Jean decided that we needed a hearty dinner tonight, so we fired up the grill and cooked a couple of ribeye steaks to go with corn on the cob, roasted potatoes and a green salad (well, Andrew also had peas). We'd been talking about our mutual hesitation about opening Bdx in the summertime, and with moderate temperatures today Jean brought out of the cellar:
2006 Smith Haut Lafitte Pessac-Leognan color: dark garnet with a brick rim nose: herbal, smoke, pencil lead, all atop cassis fruit palate: close to the nose, a bit of leatherhigh acidity and medium bodyJean was looking for a lighter Bdx and got it in one! Very ready to drink after a brief decant (not what I expect from a '96) and a good match with the steaks (a 4 on the Hoare scale: the wine was definitely improved by the steaks).
Mark Lipton