Bordeaux Dinner 11.11.10.

These notes were taken over dinner at Hewat’s in Causewayside, Edinburgh. Everyone associates Bordeaux with powerful, earthy red wine, but the whites tonight were a salutary reminder that - when you can find it - white Bordeaux can be stunningly good. As for the reds, the left-bank classed growths from the 90s generally felt still a little hard and tannic, while those from the 80s were becoming more open and attractive.  

I was struggling so much to keep up with notes on the wines that I rather neglected the (competent but uninspiring) dinner.

Moët et Chandon Grand Vintage 2000

A champagne aperitif. Not very bready, really a mix of green fruit and buttercream, a delicious balance of cream and acid with a “not very ferocious” lemon character. Definitely showing Chardonnay character, even without the real toastiness Chardonnay often supports, this is quite a cut up from the Moet NV. Very pleasant to drink now, this no doubt has the potential to be a deliciously rich drink ten years hence.

WHITE

Château de Fieuzal 1999 Pessac-Léognan

A mix of oak and candles on the nose in a fine, delicate structure. It tastes older than its contemporary, the Louvière, and seems a fairly classic example of Sémillon character, although it is made from equal amounts of Sauvignon and Sémillon. Like the Louvière, a brilliant match for our smoked salmon starter. Evolves relatively little over the evening.

Château La Louvière 1999 Pessac-Léognan

Even lighter than the Fieuzal, to begin with there is a relatively small amount of oak in a predominantly citric bouquet, and a slight oiliness on the palate. As the evening progresses, it shows a variety of herby and woody notes (I thought of thyme and pencils), but most prominently gooseberries (classic Sauvignon character) in an otherwise very floral bouquet. The Louvière is 85% Sauvignon to 15% Sémillon, and the dominance of Sauvignon clearly shows through.

Château Bouscaut 1967 Cru Classé Pessac-Léognan

I wrote about the ‘89 Bouscaut in my posting of 5 November, and have since been persuaded to “go old” and try the ’67. The colour is extraordinary for an ostensibly white wine, between apricot and pink. It is exceedingly smooth, with gentle notes of almond, orange, dried apricot and toasted butter. There is no trace of the lemon quality left that lingered in our ’89. Beautifully mature, it doesn’t feel like it’s a bit past its peak.

Domaine de Chevalier 1983 Cru Classé Pessac-Léognan

Still very fresh for a wine of this age, it begins by offering lemony notes along with a surprising saline quality. It has quite a fine structure, with sharp acid. A few woody notes emerge, and then – in the manner of the Louviére, but more powerfully – it becomes highly floral, as part of what I’m now assuming to be a classic Bordeaux Sauvignon style – in fact, it is made from 70% Sauvignon and 30% Sémillon. This wine is from one of the very few Bordeaux estates to be called domaine instead of château.

RED

The multiplication of Bordeaux classification systems can occasionally confuse, and it is worth noting that, for example, the Smith Haut Lafitte is a premier cru in the Graves classification (since Pessac-Léognan is a sub-region of Graves), and not in the 1855 classification of the Médoc (which nevertheless does include Graves wines). All the other reds of this evening are from the Médoc and do fall under the 1855 classification, bar the two Soutards, which are right bank wines measured by the Saint-Émilion classification.

Château Smith Haut Lafitte 1994 Pessac-Léognan Premier Cru

The Smith Haut Lafitte still seems fresh, and even a bit closed. It has fairly thick tannins, black fruit, hot wood, no real secondary notes yet. I found this to be the most simple of the reds, but there was at least one vote for it as wine of the evening. I suspect a few years careful aging might make it a very different wine.

Château Langoa-Barton 1994 Saint-Julien Troisième Cru

An absolutely classic Bordeaux nose of cassis and cigar box, followed by softer notes of lead pencils on the palate. It still feels a shade too young, but has more to offer than the Haut-Lafitte, and is certainly at the beginning of its drinking window.

Château Langoa-Barton 1996 Saint-Julien Troisième Cru

1996 was a better vintage in the Médoc than 1994, and that shows through very clearly when comparing the two Langoas. The 1996 has a similar but more complex nose with leafy notes, and an attractive smokiness also showing though the classic cassis and cigars. Over the evening, the 1996 goes on to exhibit a perfumed quality before, interestingly, entering a dumb phase, which may suggest it has quite a lot more development to do.

Château Pontet-Canet 1995 Pauillac Cinquième Cru

A fairly heavy nose, with notes of gravel, earth, wood and, eventually, beef stew among the black fruit. Powerful, tannic, too young, needs time.

Château d’Armailhac 1995 Pauillac Cinquième Cru

Another 1995, this is again a bit too young, although this is less obvious than with the Pontet-Canet. Lighter than the Pontet-Canet too, with floral notes but an overall less complex, less attractive nose.

Château Pichon-Longueville 1989 Pauillac Deuxième Cru

Fairly classic Cabernet character, the sort of sweet cassis that can evoke Ribena. Also some lovely, unusual curry spice notes in a juicy, very smooth structure. More developed and considerably more attractive than the previous two. Definitely one of the best reds of the evening.

Château Leoville-Barton 1988 Saint-Julien Deuxième Cru

Gravelly with notes of tobacco, and mouth-wateringly acidic. N1 thinks it is too acidic – certainly it calls for a good steak, at least at this age. Powerful fruit dominated by a mineral character, I probably would have guessed this were from the Graves in a blind tasting. Got more votes than any other as the best wine of the evening.

Château Lagrange 1982 Saint-Julien Troisième Cru

Intense cassis with subsidiary vegetal and tobacco notes. Extremely smooth palate. This is drinking beautifully now, but as a serious wine from such a good vintage I would also expect it to be able to go on for a good long time yet. Lovely structure.

Château Beychevelle 1986 Saint-Julien Quatrième Cru

Sadly, just a touch corked, this was the only bad wine of the evening. Still plenty of good qualities, such as liquorice and black tea, show though, advertising an attractive wine underneath. I’m not sure of the “wet leaves of Autumn” note is part of the wine per se, or the corkiness.

Château Soutard 1970 Grand Cru Classé Saint-Émilion

Notes of plum in tomato sauce, this is very moreish if perhaps a little faded. The Soutard is our first right bank wine of the evening and it shows in the soft fruit, more rounded character, although the very smooth character is also a function of age.

Château Soutard 1990 Grand Cru Classé Saint-Émilion

This is a stunning wine, showing much better than its very much older brother. The bouquet is a mixture of liquorice, classic “wet dog” and highly floral aromatics – quite a complex blend at the beginning of its drinking window.

DESSERT

Château Lafaurie-Peyraguey 1997 Premier Cru Sauternes

Repaint the house! – is my initial thought (admittedly after 16 other mostly unspat tasting measures) on smelling this premier cru sweetie, as the luscious apricot fruit has alcoholic notes so intense it evokes housepaint. There’s so much power here, in a wine very young for what it is. A real botrytis beauty, with subtleties no doubt destined to emerge, but for now, I would give this some cellar time.