AJ McClellan
The day dawned on another unassuming Friday, another end-of-the-week day sandwiched between Thursday and Saturday, a wintry day when the best you can hope for is a pot of hot soup and a shot or two of bad tequila…. Yeah right! Not at Graileys! When our members get rolling with a head of steam it’s impossible to stop them and you might as well just hang on for the ride!
As I said it was just another Friday – for Graileys, that is. We started off with a killer Burgundy –2007 1er Beaune Les Avaux from Camille Girourd. This was a fantastic wine that sang of red raspberries and a crisp minerality; it was lighthearted and easy drinking.
As our members started rolling in, the bottles really started popping, beginning with 2000 Ornellaia. I must tell you, if I ever have a daughter I just might name her Ornellaia – I love this wine! Year in and year out Ornellaia has been a consistently fantastic producer of high quality juice. Stewed plum and baked cherries are the first impression on the nose of this wine, but not to fear: if you take a second whiff you will discover the decadent forest floor that we all know and love, along with a light toast and cherry pith. The palate is every bit as expressive as the nose with a boisterous mid palate and a finish of salumi and dried tobacco.
Next Simon decided to unveil the 1990 Dominus. Don’t let the appearance of the bottle fool you. This one was a real treasure and goes to show that the old adage is true – it’s not what’s on the outside, but what’s on the inside that counts. Tanned leather and cedar with green leaf tobacco and black earth erupt from the bottle upon opening, showering the group in a perfume that filled the room. How interesting – this wine reminds me of a great Pomerol.
Continuing with the new world trend, the next wine was a Magnum of 1998 Shafer Merlot. This wine is what California Merlot should be – ripe red raspberry and red currant with a strong back of cooking spice. Its tannins are present but not overpowering, it’s smooth on the finish and has a nicely balanced mid pallet. Because of the size of the bottle the wine was not showing its age and retained its fresh ripe characteristics.
2001 Snowden was popped and on the table before the Shafer was half empty. This was my first time trying this highly regarded Napa cult wine. Snowden’s first vintage was in 1993 – up until then they had sold all of their grapes to the Stags Leap Winery – and 2001 was a great vintage in Napa, so this wine was showing remarkably well. First impression was of dried red fruits and black pepper, then the subtle black liquorish started to kick in and all of the wood spice fell into place. The tannins were still kicking and the acid balanced out the wine making it a pleasure to drink.
Now that our palates had warmed up it was time to get down and dirty, and what lovely funk were we to find? First out the gate was the 1970 Latour. Black berry, cherry, cedar, violets, wet brass, pencil shavings, and gravel slammed into my face almost throwing me from my chair – this was a wine to be contended with! Despite its age the wine was not tired in the least and was prancing around on my palate like a puppy begging for a fat t-bone steak. The mid palate still carried a fair amount of ripe and tart fruit and the finish danced on and on, until finally I was too impatient to outlast it and had to take another sip of wine. As one of our members so eloquently put it: “This wine tastes like awesome!”
After the 1970 Latour we tried a 1975 Latour – purely in the interests of scientific research, you understand. Immediately after the wine hit the glass Simon boisterously declared: “This wine has a lot more BOOM” and everyone around the table had to nod their heads in agreement. While the 70 Latour was an iron fist in a velvet glove, the 1975 was an iron fist in a steel gauntlet. Ripe red raspberries and red currant were very prevalent on the nose of this wine with cedar and pine needles. The palate showed off hints of blood and iron with spice box and forest floor. Chewy tannins and a smooth finish made this wine a delight to enjoy, but it could not quite top the 1970 Latour in my opinion.
After the powerful Latours we decided to experience a wine with a little more finesse; all heads turned to find out what wine would be poured next. A 1978 Margaux made its way to the table and I think the proud owner of the Latours knew that he was in for a challenge. The Margaux was almost the exact opposite of the Latour – pure elegance, sex in a glass. When I poured the wine it looked less like fermented grape juice and more like liquid silk. The burnt black currant in the Margaux danced out of the glass doing a sultry tango with dried tobacco, fig, and dark chocolate, and there was even a hint of floral autumn lingering on the nose. The tannins were made of pure silk, and the wine had an enchanting finish of decaying leaves making me, if only for a moment, forget all my troubles. Dlynn summed up this wine in four words: elegant, sexy, demure, and beguiling.
Now it was on and the gloves were off. The next wine to hit the table was one of my favorite wines of all time – 1982 Haut Brion. The wine’s nose poured out of the glass like poetry, with a subtle smoky overtone backed by cigar box, pencil lead, massive wet stone, and braised meat. The palate was no less spectacular with diced currants, dried flowers and notes of compost soil and sheep’s wool. This wine reminds me of a UFC fighter with raw power. The finish was magnificent with a spicy red raspberry pie filled with gravel and served with a side of smoked herbs.
After a brief breather to recover from the awesome that was 1982 Haut Brion, it was time to move on to the next wine in our lineup – 1989 Latour in Magnum. Even after a double decant you could tell this wine was young, easily having another 20 years until it reaches maturity. I left this wine in my glass for the rest of the tasting off to the side. The Latour started with black cassis and big tobacco, and after an hour in the glass it moved on to cigar box and sweet currant a light nuttiness of crushed almonds. After another hour in the glass the Latour finally opened up to reveal sweet currant, liquorish, moderate vanilla, tea leaf, and coffee beans. By the end of the night this wine was rocking!
Next we had the 1990 Lafite. This wine was massive with a bright red cherry on the nose with cigar box, green coffee bean, and wild berries. On the palate the tannins were velvety soft while still having a good amount of grip. One of our members declared that when drinking the Lafite he heard a symphony of flavors playing in the background. And Dlynn attuned the wine to the 5th overture playing very quietly. With a long beautiful finish this wine was absolutely killer; I can only imagine what it will be drinking like in another 15-20 years.
We finished with one of my favorite wine producers – you guessed it – Guigal. The 1987 Guigal La Turque was stunning with immediate cinnamon and nutmeg up front and a light vanilla bean quietly sitting in the back. The palate was like eating a meal of pulled pork and roasted duck with the whole spice box as seasoning and garnished with black liquorish and anise. This wine reminds me of WOW in a glass. After allowing the wine some time to open up you discover the bouquet of purple flowers coupled with brioche prosciutto and milk chocolate. Right when you think it’s done the wine changes again to reveal bigger vanilla with blueberries and eucalyptus. The wine had chewy velvety tannins and a fantastically crisp acidity, accompanied by a finish that lasted until the sun came up, and as a result this was one of my favorite wines of the night.
But oh wait there’s more! When we thought it was over the 1827 Quinta de Serrado Madeira came out to play. With a rich caramel toffee nose and a palate of amber, coffee, caramel apples, and brown sugar this was the perfect way to end the night.
