WTN: Good Bordeaux, 1981-1990

Patrick was in town, and Ian organized a crew to welcome him back. So 10 hardy geeks (ok, 8 hardy geeks and 2 tolerant girlfriends) convened at Fabio Piccolo Fiore for a look at Bordeaux of the 80s decade. As no one was interested in drinking '80 Bdx, we counted the decade as 1981-1990. We managed to line up at least one wine from each major appellation, and all of the good vintages (we left out '84 & '87).

Fabio Piccolo Fiore did a good job of keeping us well supplied with stems and food- bruschetta, cheeses, proscuitto, soft shelled crab, pasta with a truffle sauce, and meat (lamb chops for me, I usually get the veal chop here, but had one Wed night).

NV Louis Roederer Brut
Full, yeasty, apple fruit and baking bread. I tend to gravitate towards the houses with lighter styles, but this is quite nice. B/B+

White Flight
2007 Ch. Olivier blanc
Citrus, grass, and a little oak, medium acidity, not bad (I probably liked a little less than most) B

1994 Ch. Pape Clement blanc
I've had quite a few oxidized Bdx blanc 94-01, but this is fresh as a daisy. midweight, crisp citrus, melon, touch of vanilla. Very good. A-/B+

Flight two: St-Emilion

1985 Belair
Resolved tannins, midweight, red fruit, smoke, leather. Fully mature. Nice and classic, if not compelling. B

1989 Ch. La Dominque
Black plums, still some moderate tannins, a bit soft. Nice. I'd give the edge to the Belair for now by a hair, but this might improve a bit. B

Flight three: 1981s

1981 Ch. Malescot St Exupery
One of my bottles. A bit of a lifted nose, red candied fruit, pencil shavings. Nice mature Margaux, but this might have just rounded top of hill, and if I had more they'd go into drink stack. B/B+

1981 Ch. La Tour Haut Brion
Comparatively dense, lots of Graves tobacco, good fruit, burnt earth. Nice B+

1983 Ch. Cos d'Estournel
OK, this was supposed to be an 81, but wrong bottle was pulled. That's ok, still fits overall theme. Fruit has a bit of a roasted edge, caramel, a hint of poop. Fully mature. B
 
Flight four: 1983 Right Banks

1983 Ch. L’Arrosee
Black plums, herbs, anise. Nice wine, happy to have gotten a bottle from same source as this one. B/B+

1983 Ch. L’Evangile
I liked this at an '83 tasting last year, but this shows even better. Classic Pomerol lushness, great mouthfeel, long. I saved some and it was even better with time. A-

1983 Ch. Canon 
Red fruit, cedar, a touch of cinnamon spice. A bit thinner than the other two, but nice complex nose. Too bad we didn't have this bottle at our Canon vertical (where 83 was cooked). B+

Flight five: 1982/1983 Medoc

1983 Ch. Lynch Bages
Black fruit, mushrooms, a bit exotic, but not as lively as it's flightmates. But nice fully mature wine. B+/B

1982 Ch. La Lagune
Plenty of that sweet 82 fruit, lively, plenty of life left. B+/A-

1983 Ch. Gruaud Larose
Plenty of the expected funk, and as normal some are turned off and it doesn't bother the rest of us. Blackcurrant, forest floor, barnyard, long and deep. A-/B+

Flight six: 1990s (and bonus LLC)

1990 Ch. Pichon Lalande
Famously controversial wine. This one shows pretty decently, clear herby/green streak, nice midbodied wine. A bit short. Someone thought it acidic, while I thought it rather low acid! Actually a pleasant enough wine, better than Parker's 79 points, but not a great showing for a super-second in a good year. B-

1975 Ch. Leoville Las Cases
We had to decided to admit an off-topic wine, glad we did. If there is an issue with this wine, it's that it still needs time. Broad black fruit with just a hint of graphite and cigarbox. Still some tannins, try again in 5-10. B/B+

1990 Ch. Leoville Las Cases
Fat black fruit, menthol, big but a bit boring. I expected to like more. B 

Flight seven: 1986 and 1988

1986 Ch. Rausan Segla
My favorite vintage of RS, and this showed very well. Nice upfront fruit, pretty floral Margaux nose, earth, a touch of burnt pipe tobacco. Long, balanced, lovely. A-

1988 Ch. La Mission Haut Brion
I love the '88 HB, don't think I've had the LMHB before, but its right up there. Big but balanced, smooth tannins, cassis marked with leather, tobacco and pencil shavings. A-

1986 Ch. Cos d'Estournel
This was double decanted in advance, but still seemed to need time.  Powerful black fruit, significant tannins, some earth and espresso. B+/A-

There was an '88 Sauternes, but I had to scram for train. Nice night, nice people, lots of good wines and laughs.
 
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. 

 

Good notes, Dale. Thanks.
I have some notes myself and will post shortly.

We voted at the end of evening, everyone giving 3 points to their favorite, 2 to 2nd favorite, 1 to third.
The results:
81 La Tour Haut Brion 19 pts
83 Evangile 11
86 Rausan Segla 9
85 Belair 4
82 La Lagune 4
83 L'arrosee 3
83 Lynch 3
86 Cos 2
75 LLC 2
89 Dominique 1
83 Gruaud 1
88 LMHB 1

For what it's worth, here are my belated notes.

1980’s Bordeaux
Fabio Piccolo Fiore, NYC
06/18/2010

A fun night, just as it usually were, when brothers Patrick and Brendan show up in town and we get together for some dinner, with lots of Bordeaux and plenty of laughs. Aside from catching up with the regulars and semi-regulars, it was great to meet Suraiya, Ashleigh, Sandy and Paul for the first time. All 10 of us were pretty much game and up to the fun task of drinking and evaluating examples of claret from the 1980’s up to and including 1990..

Fabio’s Restaurant in Midtown East are of the city provided classic Italian dishes that just has the slight modern twist to them. The service, just as in all of our prior dinners in the restaurant, was impeccable, efficient and courteous, without being over-bearing. Most of us opted for the soft-shell crab appetizer and the chef’s pasta dish that’s reminiscent of a simple cacio-e-pepe but Fabio’s while still very hot is tossed-in with truffles inside the hollowed portion of a very large wheel of pecorino romano cheese just prior to plating and serving. Our meat dishes were varied, but I see that we had steaks, lamb chops and the restaurant’s signature broiled veal chop, roughly the size of a baby’s head. All wine glasses were provided for, but as is customary for me when attending big wine dinners at Fabio’s, I bring my own as I live 2 short blocks away.

The whites:

NV Roederer Brut
Doughy, slight mineral/stone notes, quite rich, dry. A nice “let’s gather up” refreshment. B

1994 Ch. Pape Clement Blanc, Pessac-Leognan
Fresh light straw in color. Very appealing nose with confection and floral tones. Lemony, fresh-tasting, some tropical fruit notes, mellow yet there still that stern white Bordeaux quality to it. A silky finish. A-

2007 Ch. Olivier Blanc, Pessac-Leognan
Mineral and wood. Somewhat just darker than the previous Pape-Clement. Rich, oily, citrus and lime. I like the overall balance. B+

WOTF: 1994 Pape-Clement


The Reds:

Flight 1:
1985 Ch. Belair, Saint-Emilion
I smelled tobacco and dried herbs. Layers of lean but ripe red and blue fruit. An easy, pleasant drink. B

1989 Ch. La Dominique, Saint-Emilion
Ripe fruit, some wood and slight funkiness on the nose. Meaty, savory, big, well balanced. Medium length on the finish. B+

WOTF: 1989 La Dominique

Flight 2:
1983 Ch. Cos d’Estournel, Saint-Estephe
Leather, cigar and tertiary characteristics on the bouquet. Ripe, plump, and sweet, but a bit too one-dimensional. B

1981 Ch. Latour Haut-Brion, Pessac-Leognan
Nice complexity on the nose, with leather and fresh meat. Serious structure. Feminine elegance and class, but with some muscles. My and group’s WOTN. A-

1981 Malescot St. Exupery, Margaux
Earthy and dried herbs. Lean, thinner than the others in the same flight. Still showed mostly raspberries and cherries. B

WOTF: 1981 Latour Haut-Brion


Flight 3:
1983 Ch. Canon, Saint-Emilion
Savory nose with wood, cigar and leaves. Tasted with more savory flavors, meat, good acidity, well balanced. Good length on the finish. B+

1983 Ch. LArrosee, Saint Emilion
Ripe fruit and baking spices on the nose. Ripe and sweet, layers of blue/black fruit. International in style. B

1983 Ch. L’Evangile, Pomerol
Good whiff of meat and cigar. Nice fresh acidity and lean ripe fruit. There’s elegance and power. Excellent. A-

WOTF: 1983 L’Evangile


Flight 4:
1983 Ch. Lynch-Bages, Pauillac
Classic Bordeaux nose with pencil, hot concrete and leather. Wine was thin, some medicinal thing, not the balance that I prefer. B

1982 Ch. La Lagune, Haut-Medoc
Wood and some slight VA that I’m cool with. Lean fruit, some green, but I like the overall structure. Could use more bottle years to round out. A good wine. B+

1983 Ch. Gruaud-Larose, Saint-Julien
Band-aid, tree bark, barnyard. Beyond the nose, this was a solid, sometime unspectacular wine. Good fruit level. More austere than the other 2 in the flight. B

WOTF: 1982 La Lagune


Flight 5:
1975 Ch. Leoville-Las-Cases, Saint-Julien
Notes of smoke and meat. Austere, young, but classy. Mouth-feel was silky and seamless. Long and lingering finish. A-

1990 Ch. Pichon-Lalande, Pauillac
Too many things going in every direction. Some greenness, some sweetness. Not as good as any of the others today. B-

1990 Ch. Leoville-Las-Cases, Saint-Julien
Wood, herb and meat on the nose. Lot’s of ripeness and sweetness mixing in with a tad of green stuff. Still young, can get better imho, but not in same league as the 1975. B

WOTF: 1995 Leoville-Las-Cases

Flight 6:
1986 Ch. Rausan-Segla, Margaux
Leafy, earthy and herbs. Fresh acidity, a touch of green. Brutish but well structured. Tannin are evident. A good throwback wine representative of this vintage that I have come to prefer. A-

1988 Ch. La Mission-Haut-Brion, Pessac-Leognan
High acidity, slight green, milky, terrifically good texture. Long and lingering. B+

1986 Ch. Cos d’Estournel, Saint-Estephe
Touch of green, backward, high acidity. Tight and defined muscles and well structured. Revealed mostly red fruit. A good vintage for Cos. A-

WOTF: 1986 Cos d’Estournel

Sauternes:
1988 Ch. La Tour Blanche
An endearing sticky with appropriate sweetness. Showed maturity, but fresh-tasting. Citrus, shortbread. Very good. B+

thanks Ramon, nice to have (slightly) contrasting views.
Thanks too for acting as my banker
cheers!