Some NY Bordeaux-lovers gathered at the Afghan Kebab House on 9th Ave Friday to
try some wines from the satellite appelations. I usually think of the term
satellite as referring to the outlying Right Bank areas, but we were including
the lesser-known or more general Left Bank ones, too.

With some spicy pakora-like starters (with pumpkin, spinach, and otherr
fillings), we had a 2001 Von Hövel Oberemmler Hütte*Riesling Auslese (Mosel
Saar Ruwer).* White flowers and peaches, balanced, long finish. B+

On to the satellites (I had good lamb kebabs):
1970 Chasse-Spleen (Moulis)
Forest floor, fully mature, sliding down but not preciptiously yet. Pleasant if
slightly fading red fruit, earthy. B/B+

1989 Tayac "Cuvee Prestige" (Côtes de Bourg)
Good rich fruit, cocoa notes, medium-bodied with not much in the way of tannins
left. Label says it's the most expensive wine in CdBourg, I guess that predates
Roc de Cambes. Good, though little improvement through night it holds steady.
B+
*
1990 Fontenil (Fronsac)
Rich ripe nose, great texture in the mouth. A consensus crowd-pleaser. Lush
ripe Merlot fruit, mostly integrated tannins, some cedar as well as light
chocolate notes. Gets better as night goes on. A-

1996 Maucaillou (Moulis)
Medium-bodied, earth, mineral, & mushroom notes, seemingly fully mature. *B

1998 de Chambrun (Lalande de Pomerol)
Big, lush, ripe, fat. Nothing shy about this one. B/B+

1998 Ch. la Fauconnaire (Montagne- St. Émilion)
Toasty oak, red fruit. B

1999 Ste. Colombe (Côtes de Castillon)
Ripe, red, and round. Some found it simple, but I really like. Great drink now
QPR ($9-11 US) Bdx. B+

2000 de Carles (Fronsac)
Not showing as well as recent bottles of this. I wondered re mild TCA, but
think this has just shut down. Towards end of evening it began to show a little
more- raspberry/blackberry fruit, toasty oak. A B/B+, but I've liked previous
showings much better (I'm not sure if this was decanted in advance).

2000 Marsau (Côtes de Francs)
Fat, oaky. Tasty in a very modern style. B/B+

2000 Grand Renom (Ste.Foy-Bordeaux)
Somewhat interesting nose, but thin palate of muted red plum fruit. Little
finish. Not technically flawed, but devoid of interest. I picked up for this
tasting because I had never heard of appelation before. Based on this sample
I'll certainly not go looking for another. C

2000 Caronne St. Gemme (Haut-Médoc), from 1.5 L
Another round redfruit wine, but with just a hint of greenness or herbs (though
not unpleasant). B

2000 Sardy (Côtes de Bergerac)
Ok, not really a Bordeaux appelation, but same grape varieties. Pleasant
medium-bodied wine, some blackcurrant fruit with a little grassy edge. B

1996 Sociando-Mallet (Haut- Médoc)]
Big, tannic, stern. Needs time. Sturdy blackcurrant fruit, some oak, but
dominated by tannins. Should be nice in a while though. B+/A-

1997 JJ Prüm Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese (Mosel Saar Ruwer)
Tasty, though a little rounder than I prefer my Riesling. Honeysuckle, canned
peaches, and apricot. B+

Overall, a fun night. Afghan Kebab was cheap and good. Only the Ste-Foy wasn't
worth it's modest price tag ($10). I was sad this was my last bottle of the
Fontenil, and that there was only one Tayac when I ordered from PC.

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.
Dale

Dale Williams
Drop "damnspam" to reply