Wednesday Betsy was working, so with lemon chicken we had a small glass each of the leftovers of a Brocard Kimmeridgien (it had filled out a bit , more fruity than previous night, nice). When she left, I opened 375 of the 1999 La Chapelle de la Mission Haut Brion (Pessac-Léognan). Not showing a lot at first, just some blackcurrant fruit. Medium-bodied, moderately tannic. I kept going back occasionally as I worked at computer over 3 hours. Over the evening some pretty notes of flowers, smoke,tobacco and leather started to emerge; the fruit developed a redder profile. Will let the couple 750s wait a while longer. I also liked the '96 & '98 of this wine; would (on that limited experience) rank it near the top of the seconds. Would like to try the 2000, but every time I've seen it it's been north of $40 - too expensive for a second wine IMHO (I paid $19/750 for the '99). B+/A-
Thursday Betsy had a committee meeting before performance, so left before I got home. David and I had leftovers, and I popped the cork on the 2001 Dominique Laurent "Cuvee Numero 1" Bourgogne, which I had picked up recently for $12. Concentrated black cherry fruit with a distinctively Burgundian earth note. There is some toasty oak (hey, this is Dominique Laurent), more than I would prefer, but it's not overbearing. Big and beefy for a Bourgogne Rouge, I wouldn't be happy if this was a $25 village Pommard, but a good value at this price. B/B+
D. Laurent reminds me a little of Verget. The more expensive wines garner acclaim/points, but I don't tend to like. But I seem to find the lowest end of their portfolios more attractive.
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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