WTN: Haut-Bailly and Pape Clement, 1978-2005

Jay Miller (not the WA one, the one that used to post here) organized a very fun and informative dinner at Compass on the Upper West Side last night. We compared several vintages of Pape Clement and Haut Bailly. As special guests we had Haut Bauilly's manager Veronique Sanders and owner Robert Wilmers, which made the evening even better. Thanks to Jay and Panos Kakaviatos for their work putting this together, and to everyone for their contributions and conversation.

While folks were gathering we tried a blind white, the 2006 Courier "Ryan's Vineyard" Sauvignon Blanc. I brought this, as it was the one wine I had I could be pretty certain no one had tasted. Last time I served I had decanted for a couple of hours as winemaker suggested, this time just pop and pour (and I felt the wine a bit the worse for it). Some oxidative notes, lots of tropical (mango/papaya) fruit, shows just a tad hot. Big, not very SB typical, but interesting. I like, but not as much as previous time. B/B+

On to the main event:
Flight One
1978 Haut Bailly
Lighter bodied claret, red fruit, some cedar and earth. B

1978 Pape Clement
Lifted VA nose, sharp, a bit think on palate. B-/C+

1988 Haut Bailly
Nice, spicy, some red fruit, still some tannins hanging on, could hold. B/B+

1988 Pape Clement
Brett-bomb. I think of myself as brett-tolerant, but I couldn't bring myself to taste this at first. Raw sewage. It does blow off enough after a while to taste, a darker fruited wine than others in flight, some cassis among the diapers. Others liked more than I did. C+ at the end (D before)

Flight Two
1989 Haut Bailly
Balanced, lively, leather and tobacco over a solid fruit base. My WOTN (think I was alone in that). A-

1989 Pape Clement
Again a little VA lift, but not as much as the '78- this is interesting rather than intrusive. Some graphite and earth, good length, nice wine. B+/A-

1990 Haut Bailly
Shows more "1990" than the Pape. Roasted plums, smoke, still some tannins. B+

1990 Pape Clement
I don't like this quite as much as a bottle this fall, but it's still nice. Blackcurrant, spice, cigarbox. A ready to go middleweight. B+

Flight Three
1998 Haut Bailly
Intense minty/spicy nose, good acidity, good length. B+

1998 Pape Clement
Ripe but not overripe fruit (just a tad "animale"), mineral undertones, good concentration. Fruit is sweet but not jammy. B+/A-

2000 Haut Bailly
Red plum and redcurrant, nice length, nice concentration. Not giving a lot (this and the '00 PC both had 1-2 hours in a decanter plus time in bottle). B/B+ for now, probably better than that with time.

2000 Pape Clement
This IS showing just a tad jammy. Lots of vanilla, but mostly just lurking. Tannic. Probably underrating at B.

Flight Four
2001 Haut Bailly
Balanced, soft, and approachable. Don't think this will make old bones, but nice wine now. B+

2001 Pape Clement
Lush, extracted, showing lots of oak. Impressive, but not my style. Others liked more than I (I do own a couple, so wished I liked more- I'll hold and see what happens). I said it would have done well in NYT's CalCab tasting report. B

2002 Haut Bailly
Showing more structure than fruit, this isn't very fun at the moment. Maybe with time. B/B-

Flight Five

2004 Haut Bailly
Sweet red fruit, a bit of oak, nice length. B

2004 Pape Clement
Very ripe, lots of vanilla/oak aromas, bordering hot. I didn't get the weird coconut thing I had gotten from previous tasting, but again not my style. B-

2005 Haut Bailly
Ok, now this is ripe, sweet, big, and showing oak. I still like it , because there's an acidic backbone giving it some brightness. Put away, revisit in a decade or more. B+/A-

Nice night, thanks everyone.

Grade disclaimer: I'm a very easy grader, basically A is an excellent wine, B a good wine, C mediocre. Anything below C means I wouldn't drink at a party where it was only choice. Furthermore, I offer no promises of objectivity, accuracy, and certainly not of consistency

Sounds like a fun tasting. I have been a fan of Haut Bailly for a long time, but only had Pape Clement a few times since the 80s. In the 70s and early 80s, both estates made wines that showed the classic sweet tobacco Graves aroma as they matured. Is this still the case for the wines of the 90s and more recent? I didn't see it in your tasting notes.

Sounds like a fun tasting. I have been a fan of Haut Bailly for a long time, but only had Pape Clement a few times since the 80s. In the 70s and early 80s, both estates made wines that showed the classic sweet tobacco Graves aroma as they matured. Is this still the case for the wines of the 90s and more recent? I didn't see it in your tasting notes.

I didn't note it in either 1990 last night, but have found cigarbox (which to me is tobacco meets cedar) last two times I had the 1990 PC, last notes was from October:
I thought this was just lovely last night. Not huge, a beautiful svelte ripe Bordeaux.
Coffee and cigarbox framing blackcurrant and berry fruit. Lots of earthy notes. Mark got Graves quite fast. Definitely red wine QPR of the night

I didn't note tobacco in any of the '98s on, but then that is something that tends to appear with time. But......the stylistic change in PC makes me doubt it. I liked the '98 a lot, it hit my "mid-modern" sweetspot. But the 2000 on seemed full throttle modern. We'll see what happens as they age. The HB seems more likely to be classic- some changes, but less extreme.

That said, my opinion and $1.25 can get you a coffee at my local deli.

I should also note I've seen several notes on CellarTracker and elsewhere on 1988 PC, none mention excessive brett. But when my neighbor said "sewer", I showed him I had written "BRETT!!!" and "sewage" in my notebook. Then someone from other end came down to ask re the dirty sewage in that wine. The mysteries of brett blooms, can rival corks for causing bottle variation.

Sounds like a really interesting night, Dale.

I liked the 1988 Pape Clement a lot when I had it last. Nothing in my notes says "poopy". An off bottle?

Seems to me that Pape Clement, never a shy wine, has been getting sweeter and more lush with vanilla, cola etc in recent years. Although some don't like this style in their Bordeaux, I find that Pape carries it off better than some wines.

I liked the 1988 Pape Clement a lot when I had it last. Nothing in my notes says "poopy". An off bottle?.

I saw your note. That's the thing with brett, a few degrees for a couple months might cause a bloom. Most people don't seem to have issues, but as noted 3 separate people noted without interaction (and no one found it clean). But most bottles are apparently ok!

.

Seems to me that Pape Clement, never a shy wine, has been getting sweeter and more lush with vanilla, cola etc in recent years. Although some don't like this style in their Bordeaux, I find that Pape carries it off better than some wines.

Maybe, I'd agree with the '98. Not so sure with the later vintages. At least this time the '04 didn't smell like Hawaiian Tropic lke I thought the bottle at horizontal did.

Thanks for comments

What a lovely tasting! I haven't had the pleasure of tasting older PCs, but some of the recent vintages I have found very challenging wines for my taste in their overt modernity. H-B however is a property I dearly love (well ... I did have a few issues with the '04), and the '78 is one of the best mature Clarets I've had in years. Thanks for the notes, enjoyable read!

-O