Jeroboam, so I can't say whether that would be the case for a smaller format.
1987 Kenwood Cabernet Sauvignon Artist Series: Expressive nose of blackberry intermingled with green bell pepper. Really fresh and rather savory on the palate with a touch of pyrazine to provide complexity to the dark fruit on the palate. Tannins are still a bit firm and drying on the palate. Not too much cedar or graphite going on, but the restrained fruit and ripeness makes this quite enjoyable and drinkable. From Jeroboam (I believe).
2018 Beta Cabernet Sauvignon Montecillo Vineyard: Extremely shut down. Barely a whisper on the palate, other than the drying sensation from the tannins. By the time I got to this, the bottle had been open for a while, but clearly an indicator that this needs a lot more time.
2011 Beta Cabernet Sauvignon Montecillo Vineyard: This was lovely. Full of dark fruited flavor with classic charcoal and graphite notes, yet light, elegant, and transparent on the palate. Nicely structured, with the tannins already fairly approachable, just a touch grippy, and fresh acidity. Classic, old-school California Cab. And, currently, rather open and giving.
2021 Beta Chardonnay Placida Vineyard: The aperitif before we started the St. Julien wines. Beautiful, powerful nose of florals and lemons. The palate has the feral edginess of a Jura Chardonnay with plenty of bright citrus, herbs, and salinity, with perhaps a bit more ripeness than what you would find in the Jura. Great tension sustained by racy acidity. Quite stony and minerally, especially on the finish.
1970 Château Léoville Las Cases: A bit of oxidation on the nose, though you can still smell the cassis. Darker black fruit on the palate, and while texturally it is rather elegant, lighter-bodied than what I normally associate with Las Cases, the tannins come roaring back on the finish, leaving a drying and astringent sensation on the palate. Perhaps a case of the fruit drying out before the tannins resolved. There might have been a closure issue as well (had a top shoulder fill).
1970 Château Léoville Poyferré: A little funky on the nose when I opened it, but it blew off. A discernible layer of cigar ash and cedar on the palate built a top of foundation of fading red fruit. The acidity is still there, and tannins just leave a mild hint of grip. Enjoyable, but definitely getting over-the-hill.
1975 Château Léoville Poyferré: This wine is quite fragrant: the cured tobacco and pencil shaving are prominent on the nose, though there's also clear aromas of cassis. There's a sharp, crunchy purple fruited character to the wine with flavors of smoke and graphite integrated throughout. The tart acidity and relatively silky texture carries through into the finish that leaves a scintilla of grip on the palate. Relatively light-bodied, elegant, and transparent: textbook old-school Bordeaux. Wine of the day for me.
1978 Château Léoville Las Cases: This has great balance and a fresh acidity gracing the rather delicate purple fruit while the nose has dark-fruited aromas and a subtle hint of pyrazine. Very elegant and transparent. While some thought there was a bit of a hole in the mid-palate, I was willing to look past that because I enjoyed the drinkability and silkiness of the wine. Finishes with just a subtle hint of grip; otherwise the tannins are pretty much resolved. An enjoyable wine that whispers rather than shouts, and is content to refresh rather than bludgeon you with extraction.
1986 Château Talbot: Wow, this is incredibly open and approachable. Tannins are pretty much resolved, endowing an incredible silkiness texturally. Dark fruit graced with just a hint of charcoal to add complexity. There's juicy, refreshing acidity and its very elegant, graceful, and quite light on its feet (for Bordeaux). This is probably at peak, and it is absolutely delicious.
1986 Château Gruaud Larose: Some folks detected brett on the nose, but it was not particularly noticeable to me. What I get texturally is an extremely refined silkiness, finely tuned and supple, that glides, caresses, and hovers in the mouth and over the palate. The mouthfeel really is extraordinary. The dark-fruited flavors seemed a little quiet and subtle, while the tannins are still assertive, but there seems to be something sneaky great lurking within all of that demure strictness, waiting to be unleashed with more maturity.
1986 Château Léoville Poyferré: Really beautiful nose of tobacco leaf, florals, and cassis. The palate is medium-bodied, with sappy purple fruit with classic signature flavors of charcoal and graphite. Juicy acidity to provide balance to the ripe fruit, but the tannins are still rather formidable and this needs time to mellow and resolve. However, this is impressively scaled, yet still classically oriented and elegant. Ripe without being over-extracted; structured without being overly stern.
1986 Château Ducru-Beaucaillou: "Corked." I don't know what happened to these mid-late 80s Ducrus, but a real shame that so many great vintages at this producer were lost to the cork taint. I actually tasted this and you get that fine, aristocratic, and elegant texture, but the flavors are marred by this weird, acrid, chemical saltiness.
1989 Château Gruaud Larose: This bottle was re-conditioned at the chateau in 2016. Really intricate and expressive nose that was a bit floral and dark. The palate is quite fresh and balanced, with dark purple fruit. While it doesn't have an incredible amount of mineral or smoky complexity, it is still really elegant and drinkable. I'm guessing there was some younger juice added in when this got reconditioned, which may explain the freshness.
1990 Château Léoville Barton: This has quite a bit of body (and alcohol) and is little soft. Lacking freshness and verve, and comes across as overly opulent. Tannins though are very ripe and approachable. It also has this radioactive "red"-fruited tone I notice from very ripe, Cabernet Sauvignon-dominant cepages. Comes across as a little roasted.
1990 Château Léoville Las Cases: This is surprisingly fresher tasting than I was expecting, considering this is an RO-era LLC. A basket of lush and opulent black fruit with just a hint of charcoal. Tannins are silky and approachable. However, I just feel this is a little too soft and rich for my palate. Not a Parkerized, shapeless mess, but a heavily-extracted form of winemaking that is just not my style.
1996 Château Léoville Las Cases: A very big, burly beast with lush black fruit that is able to cut through the wall of astringent tannins. I think the use of RO is more obvious here than in the 1990. Quite chewy and opulent. Nowhere close to ready.
1996 Château Léoville Barton: Has an imposing wall of tannin obscuring the dark purple palate. However, there is nice balance and good, refreshing acidity. It is just really astringent and backwards right now. Will be interesting to revisit this with a couple more years in the cellar. A definite hold.
1996 Château Ducru-Beaucaillou: Beautifully red-fruited and elegant, with great acidity and (relatively) open-knit tannins, though I would prefer to drink this with some steak. Nice classic and expressive Bordeaux nose. Seamless and spherical texture. Classy wine that I think will evolve into something truly beautiful.
Bonus Bordeaux (or Cab-adjacent wines)
1989 Château Haut-Brion: A beautifully fragrant nose of cassis and flowers intermingling with aromas of cured tobacco, cracked black pepper, spices, graphite, and camphor. The palate is still quite tannic and drying, with a substrate of rich dark fruit underneath a top layer of pronounced scorched earth, charcoal, and creosote. Texturally, this is quite polished, framed by a velvet, lush consistency (with a touch of chewiness) until the drying tannins assert themselves. Yet, despite this, the wine still comes across as quite fine and elegant. Acidity, while not elevated, is sufficient to provide balance. However, this still needs a couple of years to shave off some of the richness and baby fat of the fruit and to temper the tannins. This is an excellent wine that I would consider an archetypal Bordeaux, replete with earthy and mineral Graves terroir signatures that really add to its complexity and depth. However, I do think the 1989 Haut Brion (at least based on this bottle) has a lot of runway left for its development, so perhaps in a couple of years, when the tannins begin to melt and soften, it might find that extra gear.
1975 Château Mouton Rothschild: Beautiful nose of cassis, lead pencil, and a hint of cedar. Comes across as dark-red fruited on the palate with an intense, almost mouth-puckering acidity with just a slight dusting of tannic grip conveying a touch of bitterness. Despite being quite tart and sharp, it comes across as fresh, elegant, and rather silky for my palate. Finish though is a touch short. I could see some people finding this a touch too acidic, austere, and lacking in fruit, but, for me, it made up for it in its complexity and pure drinkability (and became much more accessible with some food). This has plenty of life to it and is nowhere near decline, but I did drink this out of Jeroboam, so I can't say whether that would be the case for a smaller format.
1987 Kenwood Cabernet Sauvignon Artist Series: Expressive nose of blackberry intermingled with green bell pepper. Really fresh and rather savory on the palate with a touch of pyrazine to provide complexity to the dark fruit on the palate. Tannins are still a bit firm and drying on the palate. Not too much cedar or graphite going on, but the restrained fruit and ripeness makes this quite enjoyable and drinkable. From Jeroboam (I believe).
2018 Beta Cabernet Sauvignon Montecillo Vineyard: Extremely shut down. Barely a whisper on the palate, other than the drying sensation from the tannins. By the time I got to this, the bottle had been open for a while, but clearly an indicator that this needs a lot more time.
2011 Beta Cabernet Sauvignon Montecillo Vineyard: This was lovely. Full of dark fruited flavor with classic charcoal and graphite notes, yet light, elegant, and transparent on the palate. Nicely structured, with the tannins already fairly approachable, just a touch grippy, and fresh acidity. Classic, old-school California Cab. And, currently, rather open and giving.
