Last night Matt organized a 1985 Bordeaux horizontal at Morton's in midtown. I was looking forward to this as a fan of '85, but still was amazed how well these showed overall. Incredibly solid lineup, even though many aren't the pricier wines of the vintage.
Morton’s is great for me location-wise (6 minute walk to Grand Central),. and certainly the meat works well with Bordeaux. The issue is always the appetizers, none very red friendly, so I just went ahead with scallops in bacon (scallop, water, bacon, wine- rinse and repeat). Since I had just had steak at Pratt's Sunday I went with lamb chops- ok, but bone in filet for me next time. Waitstaff was attentive and generous with stems, though I thought John was going to have a coronary watching them tilt and twist bottles on opening (a couple of wines were double-decanted in advance, but this time I had no time between work and train to do the Talbot and Gruaud).
We started with a mystery wine, even though it was not blind. I had recently acquired cheaply a bottle of Zilliken that was believed to be 1990, but had no vintage, pradikat, AP # , or vineyard on label. Just the Zilliken Forstmiester Geltz name/emblem, old Skurnik import strip, nothing else. When I removed capsule it seemed to be real lead, which makes a little older than 1990 likely. Wine was mature but quite alive, softer acids, peachy fruit, some slately minerality. I'd guess Spatlese based on sweetness, obviously from a softer vintage.. John thought maybe it was something like an 82, and maybe from a vineyard other than Rausch, as it lacked a bit of grip. Enjoyable wine, and fun way to drink blind with the label showing. B
On to the reds. A really solid showing, and I'm probably grading a little tougher than usual, to provide gradation in a tight field.
Flight 1
1985 Talbot (St Julien)
Surprise of the night. A solid Cordier funk on opening, but more horsey than horsedung. Open and ready, a strong iron filing note and some tobacco, good length. Classic ripe St Julien, and just edged the Poyferre for me this night. A-
1985 Leoville Poyferre (St Julien)
Real earthy notes on nose, sweet cassis fruit, good acids, tannins still present but smooth. Nice length. Nice wine with a future. While I preferred the Talbot side by side, in 10 years I think this would rule. A-
Flight 2
1985 Gruaud Larose (St Julien)
Minty/herby, just a bit of barnyard, black currants and plums. Really a nice wine, though maybe a bit rough/blocky compared to its immediate predecessors. B+
1985 Ducru Beaucaillou (St Julien)
Earth and mushrooms, slightly stewed edge to the black fruits, with a little musty note that I didn't think was TCA. This was a recent acquistion, and consensus was it had seen some warmth at some point. NR
Ben's Mystery Wine #1
Nice wine, soft acids, some wood tannins, cassis with spice and cedar.
Guesses were all over the place, though solidly centered on Bdx varietals. We had guesses of Left and Right Bank, Tuscany, etc. My guess was 1983 Margaux AC, but it was actually the 1982 Grand Puy Lacoste. B+/A-
Flight 3
1985 Lafite-Rothschild (Pauillac)
Much more open than a bottle John served a couple years ago, though still a little tight. Black currants, lead pencil, cigarbox, powerful and elegant. Very long finish. A-/A
1985 Lynch Bages (Pauillac)
Full and ripe and exotic, really giving and open wine. Dark fruits, spice, a little saddle leather and coffee. A-/B+
Flight 4
1985 Canon (St Emilion)
I was alone in finding it my WOTN, but I just loved this. Heady mix of red and black fruits, wonderfully balanced acids and tannins, fresh, herbal, long. A/A-
1985 L’Evangile (Pomerol)
Minty/eucalyptus notes (a bit of a theme for the evening), soft, lush. Really quite a nice wine that I would love to have on my table, but slightly overshadowed by some of the others that were showing more structure and grip. B/B+
Ben's Mystery Wine #2
There was a funny caramelly note to the nose here, less apparent on palate, but somewhat clipped. He said he got at auction, and the guess was a little heat sometime along the way. 1986 Montelena
2001 Coutet (Barsac)
Apricot, peaches, and toffee. This is softer than I expected. I always think of 01 Sauternes as being a great combination of powerful fruit and zippy acids, this has the former but not the latter. Softest acidity of any 01 Sauternes I remember. Not a bad drink by any means, but less lively. B
Really excellent evening, with nice group and an amazingly consistent lineup of wines. Special thanks to Matt for organizing. Other than the couple that showed provenance issues, any wine last night could have easily stood proudly as the centerpiece of a dinner. Viva la '85!
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.
