Our local chapter of the Commanderie de Bordeaux has a couple of hunters among the members and we decided to put on a game dinner at a local restaurant.
With pheasant consommé with pheasant quenelles:
2001 Carbonnieux – usually a decent if never very inspiring white Bordeax, this wine outperformed expectation in this instance. Nice lemony nose with a fair bit of oak, clean acidity, very pleasant. 60% sauv blanc
With poitrine sur lit d’endives:
2001 de Fieuzal – that this was a higher level of accomplishment was immediately plain. A lighter citric nose with the oak dialled back about two notches. In fact this wine sees more oak – it is just much better integrated. Excellent balance, clean with lower acidity than the Carbonnieux.
With fricassee du canard sauvage (to put visions of savage ducks out of your mind, that simply means wild duck):
1995 de Fieuzal – reprising the last white, but in red form with this course. Balanced fruit driven nose, medium bodied and slightly tannic but with good length. Enjoyable now and should hold quite a while.
1995 Branaire - nose showed a bit riper fruit on this one lots of stuffing here and still lots of tannin. A more serious wine and definitely my preference.
We then had a sorbet as a palate cleanser. Most of these are anything but, being far too sweet – in effect palate cloyers – early dessert in fact, but this one was one of the best I’ve had recently. Made from unsweetened fresh pear, it was only slightly sweet and when you got to the bottom, there was a wonderful surprise – the ball of sorbet was nested on a spoonful of Pear William! Excellent.
With civet de chevreuil et caribou:
1996 Haut Marbuzet – lots of oak showing in the nose, but also now showing some complexity. Good wine with a slightly astringent finish that should disappear with a bit more cellaring. Ample fruit to match the oak.
1996 Lafon Rochet – this St. Estephe was still a bit tight, showing a slightly hot nose, and not displaying as much fruit as the previous wine, but there was something I liked about it and I made a note to seek it out for a retaste in 2 or 3 years.
With cheese:
1993 Lagrange – I am NOT a fan of left bank wines in this vintage, and this one validated my judgement. The main defect was the green nose, which wouldn’t bother a lot of people, but it was also high in acid and tannin and low in fruit, with an almost sour finish. Thumbs down!
1986 Leoville Barton – from the ridiculous to the sublime. Warm cocoa nose combined with currant. Excellent fruit, good balance and it actually drank amazingly well, something I’d not have credited based on previous tastings a few years ago when it was a tannic brute. The brute is well on the way to being tamed!
2001 Roumieu – some botrytis, but none of the secondary coconut etc. It was fairly dark in colour already, a mild surprise given the age, and was sweet but with decent offsetting acidity, the whole being not overly weighty, pleasant now and not framed for a long life.
I don't think I've tasted a single right banker from either vintage, though I have a bottle or three of 94 Chauvin and Canon le Gaffiere on the way. The names you mention don't come up often. Recently lost a bid on some 93 Lynch Bages (have you had that?), but basically 95 and 96 are the 90's vintages I'm interested in.