Last week we had a chance to taste some perfectly cellared 1986 Bordeaux among four of us, including Board member Lou Rittenhouse: the 1986 Pichon Lalande and the 1986 Léoville las Cases. Two great Bordeaux showing distinctive styles that turned out to resonate differently with the palates.
To start, we shared a 2005 Albert Mann Riesling Schlossberg, a wine that we had tasted at Thanksgiving. This bottle was opened mid-afternoon, a good 2 to 2.5 hours before tasting. This extra bit of air evidently made quite a difference in the profile compared to an earlier bottle tasted at Thanksgiving, where granitic soil and dust seemed to dominate the profile. Here the granitic mineral component was in the background behind a complex array of tropical and more northerly fruits and floral aromas. I am always amazed that these Riesling (when successful) can capture such a range of apparent climates in their fruit and floral character. The sweetness from the evidently 8-10 g/L of residual sugar was a bit more apparent as well, dominating the initial attack while the soil and floral notes emerged more clearly on the finish. Drinking well now with some air, but should be interesting to track over the next 10 years or so...
The 1986 Pichon Lalande has to be drinking close to its peak, with airy, high-toned aromas of olive, green aged tobacco, and cassis showing very expressively on the nose. On the palate, the presentation from initial attack to its long finish is horizontal, meaning it seems to spread across the palate, with inner mouth perfumes emerging as the spicy wine reacts vigorously on the palate. This wine manages a weightlessness that is not common among many top notch Bordeaux, and without sacrificing any richness of fruit on the palate.
The 1986 Léoville las Cases does not show the same signature crème de cassis mouthfeel of the 1982, 1990, and the young 1996 Léoville las Cases, but it does show that even more characteristic palate expression of layers unfolding vertically, or with depth in the wine. The nose shows aromas of cool menthol, rich aged dark tobacco (no green note), and a smoky undertone that is reluctantly coaxed from the glass. In the mouth, the wine is impeccably balanced, with an impressive muscular structure that shows no sharp edges, even if that creamy note is not there. Now the brooding suggestion of vertical layering here might well lead some to say the wine is simply not ready, I can’t help but feeling this is really the quintessential Léoville las Cases expression. This wine did nothing for Lou, but I still find myself beguiled by that intoxicating sensation of descent one gets with a great las Cases, as if plumbing the depths of the Marianas Trench. This seems to me a clear case where distinct styles of wine resonate very differently with different palates.
A group of five gathered at Chevalier Restaurant in Lafayette to further pare down our cellars on a night of unseasonably cold and foggy weather. First up was the 2002 Huet Vouvray Brut Pétillant, a sparkling wine that has attained a near cult status on at least one wine discussion board. Here one is advised to relax one expectations a bit, not in terms of quality, but in terms of the characteristics one might look for in a high end sparkling wine (AKA, Champagne). The profile is distinctive here, with the Chenin Blanc evincing a distinct profile from what one finds in a Chardonnay-based blanc. Golden yellow in color, the wine shows aromas of chalk and orchard fruit, with a fainter yeast note lingering in the background. Finely beaded, vigorous, and intensely flavored in the mouth, the wine spreads over the entire palate despite its almost austere dryness. Sour red apple flavors provide a counterpoint to the palpable chalky character that carries through from the nose, with the dry extract of the chalk lingering on the palate for minutes. A very distinctive and original rendition of a sparkling wine, with a trace of crisp fruit sweetness emerging only on the chalky finish. This should improve with some additional bottle age, rounding those slightly sharp edges and bringing out the incipient complexity in the wine.
Next up was a wine that was corked when we tried it earlier, the 1993 Chevillon Nuits Saint Georges les Saint Georges. Tonight the bottle was pristine and showing beautifully, with dominantly dark but soft fruit aromas wafting from the glass, rendered more interesting by underbrush and damp soil notes. In the mouth this is surprisingly full and round, almost unctuous—a surprise because somehow I had the impression (based apparently on unsupported anecdotes) that this was a leaner, even acidic vintage. There are still some substantial tannins left here, and a healthy acidity, but the richness and purity of the dark brooding fruit more than stands up to it. Outstanding now, maybe even better in five years.
And then a wine in a style that I do not normally care for, with the label showing 15.6% alcohol, the 2001 Peter Michael les Pavots. And yet this 47% Cabernet Franc, 45%(?) Cabernet Sauvignon, 8%(?) Merlot wine shows none of the heat that one might expect, giving off instead blackberry, blueberry, and cool mint aromas that somehow come across as exceedingly elegant and refined. None of that bruising, testosterone-laden style that one finds in a Foley or Switchback, for example. In the mouth this is incredibly dense and satiny, covering the palate with almost impenetrable but slowly volatilizing compendium of dark fruit, tar, and mint that provides the inner mouth perfume on the finish. I found I sipped rather than drank this, but that is really all one needs for the complete palate and aromatic experience.
Last up was a unprepossessing QPR from the old days, a 2000 Roger Sabon Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvée Prestige. The last bottle in my cellar, this showed well, with fragrant, airy Grenache aromas interwoven with spicy garrigue on the nose. In the mouth this is medium weight, with a healthy acidity and delineation that intensifies the red berry and licorice flavors of the Grenache. At peak now, or perhaps a year or two past, this wine came into its own in the last five years. A nice wine, but it could not help but suffer in comparison to its competitors on this evening.
