By: AJ McClellan
A unique cast of characters assembled around the table at Graileys and brought with them an excellent selection of wines. Moving from California to Burgundy and at last finishing in Bordeaux this was a great night with some fun bottles of wine scattered around the table.
2007 Jack Quinn Agave Rose Vineyard – This bottle is always a pleasure to drink. The nose spoke of roses and violets with ripe plums, black cherries, currants, and chocolate pound cake. The palate always has a creamy velvety texture that gives it strength and allows it to drink with incredible smoothness. A nice finish of spice box and cigar smoke linger on the back of the palate for a good 30+ seconds.
2007 Insignia – Monster wine, we decanted this bottle for two hours before serving it and it still was wound up incredibly tight. Black fruits with sandal wood, match box, clove, lavender, vanilla, and tobacco on the nose. The palate was nice if you could get around the mammoth tannins that sat in the middle of your palate drying your mouth out like a raisin. I am convinced that this is a good bottle but any who drinks it within the next 5 years is committing infanticide, and you should really wait another 10 before popping the cork…
1997 Trapet Chambertin – I have commented several time on how much I love the 99 vintage of this bottle, not so much with the 97… the 1997 lacks freshness and complexity showing a meager display of red fruits with a clump of dirt and pocket lint.
1982 Talbot – This is possibility the best bottle of Talbot that I have ever consumed. Perfumed nose of red roses, a hint of spearmint, classic Bordeaux pencil shavings, barnyard, a touch of hay, and a dribble of kirsch. The palate exploded with pink rose petals, exotic dark fruits, cassis, star anise, notes of worn leather, and a hint of red currants and pomegranate. The wine has excellent balance with a long finish showing deep mocha, coffee, and brown sugar notes. I decanted the wine for an hour before serving it and the wine was immediately drinking very well, after another 2-3 hours in the glass the wine began to fade a little. I think this wine has another 5 years in the bottle left but don’t wait too long to serve it after you pop the cork.
1979 Pichon Lalande – Classic Pichon with notes of bright red fruits, scorched earth, crushed boulders, red flowers, and leather. The palate was complete and complex showing a montage of fruits and earth combined with subtle Asian spices and floral notes.
1986 Montrose – I was disappointed with the Montrose, out of a vintage where most of the wines I have tried were still young with powerful tannins the Montrose was lean and very old. The fruit had completely faded into nothingness and the wine was very thin on the palate. The nose showed big earth with notes of old spice and cloves. The palate was like a watered down mud soup seasoned with a few spices. Maybe it was just this bottle, but I was unimpressed.