Matt organized a horizontal of 1999 Bordeaux last night at Public
restaurant, a bustling place on Elizabeth St in "Nolita." A nice group
of regulars gathered, plus former regular David had come in from
London for the Zachys auction. Guys were quite gracious when I
couldn't find either of the 2 Montroses I had listed in CT, I
substituted a LynchBages.

Decent stems, friendly service. The food wasn't the most Bordeaux-
friendly, but we found some compromises, and the food quality was
pretty good.

Starter was the 1999 Monbousquet Blanc. I'm not generally a fan of Bdx
blanc outside of Graves, and this did nothing to change my mind. A bit
flat and low acid, fairly advanced, a little weird green oak note. C

Ben had a mystery wine. Solid red fruit, good acids, minty/menthol
nose. Quite fresh, resolved tannins, very tasty. 1977 Mondavi Cabernet
Sauvignon Reserve B+/A-

Pomerol Flight
1999 Clos L’Eglise - red fruit, coffee, I like the nose on this, but
the palate has some rather hard tannins. B/B-

1999 Trotanoy - very cool at first, not much nose and high acids. As
it warmed it filled out a bit, some redcurrant fruit, but pretty
austere. Maybe it needs time, but I'm not a fan. B-


My starter was a ballantine of quail, foie gras, and pistachio, with a
little beet side, my dish of the night

St Emilion Flight
1999 Pavie Macquin
sweet black fruit, coffee, mocha, could use a bit more depth and
length. OK, but I'm just as happy this is my last bottle. B/B+

1999 Pavie Decesse
Ripe, charred oak notes, spice, a bit too aggressively styled for my
tastes. B-

We had a small dish of venison on a cilantro falafel , I liked the
falafel more than the meat'

Northern Medoc
1999 Leoville Poyferre
Soft, ripe, black fruit and espresso. I'd call this totally mature,
solid fairly modern Bordeaux, my favorite so far (which isn't exactly
a ringing endorsement). B+

1999 Lynch Bages
Warm, soft, minty. Pleasant enough, but could defintely use a bit more
oomph. B

1999 Grand *Puy Lacoste
This didn't leave much of an impression, a somewhat flat and
uninspired claret. Cassis fruit, a bit short. B-

My main course was lamb, a nice slice of loin, with polenta and some
rather off tasting veggies (said saffron, but tasted vinegared). I had
eyed the snail and oxtail ravioli, but the pickled shiitakes scared me
off.

Margaux Flight

1999 Palmer
This had been my favorite '99 before this night. This was very good,
though maybe a bit closed compared to release, showing more structure
than flesh. Still, a wine of power and finesse, very tasty. A-/B+

1999 Margaux
Lovely fragrant nose, elegant but with power, dark ripe fruit, very
young. A-

Final Flight
1999 Pichon Lalande
Fruit is subdued, some stemmy/herby notes, thin. Closed or off bottle?
B-/C+

1999 Mouton-Rothschild
Some divided opinions, I felt it was a typical Mouton- a good second-
growth.
Meaty, fleshy. B+/A-

1999 La Mission Haut Brion
Nice fruit, good length, harder tannins than most of the wines. This
might be worth cellaring. B+

We finished with the 1999 Rieussec. Honey, apricots, with a strong
citrus center. More acidity than I expected from a '99, quite a nice
way to finish. B+

So overall a bit of a disappointment, I had hoped for a bit more for
some of the midlevel wines. The two Margaux AC wines were easily my
favorites (and the Mondavi!). I don't think anyone left to rush to buy
more '99s. Still, fun and educational 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.*

On Sep 25, 10:14*am, DaleW > wrote:
> Matt organized a horizontal of 1999 Bordeaux last night at Public
> restaurant, a bustling place on Elizabeth St in "Nolita." A nice group
> of regulars gathered, plus former regular David had come in from
> London for the Zachys auction. Guys were quite gracious when I
> couldn't find either of the 2 Montroses I had listed in CT, I
> substituted a LynchBages.
>
> Decent stems, friendly service. The food wasn't the most Bordeaux-
> friendly, but we found some compromises, and the food quality was
> pretty good.
>
> Starter was the 1999 Monbousquet Blanc. I'm not generally a fan of Bdx
> blanc outside of Graves, and this did nothing to change my mind. A bit
> flat and low acid, fairly advanced, a little weird green oak note. C
>
> Ben had a mystery wine. Solid red fruit, good acids, minty/menthol
> nose. Quite fresh, resolved tannins, very tasty. 1977 Mondavi Cabernet
> Sauvignon Reserve B+/A-
>
> Pomerol Flight
> 1999 Clos L’Eglise - red fruit, coffee, I like the nose on this, but
> the palate has some rather hard tannins. B/B-
>
> 1999 *Trotanoy - very cool at first, not much nose and high acids. As
> it warmed it filled out a bit, some redcurrant fruit, but pretty
> austere. Maybe it needs time, but I'm not a fan. B-
>
> My starter was a ballantine of quail, foie gras, and pistachio, with a
> little beet side, my dish of the night
>
> St Emilion Flight
> 1999 Pavie Macquin
> sweet black fruit, coffee, mocha, could use a bit more depth and
> length. OK, but I'm just as happy this is my last bottle. B/B+
>
> 1999 *Pavie Decesse
> Ripe, charred oak notes, spice, a bit too aggressively styled for my
> tastes. B-
>
> We had a small dish of venison on a cilantro falafel , I liked the
> falafel more than the meat'
>
> Northern Medoc
> 1999 Leoville Poyferre
> Soft, ripe, black fruit and espresso. I'd call this totally mature,
> solid fairly modern Bordeaux, my favorite so far (which isn't exactly
> a ringing endorsement). B+
>
> 1999 Lynch Bages
> Warm, soft, minty. Pleasant enough, but could defintely use a bit more
> oomph. B
>
> 1999 Grand *Puy Lacoste
> This didn't leave much of an impression, a somewhat flat and
> uninspired claret. Cassis fruit, a bit short. B-
>
> My main course was lamb, a nice slice of loin, with polenta and some
> rather off tasting veggies (said saffron, but tasted vinegared). I had
> eyed the snail and oxtail ravioli, but the pickled shiitakes scared me
> off.
>
> Margaux Flight
>
> 1999 Palmer
> This had been my favorite '99 before this night. This was very good,
> though maybe a bit closed compared to release, showing more structure
> than flesh. Still, a wine of power and finesse, very tasty. A-/B+
>
> 1999 Margaux
> Lovely fragrant nose, elegant but with power, dark ripe fruit, very
> young. A-
>
> Final Flight
> 1999 Pichon Lalande
> Fruit is subdued, some stemmy/herby notes, thin. Closed or off bottle?
> B-/C+
>
> 1999 Mouton-Rothschild
> Some divided opinions, I felt it was a typical Mouton- a good second-
> growth.
> Meaty, fleshy. B+/A-
>
> 1999 La Mission Haut Brion
> Nice fruit, good length, harder tannins than most of the wines. This
> might be worth cellaring. B+
>
> We finished with the 1999 *Rieussec. Honey, apricots, with a strong
> citrus center. More acidity than I expected from a '99, quite a nice
> way to finish. B+
>
> So overall a bit of a disappointment, I had hoped for a bit more for
> some of the midlevel wines. The two Margaux AC wines were easily my
> favorites (and the Mondavi!). I don't think anyone left to rush to buy
> more '99s. Still, fun and educational 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.*

I bought a number of '99's on release as they were a good buy at the
time. Lynch Bages, Meyney, Gruaud Larose, Palmer, Leoville Poyferre
and I've drank though most of them as I didn't think they had the
stuffing for long term cellaring. I have a few bottles left of most
of them and will probably finish them off in the next year or so.
IIRC, I did by a case of a first growth in 1999 since it was an
anniversary bottling and it has a moon engraved on the bottle but I
can't remember which Chateau it was.

Thanks for the notes, Dale. I think that we have a total of two '99 Bdx
in the cellar: a magnum of LMHB and (I think) a bottle of Pavie (!!).
We'll see what becomes of both of them ;-)

Mark Lipton

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

On Sep 25, 11:31*am, Mark Lipton > wrote:
> Thanks for the notes, Dale. *I think that we have a total of two '99 Bdx
> in the cellar: a magnum of LMHB and (I think) a bottle of Pavie (!!).
> We'll see what becomes of both of them ;-)
>
> Mark Lipton
>
> --
> alt.food.wine FAQ: *http://winefaq.cwdjr.net

I'd think the LMHB would go a while. '
Look forward to your note on the Pavie

On Sep 25, 10:29*am, "Bi!!" > wrote:
> On Sep 25, 10:14*am, DaleW > wrote:
>
>
>
>
>
> > Matt organized a horizontal of 1999 Bordeaux last night at Public
> > restaurant, a bustling place on Elizabeth St in "Nolita." A nice group
> > of regulars gathered, plus former regular David had come in from
> > London for the Zachys auction. Guys were quite gracious when I
> > couldn't find either of the 2 Montroses I had listed in CT, I
> > substituted a LynchBages.
>
> > Decent stems, friendly service. The food wasn't the most Bordeaux-
> > friendly, but we found some compromises, and the food quality was
> > pretty good.
>
> > Starter was the 1999 Monbousquet Blanc. I'm not generally a fan of Bdx
> > blanc outside of Graves, and this did nothing to change my mind. A bit
> > flat and low acid, fairly advanced, a little weird green oak note. C
>
> > Ben had a mystery wine. Solid red fruit, good acids, minty/menthol
> > nose. Quite fresh, resolved tannins, very tasty. 1977 Mondavi Cabernet
> > Sauvignon Reserve B+/A-
>
> > Pomerol Flight
> > 1999 Clos L’Eglise - red fruit, coffee, I like the nose on this, but
> > the palate has some rather hard tannins. B/B-
>
> > 1999 *Trotanoy - very cool at first, not much nose and high acids. As
> > it warmed it filled out a bit, some redcurrant fruit, but pretty
> > austere. Maybe it needs time, but I'm not a fan. B-
>
> > My starter was a ballantine of quail, foie gras, and pistachio, with a
> > little beet side, my dish of the night
>
> > St Emilion Flight
> > 1999 Pavie Macquin
> > sweet black fruit, coffee, mocha, could use a bit more depth and
> > length. OK, but I'm just as happy this is my last bottle. B/B+
>
> > 1999 *Pavie Decesse
> > Ripe, charred oak notes, spice, a bit too aggressively styled for my
> > tastes. B-
>
> > We had a small dish of venison on a cilantro falafel , I liked the
> > falafel more than the meat'
>
> > Northern Medoc
> > 1999 Leoville Poyferre
> > Soft, ripe, black fruit and espresso. I'd call this totally mature,
> > solid fairly modern Bordeaux, my favorite so far (which isn't exactly
> > a ringing endorsement). B+
>
> > 1999 Lynch Bages
> > Warm, soft, minty. Pleasant enough, but could defintely use a bit more
> > oomph. B
>
> > 1999 Grand *Puy Lacoste
> > This didn't leave much of an impression, a somewhat flat and
> > uninspired claret. Cassis fruit, a bit short. B-
>
> > My main course was lamb, a nice slice of loin, with polenta and some
> > rather off tasting veggies (said saffron, but tasted vinegared). I had
> > eyed the snail and oxtail ravioli, but the pickled shiitakes scared me
> > off.
>
> > Margaux Flight
>
> > 1999 Palmer
> > This had been my favorite '99 before this night. This was very good,
> > though maybe a bit closed compared to release, showing more structure
> > than flesh. Still, a wine of power and finesse, very tasty. A-/B+
>
> > 1999 Margaux
> > Lovely fragrant nose, elegant but with power, dark ripe fruit, very
> > young. A-
>
> > Final Flight
> > 1999 Pichon Lalande
> > Fruit is subdued, some stemmy/herby notes, thin. Closed or off bottle?
> > B-/C+
>
> > 1999 Mouton-Rothschild
> > Some divided opinions, I felt it was a typical Mouton- a good second-
> > growth.
> > Meaty, fleshy. B+/A-
>
> > 1999 La Mission Haut Brion
> > Nice fruit, good length, harder tannins than most of the wines. This
> > might be worth cellaring. B+
>
> > We finished with the 1999 *Rieussec. Honey, apricots, with a strong
> > citrus center. More acidity than I expected from a '99, quite a nice
> > way to finish. B+
>
> > So overall a bit of a disappointment, I had hoped for a bit more for
> > some of the midlevel wines. The two Margaux AC wines were easily my
> > favorites (and the Mondavi!). I don't think anyone left to rush to buy
> > more '99s. Still, fun and educational 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.*
>
> I bought a number of '99's on release as they were a good buy at the
> time. *Lynch Bages, Meyney, Gruaud Larose, Palmer, Leoville Poyferre
> and I've drank though most of them as I didn't think they had the
> stuffing for long term cellaring. *I have a few bottles left of most
> of them and will probably finish them off in the next year or so.
> IIRC, I did by a case of a first growth in 1999 since it was an
> anniversary bottling and it has a moon engraved on the bottle but I
> can't remember which Chateau it was.

I've enjoyed a fair number of 99s (Poyferre, LLC, Gloria, Roc de
Cambes) as early drinkers. The Palmer can definitely age more (as
could the Mouton, LMHB, Ch. Margaux) but I think most 99s are really
as ready as they are gonna get

In article
>,
"Bi!!" > wrote:

> On Sep 25, 10:14*am, DaleW > wrote:
> > Matt organized a horizontal of 1999 Bordeaux last night at Public
> > restaurant, a bustling place on Elizabeth St in "Nolita." A nice group
> > of regulars gathered, plus former regular David had come in from
> > London for the Zachys auction. Guys were quite gracious when I
> > couldn't find either of the 2 Montroses I had listed in CT, I
> > substituted a LynchBages.
> >
> > Decent stems, friendly service. The food wasn't the most Bordeaux-
> > friendly, but we found some compromises, and the food quality was
> > pretty good.
> >
> > Starter was the 1999 Monbousquet Blanc. I'm not generally a fan of Bdx
> > blanc outside of Graves, and this did nothing to change my mind. A bit
> > flat and low acid, fairly advanced, a little weird green oak note. C
> >
> > Ben had a mystery wine. Solid red fruit, good acids, minty/menthol
> > nose. Quite fresh, resolved tannins, very tasty. 1977 Mondavi Cabernet
> > Sauvignon Reserve B+/A-
> >
> > Pomerol Flight
> > 1999 Clos L¹Eglise - red fruit, coffee, I like the nose on this, but
> > the palate has some rather hard tannins. B/B-
> >
> > 1999 *Trotanoy - very cool at first, not much nose and high acids. As
> > it warmed it filled out a bit, some redcurrant fruit, but pretty
> > austere. Maybe it needs time, but I'm not a fan. B-
> >
> > My starter was a ballantine of quail, foie gras, and pistachio, with a
> > little beet side, my dish of the night
> >
> > St Emilion Flight
> > 1999 Pavie Macquin
> > sweet black fruit, coffee, mocha, could use a bit more depth and
> > length. OK, but I'm just as happy this is my last bottle. B/B+
> >
> > 1999 *Pavie Decesse
> > Ripe, charred oak notes, spice, a bit too aggressively styled for my
> > tastes. B-
> >
> > We had a small dish of venison on a cilantro falafel , I liked the
> > falafel more than the meat'
> >
> > Northern Medoc
> > 1999 Leoville Poyferre
> > Soft, ripe, black fruit and espresso. I'd call this totally mature,
> > solid fairly modern Bordeaux, my favorite so far (which isn't exactly
> > a ringing endorsement). B+
> >
> > 1999 Lynch Bages
> > Warm, soft, minty. Pleasant enough, but could defintely use a bit more
> > oomph. B
> >
> > 1999 Grand *Puy Lacoste
> > This didn't leave much of an impression, a somewhat flat and
> > uninspired claret. Cassis fruit, a bit short. B-
> >
> > My main course was lamb, a nice slice of loin, with polenta and some
> > rather off tasting veggies (said saffron, but tasted vinegared). I had
> > eyed the snail and oxtail ravioli, but the pickled shiitakes scared me
> > off.
> >
> > Margaux Flight
> >
> > 1999 Palmer
> > This had been my favorite '99 before this night. This was very good,
> > though maybe a bit closed compared to release, showing more structure
> > than flesh. Still, a wine of power and finesse, very tasty. A-/B+
> >
> > 1999 Margaux
> > Lovely fragrant nose, elegant but with power, dark ripe fruit, very
> > young. A-
> >
> > Final Flight
> > 1999 Pichon Lalande
> > Fruit is subdued, some stemmy/herby notes, thin. Closed or off bottle?
> > B-/C+
> >
> > 1999 Mouton-Rothschild
> > Some divided opinions, I felt it was a typical Mouton- a good second-
> > growth.
> > Meaty, fleshy. B+/A-
> >
> > 1999 La Mission Haut Brion
> > Nice fruit, good length, harder tannins than most of the wines. This
> > might be worth cellaring. B+
> >
> > We finished with the 1999 *Rieussec. Honey, apricots, with a strong
> > citrus center. More acidity than I expected from a '99, quite a nice
> > way to finish. B+
> >
> > So overall a bit of a disappointment, I had hoped for a bit more for
> > some of the midlevel wines. The two Margaux AC wines were easily my
> > favorites (and the Mondavi!). I don't think anyone left to rush to buy
> > more '99s. Still, fun and educational 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.*
>
> I bought a number of '99's on release as they were a good buy at the
> time. Lynch Bages, Meyney, Gruaud Larose, Palmer, Leoville Poyferre
> and I've drank though most of them as I didn't think they had the
> stuffing for long term cellaring. I have a few bottles left of most
> of them and will probably finish them off in the next year or so.
> IIRC, I did by a case of a first growth in 1999 since it was an
> anniversary bottling and it has a moon engraved on the bottle but I
> can't remember which Chateau it was.

I have drunk up all of my 99's as I too didn't think they showed much
last to them. I did have a better experience with Pinchon Lalande though.