WTN: 1995 Bordeaux at Le Philosophe in NYC

OK, so I’ve been part of the “‘95s are so cranky- are they ever going to come out of their shell” crowd for a while. So when we were planning a 1995s at 20 dinner I had a little trepidation. Then recently a pretty nice Calon Segur made me feel more hopeful. Our group met in the nice downstairs room at Le Philosophe on Bond St (Noho I guess?). With some gougeres we enjoyed the NV Billecart-Salmon Brut Rose Champagne. Full, zesty, with cherry and citrus, very enjoyable. B+

Then on to the 1995 reds (I've tried to note any prep, from memory):

1995 Ch. Haut Bailly (double-decanted that afternoon)
Nice way to start. Cassis fruit tinged with mint and earth, nice fruit, balanced acids,
B+

I had frogs legs (needed a zippier presentation, I regretted not ordering the trotter with flageolets)

St. Emilion Flight

1995 Ch. Magdelaine (double-decanted that afternoon)
Lean and elegant, classic Magdelaine, tobacco and herbs over redder fruit. I think this, Barton, and Cos were ones with biggest diverging opinions. A-

1995 Ch. Angelus (double-decanted that afternoon)
I really found this mute and tight at first, really restrained though not really tough. But with air it got a cocoa/mocha thing going and lusher fruit, I quite liked at end. I put B- down originally, changed to B+

St Julien Flight

1995 Ch. Leoville Barton (double-decanted that morning) B
This was to me one of the tightest wines of the night, initially with a metallic note to it, though that faded and I liked better at end. B

1995 Ch. Leoville las Cases (Pop'n'Pour)
Young but quite nice, cocoa powder and black fruits. B+/A-

1995 Ch. Leoville Poyferre (PnP)
I thought this the most open of the flight. Ripe cassis, some tobacco, tannins in background. B+/A-

I had a nice flatiron steak with Bordelaise sauce.

First Pauillac Flight

1995 Ch. Grand Puy Lacoste (double-decanted that afternoon)
Sweet and open, plenty of fruit, distinct cigarbox notes, drinking well with long future. A-/B+

1995 Ch. Lynch Bages (PnP)B/B-
Tight and a touch tough, fruit is restrained, maybe just hiding but not giving a lot. B-/B

1995 Ch. Pichon Baron (double-decanted that afternoon)
Blackcurrant, graphite, tangy. A-/B+

We got a cheese course so we wouldn’t taste these without. A French goat cheese I didn’t know, Leonora from Spain, and Tumbleweed from Pennsylvania (initial waiter when asked said it was from France- “it is a mixture of Gouda and Chantal, and those are both French cheeses”- our main waiter said it was a cheddar/chantal cross)

Pauillacs and one St Estephe
1995 Ch. Cos d'Estournel (PnP)
I don’t know what to say about this wine- some liked, but I thought thin fruit, tough, a weird green olive meets funk, and somewhat clipped. The only wine that if I served at dinner for my wife I would have drawn a replacement. C+

1995 Ch. Mouton Rothschild (double-decanted that morning)
Lovely, full and exotic, Mushrooms and spice over good cassis fruit. I’m not historically a big Mouton fan but this is really good. A-

1995 Ch. Pichon Lalande (PnP, seepage/soaked cork under capsule)
I think I ran out of steam or just talked to much by this point, didn’t write anything but grade. But this didn’t show to me as damaged, quite good, just tight. B+/B

There were assorted dessert, and also a 375 ml of 2005 Ch. Caillou that waiter very generously brought out. I dislike tiny dessert glasses, didn’t allow much on nose, this could use a bit more acid but nice flavors.

We did our usual voting- every gets 6 pts to award (no more than 3 per wine). Either someone forgot a 3rd place vote or I missed one point.
Mouton 13 pts
GPL 9
LLC 7
Haut-Bailly 7
Magdelaine 6
Pichon Baron 2
Leo Barton 2
Poyferre 1

Fun night. Pretty much everything showed as well or better than I expected except the Cos and Lynch. Much more accessible and less grumpy than my expectations.

Grade disclaimer: I'm a very easy grader, basically A is an excellent wine, B a good wine, C drinkable. 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.

Thanks for those notes, Dale. I'm just starting on my '95s. In the last month or so, I found metallic notes in the bouquets of Poujeaux and Sociando-Mallet, thought that neither was singing as full throatedly as in some other vintages and feel that more time could be beneficial. Pontet-Canet was good a couple of years ago but my notes suggest improvement potential. I still have not tried Pichon Baron and Rauzan-Ségla but am encouraged by your note on the former. In view of the initial hype, the vintage has been disappointing so far but I don't give up hope that they may prove to be worth the wait.

Thanks Dale that is a very useful and timely update on this controversial vintage. It is also reassuring because I have a lot of faith in the 1995s, and invested quite heavily in this vintage from the outset.

In UK wine circles there is quite a degree of scepticism about this vintage, similar to the 1986s...the notion that the wines won't come round or don't have enough fruit to outlast the tannins, which is true fir some of the 1994s.

Ian and Tim,
I don't have a huge # of '95s, but happy to have them after this tasting. That said, I'm also a fan of 86. So tannin/structure don't bother me. I probably also like '88 and '94 more than most, but just realize they will always be "steak wines". While to me 86s and 95s, while always big, have potential to be more complex/complete.