WTN: 1996 Bdx at Harry's

Matt organized a look at how the 1996 Bordeaux were doing at Harry's in Hanover Square last night. It was actually specified, but we ended up with all Medoc and Graves, showing where everyone agrees the strength is.

We had a little semi-private room, good service, and good food (too much of it). When I arrived there was a starter going round, a 2005 Boxler Riesling. This is apparently a base model, with no little lot number to search out. Apple and a little apricot, hint of diesel, just a tad off dry, B/B-

Then followed a bottle of 2007 Chidaine "Clos Habert" Montlouis. Sec-tendre, fullbodied (someone called it light, I didn't think so), apple with some light wooly Chenin notes. B+

On to the reds, in 4 flights, non-blind. I think most people had aimed for doubledecanting in the AM.

Flight One- a bit of everything

1996 Ch. Lagrange (St Julien)
I was surprised how open this showed when decanted, it closed up a bit by time it made to city, but still was drinking ok. There's still some primary fruit and oak notes, but the tannins are integrating, and I think this isn't that far from ready. Nice acids, some earth notes. B+

1996 Ch. Sociando Mallet
Tight and showing nothing but herbal notes at first, opened up, this really needs time, but a very good wine. B/B+

1996 Ch. Malescot St. Exupery
The most open wine of the flight (and the night). Midbodied, perfumed, quite Margauxy, some forest floor. I thought it a bit short, but it was quite popular. B

There was a lobster, mushroom and butter bean salad, I personally retreated to a white.
As we went to next flight, we had Surf & turf (sea scallop atop short rib)

Flight Two- Leovilles

1996 Ch. Leoville Poyferre
Tight, and I kept thinking I got a whiff of TCA. So did a couple others, but none of us found it consistently, and others all disagree. A bit burly. No rating, I'm still not convinced this was a sound bottle.

1996 Ch. Leoville Barton
Most open of flight, but that's not saying much. But I really liked what I sensed underneath - big but rounded tannins, good cassis fruit, stern but with character. B+

1996 Ch. Leoville Las Cases
Tight, big but I just couldn't get any real sense of the wine, though some loved. I'll give it a (probably unfair) B/B-

Flight Three- Pauillacs (with ricotta gnocchi with lamb ragout)
1996 Ch. Pichon Baron
Now, this is more like it. It had showed little at decanting compared to Lagrange, it was really opening up. Blackcurrants, earth, tobacco. Tannins seem fine/supple, and there's a nice lively acidity. Big, needs time but really lovely. A-

1996 Ch. Pichon Lalande
This is quite different but equally lovely when it opens up. Medium bodied but with a feeling of power, mint/menthol under a solid base of dark fruit. A-

1996 Ch. Grand Puy Lacoste
Weird wine of the night. I took my first sniff as someone at other end said the words "popcorn butter" and I immediately knew they were referring to this wine. It smelled like it had been decanted into a (used) container from National Amusements theater. I remember liking this wine in the past, but I couldn't get past this, C+

Finally savory course was bone in filet, polenta sticks & creamed spinach
Flight Four- big boys from all over
1996 Ch. Montrose
Stern, monolithic, probably something great underneath. B

1996 Ch. La Mission Haut Brion
Wow, this showed well. Classic, tobacco and leather under powerful dark fruit, elegant and balanced. My WOTN by a hair. A-

1996 Ch. Ducru Beaucaillou
young and totally primary, but this is going to be really nice. A-/B+

We finished with 1971 Ch. Rayne Vigneau (with triple chocolate mousse cake for those that could). Apricots, orange zest, honey, still plenty of life here. B+

Thanks to Matt for organizing, Ben for arranging restaurant, and everyone for time and wines. I think as we expected in most cases the best is yet to come for these wines, but with the one exception (and I can't believe that's how GPL regularly shows) I'd be happy to own any of these.

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.

[David M. Bueker]

Thanks. I will keep the Lagrange accessible, and bury the Sociando even deeper in the cellar.

Great notes. Dale, it sounds like our 1996 S-M opened at Jacques in August was more forward and enjoyable than this bottle?

I have high hopes for my case of the 96 Lagrange after a terrific but young bottle in 2008. The 1996 Baron and Lalande are both terrific wines, I agree.

I was at a mini-1996 horizontal last year and all 5 wines (Cos, LLC, Lafon Rochet, Duhart, and GPL) showed the same way (with varying degrees of effectiveness): terrific, expressive bouquets followed by very dry palates. It seemed like they still needed time for the "bottle-sweetness"' to come out. Did you get this at all?

Just looked up my notes on the Sociando from August: Begining to drink well,. cassis and a little herbal note, tannins beginning to not dominate, nice. B+
That does sound more open.

Actually, if anything I thought the closed wines were better on palate than nose. The Poyferre, LLC, Montrose etc were pretty inexpressive on nose, a bit more giving on palate. But then of course there's a lot of tannin with all of them (the Malescot being sole exception). Of course, decanting time, storage, bottle variation, serving temp, groupthink all play a part in different showings.

I remember a 1996 Bordeaux offline several years ago at a little Greenwich Village restaurant, AOC Bedford, and the wines were extremely tight and difficult to appreciate. I brought a GPL and thought it showed great promise, so I am quite disturbed to read your note on the wine. Hopefully, that was a faulty bottle. A Leoville Poyferre was corked that night, and here you are mentioning possible TCA on your bottle. It was the 1996 vintage that made me realize I should be cellaring some of these left bankers. It seems like the results of this tasting were a mixed bag. I might search for my Lagrange.

Thanks for the good notes, Dale. Here are my $0.02:

Bordeaux Vintage 1996 Horizontal
Harry’s Steakhouse, NYC
02/28/2011

Matt organized and Ben arranged for the restaurant this time around. Other than the vintage and region, there were no other specifics on the wine theme, but everybody brought Left Bank wines, anyway. Harry’s has that old steakhouse touch to it, with the “power-scene” ambiance of being located in the Wall Street area. The wine and food services were very good, and so were the 5 course set-menu that was served for the occasion. I especially liked the Lobster & Asparagus Salad, the Seared Scallop & Short Rib, and the Bone-in Fillet with Polenta (I took home almost ¾ of my steak and it tasted just as good in Day 3).

White wines

2005 Boxler Riesling, Alsace
A little sulfur and petrol on the nose. Racy, mineral, lemon, dry and lengthy. Some tartness at the finish. I’ve had Boxler wines before, but this was quite impressive. Thanks to Nano for bringing. B+

2007 Francois Chidaine Montlouis sur loire “Clos Habert”, Loire Valley
Had a more earthy and woody nose. Lush and ripe, refreshing citrus component, hard candy. Good balance. A very enjoyable white starter, courtesy or Matt. A-


Red wines

Flight 1

1996 Ch. Malescot St. Exupery, Margaux
I like the inviting tobacco and leathery nose. This was open and appealing with sweetness, finesse, and some sexiness to it. My 3rd Place WOTN. A-

1996 Ch. Lagrange, St. Julien
A little sulfur and poop on the nose. Peppery, with the leanest level of fruit in the flight. If this bottle is an indicator, I’ll likely start to drink my own stash sooner rather than later. B

1996 Ch. Sociando Mallet, Haut Medoc
Appearss to have the darkest color in the flight. Earth, wood and leather on the bouquet. Came across as brash and young, oak, with that touch of green. In the flight, this showed more of the austerity and that classic throwback structure that I like. B+


Flight 2

1996 Ch. Leoville Barton, St. Julien
I’ve had this wine quite a few times before and this was the one that was the most approachable and inviting to drink. Smooth but masculine with tight muscles, high acidity, and nice red fruit. My 2nd Place WOTN and Group’s 3rd Place WOTN. A-

1996 Ch. Leoville Las Cases, St. Julien
Subdued smell indicating youth, but the whiff of TCA appeared evident. High in acidity that’s mostly sourness, imho. NR

1996 Ch. Leoville Poyferre, St. Julien
Woody, dry earth and herb on the bouquet. Another tight Saint Julien showing more high acidity at this point. Softened just enough to show blue fruit and a pleasant blalnce. B


Flight 3

1996 Ch. Grand Puy Lacoste, Pauillac
Milky, buttery smell. Some green and sourness to the taste. Iirc, it’s my first time to taste this wine, so am not sure if bottle is representative. NR

1996 Ch. Pichon Baron, Pauillac
Drinking very well tonight. Showed a fine delineation of components. This was a pleasure to sniff at and to savor and to pair with the dish. I opened a bottle (my personal) back in November and was similarly enamored by the wine. A-

1996 Ch. Pichon Lalande, Pauillac
Served from a decanter, this wine is young showing earth and wood on the nose. High in acidity. I may have been in the minority on this one as I found it very tight and although at some point there was enough to coax out a very solid structure showing class and muscles. I wish I had revisited towards the end of the night. Group’s 2nd Place WOTN. B


Flight 4

1996 Ch. Ducru Beaucaillou, St. Julien
Wood and leaves showing in its somewhat subdued nose. In spite of being very young and tight, the wine exudes the elegance and balance of a fine Bordeaux, with some green notes that’s more complementary than anything else. A long, tasty finish displaying more acidity. B+

1996 Ch. La Mission Haut Brion, Pessac-Leognan
Herbs, wet leaves and fruit on the inspiring bouquet. Again, in spite of its apparent youthfulness, there were notes of ripe blueberries, amidst high level of acidity and unresolved tannin. A pleasure to drink and, if one has multiple bottles, to experience it evolve over time. My and Group’s WOTN. A-

1996 Ch. Montrose, Pauillac
Backward and very tight. This big wine and without a doubt, a true Medoc, showed good promise if given more cellar time. B

Sweet wine
1971 Ch. de Rayne-Vigneau, Sauternes
Nice deep golden color. Kerosene, wood and meaty, mature Sauternes bouquet. It has pretty much everything I like in a Sauternes – in spite of the age it tasted with the appropriate level of freshness, the crème brulee, some nice tropical fruit flavor, layers of complexity, smoothness and good length. A-


At 15 years from vintage, I will not rush out to start drinking my 1996s. But, I’m highly optimistic that, at least based on the wines that we had, the Left Bank vintage 1996 will have a lot to fun things to offer for future enjoyment.

It was, as always, an enjoyable and a good wine-enlightening time spent with this core group. My thanks goes to everybody for the wines and the company, to Matt for organizing and to Ben for the restaurant arrangement.

Thanks for the notes guys, a few questions/comments:

So did both the Poyferre and the Las Cases suffer from TCA?

Is the Pichon Baron a good wine now? I have tasted the wine 4-5 times in the past and it was always awkward and disjointed.

I have loved the Grand Puy Lacoste in the past, time to try a bottle and see if something is seriously wrong there?

I have drunk both the Pichon Lalande and the Sociando Mallet in the last month and loved them both. Two very very different wines but I absolutely loved the Pichon Lalande and didn't find it that tight.

The La Mission totally underwhelmed me when I opened it a few years back. I sold my remaining bottles. Probably a bit hasty.

I definitely thought it was the Poyferre that maybe showed TCA taint (it was like every 3rd sniff I'd get a hint, then when I went looking for it it just seemed inexpressive- where's Jay? I thought he agreed with me, but it's possible that he thought I was talking re the LLC- opposite ends of a long table).

I can't imagine this is typical of the GPL - I've enjoyed before.

Diane, my experience with Lagrange is it typically shows well earlier than some, but then maintains a plateau. I'd be in no hurry. The '89 and '90 have been drinking well for 6-8 years and I feel no need to drink up. The La Mish was the definite fun surprise of the night.

[Jenise]

I remember a 1996 Bordeaux offline several years ago at a little Greenwich Village restaurant, AOC Bedford, and the wines were extremely tight and difficult to appreciate. I brought a GPL and thought it showed great promise, so I am quite disturbed to read your note on the wine. Hopefully, that was a faulty bottle.

Am thinking the same thing, Diane. I participated in a tasting of 96's about eight years ago in which the GPL was one of the strongest surprises of the night. It showed the potential (and don't listen to me, but there were experts there who agreed) to be one of the greatest wines of that vintage. This just has to be a bad bottle.

The GPL was an off bottle. I really wish I'd thought to get a backup out of storage. It smelled a little funky when I opened it, but I hoped it might blow off.

I've had it a few times in the past and it is a wonderful wine, although with so many stellar '96's I can't say it's near the wine of the vintage.