We tasted last night (2/19/14) (mostly) Merlots in Bordeaux's Last Hurrah (II):
1. Ch.Figeac AC: St.Emilion GrandCruClasse (MeBaC; TW) Proprietaire: A.Manoncourt 1970: Med.dark color w/
some bricking; some earthy/loamy/dusty fairly cedary/pencilly/oldBdx complex slightly tired nose; rather
metallic some earthy/dusty/loamy slight minty/cedary/pencilly/oldBdx fairly complex flavor w/ bit astringent
tannins; med.long bit charred/burnt/oak fairly minty/cedary/pencilly finish w/ a bit of an astringent
finish; a bit more on the tired side than the '71 and a bit dried out; not much exciting here. $7.79
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2. Ch.Figeac AC: St.Emilion GrandCruClasse (MeBaC; TW) Proprietaire: A.Manoncourt 1971[/b]: Med.color w/ some bricking;
light earthy/loamy rather cedary/pencilly/cigar box slight plummy/Merlot fruit fairly complex nose; softer/lusher
light earthy/dusty/loamy bit plummy/Merlot/herbal complex flavor w/ soft/smooth/light tannins; long rather
cedary/cigar box bit minty/smokey/oak slight plummy/Merlot finish w/ light/smooth tannins; much smoother
tannins than the '70 and still a bit of Merlot fruit. $5.89
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3. Ch.Cheval Blanc AC: St.Emilion 1er GCC (12%; MeBaC; 60% CabFranc/40% Merlot) Proprietaire: Heritiers Fourcaud-
Laussac 1970: Med.light color w/ some bricking; some herbal/plummy/fruity rather cedary/cigar box/old Bdx slight
earthy/dusty/mushroomy/pungent fairly complex nose; soft slight astringent/tannic/metallic/tinny light herbal/
plummy slight earthy/mushroomy rather cedary/pencilly/cigar box flavor w/ light/astringent tannins; long slight
brett/leathery/horsecollar light herbal/plummy some earthy/mushroomy complex finish w/ light/astringent/drying
tannins; a pleasant old Bdx but disappointing for a wine of this stature. $16.69
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4. Ch.LaFleur AC: Pomerol (MeBaC; 12%; 60% Merlot/40% CabFranc) Proprietaire: C. et. M.Robin 1970: Med.dark color
w/ some bricking; some oxidized/nutty somewhat toasty/charred/oak slight Merlot/plummy/fruity slight wet wool/
bretty/mushroomy some complex nose; soft bit metallic/dried out/tannic some Merlot/plummy bit charred/toasty/oak
slight cedary flavor w/ light/astringent tannins; long slight oxidized/nutty soft/smooth/textured slight plummy/
Merlot w/ light/soft tannins; as some Merlot fruit remaining but a bit of oxidation and starting to dry out;
a pleasant enough older Bdx but disappointing for such a prestigious estate. $13.79
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5. Ch.Gloria St.Julian AC: St.Julian (MeBaC; 12%; 65% CS/25% Merlot) Proprietaire: HenriMartin/St.Julian-Beychevelle
1970: Med.color w/ some bricking; slight herbal/dusty/earthy bit mushroomy/loamy/wet wool light cedary/pencilly
little fruit pleasant oldBdx nose; soft/smooth/quiet/gentle rather pencilly/cedary/cigar box slight bretty/
horsecollar bit complex flavor w/ light/smooth/silky tannins; long slight herbal/dusty/mushroomy some cedary/
pencilly/cigar box slight earthy/bretty finish w/ light/gentle tannins; a pleasant oldBdx that is rather a
quiet/gentle wine that whispers to you of its once greatness. $5.79
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6. Ch.LaMissionHautBrion AC: Graves GCC (MeBaC; 12%; 48% CS/40% Merlot) Soc.Civile des Domaines Woltner 1970:
Med.dark color w/ slight bricking; slight blackcurranty/Cab some charred/toasty/oak somewhat cedary/pencilly/
cigar box/old Bdx bit dusty/earthy some complex nose; bit tannic/dried out slight blackcurranty/Cab light
charred/toasty/oak some cedary/pencilly/old Bdx flavor w/ light/hard/astringent tannins; long some cedary/
pencilly/old Bdx bit charred/toasty/oak slight blackcurranty/plummy/fruit complex finish w/ light hard/
astringent tannins; still a bit of Cab fruit left but starting to dry out; a pleasant oldBdx but I expected
much more. $10.99 (LM)
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7. Chester'sAnvil Malbec MtVeeder/NapaVlly (14.5%; 49 cs) 2011: Very dark color; very strong rosemary/herbal/
chocolaty/Malbec rather toasty/smokey/oak/vanilla some earthy/loamy/mineral/graphite slight alcoholic quite
attractive nose; soft/lush ripe/chocolaty/black cherry/herbal/Malbec rather toasty/vanilla/oak light earthy/
loamy/herbal bit alcoholic flavor w/ some soft tannins; long bit herbal/rosemary rather chocolaty/black cherry
cola some vanilla/toasty/oak finish w/ soft/ripe tannins; a beautiful Malbec on the herbal/chocolaty side.
$41.00
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8. Lagier-Meredith Malbec MtVeeder/NapaVlly (14.1%) 2011: Very dark color; quite spicy/cinammon/black pepper
bit heral/rosemary/thyme light toasty/oak rather complex nose; bit tarter more structured some black cherry
cola/chocolaty bit herbal/very peppery/spicy light toasty/oak flavor w/ some hard/firm tannins; very long/
lingering slight herbal/thyme/earthy strong chocolaty/black cherry/cola/DrPepper very spicy/black pepper
light toasty/oak structured complex finish w/ some firm/hard tannins; needs more age; a bit more exotic &
interesting than the Chester's version; a beautiful rendition of Malbec. $44.50
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9. DavidCaffaro AcaModot DryCreekVlly RW (U/U; 13.6%; 56% CS/20%CabFranc/9% Barbera/8% Merlot/7% Malbec;
250 cs) 1999: Med.color w/ slight bricking; rather spicy/blackcurranty/Cab/herbal light vanilla/oak slight
minty/earthy very attractive slightly complex nose; soft very attractive blackcurranty/Cab slight bretty/
horsecollar/sweaty leather bit minty/menthol some herbal/spicy flavor w/ light/smooth/gentle tannins; fairly
long spicy/blackcurranty/Cab light vanilla/smokey/oak bit complex finish w/ light/smooth/gentle tannins;
quite an attractive mature Cab w/ lots of spicy notes. $16.00
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10. Az.Agr. Sant'Elena Ros di Rol Rosso IGT: VeneziaGiulia (Merlot; 13%; L01) Gradisca d'Isonzo/Friiuli
1998: Med.dark color w/ slight bricking; rather burnt/charred/smokey fairly earthy/loamy/dusty light Merlot/
plummy interesting nose; soft rather earthy/loamy/dusty/mineral slight plummy/Merlot rather charred/smokey/oak
rather rustic flavor w/ light tannins; med.long bit herbal/plummy/Merlot rather charred/burnt/toasty/oak
finish w/ light/smooth tannins; not a lot of Merlot fruit and a rather earthy/rustic rendition of Merlot;
a fairly interesting expression of Merlot at a good (recent) price. $19.00 (DiVino)
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11. Chester'sAnvil HattoriHanzo NapaVlly (14.5%; Cab/Malbec/Merlot/Syrah; 220 cs) 2011: Very dark color; strong
chocolaty/chalky/black curranty/Cab slight milk of magnesia/minerally light toasty/oak slight earthy quite
fragrant nose; fairly tart structured strong chocolaty/black curranty/Cab slight earthy/herbal light toasty/oak
quite spicy flavor w/ some smooth/firm tannins; very long strong blackcurranty/Cab/chocolaty bit mineral/chalky/
milk of magnesia rather spicy slight earthy/dusty light toasty/oak finish w/ some firm tannins; not as intense/
exotic as the Malbec but a good/solid Napa Cab at a very fair price; reminds me a bit of the old MikeBernstein
Cabs w/ less oak, a bit of the old AlBaxter/Veedercrest Cabs w/ more intensity & spice; wonderful Cab. $39.00
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And the usual stuff from TheBloodyPulpit:
1. A couple of months ago, I went back into the furtherest reaches of cellar and pulled out all my remaining Bdxs.
Decided I'd just throw them into a tasting and liquidate my Bdx holdings. For the first time in my life,
I'm Bdx-free. It feels so good. Free/free/free, at last from the tyranny of over-priced Bdx.
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2. These wines were bought just after I'd moved to LosAlamos from Manhattan and had discovered what a great
wine market Denver/Boulder was (still is..even better, now). Most of these wines were bought at HarryHoffman's,
a rather strange store in downtown Denver where the wines were stood upright on shelves behind long counters
and you had to ask the clerk to hold the btl if you wanted to examine a label. The remainder were purchased
at LiquorMart/Boulder during PhilReich's tenure. Back in those days, I listened faithfully to all the
then-famous/now-dead wine critics and bought accordingly. Eventually learned that I was worshiping false gods.
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3. These wines were mostly pleasant enough examples of old/mature Bdx's but, given the prestige of some of these
labels; I was a bit disappointed with these...not nearly as good as BdxsLastHurrah (I). There was just not
much left of these wines to get much excited about. Thus endeth, with a whimper, my ill-fated adventure into
the minefield of RedBdx...never to again be revisited.
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4. Caffaro: This wine was closed by the spongy NeoCork. A pretty sure sign for a dead wine at this age. It was
not...no signs of oxidation whatsoever. It was a pleasant example of a fully mature Calif Cab.
AcaModot comes from the name of a village site of the local Pomo indians. David's block of Cab varieties
is planted on this knoll on the backside of his property. If you go back there and grub around in the ground,
you can find the remains of ancient arrowheads, port sherds, plastic betting chips, and roulette wheels carved
from stone.
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5. Malbec: I am not a big fan of Malbec. The Cahors I've had seem, often, on the rough/rustic side. The ones from
Argentina are even less attractive. They less expensive ones seem to have a coarse/rustic side and a sourness
I get in a lot of SouthAmerica reds. The high-priced ones have that same course/rustic/sour character and a
ton of new oak. They may eventually evolve into something pleasant...but I've not had one yet. It just seems
to be an utterly charmless grape to me.
The Calif ones I've had are far/far better. These two Malbecs are probably the two best Malbecs I can recall
ever having. The L-M version seemed a bit less ripe than the CA one, but quite exotic and more interesting;
maybe the best Malbec I've yet had.
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6. HattoriHanzo: I am not a huge fan of Cabernets, no matter where from. The only Calif Cabs I consistently buy
are the MonteBellos, the DryCreekVnyd's, and the HattoriHanzo...all sure bets...all good company.
Tom