WCC 2000–2009 Red Bordeaux Blind @ Andrew Plummer's, 9/29/2016

WCC Blind Tasting of 2000–2009 Red Bordeaux
Home of Chef Andrew Plummer, East Greenbush, NY
9/29/2016

My regular Albany group met to taste red Bordeaux from the last decade in the home of the great local chef Andrew Plummer. We have been enjoying Andrew's brilliant food for more than 20 years now, at Cafe Capriccio, at Allegro Cafe, at McGuire's, at Creo, and now in his home.

Dinner started about 7:30 and ended around 10pm. All wines double-decanted earlier in the day unless otherwise noted.

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The Menu:

Flight 0: A Special Treat

1929 Château Margaux - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux
[This was a surprise, mystery pop and pour. Our founding member brought this along covered up. He was concerned that it would fade fast, so he didn't want to decant it at home. Thus it did have some stirred up sediment in spite of using a screen to pour through.] A real treat to taste history like this. Mature nose of autumn leaf mulch. Slightly sour in the mouth with cherries and decaying notes. Opens up a bit more over the next half hour, showing a glimpse into what it once was, then fades out during the next half hour. Hard to put a score on a special wine like this.

Flight 1: St. Julien.
Foie Gras over Chicken with Caramelized White Peaches and Candied Pearl Onions. Extraordinary!

2009 Château Lagrange (St. Julien) - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien
[Double-decanted at 11am.] Candied red fruit nose. Very young. Tasty with good potential. (92 points)
2005 Château Beychevelle - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien
[Double-decanted for 3 hours at 1:30pm.] Jammy ripe, red fruit nose. Tannic, but with enough fruit. Still quite young. (92 points)
2000 Château Léoville Poyferré - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien
[Double-decanted at 8:30am.] Exquisitely complex floral nose. Rich and expansive in the mouth. Easily the wine of the flight. My #2 WOTN. Still young, but closer to its window of drinkability than the first two. (94 points)

Flight 2: Margaux.
Surf & Turf: Octopus and Pork Belly with Saffron Sofrito Rice and Fava Bean Crème. This was truly original and delicious.

2000 Château Giscours - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux
[Double-decanted at 5pm for 1 hour.] Medicinal cherry nose. Green tannins. Seems young and a little off. (not rated)
2003 Château Lascombes - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux
[Double-decanted at 11am.] Minty blackberry nose. Thick and silky. Really singing tonight. My WOTN. Tied for Group #2 WOTN. (96 points)
2005 Château Rauzan-Ségla - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux
[Double-decanted the night before.] Ripe black fruit in the nose and mouth. Quite young, but a lot of promise here. Tied for Group #2 WOTN. (92–94 points)

Flight 3: Pauilliac 1.
Seared Breast and Braised Leg of Duck with Unagi and Lychee Grilled Baby Bok Choy. Delicious.

2005 Château Clerc Milon - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
[Double-decanted at 4pm for 2 hours.] Chocolate red berry nose. Huge tannins. Needs a decade, but quite promising. (93 points)
2001 Dominus Estate - USA, California, Napa Valley
[Double-decanted at 10:30am for 7 hours.] Maraschino cherry nose. Alcoholic and sour. An off bottle. (not rated)
2000 Château Clerc Milon - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
Much more ready to drink (than the 2005). Sweet cherries. One of the most enjoyable to drink tonight. Not complex, but tasty. (92 points)

Flight 4: St. Estephe.
Capon Roulade with Braised Leeks, Maitake, and Camembert. So tasty!

2000 Château Calon-Ségur - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe
[Double-decanted at 2pm for 4 hours.] Shitty vanilla nose. Tart tannic. Yuck. (not rated)
2003 Château Montrose - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe
[Double-decanted at 10:30am for 7 hours.] Black fruit nose. A huge wine with great balance. Quite young and tannic, but with great harmony. In my top 3. Group WOTN. (94 points)
2000 Château Cos d'Estournel - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe
Tart and tannic. Not showing much tonight.
Day 2: Showing better tonight with more air. Still very young, but with vibrant fruit and licorice on the nose. Silky in the mouth, but still has some rough tannins on the finish. I would say this needs another 5-10 years. (93 points)

Andy and Sarah prepping the beef dish:

Flight 5: Pauilliac 2.
Seared Tenderloin of Beef with Kentucky Straight Bourbon Sauce, Roasted Fall Vegetables, and Cauliflower Puree.
This was one too many for me. I had mine packed to go home.

2005 Château Pontet-Canet - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
[Double-decanted at noon.] Big, smoky black fruit nose. Harmonious and drinking pretty well tonight. Tied for Group #2 WOTN. (93 points)
2005 Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
[Double-decanted for 6 hours at noon.] Sour. Rough tannins. Very little fruit. (not rated)

Conclusion

Most of these wines are still very young. Most are good, but the food really out-shown the wines.

Notes posted from CellarTracker.

WOTN Voting (3pts each for #1, 2pts for #2, 1pt for #3)

Rank	Pts	#	Wine
1	17	11	2003 Château Montrose
2(tie)	10	5	2003 Château Lascombes
2(tie)	10	6	2005 Château Rauzan-Ségla
2(tie)	10	13	2005 Château Pontet-Canet
5	8	7	2005 Château Clerc Milon
6	7	8	2001 Dominus Estate
7	4	3	2000 Château Léoville Poyferré
8(tie)	3	12	2000 Château Cos d'Estournel
8(tie)	3	1	2009 Château Lagrange (St. Julien)
10	2	4	2000 Château Giscours
11	1	10	2000 Château Calon-Ségur

People Photos

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Just getting started:

Later on:

Andrew enjoying the last of the 1929 Château Margaux after an evening of hard work.
Photo by Sarah Ulan Plummer.