WTN: '90 Pichon Baron

Tonight, we chose to celebrate the last weekend before the beginning of the new semester by having a roasted chicken for dinner and open a "Friday night Bordeaux." Jean coyly asks if I mind if she chooses the wine and, when I answer in the negative, she hops down the cellar and re-emerges with a brown-bagged bottle of claret.

Mystery Claret:
color: dark, inky going slightly brick at the edges
nose: initially, very young and fruity, with an intense whack of cedar and pencil lead and a hint of spice; after sitting in the glass for 10 minutes, it's transformed to soy sauce, herbs, dark fruit, cedar and a hint of butterscotch
palate: medium body, fully resolved tannins, healthy acidity, plummy fruit, earthy undertones

My guess was a Mèdoc from the mid-'90s and I settle on '96. Jean then unveils the bottle to reveal the 1990 Chateau Pichon-Longueville Baron. OK, so maybe the slightly roasted character should have tilted me more toward a hot year like '90, but the wine seemed just too damn youthful to be 18 years old. The cork was also a marvel, looking like it could have gone another 20 years without breaking a sweat. After our first glass, we decanted the rest of the bottle and enjoyed the more evolved nose and flavors of the decanted wine.

Mark Lipton

Lovely note, Mark. Wish my wife would involve herself in such pleasantries!

Happy New Year to you both from your friend downunder!

Mark, two questions. Re guessing '96 Medoc. Do you see many '96 Medocs going brick on the edges?

Secondly, I decided not to touch my '90 PLB for a few years. Would you say that a typical bottle would improve with time, or is this as good a time as any to crack one?

Mark, two questions. Re guessing '96 Medoc. Do you see many '96 Medocs going brick on the edges?

Alas, I have not the experience to give an authoritative answer here, but the very slight bricking I saw isn't inconsistent with my experience with 12-y.o. Bdx from decent years. Paulliac is probably less prone to bricking than other communes, on average, but as I say I am hardly an authority on such matters.

Secondly, I decided not to touch my '90 PLB for a few years. Would you say that a typical bottle would improve with time, or is this as good a time as any to crack one?

My cellar is a bit warmer than many, so yours might be a bit more backward than mine. My impression is that this wine will improve further, as it still seemed fairly primary before decanting [disclaimer: I drink Bdx for the tertiary elements, so I like 'em aged -- I suspect that the same holds for you]. FWIW, the posted notes on CT mostly indicate maturity, but I don't see any from people I know and trust.

Mark Lipton