Patrick was in town from Colorado, and Ian organized a crew to welcome
him back. So 10 hardy geeks (ok, 8 hardy geeks and 2 tolerant
girlfriends) convened at Fabio Piccolo Fiore for a look at Bordeaux of
the 80s decade. As no one was interested in drinking '80 Bdx, we
counted the decade as 1981-1990. We managed to line up at least one
wine from each major appellation, and all of the good vintages (we
left out '84 & '87).

Fabio Piccolo Fiore did a good job of keeping us well supplied with
stems and food- bruschetta, cheeses, proscuitto, soft shelled crab,
pasta with a truffle sauce, and meat (lamb chops for me, I usually get
the veal chop here, but had one Wed night).

White Flight
2007 Ch. Olivier blanc
Citrus, grass, and a little oak, medium acidity, not bad (I probably
liked a little less than most) B

1994 Ch. Pape Clement blanc
I've had quite a few oxidized Bdx blanc 94-01, but this is fresh as a
daisy. midweight, crisp citrus, melon, touch of vanilla. Very good. A-/
B+

Flight two: St-Emilion

1985 Belair
Resolved tannins, midweight, red fruit, smoke, leather. Fully mature.
Nice and classic, if not compelling. B

1989 Ch. La Dominque
Black plums, still some moderate tannins, a bit soft. Nice. I'd give
the edge to the Belair for now by a hair, but this might improve a
bit. B

Flight three: 1981s

1981 Ch. Malescot St Exupery
One of my bottles. A bit of a lifted nose, red candied fruit, pencil
shavings. Nice mature Margaux, but this might have just rounded top of
hill, and if I had more they'd go into drink stack. B/B+

1981 Ch. La Tour Haut Brion
Comparatively dense, lots of Graves tobacco, good fruit, burnt earth.
Nice B+

1983 Ch. Cos d'Estournel
OK, this was supposed to be an 81, but wrong bottle was pulled. That's
ok, still fits overall theme. Fruit has a bit of a roasted edge,
caramel, a hint of poop. Fully mature. B
*
Flight four: 1983 Right Banks

1983 Ch. L’Arrosee
Black plums, herbs, anise. Nice wine, happy to have gotten a bottle
from same source as this one. B/B+

1983 Ch. L’Evangile
I liked this at an '83 tasting last year, but this shows even better.
Classic Pomerol lushness, great mouthfeel, long. I saved some and it
was even better with time. A-

1983 Ch. Canon*
Red fruit, cedar, a touch of cinnamon spice. A bit thinner than the
other two, but nice complex nose. Too bad we didn't have this bottle
at our Canon vertical (where 83 was cooked). B+

Flight five: 1982/1983 Medoc

1983 Ch. Lynch Bages
Black fruit, mushrooms, a bit exotic, but not as lively as it's
flightmates. But nice fully mature wine. B+/B

1982 Ch. La Lagune
Plenty of that sweet 82 fruit, lively, plenty of life left. B+/A-

1983 Ch. Gruaud Larose
Plenty of the expected funk, and as normal some are turned off and it
doesn't bother the rest of us. Blackcurrant, forest floor, barnyard,
long and deep. A-/B+

Flight six: 1990s (and bonus LLC)

1990 Ch. Pichon Lalande
Famously controversial wine. This one shows pretty decently, clear
herby/green streak, nice midbodied wine. A bit short. Someone thought
it acidic, while I thought it rather low acid! Actually a pleasant
enough wine, better than Parker's 79 points, but not a great showing
for a super-second in a good year. B-

1975 Ch. Leoville Las Cases
We had to decided to admit an off-topic wine, glad we did. If there is
an issue with this wine, it's that it still needs time. Broad black
fruit with just a hint of graphite and cigarbox. Still some tannins,
try again in 5-10. B/B+

1990 Ch. Leoville Las Cases
Fat black fruit, menthol, big but a bit boring. I expected to like
more. B*

Flight seven: 1986 and 1988

1986 Ch. Rausan Segla
My favorite vintage of RS, and this showed very well. Nice upfront
fruit, pretty floral Margaux nose, earth, a touch of burnt pipe
tobacco. Long, balanced, lovely. A-

1988 La Mission Haut Brion
I love the '88 HB, don't think I've had the LMHB before, but its right
up there. Big but balanced, smooth tannins, cassis marked with
leather, tobacco and pencil shavings. A-

1986 Cos d'Estournel
This was double decanted in advance, but still seemed to need time.
*Powerful black fruit, significant tannins, some earth and espresso. B
+/A-

There was an '88 Sauternes, but I had to scram for train. Nice night,
nice people, lots of good wines and laughs.
*
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 Jun 19, 10:10*am, DaleW > wrote:
> Patrick was in town from Colorado, and Ian organized a crew to welcome
> him back. So 10 hardy geeks (ok, 8 hardy geeks and 2 tolerant
> girlfriends) convened at Fabio Piccolo Fiore for a look at Bordeaux of
> the 80s decade. As no one was interested in drinking '80 Bdx, we
> counted the decade as 1981-1990. We managed to line up at least one
> wine from each major appellation, and all of the good vintages (we
> left out '84 & '87).
>
> Fabio Piccolo Fiore did a good job of keeping us well supplied with
> stems and food- bruschetta, cheeses, proscuitto, soft shelled crab,
> pasta with a truffle sauce, and meat (lamb chops for me, I usually get
> the veal chop here, but had one Wed night).
>
> White Flight
> *2007 Ch. *Olivier blanc
> Citrus, grass, and a little oak, medium acidity, not bad (I probably
> liked a little less than most) B
>
> 1994 Ch. Pape Clement blanc
> I've had quite a few oxidized Bdx blanc 94-01, but this is fresh as a
> daisy. midweight, crisp citrus, melon, touch of vanilla. Very good. A-/
> B+
>
> Flight two: St-Emilion
>
> 1985 Belair
> Resolved tannins, midweight, red fruit, smoke, leather. Fully mature.
> Nice and classic, if not compelling. B
>
> 1989 Ch. La Dominque
> Black plums, still some moderate tannins, a bit soft. Nice. I'd give
> the edge to the Belair for now by a hair, but this might improve a
> bit. B
>
> Flight three: 1981s
>
> 1981 Ch. Malescot St Exupery
> One of my bottles. A bit of a lifted nose, red candied fruit, pencil
> shavings. Nice mature Margaux, but this might have just rounded top of
> hill, and if I had more they'd go into drink stack. B/B+
>
> 1981 Ch. La Tour Haut Brion
> Comparatively dense, lots of Graves tobacco, good fruit, burnt earth.
> Nice B+
>
> 1983 Ch. Cos d'Estournel
> OK, this was supposed to be an 81, but wrong bottle was pulled. That's
> ok, still fits overall theme. Fruit has a bit of a roasted edge,
> caramel, a hint of poop. Fully mature. B
> *
> Flight four: 1983 Right Banks
>
> 1983 Ch. L’Arrosee
> Black plums, herbs, anise. Nice wine, happy to have gotten a bottle
> from same source as this one. B/B+
>
> 1983 Ch. L’Evangile
> I liked this at an '83 tasting last year, but this shows even better.
> Classic Pomerol lushness, great mouthfeel, long. I saved some and it
> was even better with time. A-
>
> 1983 Ch. Canon*
> Red fruit, cedar, a touch of cinnamon spice. A bit thinner than the
> other two, but nice complex nose. Too bad we didn't have this bottle
> at our Canon vertical (where 83 was cooked). B+
>
> Flight five: 1982/1983 Medoc
>
> 1983 Ch. Lynch Bages
> Black fruit, mushrooms, *a bit exotic, but not as lively as it's
> flightmates. *But nice fully mature wine. B+/B
>
> 1982 Ch. La Lagune
> Plenty of that sweet 82 fruit, lively, plenty of life left. B+/A-
>
> 1983 Ch. Gruaud Larose
> Plenty of the expected funk, and as normal some are turned off and it
> doesn't bother the rest of us. Blackcurrant, forest floor, barnyard,
> long and deep. A-/B+
>
> Flight six: 1990s (and bonus LLC)
>
> 1990 Ch. Pichon Lalande
> Famously controversial wine. This one shows pretty decently, clear
> herby/green streak, nice midbodied wine. A bit short. Someone thought
> it acidic, while I thought it rather low acid! Actually a pleasant
> enough wine, better than Parker's 79 points, but not a great showing
> for a super-second in a good year. B-
>
> 1975 Ch. Leoville Las Cases
> We had to decided to admit an off-topic wine, glad we did. If there is
> an issue with this wine, it's that it still needs time. Broad black
> fruit with just a hint of graphite and cigarbox. Still some tannins,
> try again in 5-10. B/B+
>
> 1990 Ch. Leoville Las Cases
> Fat black fruit, menthol, big but a bit boring. I expected to like
> more. B*
>
> Flight seven: 1986 and 1988
>
> 1986 Ch. Rausan Segla
> My favorite vintage of RS, and this showed very well. Nice upfront
> fruit, pretty floral Margaux nose, earth, a touch of burnt pipe
> tobacco. Long, balanced, lovely. A-
>
> 1988 La Mission Haut Brion
> I love the '88 HB, don't think I've had the LMHB before, but its right
> up there. Big but balanced, smooth tannins, cassis marked with
> leather, tobacco and pencil shavings. A-
>
> 1986 Cos d'Estournel
> This was double decanted in advance, but still seemed to need time.
> *Powerful black fruit, significant tannins, some earth and espresso. B
> +/A-
>
> There was an '88 Sauternes, but I had to scram for train. Nice night,
> nice people, lots of good wines and laughs.
> *
> 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.*
>
> *

Forgot the starter:

NV Louis Roederer Brut
Full, yeasty, apple fruit and baking bread. I tend to gravitate
towards the houses with lighter styles, but this is quite nice. B/B+


We voted at the end of evening, everyone giving 3 points to their
favorite, 2 to 2nd favorite, 1 to third.
Patrick sent results:
81 La Tour Haut Brion 19 pts
83 Evangile 11
86 Rausan Segla 9
85 Belair 4
82 La Lagune 4
83 L'arrosee 3
83 Lynch 3
86 Cos 2
75 LLC 2
89 Dominique 1
83 Gruaud 1
88 LMHB 1