WTNs: including 1990 Figeac and Lynch Bages

On the two other evenings I spent in Orlândia this long weekend (described in my post re: 4th of July tasting of American wine and cheese), we drank an eclectic group of wines, including two stellar 1990 Bordeauxs:

2004 Simon Bize Bourgogne Blanc
Served blind, but the lovely caramel nose was a clear sign of white burgundy. Somewhat disappointing in the mouth, a bit dilute, becoming increasingly so with time. Citric notes, a hint of persimmon, tart finish, not recommended.

2006 Livio Felluga Pinot Grigio
Floral and mineral nose, good acid/fruit balance, classic pinot grigio peach flavors. Excellent with brie. Needs more bite, but quite pleasant.

1990 Chateau Figeac St. Émilion
Awesome nose of naphthalene, wet leaves, shoemaker’s glue (!) and oak. Velvety in the mouth, with cloves, cassis, and tar. Tannins still vibrant but smooth. Has years ahead of it, but delivering tremendous pleasure and a lovely cornucopia of flavors. Though not a prototypical Bordeaux (no cedar or lead pencil notes), this served as a powerful reminder of how Bordeaux remains the gold standard, no matter how much and how frequently I seek relief from its monotony elsewhere. Quite wonderful.

2003 Chateau Meyney St. Estephe 13%
Rich nose of cedar and plum, rich fruit, dusky tannins, good acidity. Drinking very well, with only a touch of excessive sweetness perhaps betraying the year and marring otherwise perfect drinkability. Very good, excellent QPR, and highly recommended for current drinking.

1990 Chateau Lynch-Bages Pauillac 12.5%
Young and brawny nose, lots of tar, plum, alcohol, and wet earth. Fruit is vibrant and sweet, but with a strangely dilute mid-palate and a shorter finish than I would have expected. The tar note becomes stronger as the wine evolves in the glass, becoming slightly off-putting. While this is mature, perhaps it needs a few more years to reach magic territory. As it was yesterday, it was completely overshadowed by the Figeac.

[Robin Garr]

Thanks, Oswaldo! Quite a group, but I find it particularly interesting to see how well (or not) the older wines are faring. I kind of hate to think about how much the prices have gone up, though! Of course that goes double for the Bordeaux (and others) of the early '80s ...

Thanks for the notes, I have seen the Meyney in a shop and wondered how it would be. Maybe I have to give it a go once. I'm not sure what year it was but I guess 2005 will be nice as well. For me there are not many red wines that give me as much pleasure as a nice Bordeaux. The Figeac sounds wonderful.

Your tasting notes reminded me to pull some '90 Figeac from the cellar. Having bought several cases of it at release (also being my lone '90 Bordeaux selection aside from Cheval Blanc), I knew there must be at least a couple bottles still rolling along.

Wow. It is time to enjoy a few more of these fellers. They are truly still so good and just so unlike anything else I have. I'd forgotten all about them.

That nose is filling. Thank you.

[David M. Bueker]

I love the wines of Figeac (by the way, today's (July 12) Tour de France stage is starting in a town called Figeac), but can rarely afford more than a bottle or two.

One of my great wine memories is being served the '70 Figeac blind. It was sublime & guesses around the table were for a 1st growth-level wine. Figeac has also maintain a somewhat traditoinal style which I very much appreciate (even if the critics do not).

shoemaker’s glue (!)

Boy, does that descriptor bring back some memories. Better left forgotten!

I'm a big Figeac fan, and especially love the '90. But drank my only 2 bottles, and replacement cost is too dear.
David, the '70 is great too, I served my lone bottle this winter (sob).