Last night a fun group of 8 convened at Il Corso in NYC for an evening of the wines of Branaire-Ducru. A nice evening with a great group of guys, very good food, and a mixed bag of wines.
While space is a little tight at Il Corso, I was happy with my food (grilled sardines with greens, tagliolini with mushrooms and speck, and excellent short ribs over mashed potatoes. Service was attentive, friendly yet unobtrusive. I'd happily go back.
The wines: Vietti Moscato d'Asti (sorry, didn't note vintage) Perfect starter as we waited for stragglers. Light, just a little bubbly, nicely sweet but not enough to screw up palate for later. B/B+
Flight 1
1975 Branaire Ducru (they've changed the nomenclature on bottles over the years, old ones say Duluc-Ducru, but for simplicity I'll just be consistent) (St Julien) (from magnum) Some funk at first, blows off quickly. I expected a '75 from mag to be a tannic hard wine, but this was surprisingly soft and easy. More red than black fruit, some leather and mushroom. I gave a B at first, but a revisit (thanks Brian for the mag!) drew an upgrade, a pretty mature Bordeaux at B+1978 Branaire Ducru (St. Julien) This too has some funk, but this one doesn't blow off. Smells like a little brett and a little asparagus juice. Better on palate than nose, but that's truly not saying much. C+
Flight 2
1982 Branaire Ducru (St. Julien) This is the one Branaire I've tasted repeatedly (after the BWE convention a few years ago where it was lovely, lots of people bought bottles). There has been a lot of variation (unsurprisingly), this one is in the middle of the pack. Soft, mature, nose of cedar and black plums. Some earth and mushrooms. I enjoy more than some others. B+1989 Branaire Ducru (St. Julien) This has a funny almost chemical edge to the nose. Yet on the palate this is lively and fresh, good acidity with young fruit. If I could get past the nose this would have been candidate for Wine of the Night. B/B+
Flight 3
1995 Branaire Ducru (St. Julien) Bright cassis fruit edged with kirsch, integrated oak, ripe and ready. Nice, maybe my favorite for current consumption. B+1996 Branaire Ducru (St. Julien) Tighter than the 1996, though it opens some in glass. Strutured, good depth and length, if it had 7-8 more years in bottle might be the one potential "wow" bottle of the night. B+
1998 Branaire Ducru (St. Julien) Just to keep this flight from being a winner, a real loser. Someone says the nose could be a CalCab- yeah, one of the poorer 1998 CalCabs. On the nose wood and ripe fruit, but also a little of that chemical thing I got on the 1989. On the palate lean, green, mean. I've been mentally upgrading my opinion of '98 Left Banks, but maybe not all of them. C+Flight 4
1999 Branaire Ducru (St. Julien) Soft and easy to drink, good ripe fruit, a touch of graphite, maybe just a touch dilute. But nice enough. B2000 Branaire Ducru (St. Julien) Bigger blackcurrant fruit, some vanilla and tobacco, good length. This needs time for oak and tannins to integrate, but pretty good. B+
2001 Branaire Ducru (St. Julien) I like the flavors here- black fruit, a little coffee, a touch of lead pencil. But there's a scratchiness to the tannins I wouldn't have expected from vintage. BFlight 5
2002 Branaire Ducru (St. Julien) Very sweet black plum and currant fruit, ripe tannins, a bit short. Needs time, but don't think this will ever be great. But certainly a servicable Bordeaux. B/B+2003 Branaire Ducru (St. Julien) Nice fruit flavors, but you can immediately sense the lower acidity here, and it takes away from the freshness. B
2004 Branaire Ducru (St. Julien) Sweet fruit, but totally dominated by oak, except for a strange green olive edge. B-1997 de Malle (Sauternes) I was concentrating on making my train, and didn't take any notes on this, or even give it any real concentration. My vague impression was a nice enough Sauternes, a bit on the soft side, ready to go now, with some light botrytis and tropical/apricot fruit.
OK, so no wine wowwed me. I didn't jump on Winesearcher as soon as I got home. But there were lots of solid wines (and a couple not so solid ones), and more importantly we all had a really nice time. Thanks to Paul as primary organizer, and to everyone for their contributions, vinuous and conversational.
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