Larry Stein
Larry Stein
Last night, the Ross Bott group tasted five '89s and four '90s. Harry Karis is in the area for his book tour and Ross was able to arrange for Harry to attend.
As a group, the 90s showed better than the 89s. There were only 2 wines that were not quite up-to-snuff. '89 Ch. de la Font du Loup showed some green notes (stems, perhaps?) to the detriment of the other elements. '89 Ch. de la Gardine "Cuvee des Generations" was too oaky and simple.
'89 Ch. de la Gardine was better, but it had a strong acidic element.
Trying to rank the other 6 wines was nearly impossible. I'd gladly drink any of them, any time.
Amazingly, neither of the bottles of '89 and '90 Beaucastel opened were at all brett-infected. It wasn't too hard to pick those wines out due to the earthy/funky (not bretty!) element from the Mourvedre. I thought this bottle of '89 was showing a touch too much alcohol, but was otherwise quite lovely. The '90 had wonderful texture and mouth feel. It was quite Burgundian in that respect
'89 and '90 Vieux Telegraphe were quite different. Where the '89 was wide open and textural, the '90 was the youngest tasting wine. It had structure and balance. Based on that bottle, further cellaring would be to its benefit.
The surprise wine was '90 Chapoutier "La Bernardine". Great depth, complexity, and length. We were told that some new oak is used on this cuvee, but it was completely integrated.
'90 Les Cailloux (Brunel) was pretty much a consensus winner. I've had that and the '89 previously. Both those have always been about texture, amazing depth, and a fruit sweetness that just bowls one over.
As a group, the 90s showed better than the 89s. There were only 2 wines that were not quite up-to-snuff. '89 Ch. de la Font du Loup showed some green notes (stems, perhaps?) to the detriment of the other elements. '89 Ch. de la Gardine "Cuvee des Generations" was too oaky and simple.
'89 Ch. de la Gardine was better, but it had a strong acidic element.
Trying to rank the other 6 wines was nearly impossible. I'd gladly drink any of them, any time.
Amazingly, neither of the bottles of '89 and '90 Beaucastel opened were at all brett-infected. It wasn't too hard to pick those wines out due to the earthy/funky (not bretty!) element from the Mourvedre. I thought this bottle of '89 was showing a touch too much alcohol, but was otherwise quite lovely. The '90 had wonderful texture and mouth feel. It was quite Burgundian in that respect
'89 and '90 Vieux Telegraphe were quite different. Where the '89 was wide open and textural, the '90 was the youngest tasting wine. It had structure and balance. Based on that bottle, further cellaring would be to its benefit.
The surprise wine was '90 Chapoutier "La Bernardine". Great depth, complexity, and length. We were told that some new oak is used on this cuvee, but it was completely integrated.
'90 Les Cailloux (Brunel) was pretty much a consensus winner. I've had that and the '89 previously. Both those have always been about texture, amazing depth, and a fruit sweetness that just bowls one over.