No wine Tuesday with bluefish, sweet potatoes, broccoli and salad before going into the cit.y
Wednesday our Bordeaux group met at Smith & Wollensky’s at our favorite table, and we did our second 1996 horizontal of the year.
I started with crab cake
Chartogne-Taillet Chemin de Reims Champagne
I believe I was told this was 2020 base Pretty tight, but nice balance underneath. Sweet apple, pear, hint of vanilla, nuts. Fine but persistent mousse. B/B+ for now,but likely to get better.
2007 Philipponnat, Clos des Goisses Brut Champagne
Citrus and pear, pastry, marzipan, fresh and lively. Complex and complete, A-
My main was a bone in sirloin, sides were spinach, onion rings, and hash browns
1996 Ch. Grand Puy Lacoste
Cassis and black plum, young, cigarbox and earth. A-/B+
1996 Ch. Leoville Poyferre
Blackcurrant, anise, truffle. Rich with an lush texture, but structure to back it up. A-/B+
1996 Ch. Ducru-Beaucaillou
Black currant, tobacco and licorice, elegant but powerful. Very long future. A-
1996 Ch. Pichon Lalande
Cassis, red plum, elegantly herbal just a hint of barnyard. Long and lovely. A-
1996 Ch. Pichon Baron
Structured, big but supple tannins, dark fruit and coffee. Long. B+/A-
1996 Ch. Calon Segur
Black fruit but a bit less exuberant than some of the others, earth, leaves. Tannins just a little rough (Chris disagreed) B
1996 Ch. Montrose
Sturdy, black plum with mushrooms/truffle, saddle leather. Good, young. B/B+
2001 Ch Lafaurie-Peyraugey (375)
Dark color.Rich, propped up by those 2001 acids. Apricot, orange marmalade, caramel candy. No hurry but drinking nicely. B+/A-
Group voting (every wine made multiple people’s top 3)
Pichon Lalande 11
Leoville Poyferre 9
Ducru Beaucaillou 7
Pichon Baron 6
Grand Puy Lacoste 4
Calon Segur 3
Montrose 3
Should have been 42 pts total, someone added a extra point
Grade disclaimer: I'm a very easy grader, basically A is an excellent wine, B a good wine, C drinkable. Anything below C means I wouldn't drink at a party where it was the only choice. Furthermore, I offer no promises of objectivity, accuracy, and certainly not of consistency.