kirk wallace
kirk wallace
Dinner at Craftbar with friends (all of whom, like me, don't drink much Bordeaux, and, unlike me, never did):
all of these (except the '78) were opened about 3.5 hours before dinner, checked for TCA and the stoppered with vacu-vin stoppers' each was then decanted about 30 minutes before it was first poured; they were decanted and poured in this order:
'88 La Mission -- of the first 4 wines, this had the leanest nose (duh), but also, the nose was complex with wood and spice and dried fruit. Further, early on, was the liveliest on the palate; and for pinot and gamay drinkers, it seemed more alert and pleasing; ultimately it was surpassed by the others, but it remained to the last drops a wonderful drink, never surly or overly tannic; continuously engaging. great smells of earth and elegant dried fruit with a touch of leather; plenty of fresh fruit in the mouth balanced with minerality. realy a nice performance.
'89 La Mission -- a bit of a monster at first; leaps out of the glass with dark (not quite jammy) fruit and a touch of cabernet metalics; initially, in the mouth it is sweet, but still tannic and huge, with cedar and more black fruits; over time this gets more and more profound and more and more complex;ultimately, this is probably more complex and will live longer than the '89 P-L
'89 Pichon Lalande -- perfect, ripe, paulliac nose; all cedar and red fruit, with a touch of fresh leather; one wants to swim in the nose of this wine; for most of 3 hours this was the most generous and rich of the wines; for the 1st 2, no other wine was close in terms of easy access and enjoyment; this is plump and ripe without being heavy (for claret); very complex but also just a wine that leaves you (well me anyway) smiling. Ultimately, although it did not decline in anyway, the '89 La Mission began to surpass it in complexity and depth; nevertheless, this reminded me of why I love Bordeaux when it is very good.
'86 Pichon Lalande -- still very dark and relatively hard; the most beguiling nose of the first 4 wines for me; very pure cassis and rock and not giving too much, but seemingly very tightly coiled. Some got menthol on the nose, and i understood that, but for me, there was nothing quite that medicinal. In the mouth it has depth and layers and length and then some; the fruit is so ripe, but you might miss it because the tannis are still so hard and omnipresent. The tannins are not hash or unripe, however; just there (and everywhere). The fruit is wound around the mineral and tannic core of this wine. By the 3d hour, i thought this was even better than the '89 and also even better than the '89 La Mission -if less opulent.
and surprise add on
'78 Domaine de Chevalier -- just because one good turn deserves another, we opened this and poured it -- no decanting. Mature nose of earth (very clean earth), dried cassis and wet stones; the wine was alive and literally fun in the mouth; the fruits were more red than black and showed not sign of aging or drying out; really delightful crunchy finish; this was a total surprise, given how some '78's have already cracked up. tannins and fruit fully resolved and integrated; tobacco and rocks and restrained fruit all come together to make a superb wine. the most surprising wine of the night and the one that out performed its weight class.
'2006 Dnnhoff Kupfegrube Auselese --just to finish up; this wine is delicous; i have not been happy with the way the '06 Dnnhofffs have been drinking of late; this wine is redemption.
all of these (except the '78) were opened about 3.5 hours before dinner, checked for TCA and the stoppered with vacu-vin stoppers' each was then decanted about 30 minutes before it was first poured; they were decanted and poured in this order:
'88 La Mission -- of the first 4 wines, this had the leanest nose (duh), but also, the nose was complex with wood and spice and dried fruit. Further, early on, was the liveliest on the palate; and for pinot and gamay drinkers, it seemed more alert and pleasing; ultimately it was surpassed by the others, but it remained to the last drops a wonderful drink, never surly or overly tannic; continuously engaging. great smells of earth and elegant dried fruit with a touch of leather; plenty of fresh fruit in the mouth balanced with minerality. realy a nice performance.
'89 La Mission -- a bit of a monster at first; leaps out of the glass with dark (not quite jammy) fruit and a touch of cabernet metalics; initially, in the mouth it is sweet, but still tannic and huge, with cedar and more black fruits; over time this gets more and more profound and more and more complex;ultimately, this is probably more complex and will live longer than the '89 P-L
'89 Pichon Lalande -- perfect, ripe, paulliac nose; all cedar and red fruit, with a touch of fresh leather; one wants to swim in the nose of this wine; for most of 3 hours this was the most generous and rich of the wines; for the 1st 2, no other wine was close in terms of easy access and enjoyment; this is plump and ripe without being heavy (for claret); very complex but also just a wine that leaves you (well me anyway) smiling. Ultimately, although it did not decline in anyway, the '89 La Mission began to surpass it in complexity and depth; nevertheless, this reminded me of why I love Bordeaux when it is very good.
'86 Pichon Lalande -- still very dark and relatively hard; the most beguiling nose of the first 4 wines for me; very pure cassis and rock and not giving too much, but seemingly very tightly coiled. Some got menthol on the nose, and i understood that, but for me, there was nothing quite that medicinal. In the mouth it has depth and layers and length and then some; the fruit is so ripe, but you might miss it because the tannis are still so hard and omnipresent. The tannins are not hash or unripe, however; just there (and everywhere). The fruit is wound around the mineral and tannic core of this wine. By the 3d hour, i thought this was even better than the '89 and also even better than the '89 La Mission -if less opulent.
and surprise add on
'78 Domaine de Chevalier -- just because one good turn deserves another, we opened this and poured it -- no decanting. Mature nose of earth (very clean earth), dried cassis and wet stones; the wine was alive and literally fun in the mouth; the fruits were more red than black and showed not sign of aging or drying out; really delightful crunchy finish; this was a total surprise, given how some '78's have already cracked up. tannins and fruit fully resolved and integrated; tobacco and rocks and restrained fruit all come together to make a superb wine. the most surprising wine of the night and the one that out performed its weight class.
'2006 Dnnhoff Kupfegrube Auselese --just to finish up; this wine is delicous; i have not been happy with the way the '06 Dnnhofffs have been drinking of late; this wine is redemption.