WTN: Jadot Celebration 2015, Fonseca 1997, and more

From family dinners the Sunday before Christmas and Christmas Eve and Day.

Lapierre, Morgon 2018
Medium ruby with a hint of purple. Wonderful nose, loads of smokey earth and mineral, with dark cherry, cassis, plum, hints of tobacco and spice; great depth. On the palate, succulent, juicy black cherry and plum, with loads of spice, minty tobacco leaf, smokey mineral, and big, grippy tannin. Full bodied, succulent and very juicy, with great tone; ripe and deep. 10 years ahead? 4 Stars [12/22/19]

Louis Jadot, Celebration, 1er Cru, Beaune 2015
Only produced in the best vintages, and only the third edition ever produced, this is a blend of 19 different Premier Cru vineyards. Lovely, vibrant medium-light ruby. Immediately after opening for decanting: Gorgeous, ripe, fragrant, savory, nose that you can smell before your nose even gets to the glass; sweet, pure cherry, cranberry and blueberry, with a touch of black tea, cloves, floral perfume, all underlaid with fragrant, earthy depth; seductive nose. Similar notes on the palate, tight and thin initially, but with half an hour in the glass, gorgeous, rich, dense, pure, accentuated, savory red and dark berries, with loads of spice and tannin. Full bodied with fantastic acid tone, even the smallest sip fills the palate generously. This is a study in the balance between richness, concentration, elegance, and understated power; outrageously generous given how relatively tight and under-expressive it is at this stage. This is going to be a timeless Burgundy, with a solid 30 - 40 years ahead of it, and the potential to live well beyond that. 4 Stars with a little time in the glass, 4.5 - 5 Star projected when fully open. After decanting for 4 hours: potent, deep nose. On the palate, potent black cherry and fresh, tart blackberry, black tea, huge spice, mineral, and fine earth. Magnificently succulent and savory. Very long, outstanding finish. Needs 10 - 15 years. 4.5 Stars, with lots of upside potential. [12/22/19]

Walt, Pinot Noir, The Corners, Anderson Valley 2017
Medium ruby. Gorgeous nose: very ripe and potent, but accentuated; blackberry, blueberry, and black cherry, with black tea, cloves, tobacco leaf, huge spice, and fragrant earth. On the palate, potent, juicy, sweet and ripe blackberry and raspberry jam, tea, huge, spicy clove and nutmeg, and tons of peppery mineral and tannin. Huge, ripe, and powerful, but has the acid tone and potent structure to balance. Very similar in quality and character to a 1er Cru Beaune tasted just before, but much riper. The only shortcoming is that its 14.9% alcohol is just a bit exposed and hot, and even that is forgivable. Extremely impressive, although its ripeness will put off Burgundy purists. 10 to maybe 20 years ahead. 4.5 Stars [12/22/19]

Fonseca, Vintage Port, Porto 1997
Medium-dark garnet, bricking at the rim. Awesome nose, dense and spirity; rich raspberry and blackberry, a touch of tobacco leaf, loads of peppery spice, and tarry mineral, all with overtones of fragrant red fruits, and hints of date and raisin. On the palate, potent, sweet raspberry, blackberry, cassis, fresh raisin, and blueberry, with minty, fresh tobacco leaf, huge peppery spice, potent tanning, some salty mineral, and an awesome finish of sweet red fruit, spice, and spirit that goes on for minutes; amazing. Huge and potent body, with sweet, attractive fruit, tremendous acid tone, and remarkably elegant balance. This is a very serious, very fine red wine that just happens to be sweet. Amazing, one of the greatest Vintage Ports I’ve had. Showing very little to no tertiary development, this is just now approaching full maturity, which it might not reach for another 10 years. It has 30 - 40 years still ahead of it. Wow! 5 Stars [12/22/19]

Olivier Leflaive, Les Setilles, Bourgogne 2018
An approximately 50-50 blend of declassified Puligny-Montrachet and Meursault. Light golden yellow. Exceptional, beautiful nose of orange rind, white flowers, and stone. On the palate, ripe peach and apricot, with sweet-tart orange/citrus, with spice and stone/salty mineral; nice finish, with good length. Full bodied, sweet-tart, rich and ripe. A touch of residual sugar perhaps? Good depth of quality here. 3 Stars [12/22/19]

Cantine di Ora, Barolo 2015
Good color, pure, medium garnet, a touch of orange showing. Gorgeous, even stunning Barolo nose of pungent black cherry and dried blackberry, with loads of mushroom, leathery earth, and cured tobacco; cocoa powder emerges with air. On the palate: black cherry and fresh blackberry, wonderfully sweet-tart and succulent, with tobacco, tarry stone/mineral, cocoa powder, leathery earth, all with orangey acidity; excellent length on the spicy finish. Full bodied with a sweet, succulent, penetrating texture, all with good underlying fruit density and quality. Love it, completely absurd value at under $15 from Aldi. Wow. Has the acid and tannic grip for another 10 - 15 years. 4 Stars [12/22/19]

Les Ailes de Berliquet, Saint Emilion 2012
Grand Cru. Dark, pure, gemlike ruby. Wonderful nose, loads of cassis, black cherry, blackberry, with prominent, fragrant, minty tobacco, and dark, rich earth. Similar notes on the palate, with loads of tart, dark currant and blackberry, a touch of tobacco leaf, a hint of roses, loads of spice and mineral, and astringent tannin. Full bodied with rich, dark fruit, and good acid tone; has the classical style of a cool vintage. Best after an hour in the glass. This needs more time, give it 5 - 10 years; will last for 10 - 15, perhaps longer. 4 Stars [12/23/19]

Chateau de Birot, Cadillac - Cotes de Bordeaux 2010
76% Merlot, 18% Cab Sauv, 6% Cab Franc. Medium-dark garnet/ruby, some fading at the rim. The nose is low key but loaded with Cab Franc-style blackberry, herbaceous tobacco, and spice, with deep notes of stoney earth, and perhaps a whiff of rose; rich and dense; lovely nose. On the palate, intense, sweet-tart blackberry with touches of cassis and plum, generous herbaceous/minty tobacco leaf, spice, potent tannin, and generous stone/mineral depth on a medium length finish. Full bodied and potent, ripe and dense, with very prominent, juicy, sweet-tart acidity. A typical 2010, intense, ripe, racy, potent structure. Will benefit from 5 more years, and last for 10 - 15. Impressive! 3.5 Stars [12/24/19]

[David M. Bueker]

So the Jadot "Celebration" is the same type of cuvée as the 150th anniversary Beaune 1er Cru bottling in 2009?

Wow, the Jadot Celebration sounds wonderful. And thanks for the note on the 1997 Fonseca. I have several 1997 vintage Ports in my cellar. Guess I'll be keeping my hands off them for a while. I opened a 1995 Warre over the holidays, and like your 1997 Fonseca it's just sliding into the plateau of maturity.

-Paul W.

So the Jadot "Celebration" is the same type of cuvée as the 150th anniversary Beaune 1er Cru bottling in 2009?

Yes. As I understand it, you could consider 2009 to be the first vintage of Celebration, retroactively.

Wow, the Jadot Celebration sounds wonderful. And thanks for the note on the 1997 Fonseca. I have several 1997 vintage Ports in my cellar. Guess I'll be keeping my hands off them for a while. I opened a 1995 Warre over the holidays, and like your 1997 Fonseca it's just sliding into the plateau of maturity.

-Paul W.

I'm starting to come to the opinion that Vintage Ports are wasted if drunk too young.

I'm starting to come to the opinion that Vintage Ports are wasted if drunk too young.

What he said! I'm drinking my last few 1970s (only Taylor left), which may be slightly past their prime, and starting on the 1977s (the Taylor is terrific). For my taste, the '82s and '83s aren't at their best yet. I don't expect to live long enough for the '94s to peak.

Death, here is thy sting! (In case anyone's worried, no special problems, just pondering mortality at age 71.)

And speaking of 'lucky man', I got into wine in the early '80s, when great wine was still affordable ('82 Mouton for US$48, '82 Las Cases for $16, '83 Hermitage La Chappelle for $13). It seems like a dream now.

[David M. Bueker]

How many houses declared a 1982 vintage Port? I thought ‘83 was the general declaration.

How many houses declared a 1982 vintage Port? I thought ‘83 was the general declaration.

Croft, Niepoort, Sandeman and Noval (including a Nacional) and others declared it. It was good enough that many made single-quinta vintage ports. I've had Calem Quinta da Foz, Taylor Quinta de Vargellas and Graham Malvedos.

FWIW, in James Suckling's book Vintage Port, he lists 30 '82s he tasted. but only 26 '83s.

I tasted the Celebration at a do downtown, marvelous wine.

Agreed on the hazards of drinking vintage Port too young. I still have some Taylor from my birth year (1955). 1970 Nacional is just hitting its stride.

Regarding 1982, IIRC most houses opted to declare 1983 instead. Several 1982s were issued as single-quinta vintage Ports. A lot of 1982 went into replenishing the stocks for premium non-vintage blends. 82/83 was the first really good vintage since 1970. 1977 got declared because there was talk of the Port houses being nationalized, and although it wasn't a great vintage it might be their last chance to produce a vintage Port as independent entities. 1980 was OK but not great.

-Paul W.

1977 got declared because there was talk of the Port houses being nationalized, and although it wasn't a great vintage it might be their last chance to produce a vintage Port as independent entities.

You're thinking of 1975 - that was the year they were worried about nationalization. 1977 was a classic vintage. The '77 Taylor is terrific.

You're right. It was 1975 I was thinking about.

-Paul W.