Tonight, we celebrated the arrival of truly cold weather (snow predicted for the surrounding area) with a cold weather meal of broiled rack of lamb, baked potatoes and a salad. Jean and I both felt the need for a good wine to accompany this meal (Andrew also assented), so down to the cellar for a semi-ready Bordeaux:
2000 Ch. Lusseau St.-Emilion Grand Cru Classé
color: dark red-purple with slight bricking at the edges
nose: initially, a huge whack of black truffle, later turning into pencil lead, dark berry fruit, herbs and tea; finally, roasted coffee notes
palate: medium body, very fine grained tannins, decent acidity, flavors mirroring the nose, rich fruit
This was the first wine removed from a mixed case we purchased as futures with some other people (in fact, we were brought in late in the game after the wines had already been ordered). Jean took one sniff and proclaimed it "St.-Emilion" and the more that time went on, the more I understood her remark. I gave it a quick decant before serving and it continued opening up for the next 1-2 hours. Certainly, its final state of roasted, coffee character reminded me a lot of the several bottles of '90 Angelus that we consumed several years ago. Altogether pleasant, and not terribly modern. I'm glad that I have several more bottles of this and plan on opening them over the next 3-5 years.
Mark Lipton