Matt Richman arranged a tasting of some of the better '98 Right Bank wines at Inside in Greenwich Village ast night. A bit of infanticide, but overall they showed quite well, with no real dogs -I'd be happy to own any of them. Beyond my usual disclaimers, I'm going to note that (a) this wasn't blind, and I'm not immune to influences from others, and (b) in a rush to grab my wine bag and stems as I rushed for a train (I had to take Betsy to airport early this morning, wanted some sleep), I forgot my notes. But the notes were sparse anyway, and I jotted what I remembered on train. Main difference with no notes is that I'm unsure of appelation on couple of the German starters.
2003 Müller-Catoir Spätlese (unsure of vineyard, think it was a Haart one though) Nice tropical fruit meets citrus (lemon). I like, yum. A-/B+
1998 Müller-Catoir Mussbacher Eselshaut Kabinett Trocken (Pfalz) Steely to the point of austerity. Not a hit at the table, but I kept coming back to this. Really more about mineral flavors than fruit, though with time some orange and lemon fruit took up a stance. Reminds me of a (too young) Austrian Riesling. B+
There was also a 2003 Nahe Spätlese from Schäfer-Fröhlich, well-balanced for the vintage. Initially closed, then showing good rich fruit.B++
The '98 Right Bank Reds As a group I thought these showed well, considering the whole infanticide bit. Remember I'm an easy grader. I avoided drinking wine with my excellent fried oyster appetizer (with a tartar sauce, now there's a red wine killer), had the last 5 or so reds with an OK strip steak with white beans, greens, and parmesan.
1998 Canon La Gaffeliere (St. Emilion) Jeff didn't have chance to decant first. Pretty tight, a little smoke over ripe red fruit. Not showing a lot, and I unfortunately never had a chance to revisit. B/B-
1998 Certan de May (Pomerol) Also not decanted. This had a really intriguing earth/forestfloor/mushroom nose, that developed some cedar notes and leather after a while, but though I kept in my glass for quite a while, not a lot ever developed on the palate- some modest red fruit. Still, the nose grabbed me, and I probably liked better than the rest of crowd. B+ (averaging an A nose and a B- palate)
1998 Nenin (Pomerol) Nice, medium-to-full bodied, red fruit and a little vanilla.B/B+
1998 Clos l'Eglise (Pomerol) Really quite tight. Some coffee and dark fruit, but hard to get a read on this one. B?
1998 Pavie Decesse (St. Emilion) This was quite tight when double-decanted about 7 hours beforehand. I really liked this one, but recognize the inherent bias towards the wine that I brought. I found it rich, deep, with dense black fruit, ripe tannins, and a nice mineral-graphite note to the finish. A-
1998 Monbousquet(St. Emilion) Rich ripe and modern, a bit tannic with a berry note to the fruit. B/B+
1998 Ausone (St. Emilion) This I believe won the group vote as WOTN, with several referring to it as elegant. Not as big as some of the others, but I felt the tannins were a bit intrusive (maybe my mouth was just getting tired). But I liked better as it sat in glass, and a more mineral edge appeared, as well as more assertive blackberry fruit. Needs time.B+/A-
1998 L’Angelus(St. Emilion) This one was singing. Sure it needs time, but it's tasty now. Coffee/mocha over rich dark fruit, excellent wine. A-
1998 Pavie (St. Emilion) Thick, extracted, very California-ish. While it's not very typically Bordeaux to my tastes, neither is it the cartoonish undrinkable wine that some have decried. A big wine in a distinctly modern style. B/B+
1998 Pavie Macquin (St. Emilion) This one is also dense and extracted, but there's a more definable Bordeaux sense to it - lead pencil, earth, and smoke over concentrated black cherry and blackberry fruit. A-/A
Then some dessert wines (others had dessert, I had a cheese plate with Epoisses, Cabrales, and Manchego):
1998 La Tour Blanche Another in my recent streak of mediocre Sauternes/Barsac wines. Sweet and simple. B-
1985 Grahams Vintage Port Big, a bit hot, but quite good. A-
Fun night, good crowd, fast exit. Thanks to Matt for organizing.
Grade disclaimer: I'm a very easy grader, basically A is an excellent wine, B a good wine, C mediocre. 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 Dale
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