A good group got together last night at Bobby Van's Grill for another look at 1989 Bordeaux. I enjoyed a warm spinach salad and shared a porterhouse.
Starter was the 2010 Meyer-Fonne "Kaefferkopf' Riesling Grand Cru served a bit warm, rich, honied, a bit soft and formless, but that might ha ve been temp, but for me last night B-/C+
We knew the wines, and Ben arranged in flights when he bagged, but we didn' t know what was in each flight. These are my scores while blind, I think I was being extra conservative.
Flight 1 Wine A- Sweet, full, a little blocky next to Wine C, but only in comparison
- I liked. B+
1989 Ch.Pichon Baron.Wine B - quite muted at first, opens a bit, quite soft, some cassis but sho rt on finish. B-
1989 Ch.Lynch BagesWine C - at first sniff I thought corked, but that completely disappeared, leaving behind a funky/herbal complex nose. Fresh, full, and got my vote fo r WOTN. A-
1989 Ch.Pichon LalandeI think everyone was surprised at showing of the Lynch, though I've had var iable bottles (though this didn't seem cooked)
Flight 2 I liked one more than 2, thought this was Angelus and Tertre-R . W hoops!
Wine A- Plush, friendly, hint of animal, complex. A-/B+
1989 Ch.MontroseWine B - a bit hard, some wood, stern though ripe. B
1989 Ch.Cos d'EstournelFlight 3 Wine A- a little kirsch, wood, merlot-y, but with long finish B/B+
1989 Ch. PalmerWine B - Fleshy, ripe, full, easy.B+
1989 Ch. Leoville Las CasesFlight4 Wine A - at first I didn't think this was corked, then it developed swimmin g pool aromas, then real cardboard,. Too bad, seemed nice underneath.
1989 Ch. La ConseillanteWine B- balanced, full, fresh, black cherry and plum, leather., B+/A-
1989 Ch. L'EvangileWine C - leathery, earth, less giving than wine B but I liked. B+
1989 Vieux Chateau CertanFlight 5 Wine A -corked, damn!
1989 Ch. l'AngelusWine B - a bit roasted, jammy/plummy, mature. B/B-
1989 Ch. Tertre RoteboeufTighter voting than usual. We did our usual 3 points for favorite, 2 for se cond, 1 for third, ended up a very tight race. The wines that got votes
13 pts Montrose and Palmer 12 pts Pichon Lalande and LLC 8 pts Pichon Baron 2 pts L'EvangileThere was also a non-blind finisher
1989 Cauhape "Quintessence du Petit Manseng" Jurancon Apricot, wool, quince, moderately sweet, nice. B+ Good night, and I caught a comparatively early trainGrade disclaimer: I'm a very easy grader, basically A is an excellent wine, B a good wine, C drinkable. Anything below C means I wouldn't drink at a p arty where it was only choice.Furthermore, I offer no promises of objectivi ty, accuracy, and certainly not of consistency.