WTN: New Year’s Eve wines

Angélus St. Emilion 2004
Thanks to Remo. A blend of 62% Merlot and 38% Cabernet Franc. Opaque purple-black with a slim purple-ruby-red rim. Lovely Cabernet Franc leafiness to fairly sweet and dry balance of Merlot fruit, medium vanilla barrique and finely-grained tannin. Good body and length. Touches of licorice stick and bitter chocolates. Soft roast beef or lamb. Good complexity. A success for the vintage, not quite on the level of the Palmer, but as good as or better than the Montrose. Not a particularly opulent and/or Merlot-driven Angélus, but the Cabernet Franc must have been perfectly ripe in this vintage. Deserves a few years of bottle age. Rating: 92+/93

Sociando-Mallet Haut-Médoc 1986
My last bottle. Deep, still faintly purple ruby-black, almost opaque at the center. Also retains firm half-dried cherry fruit and tannin, still slightly dusty. Not the nicest oak, reminiscent of an old boat at first, if with airing clearly clean, showing vanilla, nutmeg and charcoal oak. Tobacco and herbs. Faint walnut bitterness. Good body and length. Some stony minerality. Profited immensely from an hour’s plus airing. Rating: 91-/90-?

Bisol Prosecco di Valdobbiadene Brut Selection Schwander 2006
Nice vinosity, grapey little Prosecco, brown-bready brioche note, tasty, perlage is not too rough. Rating: ~85

Greetings from Switzerland, David.
_________________

„J'ai gâché vingt ans de mes plus belles années au billard. Si c'était à refaire, je recommencerais.“ – Roger Conti

[David M. Bueker]

Two thoughts:

1) Do you feel that Angélus is still worth the money? I recall when I could buy it with only a minor twinge of my conscience, now I get a migraine even thinking about it.

2) I had the '86 Sociando back in March, and it was much as you describe, if perhaps a bit fleshier - about all I could hope for from this wine, and pretty much where I expect the 1996 to go after another 10 years.

Dear David

1. You've read my notes long enough to know that quality/price ratio, to me, is a one way street. There is no rule that says expensive wine is good at all, let alone better. So what does "worth it" mean? Angélus, as far as I'm concerned has become more expensive, but noticeably better since the late eighties? - I don't know about that. It is tempting to think the top Châteaux make better wine in so-called "lesser" vintages, but then I have always wondered if those are worth having from a QPR perspective at all. Many great wines are (too) expensive, and we decide in favour or against buying them for a number of reasons, but ultimately the question is: can I do without it? When it comes to Angélus, I like their wines, but of course I can.

2. I've had slightly better, that is less oaky, fruitier bottles of the 1986 Sociando, even if on average, they performed very consistently, just as it should be.

Greetings from Switzerland, David.
_________________

„J'ai gâché vingt ans de mes plus belles années au billard. Si c'était à refaire, je recommencerais.“ – Roger Conti