Ben Goldberg hosted our blind tasting group at his home in Greenwich Village last night for a truly incredible lineup. Can't do justice to Ben's generosity as he pulled out all the stops and opened some spectacular bottles in a series of flights where the wines were generally as eye-opening as they were outstanding.
Flight 1:
Wine A: corked, not a good start to the evening. Unfortunately it's the 1994 Château Laville Haut-Brion Blanc
Wine B was wonderful; rich, full bodied and creamy in texture with complex, layered flavours of rich white fruits, faint oily and lanolin notes and touches of hazelnut, butter and smoke. Very polished and seamless in the mouth, drinking beautifully right now. Most of us were guessing white Bordeaux with a fair amount of Semillon, this was revealed as the 1994 Château Pape Clément Blanc
Flight 2:
Wine A: Most of us were expecting plenty of Bordeaux this tasting, so this was unexpected - massively ripe, red fruited flavours and some alcoholic heat. Didn't particularly interesting, most of us felt it was from the new world (with quite a few thinking this was a ripe Cali Pinot), turns out it was the 2006 M. Chapoutier Châteauneuf-du-Pape Barbe Rac
Wine B: Tight, reticent aromatics that don't yield much more than some dark fruited flavours and faint baking spices. It's more giving in the mouth with really pure, vivid black cherry fruit over touches of earth and spices, powerful and well structured with firm tannins lurking on the back end, but finishes with a little heat. Many of us were guessing Pinot or Grenache for the flight but we were quite surprised when this was revealed as the 2005 Domaine du Pégaü Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Réservée
Wine C: Oh my! Easily my favourite of the flight; gorgeous aromatics with an intense, expressive scent combining bright red fruits, black cherries, sandalwood, herbs and faint floral notes and a palate full of deep red fruited flavours, herbs and earth, structured for the long haul with a spine of firm tannins and bright acids and finishing with serious length. Fantastic wine. Guesses for this one were all over the place, turns out it was the 2001 Henri Bonneau Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Flight 3:
Wine A: Starts out with beautiful understated flavours of cassis, red fruits and smoky accents with the oak subtle and nicely integrated in the background - then with some air this becomes wilder and shows more of a Cab Franc-like character, taking on beautiful forestal and herbal notes that combine seamlessly with the fruit and smokiness. Very polished, silken-textured and finessed in the mouth, power with restraint and a lightness of touch. Wonderful, perhaps my favourite of the flight - though it was a VERY tight call. 1998 Château La Mission Haut-Brion
Wine B: Tied with Wine A as group's favourite of the flight, 'wow' wine just from the aromatics alone; such an incredible scent combining cassis and plummy fruit flavours with cigar smoke and savoury earthy, graphite and cedar notes; rich and supple in the mouth with a great combination of primary and developed flavours that keep unravelling with time, beautifully balanced and finishing with serious length. This is the 1998 Château Smith Haut Lafitte and I may need to hunt some down.
Wine C is interesting. Not particularly likeable at first, it's tight, reticent and a little woody with the oak and structure dominating and the fruit a bit closed. With a bit of swirling this transforms, gorgeous smoky, deep fruited and earthy flavours emerge; it's striking how the flavours here seem darker-complexioned compared to all the other Graves in the flight as if the fruit was literally infused with damp earth and smoke. Very polished and finessed in texture, there's lovely acidity and grainy tannins at the back end and this kept developing and expanding in the glass, getting better and better with the last sips being the best. Then it's revealed as the 1998 Château Haut-Brion and jaws drop.
Wine D is more funky and rustic than the others in the flight; there's a bit of brett in the aromatics with leathery and saddle sweat scents in between the deep fruited, smoky and faintly herbal flavours. A powerhouse in the mouth; dense and broad with a glossy, polished texture that makes it very easy to drink, really delicious stuff. A couple of guesses that it may be Montrose given the bit of brett, turns out it's the 1998 Château Pape Clément. Amazing flight, all the wines were superb across the board - though the SHL and the La Mission HB stood out for me.
Flight 4:
Wine A may have been my favourite of the evening, a knockout from the first sip. Absolutely stunning aromatics with all sorts of wild things going on; developed smoky, leathery and cedary flavours on top of beef blood, iodine and olives, in the mouth it's seamless and perfectly integrated with a beautiful finessed texture, grainy tannins still lingering and a long savoury and meaty finish. Wow!
Wine B doesn't make quite the same impression initially, starting out surprisingly herbal and minty (a couple of us wondered if it was a very high end, classically styled Aussie or possibly a Heitz Martha's Vineyard), then with a little air the minty elements recede and it builds an incredible flavour profile of red fruits, olives and beef with an intense smoky character beneath getting more Syrah-like with time as more guesses at the table moved towards Hermitage. Brawny and powerful in the mouth, feeling surprisingly youthful with the tannins still quite firm but the balance, depth and sense of presence here is amazing.
Wine A's revealed to be the 1982 E. Guigal Côte-Rôtie La Landonne, B is the 1986 E. Guigal Côte-Rôtie La Landonne. Whoa.
Flight 5:
Murmurs of cork taint with Wine A which starts out feeling a little tired with some mustiness that had me worried about cork taint, but that clears up with a little air to show lovely developed Bordeaux flavours; mature red fruits, graphite, dried herbs, dusty earth and some sweaty/leathery elements on a medium weight frame that's very elegant, building intensity and power with some air. 1982 Château Gruaud Larose
Wine B is quite dark in colour with a core of intense cassis and plummy flavours and herbal, cedar and gentle forestal and truffle accents around the deep fruit. There's a sense of restrained power in the mouth; it's concentrated and full bodied but with a surprisingly light touch at the same time, and a seamless, glossy mouthfeel. Lovely. Quite astonished when it's revealed as the 1982 Château Léoville Poyferré, as it seemed remarkably young.
Wine C seems faintly corked, unlike in A this isn't a bit of mustiness/funk that blows off with air - there's a little fruit and earthiness still prevalent, there's just enough TCA to strip away a lot of the complexity and depth this could show with that overlying musty newspaper/cardboard character spoiling it. Quite a shame, as it's the 1982 Château Ducru-Beaucaillou.
Onto dessert, which is unmistakeably Sauternes - great stuff, light gold in colour and packed with apricots, caramel, pineapple and orange peel with softer cinnamon and vanilla notes, intensely rich and sweet but there's surprising acidity that keeps it beautifully balanced and gives the flavours a fresh, youthful sensation. Delicious. I guessed '01 given how fresh and youthful it seemed, was revealed to be the 1990 Château Raymond-Lafon Sauternes. Hell of a way to cap an amazing evening. Thanks again Ben and Wendy for your hospitality and generosity, amazing lineup of wines and some really good food in great company.
