Notes from lunch today at Red. All the wines courtesy of Jojo, who did a major cull of his locker and determined these were ready to be dispatched.
Chateau Clinet 1994 - Nice, deep color with browning just showing on the edge. Good nose. Very dry, meaty. Good fruit and even a touch of tannin still lingering. Lovely and lively. At peak, with no further development forthcoming. Impressive and excellent.
Reserve de la Comtesse 1996 - Good nose, and then there's a slightly poopy underlay which disappeared after vigorous swirling. Sweet and soft. Perfect now. Would have been excellent if it weren't for the poop. Otherwise, very good.
Chateau d'Yquem 1994 - Our group has been talking about having Sauternes with foie gras, which we've never done before, so Jojo obliged by sacrificing this bottle. Deep gold. Good, creamy, weighty; but not Yquem rich. Still, an excellent wine, although I didn't particularly enjoy it with the foie gras. I thought it was much better as dessert.
Chateau Leoville Las Cases 1994 - Austere and very dry. Lightish. Soft. Abrupt finish. A letdown.
Chateau Cos d'Estournel 1986 - Very dark and youthful looking. Lovely sweet, floral nose. Leather, black berries, sweet fruit, spicy. Complex and well-balanced. Lots going on here. At peak. Outstanding.
Guigal Hermitage 1998 - There was some debate as to whether this was corked or not. I thought there was a bit of wet cardboard that seemed to come and go. In any case, I thought it tasted OK. Very tannic and fruity sweet. Dry finish. Seemed simple to me after all the great Bordeaux we had . Perhaps a bit more time might make it more interesting. In this company, merely good.
Peter Michael Les Pavots 1998 - Extremely dark. Sweet nose. Chocolate. Sweet and oaky. Tannic. Dry finish. A bit of dried fruit and prune shows up with a bit of time in the glass. Although it suffered when compared to the Bordeauxs, I guess I would have to rate this very good.
4 out of 8 voted the Cos d'Estournel the best wine, 2 voted for the Leoville, and 2 voted for the Clinet. The Cos was my #1 but it was tough choosing between that and the Clinet, which ended up my #2. Of course, the Yquem was in a class of its own and so was not included in the voting.
Many thanks to Jojo for sharing these wines.