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WTNs: 75 Trotanoy, 83 Pichon Lalande, 86 GPL

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Michael Malinoski

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WTNs: 75 Trotanoy, 83 Pichon Lalande, 86 GPL

by Michael Malinoski » Wed Jan 23, 2013 1:14 pm

A little while back, I attended a morning outing with a couple of good friends and then three of us retired back to the house for lunch and a few bottles of wine. These were pretty much pop and pour, though we were able to sit with them for a good long while to follow their progression.

2007 Merry Edwards Sauvignon Blanc Russian River Valley. This is a fun wine to drink, starting off with a citrusy bouquet of lime, kiwi, melon, flint and background notes of brown spices. It is fairly full and generous in the mouth, especially for a Sauvignon Blanc, with a generous bottom note and plenty of fleshy yet lively flavors of melon, peach, lime and soft oak. It is creamy-textured, not shy, a tad plump, but fine-flowing and easy to enjoy.

1975 Chateau Trotanoy Pomerol. This wine presents a very healthy and robust nose full of funky truffle, mushroom, tobacco, forest floor, iodine and rusty nail aromas allied to tangier bits of cranberry and sour cherry fruit that work really nicely together. In the mouth, it is medium-weighted but smooth and luxuriant in texture—loaded with fine flavors of cassis, plums and red currants, along with dried blood and earthy gypsum sorts of accents. I like the red flower-tinged inner mouth perfume that emanates from it, as well. It is a sort of sexy-sweet, open and easy package for the most part, though eventually those ’75 tannins start to clamp down on the finish. It might not be entirely profound or anything, but I must say it is a real treat to drink.

1983 Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande Pauillac. The nose here seems fairly serious and dense, with classic aromas of tobacco leaf, dry dirt, green peppers, red currants and red licorice rope showing plenty of vigor to my way of thinking. There’s plenty of complexity here and I find myself returning to the glass quite often trying to capture additional nuances. In the mouth, it is solidly-structured and richly-fruited at its core, yet rather nuanced and finessed in its top notes. It is quite giving with its full flavors of red currant, red licorice, grilled herbs and liquid smoke—feeling smooth, balanced and surprisingly effortless across the palate despite a muscular tension throughout. It is solidly packed and still showing a bit tightly-wound and waiting for full release, seemingly. Overall, it is great for drinking now, but at least based on this one (un-decanted) bottle, I would have no trouble holding it, either.

1986 Château Grand-Puy-Lacoste Pauillac. This is definitely the most brooding and dark-toned wine of the trio, featuring aromas of black currant, blackberry, lead pencil, black earth, rich chocolate and hardened lava rock. In the mouth, it packs a lot of energy and verve to go with its gripping flavors of black currant, blackberry, dark mocha and smoky char. The tannins are definitely in play here, creating a drier impression to the wine the longer the afternoon unfolds. I really do like the liveliness and intensity of the wine, but I would certainly prefer to drink it with another 5 years or so of cellar time under its belt.


-Michael
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Salil

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Re: WTNs: 75 Trotanoy, 83 Pichon Lalande, 86 GPL

by Salil » Wed Jan 23, 2013 1:28 pm

That sounds like a bit of an underperformance for Trotanoy. I'm a fan of very few 75s given the massive tannic structure in all the wines, but the '75 from my one experience was an otherworldly, incredibly profound and layered wine.
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Michael Malinoski

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Re: WTNs: 75 Trotanoy, 83 Pichon Lalande, 86 GPL

by Michael Malinoski » Wed Jan 23, 2013 1:44 pm

Thanks, Salil. That is helpful. I would definitely say the Trotanoy was layered, but I can't say it was profound. Seems like this was a bit more advanced than the bottle you so enjoyed. I still very much enjoyed it, though, don't get me wrong!! :)
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Re: WTNs: 75 Trotanoy, 83 Pichon Lalande, 86 GPL

by Bill Spohn » Wed Jan 23, 2013 2:51 pm

I agree about the 75 Trotanoy - probably bottle variation, as good bottles are amazing. Which reminds me, I better get to my 64 Trot soon.

On that 75 vintage, the best bottle I've ever tasted was the La Mission (I only have one left). The Las Cases has finally c ome around and the Barton drinks well. Wish I had some Trot!

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