A few weeks back, a bunch of folks gathered up in Maine for a very fun weekend. I posted my tasting notes on the wines we drank on the first night a while back (viewtopic.php?f=3&t=26983) and I am finally following up with the tasting notes from the second night of our drinking binge. These were drunk with some really good take-out food, a bunch of leftover lobster rolls, tons of artisinal cheeses, cheesecakes and a batch of whoopie pies.
1996 Lanson Champagne Gold Label Brut. This is really crisp and vibrant on the nose, with taut lemon verbena aromas accented by finely-honed minerals. In the mouth, it is much the same—with great crunchy acidity and minerality framed by a taut, tight structure. Hard lemon candy, talc, sour orange ball and cherry pit flavors are fleshy and full, but with abundant freshness and cut. This is really youthful and seems like an easy ager, but is delightful to drink now.
1998 Pol Roger Champagne Brut. The Pol Roger has a nice open nose featuring overt aromas of burnt matchstick, yeast, slate, spiced apple, cherry pit, lemon ball and powdered graphite. It has an appealing complexity, and seems large in scope yet refined in scent. It really froths up in the mouth and fills the cavity with powerful and very tasty flavors of pear, lemon/lime and minerals. It feels lively and directed, yet richly-fruited and generous. Another one that is drinking nicely right now.
1990 Pol Roger Champagne Brut Rose. This just smells ‘off’ somehow, with stinky sulfur, rotting mulch and pungently oxidized red fruit aromas making it really off-putting. In the mouth, it tastes caramelized and nasty. Chalk this up to a bad bottle.
2003 Château Prieurie-Lichine Le Blanc de Prieure-Lichine Bordeaux. My wife and I tasted this at the Chateau in late 2006 and liked it well enough to buy this one bottle and age it a bit. That was obviously a mistake, as this has turned into something rather odd and wacky. It smells bizarrely of dried banana chips, plantains, Skittles candies, salty chicken broth, blonde wood furniture, lemon meringue and a handful of nails. In the mouth, it has an oily texture and tastes of toasted meringue and marshmallow, briny broth, lemon peel and barrel spices. Those flavors stay a bit narrow through the middle and expand a bit on the back, finishing with decent length aided by good acidity that comes on strong late. In retrospect, though, this should have been drunk 2 years ago.
1994 Philip Togni Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley. The ’94 Togni has a masculine aromatic profile featuring notes of black earth, charcoal, creosote, chocolate frappe and a deep core of mysterious red and black fruits. There are also fine framing notes of mint leaf, leather, tobacco and garlic skin in there, with the leather and tobacco notes really picking up intensity as one stays with the wine. In the mouth, it is kicking up its heels right from the start--with a good shot of flavors including black currant jam, black cherry, green pepper and dark chocolate. The acidity is in perfect balance and everything just sort of seems to fall effortlessly into place. It has a nice dense bass note but also some tangier top notes, especially toward the back of the palate, which also features a long, seamless finish.
2001 Philip Togni Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley. The 2001 is darker, richer and more densely focused on the nose than its older sibling. It features aromas of charred coffee beans, black licorice, black currant jam, raw leather, grilled pepper skins and dark chocolate. A second glass later on adds in more of a cherry liqueur note. On the palate, it is extremely dense and rather extracted, but ridiculously creamy and lush—pumping out delicious flavors of black currants, chocolate, creamy black cherry and dark smoke. It is supple but also totally sinewy and youthfully structured, though there are no hard edges to be found anywhere. The tannins are fine-honed and controlled. This was one of my favorite wines of the night and is one that can be enjoyed now or held a good long while without concern.
1990 Vieux Château Certan Pomerol. This is giving and complex on the nose, with a warmly engaging profile that features aromas of fine herbs, gently roasted red fruit, sliced jalapeno, white pepper and old rawhide leather. It feels largely resolved in the mouth, and it seems to show some of the warmth of the vintage--with a flavor profile of mildly roasted yet tangy cherries and red currants. It is softy-rounded, easy-flowing and tasty. There is not a lot of cut or precision here, but rather class and engaging warmth.
1989 Château Montrose St. Estephe. This was open about 3 hours by the time I got to it, and the early word was that it was very tight for the first couple of hours. But at 3 hours, it sure was right in my wheelhouse! It features a fantastic bouquet that is serious and earthy, yet lively and robust. Aromas of horsehide, sweaty saddle leather, soft tobacco, chocolate paste and glossy black fruits are just the opening salvo. Later on, less earthy and more exotic notes of spice cake, incense and dark smoke all find openings to express themselves. There’s just something new every time you put your nose in the glass. In the mouth, it is glossy but very dense, concentrated and full-flavored. It is voluptuous, layered and seamless, with tannins building over time but never really interfering too much until perhaps the last sip or two. There is fine drive that helps give this a smooth flowing feel that almost defies logic given the pasty concentration of raw material. This is just wonderful now, but has years to go. My WOTN.
1995 Château Pichon-Longueville Baron Pauillac. This wine features lifted aromas of tar oil, campfire ember and light incense riding above a richer pool of dark cherry and classy mixed fruit. In the mouth, it feels finely-pedigreed, with a nice fresh character. Red currant, ripe cherry and black raspberry fruit flavors flow along in a medium- to full-bodied package that has a silky feel to it. Tannins are in play, and support a notable but not too strict framing structure. Overall, it is sophisticated and well-rounded.
1996 Château Branaire Ducru St. Julien. This wine sports a nice bouquet of black raspberry, creamy mixed currants, dark cocoa powder and fireplace ashes in a fairly silky yet substantial blend. It is smooth and cool in the mouth, with an extracted feel to the fudge, red currant and black cherry flavors. There is a very big blast of acidity that announces itself right from the get go and carries the wine along but can also feel a bit extreme at times. It finishes more on the sour red cherry and berry-fruited side of things, with a linear, tannic character that when combined with the acids leaves a sour, tangy impression on the finish.
1973 Château Pape Clement Pessac-Leognan. The nose here is light and airy, as wispy aromas of orange peel, persimmon, faded flowers, spiced cranberry pie, old hard leather and a touch of jalapeno slice waft up nicely from the glass. In the mouth, the fine fruit and the spicy accents have narrowed their focus down to a fairly narrow spot on the palate, but are pretty and gentle in nature. It feels a bit ethereal at times, but does also have some denser red fruit that shows itself from time to time. The acidity is not austere in any way, but does take too much of a center stage at times. Although it has some interesting tertiary things going on, it certainly needs drinking now.
1999 Luciano Sandrone Barolo Le Vigne. After all was said and done, there was still a thirst for more wine, and a few bottles were put up for offer, with the group settling on this change of pace Barolo. We really needed to have decanted this some hours beforehand, as it is really tight on the nose, and never really does fully open up for us. It does show some moderate notes of silky berry fruit but otherwise doesn’t feel like sharing at this stage of its evolution. In the mouth, it is even more youthfully tight, with super-drying tannins and acidity combining to really pucker up the cheeks and shrivel the tongue. There is a lot of dry extract of rich chocolate and dark berry flavors, but it is dominated by the sour acidity and massive concentration of tannin. Although this showed really well in its youth, I thought, it is in serious hibernation right now.
2003 Château Lafaurie Peyraguey Sauternes. Served from 375 ml bottle. My note here is based on only a small pour of this wine, but even in small doses, this is a Sauternes that really shines. The nose shows delightful density of apricot, toasted orange peel, spiced pineapple candy and coconut meat aromas. In the mouth, it has great density and viscosity, with lovely flavors of vanilla bean, apricots, and botrytis spices. It has a gorgeous overall character and a creamy and limpid feel to it that really entrances.
1999 Château Rieussec Sauternes. Served from 375 ml bottle. Sadly, I missed this one.
2003 Château d’Arche Sauternes. Served from 375 ml bottle. This is the second time I’ve had this in recent months, and both times it has been very good, especially considering the price point it has been selling for at the New Hampshire State Liquor Store. Aromatically speaking, it features an interesting musky note right off the top that then combines exotically with additional scents of apricot, caramel, crème brulee topping, vanilla and mace in a really luscious, sweet and velvety package that totally fills the nostrils and delights the senses. In the mouth, it has a good balance between rich fruit and a sharp-edged acidity. The flavor spectrum is a lot like the nose, and overall it offers up a big mouthful of sweet, rich fruit and judicious wood spices. It finishes very long, with a nice lacquered feel that has good drive and freshness, too. I should have bought more of this.
-Michael