I decided to splurge (for my budget) on this bottle at a local Brooklyn
restaurant that was offering a two for the price of one entree deal. The menu
is decidedly French bistro with the usual suspects of steak frites, moules
frites, confit de canard, salad vert, etc., and the wine list is French through
and through, deep in Bordeaux. I was deciding between the '99 Beychevelle
(which I have never had) and '95 Prieure Lichine.
In the tiny bistro wine glasses it was tough to get a good nose out of the
wine but it did have a fine scent of toasted oak, earth and current. As it
opened up over the next 45 minutes it took on a much more complexity and
developed richer tones of berry and even a little bit of coffee bean.
Despite it being very out outside and the wine being a tad too warm, it was
immensely enjoyable with my steak frites. I found it to have nice suppleness,
and structure with pleasant tannins that made for a lingering finish after each
sip.
For $56 off the list I was satisfied and would definitely consider purchasing
Beychevelle in the future.

$56 on a wine list in a restaurant? That's a pretty good deal considering
the typical retail price may be around $40+ by now. But I have never been
much of a Beychevelle fan - I have always found it to be somewhat lean and
uninspiring compared to the fat, chocolatey aromas of a Branaire-Ducru,
which (at least here in Germany) sells for considerably less money. That
said, I must admit that I have not tasted Beychevelle for a long time, so
probably things have changed.

Arne

"Jaybert41" > schrieb im Newsbeitrag
...
> I decided to splurge (for my budget) on this bottle at a local Brooklyn
> restaurant that was offering a two for the price of one entree deal. The
menu
> is decidedly French bistro with the usual suspects of steak frites, moules
> frites, confit de canard, salad vert, etc., and the wine list is French
through
> and through, deep in Bordeaux. I was deciding between the '99 Beychevelle
> (which I have never had) and '95 Prieure Lichine.
> In the tiny bistro wine glasses it was tough to get a good nose out of
the
> wine but it did have a fine scent of toasted oak, earth and current. As
it
> opened up over the next 45 minutes it took on a much more complexity and
> developed richer tones of berry and even a little bit of coffee bean.
> Despite it being very out outside and the wine being a tad too warm, it
was
> immensely enjoyable with my steak frites. I found it to have nice
suppleness,
> and structure with pleasant tannins that made for a lingering finish after
each
> sip.
> For $56 off the list I was satisfied and would definitely consider
purchasing
> Beychevelle in the future.
>

"Jaybert41" > wrote in message
...
> I decided to splurge (for my budget) on this bottle at a local Brooklyn
> restaurant that was offering a two for the price of one entree deal. The
menu
> is decidedly French bistro with the usual suspects of steak frites, moules
> frites, confit de canard, salad vert, etc., and the wine list is French
through
> and through, deep in Bordeaux. I was deciding between the '99 Beychevelle
> (which I have never had) and '95 Prieure Lichine.
> In the tiny bistro wine glasses it was tough to get a good nose out of
the
> wine but it did have a fine scent of toasted oak, earth and current. As
it
> opened up over the next 45 minutes it took on a much more complexity and
> developed richer tones of berry and even a little bit of coffee bean.
> Despite it being very out outside and the wine being a tad too warm, it
was
> immensely enjoyable with my steak frites. I found it to have nice
suppleness,
> and structure with pleasant tannins that made for a lingering finish after
each
> sip.
> For $56 off the list I was satisfied and would definitely consider
purchasing
> Beychevelle in the future.
>

Both are far too young! I wouyld rather drink a cheaper C d Rhone than drink
these this young.
Ron Lel

In article >, "Ron Lel"
> writes:

>Both are far too young! I wouyld rather drink a cheaper C d Rhone than drink
>these this young.

I haven't had the Beychevelle, but '99s as a rule are an earlier-drinking
vintage IMHO. L-Poyferre (another St.-Julien which is usually less forward than
Beychevelle) is drinking fairly well, and though it will last 10 more, I don't
think I'd push much past that. With the exception of first-growths, no '99 I've
tried hasn't seemed at least approachable. I like the vintage and think it will
age better than say '97, but a good restaurant choice.

1995 Medocs, however, are almost all quite hard and closed at moment. I haven't
had Prieure Lichine, and Margaux is probably more open than more northerly
communes, but I wouldn't chance it.

Just my 2¢.

Dale

Dale Williams
Drop "damnspam" to reply

In article >, "Ron Lel"
> writes:

>Both are far too young! I wouyld rather drink a cheaper C d Rhone than drink
>these this young.

I haven't had the Beychevelle, but '99s as a rule are an earlier-drinking
vintage IMHO. L-Poyferre (another St.-Julien which is usually less forward than
Beychevelle) is drinking fairly well, and though it will last 10 more, I don't
think I'd push much past that. With the exception of first-growths, no '99 I've
tried hasn't seemed at least approachable. I like the vintage and think it will
age better than say '97, but a good restaurant choice. Good, but not great
price- '99 Beychevelle is around NYC at $28-30. $56 is very fair.

1995 Medocs, however, are almost all quite hard and closed at moment. I haven't
had Prieure Lichine, and Margaux is probably more open than more northerly
communes, but I wouldn't chance it.

Just my 2¢.
Dale

Dale Williams
Drop "damnspam" to reply

"Jaybert41" > skrev i melding
...
> In the tiny bistro wine glasses it was tough to get a good nose out of
the
> wine but it did have a fine scent of toasted oak, earth and current. As
it
> opened up over the next 45 minutes it took on a much more complexity and
> developed richer tones of berry and even a little bit of coffee bean.
> Despite it being very out outside and the wine being a tad too warm, it
was
> immensely enjoyable with my steak frites. I found it to have nice
suppleness,
> and structure with pleasant tannins that made for a lingering finish after
each
> sip.
I happened to have the 1997 with my wife this afternoon :-) No notes, but a
dense bluish red wine with a silky mouthfeel, nice ripe berry fruit,
prominent tannins. No cedar wood, more like cocoa - a very nice, elegant
little wine. However, the last glass showed more of tannins and acidity,
less fruit, which leads me to believe that this vintage may be somewhat
shortlived. Not a candidate for prolonged storage, imho.
Anders