Château la Garde1995 Pessac-Leognan, $18
This is outstanding. It’s incredibly smooth, balanced and harmonious. It has nice strong cassis aromas with accents of cedar, flowers and earth. The flavors follow, nice bright cassis fruit accented by a little cedar and earth. It goes terrifically with grilled, marinated butterflied leg of lamb.
Château Carbonnieux Pessac-Léognan 1998, ½ btl $12
Wow. Superb aromas and flavors of black currant, red berry and plum accented by smoke, earth and herbs, with great richness, incredible balance and enough acidity to provide good structure. Complex and harmonious. Outstanding match with leftover hot smoked leg of lamb marinated in mint/rosemary sauce.
Château Larruau 1999 Margaux
Classic Bordeaux nose with cedar, black currant, a little gravel and maybe a touch of green pepper. The palate follows with black currant fruit followed by cedar, earth and a little gravel. Fairly smooth, but with some grainy tannins and moderate acidity. Very enjoyable and an excellent match with grilled boneless chicken breast marinated in shawarma spices.
Château Béhèré 1999 Pauillac Cru Artisan
This was opened mid-meal after finishing the Beaulieu Tapestry (see earlier TN). This is lighter and more structured, which is to its benefit, plus it has more herbal notes, somewhat brighter fruit, and the oak, while present, hits with less of a thud and is more smoky than chocolatey. Overall, this is very nice and an excellent match with marinated grilled sirloin steak. The next day, it has a fine Bordeaux profile of black currant and cedar, and it’s nicely structured, well-balanced, even elegant. Importer: Wine Traditions, Falls Church, Va.