WTN: 1996 Medoc at Bobby Vans

Our Bordeaux group met at Bobby Vans steakhouse (midtown east location) Tuesday night for a 20 year look at the ‘96 Medocs ( I’m looking forward to the 30 year retrospective). Good porterhouse, good service, nice table without excess noise.

Ulysse Collin “Les Roises” Champagne
I think this was NV. Bigger styled, like a big Chard with bubbles, pears with a light nutty note, good finish. B+/B

Reds (in flights of twos)

1996 Ch. Lagrange
More open (probably most open wine of the night)I was in the minority preferring the Lagrange in this flight. B+/B

1996 Ch. Gruaud Larose
Cassis, lots of funk. With time I thought there was a metallic edge to the finish. But most people liked this over Lagrange. B-

1996 Ch. Leoville Poyferre
I liked this a lot, ripe cassis but classic notes of tobacco, cedar and leather. Young but fun to drink already. A-/B+

1996 Ch. Leoville Barton
Decanted right before dinner, this came out as a bit clunky/chunky. Wood tannin, somewhat muddied fruit. B-/C+

1996 Ch. Ducru Beaucaillou
This did not seem corked or cooked. But didn’t remind me at all of the (several) bottles of this I’ve had in last few years (and loved). No obvious flaws (other than a light sour/lactic note), but withdrawn and a little dull. B-/C+

1996 Ch. Leoville Las Cases
Big, powerful young, some cigarbox but mostly big blackcurrant fruit. Nice texture. A-/B+

1996 Ch. Cos d'Estournel
Structured, hard, probably good stuff underneath but hard to enjoy now. B?

1996 Ch. Calon Segur
(I need to go back to pen and paper. Phone auto corrected to Colon Sevareid) Sturdy, restrained, needs time. B?

1996 Ch. Pichon Baron
Burly but good. Muscular style, young. B+

1996 Ch. Pichon Lalande
Easily most elegant wine of the night. Young, perfumed, great mouthfeel. Delicious now, long future. A-

1996 Ch. Lynch Bages
By this point I wasn’t writing anything down, but I did like this, though young and primary. B+

1996 Ch. Grand Puy Lacoste
Also quite primary, though there was a nice Pauillac pencil lead note coming out. B+

1996 Ch. Suduiraut
This was a pleasant surprise to me, not much experience with ‘96 Sauternes but not something I had high expectations for. Honied botrytis notes, orange rind/marmalade, good acids, good finish. B+

Group Voting
Pichon Lalande 22 pts
LLC 15 pts
Poyferre 12 pts
GPL 2 pts
PBaron 1 pt
Calon Segur 1 pt
Ducru 1 pt

I thought the wines were very good, but drank more like they were 10 than 20. Fun night, good group

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.

[David M. Bueker]

Thanks. I have a few Lagrange, Pontet Canet and Sociando in the cellar. The Lagrange has been reasonably friendly for a long time. The others not so much.

Thanks for your notes Dale. They reinforce my recent experiences. That some of these wines are evolving at a glacial pace. The 1996s appear to have slowed down while the 2000s have speeded up. Ten years ago one would have hoped that these most of these wines would be ready by now.

I'm a fan of the 1996s which I've opened so far after a 15+ year wait, particularly Sociando-Mallet and Poujeaux. I have a few bottles of Léoville-Barton and Cos d'Estournel and it sounds as if I should let them sleep for a few years more.