A Bordeaux Salil Birthday Month Dinner
@ Châteauneuf-du-Salil, Albany, NY
(12/22/2025)
Salil made duck legs, cauliflower, and stringbeans, and tiramisu for dessert!
It was all delicious and went quite well with these two Bordeaux.
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Salil made cheese puffs to start:
Salil made the duck legs in his Official Yankees Le Creuset:
Dinner
Duck legs, cauliflower, and stringbeans:
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1985 Château Cos d'Estournel -
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe
[Double-decanted for 1 hour at 4pm, then back in a decanter at 5:15.
First tasted about 5:30.] Muted smoky nose of dried red currants.
Expansive and complex in the mouth with a long finish of mature fruit and spice.
7pm: Nose is showing more complex aromas of red fruits, cedar, and and
saddle leather. Stunningly expansive in the mouth with a long complex
finish of juicy red fruits and tobacco. If you still own this, I would not
wait much longer. My last bottle. (96 points)
-
1986 Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande -
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
[Double-decanted for 1 hour at 3:30pm. First tasted about 5:30.]
Muted nose of black currants and graphite. Thick and rich with lots of
dark fruit, leather, and some chocolate. Classic 1986 still with loads of
fruit and richness. These may age forever.
7pm: Bright red and black fruit, licorice, and cigar box.
This is a terrific 1986 where there is still tannin, but it's overwhelmed
by the rich fruit. It's really big and powerful for a wine this old, but
never goes overboard. Rich but elegant. Superb. (95 points)
Conclusion
Both wines were beautiful and showed the characteristics of their respective
vintages. The 1986 PLL was all power and grace with plenty of life left.
The 1985 Cos was fully mature and so elegant. It had an ethereal aspect that
gave it a slight edge for me.
Dessert
Tiramisu:
Our dog Hunter made a birthday card for Salil:
My tasting notes posted from
CellarTracker.
Salil's notes on CellarTracker.
All original content © Ken Vastola
