By: AJ McClellan
Last night was a doozy at Graileys. We had some killer wines out on the table, I was very interested in comparing the Grange and the Guigal that we had opened. The Grange opened up right out of the bottle and was putting forth an impressive display of fruit and earth notes. I was somewhat disappointed with the Guigal thinking that the Grange was going to outshine it. Only after a few hours the Grange plateaued and the Guigal was still continuing to climb, getting better with every sip… I was also very surprised and impressed with the 96 Lynch Bages. Sometimes you just get a bottle that shows very well. I have had the 96 Lynch Bages several times in the recent past and this one was by far the best that I have had. Remarkable!
1996 Lynch Bages – This Lynch Bages was rocking. The nose showed notes of foliage with big black fruit and a subtle hint of tobacco and smoke. I was very impressed with the body and structure of the wine. The palate was smooth with great tannic structure and a long finish of black fruits and chocolate.
1998 Grange – Upon opening the Grange was killing it! Big blueberries with smoky herbaceous notes followed by massive chocolaty tannins and dried anise.
1995 Pichon Lalande – The Pichon was drinking well but surprisingly not quite up to the Lynch Bages. Classic earthy tones on the nose and palate with a slight thinness on the back end. The wine was very good but compared to the other wines on the table it faded to the wayside.
1996 Guigal La Mouline – The Guigal started off slow with a slight game note and smoke giving off signals of what was to come. After a good two hours in the glass the Guigal exploded to show a forest of tobacco seeded with roses and violets. There was also a very pleasant fruit note of black cherries and ripe black plums.
2000 Ponsot Clos de la Roche – I am sad to report that this bottle was inflicted with TCA… We kept going back to the wine through the night in hopes that the wine was not corked and at one point a hopeful member gave me the glass declaring that the wine may be drinking. After tasting the wine I still believe that while it was not overtly corked the wine was dead on the palate and showing slight signs of the dreaded trichloroanisole…
1997 Domaine Leflaive Puligny Montrachet 1er Les Folatieres – Oh how I love Leflaive. This wine was beautiful showing quince, pear, honeysuckle, limestone, and lilies. Impeccable balance with wonderful acidity and a great mineral finish. Yumm…
1998 Pichon Lalande – The 98 Pichon was showing very well. Still not quite competing with the 96 Lynch Bages, which was singing. The 98 Pichon was drinking very well with earthy undertones and a great fruit forward nature of a younger Bordeaux.