Some NY Bordeaux-lovers gathered at the Afghan Kebab House on 9th Ave Friday to try some wines from the satellite appelations. I usually think of the term satellite as referring to the outlying Right Bank areas, but we were including the lesser-known or more general Left Bank ones, too.
With some spicy pakora-like starters (with pumpkin, spinach, and otherr fillings), we had a 2001 Von Hövel Oberemmler Hütte Riesling Auslese (Mosel Saar Ruwer). White flowers and peaches, balanced, long finish. B+
On to the satellites (I had good lamb kebabs):
1970 Chasse-Spleen (Moulis) Forest floor, fully mature, sliding down but not preciptiously yet. Pleasant if slightly fading red fruit, earthy. B/B+
1989 Tayac "Cuvee Prestige" (Côtes de Bourg) Good rich fruit, cocoa notes, medium-bodied with not much in the way of tannins left. Label says it's the most expensive wine in CdBourg, I guess that predates Roc de Cambes. Good, though little improvement through night it holds steady. B+
1990 Fontenil (Fronsac) Rich ripe nose, great texture in the mouth. A consensus crowd-pleaser. Lush ripe Merlot fruit, mostly integrated tannins, some cedar as well as light chocolate notes. Gets better as night goes on. A-
1996 Maucaillou (Moulis) Medium-bodied, earth, mineral, & mushroom notes, seemingly fully mature. B
1998 de Chambrun (Lalande de Pomerol) Big, lush, ripe, fat. Nothing shy about this one. B/B+
1998 Ch. la Fauconnaire (Montagne- St. Émilion) Toasty oak, red fruit. B
1999 Ste. Colombe (Côtes de Castillon) Ripe, red, and round. Some found it simple, but I really like. Great drink now QPR ($9-11 US) Bdx. B+
2000 de Carles (Fronsac) Not showing as well as recent bottles of this. I wondered re mild TCA, but think this has just shut down. Towards end of evening it began to show a little more- raspberry/blackberry fruit, toasty oak. A B/B+, but I've liked previous showings much better (I'm not sure if this was decanted in advance).
2000 Marsau (Côtes de Francs) Fat, oaky. Tasty in a very modern style. B/B+
2000 Grand Renom (Ste.Foy-Bordeaux) Somewhat interesting nose, but thin palate of muted red plum fruit. Little finish. Not technically flawed, but devoid of interest. I picked up for this tasting because I had never heard of appelation before. Based on this sample I'll certainly not go looking for another. C
2000 Caronne St. Gemme (Haut-Médoc), from 1.5 L Another round redfruit wine, but with just a hint of greenness or herbs (though not unpleasant). B
2000 Sardy (Côtes de Bergerac) Ok, not really a Bordeaux appelation, but same grape varieties. Pleasant medium-bodied wine, some blackcurrant fruit with a little grassy edge. B
1996 Sociando-Mallet (Haut- Médoc)] Big, tannic, stern. Needs time. Sturdy blackcurrant fruit, some oak, but dominated by tannins. Should be nice in a while though. B+/A-
1997 JJ Prüm Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese (Mosel Saar Ruwer) Tasty, though a little rounder than I prefer my Riesling. Honeysuckle, canned peaches, and apricot. B+
Overall, a fun night. Afghan Kebab was cheap and good. Only the Ste-Foy wasn't worth it's modest price tag ($10). I was sad this was my last bottle of the Fontenil, and that there was only one Tayac when I ordered from PC.
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. Dale
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