Tonight, I came home to find Jean preparing a dinner of ribeyes, corn on
the cob and Tater Tots (catering to Andrew's food preferences) --
actually the steaks were waiting for me to grill, which I did. When we
sat down to dinner, I was greeted with a brown-bagged bottle:

1995 Ch. Pichon-Longueville Baron
color: dark garnet center going brick on the edges
nose: initially, pencil lead and dark fruit; after a splash decant, mint
and cedar
palate: somewhat closed in, cassis, slightly coarse tannins that
softened after the decant

Of course, I was asked to guess what I was drinking. My first thought
was Bordeaux, but I switched to a structured CalCab (of which we have a
few) after failing to get much in the way of the secondary
characteristics I usually get in Bordeaux (earthy, herbal) and getting
clear Cabernet Sauvignon character. My final guess was of a '94
California Cabernet. When I saw that it was a '95 Pauillac, I didn't
feel too bad about my acumen, but I was still surprised at the relative
simplicity of the wine. We saved half the bottle for later evaluation
to see how it would evolve.

Mark Lipton
--
alt.food.wine FAQ: http://winefaq.cwdjr.net

On Jun 18, 11:53*pm, Mark Lipton > wrote:
> Tonight, I came home to find Jean preparing a dinner of ribeyes, corn on
> the cob and Tater Tots (catering to Andrew's food preferences) --
> actually the steaks were waiting for me to grill, which I did. *When we
> sat down to dinner, I was greeted with a brown-bagged bottle:
>
> 1995 Ch. Pichon-Longueville Baron
> color: dark garnet center going brick on the edges
> nose: initially, pencil lead and dark fruit; after a splash decant, mint
> and cedar
> palate: somewhat closed in, cassis, slightly coarse tannins that
> softened after the decant
>
> Of course, I was asked to guess what I was drinking. *My first thought
> was Bordeaux, but I switched to a structured CalCab (of which we have a
> few) after failing to get much in the way of the secondary
> characteristics I usually get in Bordeaux (earthy, herbal) and getting
> clear Cabernet Sauvignon character. *My final guess was of a '94
> California Cabernet. *When I saw that it was a '95 Pauillac, I didn't
> feel too bad about my acumen, but I was still surprised at the relative
> simplicity of the wine. *We saved half the bottle for later evaluation
> to see how it would evolve.
>
> Mark Lipton
> --
> alt.food.wine FAQ: *http://winefaq.cwdjr.net

thanks for the note. Slightly disappointing, as Pichon Baron is only
"serious" '95 Medoc I own (I have Dauzac and Meyney too). I'll wait a
few years and hope something develops

DaleW wrote:

> thanks for the note. Slightly disappointing, as Pichon Baron is only
> "serious" '95 Medoc I own (I have Dauzac and Meyney too). I'll wait a
> few years and hope something develops

Yeah, no hurry on this (Jean's a less patient soul than I am). We're in
a similar strait, having only IIRC a couple of bottles of the
Haut-Marbuzet from that year.

Mark Lipton
--
alt.food.wine FAQ: http://winefaq.cwdjr.net

"Mark Lipton" wrote .......
>
> (Jean's a less patient soul than I am).


Aha - Jean sounds like my kind of woman!

Isn't there some research project you can arrange together downunder?

A