On Nov 25, 9:00*am, "Bill S." > wrote:
> Notes from a blind tasting dinner of Bordeaux wine.
>
> 1997 Brocard Chablis Le Clos – OK, so not a Bordeaux, but we had to
> sip something while waiting for everyone to arrive. *Considerable
> colour on this and no real chardonnay hints – two of us asked if there
> was Semillon in it. Full ripe nose, long sweet slide across midpalate,
> with lots of acidity, and good balance, the only disappointing thing
> being the finish, which I thought was too short.
>
> With elephant garlic and melted brie:
>
> 2001 Carbonnieux – pleasant nose with hints of lime, nice and crisp.
> Decent wine.
>
> With sablefish and crab with cauliflower and grapefruit beurre blanc:
>
> 1983 Lynch Bages – notably good nose with some barnyard, medium body,
> smooth supple wine with decent length. *This drinks well but the fact
> that it eventually faded in the glass indicates that it should be
> drunk up.
>
> With quail stuffed with chorizo and chestnut:
>
> 1985 Lynch Bages – a totally unplanned juxtaposition of these wines.
> ASlways enjoy the 85s and this was no exception – big youngish wine
> with huge bell pepper nose, not very tannic, and with pretty decent
> length.
>
> 2002 Lynch Bages – a different creature entirely, dark, youthful, with
> coffee/mocha notes in the nose, supple smooth midpalate and burnt
> sugar nearing the end.
>
> With shortrib linguini:
>
> 1999 Pavie – once again, new territory here, a big dark modern wine
> with graphite and currant nose and some complexity staring to develop,
> mellow and smooth with big flavours and only soft tannins, ready for
> prime time.
>
> With pork tenderloin stuffed with foie gras and wild rice:
>
> 2000 Leoville Poyferre – another killer wine, dark, and with a deep
> spicy quality to the nose, big and tannic, good acidity, showing some
> flavour development on palate, just before the tannins clamp down
> again near the end. *A wine with promise that needs a few more years.
>
> 1986 Talbot – big leather and musky fruit nose, balanced in the mouth
> with adequate fruit some tannin, and lots of acidity. The nose was SO
> much like a Northern Rhone..! *I have a half case of this I haven’t
> touched. *Think I’ll leave it a couple more years to see what
> happens. *Maybe I should have put one in as a ringer in my La Chapelle
> tasting!
>
> 1999 Yquem – what a fantastic way to end this event – a year that
> produced not the huge sweet ripe behemoths, but the clean, fairly
> sweet but well balanced wine like this, with fresh acidity, very long
> clean finish, and some enticing elements of crème caramel and lemon.
> Lovely wine.
>
> All in all an exceptional array of wines and food.

Thanks for the notes. It's interesting that I have every single wine
you have listed in my cellar and I'm also a LaChapelle fan. I was
interested in your take on the '85 LB since I've had quite a bit of
bottle variation. The last two have been quite mature but up until
recently the wine was still quite youthful. I also found you notes on
the Brocard fairly consistant with mine. I still have three mags left
and I plan on drinking them soon.