John organized a 1985 Bordeaux tasting, and Victor graciously hosted in his lovely Upper East Side apartment. He had a great buffet set up= chacuter ie, cheeses, salads, and an amazing tortilla. Really nice group, for me a m ix of old friends and new.
Most of the wines were double-decanted in the afternoon. John had printed a tasting list with flights, but after the first 2 flights people started ro tating turns of going to grab a flight (not in order) and blinding group. I made not have this in exact order we were served, I was making notes on ba ck of sheet and then transcribing to tasting list, order is from memory.
1985 Ch. Carbonnieux Lovely showing from the get-go. Smoky, plummy nose, on the palate pretty re d and black fruit, good length, a real overachiever. B+
1985 Ch. Gloria Some disagreement here. I thought it a nice, round-styled wine with softer acids, that was pleasant but a little tired. B-
1985 Ch. d'Issan Sweet, earthy, leathery, with graphite and cigarbox over fine fruit.A-
1985 Ch. Chasse-Spleen Wow, could use this bottle in a classroom as a primer in TCA
1985 Ch. Poujeaux Midbodied, elegant, green tobacco leaf (some thought green pepper, not me). B+
1985 Ch. Sociando Mallet This was declared corked before it got to me
After this, the single blind wines. I didn't keep track of guesses, but Vic tor quickly identfied the Lynch/Cos flight.
1985 Ch. Lynch Bages Divisive, I liked. Fruity and forward, but with some tannic structure, long , but with a slight bitterness on finish than detracted. B
1985 Cos d'Estournel A bit foursquare and clunky, with a plodding woody finish. B-
1985 Ch. Leoville-Barton I was surprised when this was revealed, as it was more elegant than I think of LeoBart being. Slightly lifted, complex nose. Dark fruits, licorice, well-balanced. A-
1985 Ch. Ducru Beaucaillou Hurray, a bottle of this without evident TCA. Tight, some apparent acids, redder fruits, cinnamon. B+/B
Victor brought out a mystery wine (because we were clearly short on wine), black currant, leather, good if a bit muted. Someone called corked but I di dn't detect (I'm not real sensitive).1978 Grand Puy Lacoste B/B+
1985 Ch. Latour à Pomerol Dan quickly called this one. A strange wine, and some thought off. A hint o f something chemical - chlorine like but not TCA- but an intriguingly funky nose overall, with animal and mushroom notes. B
1985 Ch. Haut Bailly Mature, silky, elegant. B+/A-
Another bonus bottle appeared, the 1996 Bollinger Grand Annee. I'm not gene rally a Bolly fan, but this bottle at this moment really hit the spot. Cris p apples, brioche, with just a hint of hazelnut to hint at the Bolly style. A-
1985 Pavillon Rouge Somewhat dull, tired, woody, with a bit of brett. C
1985 Ch. Margaux Wood, dark plums, spice. I liked more than some, but I'm not looking for th is! B
1985 Ch. Latour Haut-Brion Pleasant and easy, not very complex but quite tasty. B+
1985 Ch. La Mission Haut-Brion Grumpy and tight, with only some mint/menthol showing. Gets better with air , but too many wines to revisit. At its best that I tasted , B/B+
1985 Ch. Figeac Slightly corked, too bad!
1985 Ch. l'Arrosée I was thinking this might be the Certan de May. Fleshy, cocoa and truffles, quite tasty. I'm surprised when revealed, best Arrosee I remember tasting. B+/A-
Victor suddenly appeared with another mystery bonus bottle, a structured a nd full bodied wine, a bit grouchy. There's a minty note, and Mark for LMHB , and Dan immediately got vintage. Even as it remained furled seemed beaut iful. 1981 La Mission Haut Brion A-
1985 Ch. Pichon Baron Sweet cassis and wood, but a bit closed, slightly clipped,some others like d more. B-
1985 Ch. Pichon Lalande Corked! Damn
1985 Ch. l'Evangile Unusual nose of cement and underbrush, tangy, great redder fruits, long. A-
1985 Ch. Certan de May (I was spitting, but not enough, having trouble with reading notes here).Ea rthy, mocha, lighter than the L'Evangile. B+
Last 2 weren't blind, by process of elimination
1985 Ch. Haut Brion Full, elegant, balanced. A-
1985 Ch. Pape-Clement Black fruits, balanced acids, tobacco and pencil shavings. Lovely. A-/B+ Really fun night, great group, great lineup that would have been even bett er without TCA!
Grade disclaimer: I'm a very easy grader, basically A is an excellent wine, B a good wine, C drinkable. Anything below C means I wouldn't drink at a p arty where it was only choice.Furthermore, I offer no promises of objectivi ty, accuracy, and certainly not of consistency.