What a night! Friday was packed with members opening fantastic bottles and as you can imagine with my title, we were very privileged to experience a very rare and special wine: 2002 Haut Brion Blanc. 13 years has done a lot on this true Bordeaux gem but you would not be able to call its age as the wine was so alive with bright sweet citrus and spice! Sweet limes, lemon curd and juicy grapefruit raced through the creamy palate while savory and complex elements of lemongrass and fresh and dried herbs swirled within. There were subtle hints of white blossoms, soft peach, sweet cream and vanilla that really counterbalanced the wine’s minerality while adding a very seductive touch. Wow, what a treat to experience this extraordinary bottle!- Mind and Palate Was Thoroughly Blown!
We also opened two vintages, a decade apart, of Graieys house Bordeaux: 1996 Pichon Lalande and 2006 Pichon Lalande. The ’96 Pichon Lalande has been one of my favorite Second Growths to open. I think it is showing in a fantastic spot for Bordeaux with just the right amount of fruit still present while showcasing the elegance, the beauty, the complexities and the powerful structure of Pichon Lalande. You know this will take you well into another decade without remorse. Even though the 2006 Pichon Lalande is a baby, it showed quite well after a solid 3 hour decant; expressing generous fruit and power, enough for any Francoskeptics to enjoy. Dark minerals of crushed graphite, dense earth and wild mushrooms were followed by fresh leather and tobacco, wild herbs and near brooding spice. This shadow vintage will be fantastic to revisit with another decade in the cellar, but was pretty darn terrific for the present glass for those who seek more fruit.
1982 Talbot was a nice surprise. Tart red fruit was delicately hanging on while dense tobacco and cigar ash took charge of the palate. Dried herbs, dried clay, iron and dried rose petals elevated the mid but the finish went straight back with cigar, tobacco and matured leather.
1995 Fischer Vineyards Wedding Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon- Was a stunner!!! One of my favorites of the night with sweet Cali fruit and densely rounded spice. Everything about this bottle was seamless and ridiculously delicious.
Fantastic Bottles From The Night…
2006 Pichon Lalande
2009 Arnaud Ente Meursalt Seve du Clos
1995 Fischer Vineyards Wedding Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon
1997 ZD Cabernet Sauvignon
2012 El Molino Chardonnay
2002 Gibson Barossa Shiraz
2010 Numanthia
1989 Cos d’Estournel
1967 Calon Segur
NV Jose Dhondt Brut Champagne
1995 Guigal Cote Rotie
2012 Relic Kashaya pinot noir
1999 Solengo
2004 La Brune Servenay Champage
1982 Talbot
2011 Ornellaia
2010 Keever Insperado
2012 Orin Swift Papillon
2007 Merry Edwards Russian River Pinot Noir
2012 Glaetzer Amon Rah Barossa Shiraz
1998 Peter Michael Moulin Rouge
2012 Bosquet des Papes Chantes de Merle Chateauneuf du Papes Vieilles Vignes 1.5 L
2006 Louis Roeder Brut Starck
The Night’s Best Guilty Pleasures…
1999 Pride
2012 Robert Foley Claret
2012 Robert Foley Merlot
2012 Robert Foley Hudson Vineyards Pinot Noir
2012 Dancing Hares Proprietary Red