WCC BLIND FIRST GROWTH BORDEAUX TASTING
at Provence Restaurant, Albany, NY (6/4/2009)
The WCC met at Provence Restaurant for a blind tasting of Bordeaux First Growths.
Tasting started close to 7:30. All wines tasted double-blind.
All we knew was that these were all supposed to be first growth Bordeaux, 1988 or older.
There could have been a ringer (but there wasn't). There was one duplicate.
The Wine Fairy numbers the bottles.
Click on an image with a border for a larger view of that image.
Flight 1: Château Haut-Brion
With bread. Most of us thought these were the oldest wines in the tasting, not one château.
Some felt the first wine was defective and then theorized afterwards that it had spoiled the rest of the flight.
I really liked 4 of the wines, but wasn't as wowed as with some below or some previous times I've had Haut Brion.
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1970 Château Haut-Brion
- France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan
[Double-decanted at 3pm.] Gorgeously complex nose of licorice, tar, and wood mulch.
Delicate, elusive, and gloriously mature with cedar mulch and dried cherries in a medium length finish.
(93 pts.)
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1982 Château Haut-Brion
- France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan
[Double-decanted at 6:30pm.] Wood mulch and cherries in the nose. Tart cherries and elegant.
Over time becomes quite riveting and exquisite. Needed 2 hours to open up.
(95 pts.)
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1983 Château Haut-Brion
- France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan
[Decanted at 9am.] Anise and cedar nose. Very earthy, mulch, tar, mint. Excellent length.
(92 pts.)
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1985 Château Haut-Brion
- France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan
[Double-decanted at 8am.] Woody nose. Dried out. OTH.
(87 pts.)
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1986 Château Haut-Brion
- France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan
[Double-decanted 24 hours before the tasting.] Stunning complex nose of allspice and cinnamon.
Tasty tart cherries. A big rich beautiful wine. (94 pts.)
Flight 2: Château Mouton Rothschild
With Seared Bigeye Tuna with Fricassee of Forest Mushrooms and Ginger Sweet Potato Puree with Spicy Pomegranate Reduction.
Click on an image with a border for a larger view of that image.
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1970 Château Mouton Rothschild
- France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
[Double-decanted at 3pm.] Dirty nose. Spoiled.
NR (flawed)
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1978 Château Mouton Rothschild
- France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
[Double-decanted at 5pm] Not much nose, but delicious and full bodied in the mouth.
Very complex and delicious, WOTN so far! Wow! Great length. Gorgeous wine.
(96 pts.)
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1985 Château Mouton Rothschild
- France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
[Double-decanted at 8am.] Explosive cedar and red fruit nose. Wow! Expansive, tannic,
long and riveting in the mouth. Terrific! (97 pts.)
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1986 Château Mouton Rothschild
- France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
[Double-decanted at 8am.] Loads of cedar and red currants. Thick, backward. Hard to judge.
Hard to believe this is 1988 or older. Is this a ringer? Still has loads of upside potential. 95-? points.
(95 pts.)
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1988 Château Mouton Rothschild
- France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
[Double-decanted at 7am.] Mildly corked nose. Dried out in the mouth.
NR (flawed)
Flight 3: Château Latour and Château Lafite Rothschild
With Black Angus Steak Carpaccio with Organic Baby Watercress and Manchego Toast Points
served with Poached Quail Egg, Bacon Lardons and Black Pepper Virgin Olive Oil.
Click on an image with a border for a larger view of that image.
Click on an image with a border for a larger view of that image.
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1970 Château Latour Grand Vin
- France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
[Double-decanted at 3pm.] Big tight earth mulch nose. Very young and tannic.
I cannot believe this is almost 40 years old. This bottle needs 10 years! 95-? points.
(96 pts.)
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1970 Château Latour Grand Vin
- France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
[Double-decanted 21 hours before the tasting.] Another huge wine. Excellent length. Wow!
Very similar to the one above, but somewhat more resolved.
(95 pts.)
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1978 Château Latour Grand Vin
- France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
[Double decanted at 4pm.] Big cedar nose. Monster wine. Stunning length. Wow, wow, wow!
This wine is in a terrific place right now. WOTN for me so far!!
(98 pts.)
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1981 Château Lafite Rothschild
- France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
[Double-decanted at 5pm] Another monster nose. Big, rich tannic in the mouth.
Still quite young. Loads of cedar mulch. Great stuff.
(95 pts.)
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1988 Château Lafite Rothschild
- France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
[Decanted at 4pm.] Again big and rich, but there's something off in the mouth on this one.
NR (flawed)
Flight 4: Château Margaux
With Duck Three Ways: Foie Gras, Crispy Seared Breast and Leg Confit Crepe with Huckleberry Coulis.
Click on an image with a border for a larger view of that image.
Most people's favorite flight.
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1981 Château Margaux
- France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux
[Double-decanted at 6pm] Huge woodsy nose. Medium body. Lovely and delicious.
Should hold for 10 years. (94 pts.)
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1982 Château Margaux
- France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux
[Double-decanted at 8am.] Oh sh*t! Monster nose of currant jam and licorice.
Big, silky orgasmically good wine. I cannot believe the depth and breadth of this wine.
One of the best bottles of Bordeaux I've had in years. Undoubtedly the WOTN for me.
(100 pts.)
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1983 Château Margaux
- France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux
[Double-decanted at 5pm] Long, riveting. Another wow wine! We are really in the glory now!
(97 pts.)
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1986 Château Margaux
- France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux
[Double-decanted at 8am.] This might be one wine too many. I can tell it's another big rich terrific wine,
but it seems very young. It's getting hard for me to discern any nuances. 94-? points.
(94 pts.)
Dessert
Chocolate Marquis: Layered Chocolate with Kahula, Toasted Almonds and Praline Sauce.
I was full and took mine home. Click on an image with a border for a larger view of that image.
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1978 Château d'Yquem
- France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes
[Pop & pour, cold.] Medium amber color. Huge, complex, botrytis nose.
Elegant, sweet, balanced delicious. A superb Sauternes! (95 pts.)
I have to say, I was shocked to see how great the Margaux seemed.
I've always thought the strength of Margaux was its perfume, but
these had a power to them as well that was astounding!
All in all, just a great experience!
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