St. Emilion ofline in NYC. Nice night at East River Cafe, good to see
old friends and meet a couple new ones. Setting was nice, if a bit
loud. I enjoyed our table appetizers (carpaccio, calamari, melon and
proscuitto) and my gnocchi (w/veal ragu) starter; they need a hotter
grill- I ordered rare to medium rare lamb chops, they were rare but a
light tan color on outside. A little char, please.

Overall wines showed quite nicely:

1970 Soutard
Nice mature Bordeaux nose, lots of forest floor and cedar. Red fruit
on the palate, surprisingly low-acid. It's showing its age, a tad
short, but nose continues to evolve, with menthol and leather over the
soft cherries. Not quite as vibrant as another bottle couple years
ago. B/B+

1988 Troplong-Mondot
Maybe the surprise of the night- very different from the exotic 1989
and 1990. Good acidity, bright cassis fruit, cedar. Good length,
tannins firm but ripe, not as hard as some '88 RBs. B+

1990 Pavie-Decasse
This pre-Perse wine was another nice surprise. Young, with ripe '90
cassis fruit,lovely and fairly long. Lots of cigarbox aromas. A-

2000 Corbin
Tight, not showing a lot. Some red plum fruit and mineral notes with
time. B

1999 Peby-Faugeres
Lush, ripe, exotic. This is a new-wave St. Emilion I can like. Kirsch
and cassis, I'd be more inclined to sip through an evening than serve
with dinner. Fun slutty wine! B+/A-

2000 Monbousquet
Others liked this far better than I. I found it just a little too hot,
a little too tannic, a little too extracted, and too oaky. Maybe time
will help. B-

1998 Angelus
Really showing nicely, big black plum and berry fruit over a backdrop
of
tobacco and sandalwood. Distinct mineral note on the finish, modern
without being internationalized. A-/A

2000 Figeac
Such a distinctive nose, herbs (thyme, chervil) and green tobacco
leaf. Good blackcurrant and black cherry fruit, nice length, not quite
as big as the Angelus but with plenty of power. A-/A

2003 Fombrauge
Nose is a little lifted, yet not especially aromatic. Concentrated
sweet fruit, actually a bit too sweet for me. Might be ok by itself,
suffers greatly from following Figeac and Angelus. B-

2004 Quinault l'Enclos
Showing a lot of oak and tannins, but nice solid body of fruit.Tasted
late in the evening, would have liked to seen if it evolved. B?

We did our usual 3/2/1 favorites votes, votegetters we
Angelus 1998. Votes: 1st (3), 2nd (2), 3rd (2): Total 15 points
Figeac 2000. Votes: 1st (2), 2nd (2), 3rd (1): Total 11 points
Monbousquet 2000. Votes: 1st (1), 2nd (1), 3rd (1): Total 6 points
Pavie-Decasse 1990. Votes: 1st (1), 3rd (2): Total 5 points

Good night!

Grade disclaimer: I'm a very easy grader, basically A is an excellent
wine, B a good wine, C mediocre. Anything below C means I wouldn't
drink at a party where it was only choice. Furthermore, I offer no
promises of objectivity, accuracy, and certainly not of consistency

Nice notes, Dale. It sounds like a fun tasting. I hear you about the
Angelus: it's certainly not traditional, but there's a lot to like about
it. My experience with the '89 and '90 is that they showed a
distinctive roasted, coffee note, but that may be a function of those
two hot vintages. It's certainly a powerhouse of a wine, though.

Mark Lipton

--
alt.food.wine FAQ: http://winefaq.hostexcellence.com

On Jun 29, 10:04?am, Mark Lipton wrote:
Nice notes, Dale. It sounds like a fun tasting. I hear you about the
Angelus: it's certainly not traditional, but there's a lot to like about
it. My experience with the '89 and '90 is that they showed a
distinctive roasted, coffee note, but that may be a function of those
two hot vintages. It's certainly a powerhouse of a wine, though.

Mark Lipton

--
alt.food.wine FAQ: http://winefaq.hostexcellence.com

I don't remember having the '89, but have gotten the coffee in the 90,
which I quite liked. It's also apparent in the '95.

With way more bottles than people (and Jen not drinking much), we had
lots of leftovers. We left some for waitstaff, but I carried the 1/3
bottle of Corbin home. Last night I liked much better than at offline
- plush red fruit, tannins less apparent, a bit of graphite, an almost
Pomerol-ish lushness. Very nice for an inexpensive St Emilion.