Invited Christian and Remo over in late May (or early June?). Christian brought along a bottle despite the fact I had told them wine and dinner would be on me (and that I would serve all wines double-blind!) – but then, who would argue with people who bring along bottles of Château Latour? Could not keep Remo from spontaneously pulling out a half bottle either – it always amazes me that people are still thirsty after a bottle-plus per person...
Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande Pauillac 1994
Full, still quite deep ruby-black. Still a bit youthfully closed, but not unapproachable. Lead pencil, firm blackcurrant, nice oak, pretty tannin for a 1994 (the PLL to me is really one of the wines of the vintage). Very well-balanced wine, no more concentrated than the 1998 Latour, but livelier, fruitier, with much better vinosity – and the more convincing the longer it aired. Took a while (was really drunk up too quickly), but in the end, as good a bottle as I have had. Quite long on the finish. Even if it took him a short while, Remo eventually recognized the wine, which so far he had only know in form of bottles he bought at (eBay – any questions?) auction – quite a feat! Rating: 92+/93(+?)
Château Haut Brion Pessac-Léognan 1993
My last half bottle. Glossier, mature-looking garnet-black. Lightly scorched brick clay earth, cedar, matchstick, racy cherry, finesseful and subtle, very long (and nicely balmy on the finish, unlike some bottles). A rare roundness (I probably liked the 1993 best around the age of ten to twelve) that led Christian to assume it might be Pomerol – really as smooth a bottle of 1993 HB as I have had in recent years. Lovely terroir expression for the vintage. Rating: 91
Foucault Clos Rougeard Saumur-Champigny Le Bourg 1996
First bottle initially seemed (looking a fraction murkier) misstored (first bottle from a second batch I bought directly from the importer), but turned out to be simply cork-tainted and fractionally oxidized (it was still good enough to taste, so that my guest tried to convince me not to open a second bottle at first – but that seemed partly due to prejudice against Loire Cabernet Franc, which at least Christian figured could not possibly far well in the company of Bordeaux). Second bottle (first batch) needed a long time in the decanter (this is still a bit young) but turned out to be as good as expected. Medium ruby-black. By far the most complex and finesseful wine of the night. Incredible graphite minerality and tobacco notes. “The sweetness of a Côte-Rôtie” is what Remo said, who would not stop repeating “now I understand what you have been talking about all along.” Great grip, intensity and length. Still needs lots of time to open up fruit and sweetness. Christian, however, made up his mind quickly, found it “highly respectable” but was quick to add that “it is quite obviously the kind of wine you like” (by which he is referring to attributes such as that it is extremely minerally, not of the obvious, easygoing and modern-styled sort, backed by less oak-induced/barrique-polished tannin and higher acidity than the modern-style Bordeaux he likes – even if the 1996 Le Bourg is probably not high-acid by Loire standards at all). No use denying it: I am rather predictable given the choice between a wine that throws itself at me, and a mesmerizing abyss of a wine. Note I will not say there is something inherently wrong with wine that craves versus wine that awakens one’s attention – it is merely that effect wears off more quickly than substance. Or so I thought: given the majority of wines on the market today, I must be wrong... Rating: 97(+?)
Château Latour Pauillac 1998
Thanks to Christian. Virtually opaque, but not too glossy, plummy ruby-red. Noble if faintly walnutty oak, lead pencil, some mocha, soft spice, relatively firm and medium chocolatey-sweet, partly closed “fruit” (not really a fruity wine). Fairly thick, but this could be much racier. Fairly minerally, not impressively so for Latour. Just fairly long, nowhere as powerful or precise as this wine can be. Of the left bank wines, I much prefer the (admittedly atypical for the site) Lafite. To really put this into perspective, the 1993 Haut Brion, by far not the greatest of all time, was and always has been a better (since less sullen and potentially dull) wine. Christian was enthusiastic at first (as is his wont), soon started to find fault with it, and by the end of the evening came away swearing he would sell off his remaining bottles the following day. I will only say this much: in vintages like this, 1er Crus seem to me to have a yet worse QPR than in top vintages (which at least have the ability to make one momentarily forget about the price). Rating: ~90(+/-?)
Clos des Papes Châteauneuf-du-Pape 2006
Yet another half bottle thanks to Remo. Although this appears to be slowly closing down in bottle, this one showed more sweetness and Kirsch fruit again, along with high alcohol (the 15.2% alcohol really only integrated in the most perfumy red-fruity early bottles). Comparatively little of the roasted Provençal herbs and pepper – every bottle has been slightly different, if not in quality, then expression. Nice acids for a 2006. Quite long and nicely tannic on the finish. Rating: 93(+?)
Greetings from Switzerland, David.
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„J'ai gâché vingt ans de mes plus belles années au billard. Si c'était à refaire, je recommencerais.“ – Roger Conti