On a hot and sultry thunderstormy day, our Bordeaux group (and one out of town guest) met at our ?home base?, the Bobby Van?s on 54th St. Thunderstorms put kibosh on our plan to eat outside, but we?re all vaccinated, and I enjoyed the AC.
2013 Suenen "Les Robarts" Extra Brut Champagne Crisp and delicious, green apple with lemon zest, Parker rolls, and apple blossoms. Fine mousse, good finish. B+/A-Theme was 1996 Left Bank (Medoc and Graves). I enjoyed my wedge salad, fries, sauteed spinach, and made a heroic but futile effort to eat most of my delicious tomahawk.
1996 Leoville Poyferre (St Julien) Fresh, open, giving. Sweet cassis and graphite, a little fennelseed edge made it a bit exotic, happy with this. B+1996 Leoville Barton (St Julien) Solid black fruit framed by cigarash and toast, ok but a bit plodding and less fresh than others. B-
1996 Ducru Beaucaillou (St Julien) Cassis and black plum, fruit seems to get a bit more red character with time, cigarbox, pencil shavings, lovely and long. A-1996 Leoville Las Cases (St Julien) Alas, corked
1996 Montrose (St Estèphe) Fresh and young, surprisingly friendly for young Montrose, black fruits with herbs, silky texture, drinks more like a good Margaux than St Estephe. Long. A-/B+1996 Pichon Lalande (Pauillac) This was so elegant next to the more overtly powerful Lynch Bages. Black plum and currant, minty herbs, leather and tobacco. Beautiful A-
1996 Lynch Bages (Pauilac) Muscular, tannic, dark fruit with gravel and graphite. Long. A-/B+1996 La Mission Haut Brion (Pessac-Léognan) I was a little surprised how round and open this was, sweet black fruits, charred earth, coffee. Good but not real developed. B+
2002 Alois Kracher Grande Cuvée TBA #7 Nouvelle Vague Sweet, a touch treacly, the Kracher wines never really move me. B-Fun time. Group voting Montrose 15 pts Ducru 9 pts LMHB 9 pts Lynch 6 pts Pichon Lalande 5 pts Poyferre 3 pts
Grade 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 party where it was only choice.Furthermore, I offer no promises of objectivity, accuracy, and certainly not of consistency.