On Feb 3, 11:28*am, "Bi!!" > wrote:
> On Feb 3, 9:48*am, DaleW > wrote:
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> > Last night Matt organized a 1985 Bordeaux *horizontal at Morton's in
> > midtown. I was looking forward to this as a fan of '85, but still was
> > amazed how well these showed overall. Incredibly solid lineup, even
> > though many aren't the pricier wines of the vintage.
>
> > Morton’s is great for me location-wise (6 minute walk to Grand
> > Central),. and certainly the meat works well with Bordeaux. The issue
> > is always the appetizers, none very red friendly, so I just went ahead
> > with scallops in bacon (scallop, water, bacon, wine- rinse and
> > repeat). Since I had just had steak at Pratt's Sunday I went with lamb
> > chops- ok, but bone in filet for me next time. Waitstaff was attentive
> > and generous with stems, though I thought John was going to have a
> > coronary watching them tilt and twist bottles on opening (a couple of
> > wines were double-decanted in advance, but this time I had no time
> > between work and train to do the Talbot and Gruaud).
>
> > We started with a mystery wine, even though it was not blind. I had
> > recently acquired cheaply a bottle of Zilliken that was believed to be
> > 1990, but *had no vintage, *pradikat, AP # , or vineyard on label.
> > Just the Zilliken Forstmiester Geltz name/emblem, old Skurnik import
> > strip, nothing else. When I removed capsule it seemed to be real lead,
> > which makes a little older than 1990 likely. Wine was mature but quite
> > alive, *softer acids, peachy fruit, some slately minerality. I'd guess
> > Spatlese based on sweetness, obviously from a softer vintage.. John
> > thought maybe it was something like an 82, and maybe from a vineyard
> > other than Rausch, as it lacked a bit of grip. Enjoyable wine, and fun
> > way to drink blind with the label showing. B
>
> > On to the reds. A really solid showing, and I'm probably grading a
> > little tougher than usual, to provide gradation in a tight field.
>
> > Flight 1
> > 1985 Talbot (St Julien)
> > Surprise of the night. A solid Cordier funk on opening, but more
> > horsey than horsedung. Open and ready, a strong iron filing note and
> > some tobacco, good length. Classic ripe St Julien, and just edged the
> > Poyferre for me this night. A-
>
> > 1985 Leoville Poyferre (St Julien)
> > Real earthy notes on nose, sweet cassis fruit, good acids, tannins
> > still present but smooth. *Nice length. Nice wine with a future. While
> > I preferred the Talbot side by side, in 10 years I think this would
> > rule. A-
>
> > Flight 2
> > 1985 Gruaud Larose (St Julien)
> > Minty/herby, just a bit of barnyard, black currants and plums. Really
> > a nice wine, though maybe a bit rough/blocky compared to its immediate
> > predecessors. B+
>
> > 1985 Ducru Beaucaillou (St Julien)
> > Earth and mushrooms, slightly stewed edge to the black fruits, with a
> > little musty note that I didn't think was TCA. This was a recent
> > acquistion, and consensus was it had seen some warmth at some point.
> > NR
>
> > Ben's Mystery Wine #1
> > Nice wine, soft acids, some wood tannins, cassis with spice and
> > cedar.
> > Guesses were all over the place, though solidly centered on Bdx
> > varietals. We had guesses of Left and Right Bank, Tuscany, etc. My
> > guess was 1983 Margaux AC, but it was actually the 1982 Grand Puy
> > Lacoste. B+/A-
>
> > Flight 3
> > 1985 Lafite-Rothschild (Pauillac)
> > Much more open than a bottle John served a couple years ago, though
> > still *a little tight. Black currants, lead pencil, cigarbox, powerful
> > and elegant. Very long finish. A-/A
>
> > 1985 Lynch Bages (Pauillac)
> > Full and ripe and exotic, really giving and open wine. Dark fruits,
> > spice, a little saddle leather and coffee. A-/B+
>
> > Flight 4
> > 1985 Canon (St Emilion)
> > I was alone in finding it my WOTN, but I just loved this. Heady mix of
> > red and black fruits, wonderfully balanced acids and tannins, fresh,
> > herbal, long. A/A-
>
> > 1985 L’Evangile (Pomerol)
> > Minty/eucalyptus notes (a bit of a theme for the evening), soft, lush.
> > Really quite a nice wine that I would love to have on my table, but
> > slightly overshadowed by some of the others that were showing more
> > structure and grip. B/B+
>
> > Ben's Mystery Wine #2
> > There was a funny caramelly note to the nose here, less apparent on
> > palate, but somewhat clipped. He said he got at auction, and the guess
> > was a little heat sometime along the way. 1986 Montelena
>
> > 2001 Coutet (Barsac)
> > Apricot, peaches, and toffee. This is softer than I expected. I always
> > think of 01 Sauternes as being a great combination of powerful fruit
> > and zippy acids, this has the former but not the latter. Softest
> > acidity of any 01 Sauternes I remember. Not a bad drink by any means,
> > but less lively. B
>
> > Really excellent evening, with nice group and an amazingly consistent
> > lineup of wines. Special thanks to Matt for organizing. Other than the
> > couple that showed provenance issues, any wine last night could have
> > easily stood proudly as the centerpiece of a dinner. Viva la '85!
>
> > 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.**
>
> Sounds like a great night. *'85 Bordeaux is always a favorite vintage
> of mine. *Good fruit, great balance and structure. *The 1985 Lynch
> Bages and Ducru are both perennial favorites of mine and I'm glad to
> see that they are both drinking well.

actually this Ducru wasn't drinking well, bad storage likely, but all
reports are that sound bottles are very very good/