WTN: Bordeaux 1970-1979 at an Italian restaurant

Ian organized a night of 70s Bordeaux last night, primarily with participants from Bordeaux Wine Enthusiasts (but they invited me anyway). . Nice mix of NYers and out of towners, some familiar faces, some new to me. Notably since when we did 80s the decade was defined as 1981 to 1990, this decade was 1970-1979.

Dinner was at Fabio Piccolo Fiore on the east side. I lugged in a case of wine, 9 for Ramon from joint purchases and then 3 for the dinner. I had asked re double decanting, but was told we'd open there (but at least half were actually d-d'ed). Restaurant did a nice job- bruschetta, pesto/tapenade, crab, calamari, burrata on tomato with roasted pepper, etc. We had a small portion of pappardelle with a mushroom/truffle sauce. I ordered a veal special - butterflied chop with a mushroom/wine sauce, good but the sauce overwhelmed the veal, the regular grilled chop looked better. Assorted desserts, but I don't do those.

There was a starter of the 2007 Anglada-Deleger "Blanchots Dessus" Chassagne Montrachet. A lot (most?) people loved this but I found it a bit clumsy and unfocused- a little wood, quite soft for a 2007, though there was some nice fruit. B-

On to the reds
Flight one
1970 Ch. La Lagune- I thought this showed well, happy as I have a bottle. Red and black cherries, light barnyard,nice balance, good finish. B+

1978 Ch. La Lagune- lovely, perfumed, my WOTF. B+/A-

1970 Ch. Giscours- Solid dark fruit, perfumed Margaux nose. B+

1975 Ch. Giscours- tannic, fruit fading, not charming. B-/C+

70 Giscours got table vote for WOTF.

Flight two
1971 Ch. Canon- we missed this at our Canon vertical this summer, but I've always thought this a VERY solid wine (my favorite Parker 67). Fully mature, maybe starting downslope, but solid fruit with mocha and earth notes. B+

1975 Ch. Figeac- corked

1978 Ch. Trotanoy- My WOTF, and a lovely bottle (a bit better than one I opened last year) . Fleshy yet defined, classic Pomerol lushness, still young. A-

1979 Ch. Pavie- light, a little lean, great perfumed nose but needs a bit more weight on palate. B

Trotanoy got table vote for WOTF.

Flight three
1957 Pichon Lalande - yes, this was a 70s tasting. Mark accidently grabbed wrong bottle when searching for the '70 (we've all done it). A pleasant mistake, I think this might be the first '57 Bdx I've ever had, and this drank much better than vintage reputation. Sweet red fruit, feminine, cigarbox, much fresher than I'd have guessed. B+

1978 Pichon Lalande -rounder, riper than the 1979, full, tobacco, earth. B+

1979 Pichon Lalande- the vintage's bright acids, midbodied herby, complex, elegant. My WOTF A-/B+

1957 got table vote for WOTF.

Flight four

1970 Ch. Palmer- stinky at first, that blows off, leaving a nice slightly tired claret- resolved tannins, black fruit, mushrooms. I think this bottle maybe not seen constant good storage. Jacques said it kept improving, but I didn't keep any- I should have. From what I had, B.

1975 Ch. Palmer- those tannins really clamp down, cocoa, some dark fruit. B

1978 Ch. Palmer- My WOTN. Lovely, complex, complete and balanced. A/A-

1979 Ch. Palmer- Bright, lively, lovely, though the '78 eclipses. B+/A-

1978 got table vote for WOTF.

Flight five
1975 Ch. Mouton Rothschild - stinky, funky, a combo of lots of VA and a little brett. C-

1975 Ch. Latour - structured, tannic, but with a nice nose of leather, earth, and cassis. B

1979 Ch. Latour- quite funky, moderate tannins, evident acids. Someone had described an earlier wine (I forget which) as having curry on the nose, I found my curry here. C+/B-

1975 got table vote for WOTF.

Flight six

1978 Ch. Haut Brion-solid,minerally, red and black fruit, tobacco. B+/A-

1978 Domaine de Chevalier- I always like this wine, and this is a good showing. Earth, tobacco, balanced acids, mature tannins, just classic Graves. My WOTF. A-/B+

1979 La Tour Haut Brion
Nothing wrong with this, but tough competition. A little rounder than the other 79s, a bit less fresh. B

Haut Brion got table vote for WOTF.

Flight seven

1970 Ch. Grand Puy Lacoste - I think this is cracking up, lots of VA, some decent fruit underneath, a couple others liked more than I did. C+/B-

1970 Ch. Montrose- upper shoulder fill, not best bottle I've had of this. Lots of barnyard, mushrooms, dark fruit. B/B-

1978 Ch. Montrose. Nice balance, just a hint of horsiness, blackcurrants, earth. Good, but not as good as a bottle we had at a vertical last year. B

1978 Montrose got table vote for WOTF.

At this point we did WOTN voting. Personally I've always found the "3 fingers for your first, 2 for second, 1 for third" pretty simple, but some seemed challenged. I think a few people voted for 4 wines as their 3 favorites, but I think the rankings were fairly clear. 1978 Palmer was WOTN, with '57 Pichon Lalande and 78 Haut Brion in close fight for second, followed by '78 Trot and 70 Giscours. Both La Lagunes, the Canon, Pavie, 78 Pichon Lalande, all Palmers, DDC, LTHB, and 78 Montrose got at least one vote.

Flight eight
1970 Ch. d'Yquem- tropical fruits, apricot, honey, butterscotch. Maybe not a great vintage, but very good B+

1970 Filhot- not as complex as the Yquem, orange zest, caramel, needs a little more zip, but fun. B

1978 Gilette Creme de Tete- there a little odd metallic streak here, detracting from an otherwise solid Sauternes. Still, nice to drink a wine we don't see much of. B-

Fun night. Thanks to Ian for arranging, Ramon for original restaurant hookup, everyone for their good company and good wines.

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. 

Wonderful notes and great gathering! Somehow I found a lot of nice Bordeaux in the 70s which remains still good value , I esp like your notes on 71 Canon's RP67!!

I had a lot of wonderful bottles of claret from the 70s at price which are very very reasonable indeed!

I had a lot of wonderful bottles of claret from the 70s at price which are very very reasonable indeed!

Besides the things like the Canon and the always good value la Lagune, even the acclaimed 78 Palmer isn't priced that bad- it's cheaper than the 2000, 2005, or (pre-arrival) 2009. Where's the logic in that?

Great notes by Dale ... and here's my $0.02.

BWE 1970s Bordeaux Dinner
Fabio Piccolo Fiore, NYC
101610

Flight 0:
2007 Anglada-Deleger "Blanchots Dessus" Chassagne Montrachet
When this bottle went around, I had to make a dash out of the restaurant to get home (2 blocks away) and get the digital camera that I promised to bring to the dinner and take photos with. I had a small 2-sip taste when I got back no notes. From memory, it was lively, fresh, approachable, and quite lush.


Flight 1

1970 Ch. La Lagune, Haut-Medoc
A lot of acidity but quite thin and was more tertiary with nothing else. B-

1970 Ch. Giscours, Margaux
Dark red in color. Soft and lush with sweet tannin. Drinking well. B+

1975 Ch. Giscours, Margaux
Tasted cooked and/or dried out. C

1978 Ch. La Lagune, Haut-Medoc (WOTF)
Pretty nose with wet leaves and earth. Slight harshness and some green, but good and fresh acidity. B


Flight 2:

1971 Ch. Canon, Saint-Emilion
Hint of brett but with air time turned expressive and sexy on the nose. Sweet fruit and smooth. A nicely mature Bordeaux. B+

1975 Ch. Figeac, Saint-Emilion
Badly corked wine. NR.

1978 Ch. Trotanoy, Pomerol (WOTF)
Slight medicinal note but full, rounded, power and finesse. A great wine. A-

1979 Ch. Pavie, Saint-Emilion
Ripe fruit and confection on the nose. Quite elegant, but tasted with the most fruit in the flight. B


Flight 3:

1957 Ch. Pichon Lalande, Pauillac (WOTF by 1 vote over the other 2 PLs in the flight and 2nd Place WOTN)
A mistake-pull by Mark (he was supposed to have brought the 1970 version), but certainly didn’t elicit complain from any attendee. Nose was very forward with sulfur, leather, and cigar. I was in the minority in assessing it as thin and somewhat drying. B

1978 Ch. Pichon Lalande, Pauillac
Lean, feminine, slow to come around, but still sexy and a Jane Fonda in the 70’s. B+

1979 Ch. Pichon Lalande, Pauillac
Very nice nose showing earth, poop, cigar and fruit.
Another well-balanced PL, but this time with muscle, power, layers of red fruit and structure that’s bigger than the ’78. A 70’s Raquel Welch when compared to the ’78. B+


Flight 4:

1970 Ch. Palmer, Margaux
Smelled some leaves and wet earth. Red fruit but quite fat. Short finish. B

1975 Ch. Palmer, Margaux
Subdued nose. Aside from some fruit just couldn’t get much out of this wine. B-

1978 Ch. Palmer, Margaux (WOTF and 1st Place WOTN)
Just couldn’t stop sniffing on this wine with its cigar, leather and cassis. Masculine and intense but smooth and with the lively acidity. Fresh tasting. Outstanding. A-

1979 Ch. Palmer, Margaux
Full-bodied, tart, slight but good vegetable taste, layers of blue and black berries. Good length. A very good Margaux., eclipsed by the excellent ‘78. B+


Flight 5:

1975 Ch. Mouton-Rothschild, Pauillac (WOTF)
I looked and looked and couldn’t find anything in the bottle as to why this wine bled profusely as I smelled band-aid. Wet cardboard was also present. Tasted red bell pepper. NR

1975 Ch. Latour, Pauillac
Secondary characteristics on the bouquet, with some fresh meat thrown in. This was harsh, it was lean and it was long. B

1979 Ch. Latour, Pauillac
Whiff of sulfur, leather, and grilled meat. Acidic and lacks intensity. Dammit. B-

Flight 6:

1978 Dom. de Chevalier, Pessac-Leognan
Smooth, medium-bodied, caressing mouth-feel, good balance, well-crafted. Not as spectacular as the others in the flight, but pound-for-pound, was not outmatched. I wish I have more of this. A-

1978 Ch. Haut-Brion, Pessac-Leognan (WOTF and 3rd Place WOTN)
Easily, one of the best, if not the best, bouquet among the evening’s wines. Leafy, confection, fruit, meat …! Finesse and silky smooth, but power and intensity are evident and with a slam-dunk finish. We finally hit a jackpot with the First Growths that we had. A-

1979 Ch. Latour Haut-Brion, Pessac-Leognan
Ok, so this little brother/cousin/sibling was matched up with big bro for the flight. This was Kobe Bryant to Shaq’s ‘78 Haut-Brion during the Lakers’ multiple championship years when they were together. This was all about tight lean muscle, balance and agility. Layered black and blue fruit. Just like most of Kobe’s last-second 3-pointers, my last sip on this one determined my vote for it as my WOTF/WOTN. A-


Flight 7:

1970 Ch. Grand Puy Lacoste, Pauillac
Brett. A bit too much of the fat, overripe taste. C

1970 Ch. Montrose, Saint-Estephe
Leather and cigar on the terrific nose. Round, but somewhat lacking in fruit and complexity. B-

1978 Ch. Montrose, Saint-Estephe (WOTF)
Showed more sweetness and ripeness than any of the others in the flight. Also, better balance. B


Flight 8:

1970 Ch. d’Yquem, Sauternes
Nutty, complex, honeyed, medium-bodied, suave, and oh-so-nice-and-easy in the mouth. A-

1970 Ch. Filhot, Sauternes
Earthy and wood on the nose. Less intense with lean ripeness. B

1978 Ch . Gilette “Crème de Tete”, Sauternes
Creamy, crème brulee, big wine but can make an excellent dessert. B+