Ok - not really. But the wines, if not the vintages, were similar. More or less. As in more Mouton and Montebello and less everything else. And we included an 89 Haut Brion that the folks in 1976 could only have dreamed about. To the wines:
**1983 Leoville Las Cases: Already passed its prime and devolving. Brickish rim. Nose has elements of tomato skin and stewed fruit, along with the signature St. Julien earth and cigar box.
***1983 Mouton Rothschild: Better than I have had before. Good solid color. Expressive nose of black fruit, tobacco, cedar and graphite. Lovely grip and surprisingly integrated finish. The mint should have told me mouton, but it just seemed too good to be the 83. Would I pay $180 a pop for this wine right now? Probably not – but it is a very good wine nonetheless.
**++1985 Ridge Montebello: I mistook this wine for the Mouton, as the Mouton was a better wine and I have a high opinion of the 85 Montebello. This was a good, not great bottle. Good fruit structure, some floral notes, good minerals with more evident wood and a big finish. Nice.
***++1984 Diamond Creek RRT: A truly lovely wine. Soft though by no means flabby – more elegant – this wine has great berry and stone fruit, violets and a mountain quality that includes bramble and lavender. I could drink a ton of this wine. The biggest favor RP ever did me was bad mouthing Diamond Creek. Wonderful.
*****1989 Haut Brion: As described above, quite the experience. Many, many layers of aromas and flavors, surprising sweetness which Dave says means that it is aging a bit (I should age this well), amazing depth and perfectly seamless integration. A quintessential wine. I think I saw John Caldarella tear up after the first sip. I don’t blame him.
***1989 Ridge Montebello: Very nice, though dwarfed in every way by the Haut Brion. It did not remind me of the great Montebellos I have had. Fairly well evolved, deep black fruit, some vegetal qualities, round mouth feel, searingly tannic.
***1989 Mouton Rothschild: I had big hopes for this wine as it is my anniversary year. A solid effort though I think not as good as other 89 Paulliac wines. Tobacco, cassis, red candied fruits. Full palate though the finish falls apart a bit. Worth drinking but not a longer term wine I don’t think.
1990 Dominus: Not a good showing for this wine. A bit funky, falling apart, red fruit, not worth writing home (or to you) about much. I have had great bottles of this wine and think it was simply an off bottle.
***++1993 Mouton Rothschild: Back on the road to Wellville. This is an outstanding wine – which exceeds my expectation. All of the Mouton elements are there, mint, black fruit, cassis, tobacco, lead pencil. Excellent concentration right through to the finish. Lovely and worth the current asking.
****1991 +Ridge Montebello: Another truly great wine. This is why I love Montebello. Great concentration, mountain fruit, minerals and violets – a deep, youthful, complex wine. Worth seeking out.
****1991 Stags Leap Cask 23: I think this was a controversial wine. I thought it was breathtaking of a fine wine. Velvety texture, satiny red fruit, pink peppercorn, rose petal, black truffle – it had Cheval Blanc like characteristics. It is definitely mature, but I thought it a very special wine – in the top 4 of the tastng.
***+1996 Ridge Montebello: I have previously posted on this wine. A great Montebello drinking great now. I thought the last bottle slightly better.
***(?)1995 Leoville Las Cases: A frustrating wine. The nose is coy and showing next to nothing. The palate is full, strong, offering great minerals and very nice balance and integration. Patience is a virtue – but right now I would bury this wine in the cellar and drink something else – hoping for some kind of awakening.
***+1997 Phelps Insignia: I thought this wine got a bit lost in the fray. Deep fruit, mocha, signature mint, slate, surprisingly firm, almost painful finish. It was delicious but seemed almost one dimensional. I have always been a huge fan of this wine from 1985 – 1991…I think it has become almost simple as it has attempted to cater to the international palate.
***1998 La Tour: Not a great LaTour, though clearly a noble wine. I do not have a strong recollection of this wine other than that I was surprised how one dimensional it was, offering deep, chalky black fruit and nice grip – but overall lacking the quality that makes me “1st growth”. I have had truly great LaTour, including the 59 / 61 / 70 / 90. This was not one of those. Nice.
****++2000 Mouton Rothschild: Another mind bending wine. Wow. What depth. Tobacco, cassis liquor, violets, mint and deeeeeeep stone fruit. Wonderful palate with minerals, red and black fruit, clove, briar. A statuesque wine. At $350 this is almost a steal.
That’s it. The 89 HB, 00 MR, 91 MB and 91 Stags are my wines of the evening, in that order. So in our 1976 Paris Tasting the French reclaim the title! All are 95 to 100 point wines, IMHO. No losers here.
***1983 Mouton Rothschild: Better than I have had before. Good solid color. Expressive nose of black fruit, tobacco, cedar and graphite. Lovely grip and surprisingly integrated finish. The mint should have told me mouton, but it just seemed too good to be the 83. Would I pay $180 a pop for this wine right now? Probably not – but it is a very good wine nonetheless.
**++1985 Ridge Montebello: I mistook this wine for the Mouton, as the Mouton was a better wine and I have a high opinion of the 85 Montebello. This was a good, not great bottle. Good fruit structure, some floral notes, good minerals with more evident wood and a big finish. Nice.
***++1984 Diamond Creek RRT: A truly lovely wine. Soft though by no means flabby – more elegant – this wine has great berry and stone fruit, violets and a mountain quality that includes bramble and lavender. I could drink a ton of this wine. The biggest favor RP ever did me was bad mouthing Diamond Creek. Wonderful.
*****1989 Haut Brion: As described above, quite the experience. Many, many layers of aromas and flavors, surprising sweetness which Dave says means that it is aging a bit (I should age this well), amazing depth and perfectly seamless integration. A quintessential wine. I think I saw John Caldarella tear up after the first sip. I don’t blame him.
***1989 Ridge Montebello: Very nice, though dwarfed in every way by the Haut Brion. It did not remind me of the great Montebellos I have had. Fairly well evolved, deep black fruit, some vegetal qualities, round mouth feel, searingly tannic.
***1989 Mouton Rothschild: I had big hopes for this wine as it is my anniversary year. A solid effort though I think not as good as other 89 Paulliac wines. Tobacco, cassis, red candied fruits. Full palate though the finish falls apart a bit. Worth drinking but not a longer term wine I don’t think.
1990 Dominus: Not a good showing for this wine. A bit funky, falling apart, red fruit, not worth writing home (or to you) about much. I have had great bottles of this wine and think it was simply an off bottle.
***++1993 Mouton Rothschild: Back on the road to Wellville. This is an outstanding wine – which exceeds my expectation. All of the Mouton elements are there, mint, black fruit, cassis, tobacco, lead pencil. Excellent concentration right through to the finish. Lovely and worth the current asking.
****1991 +Ridge Montebello: Another truly great wine. This is why I love Montebello. Great concentration, mountain fruit, minerals and violets – a deep, youthful, complex wine. Worth seeking out.
****1991 Stags Leap Cask 23: I think this was a controversial wine. I thought it was breathtaking of a fine wine. Velvety texture, satiny red fruit, pink peppercorn, rose petal, black truffle – it had Cheval Blanc like characteristics. It is definitely mature, but I thought it a very special wine – in the top 4 of the tastng.
***+1996 Ridge Montebello: I have previously posted on this wine. A great Montebello drinking great now. I thought the last bottle slightly better.
***(?)1995 Leoville Las Cases: A frustrating wine. The nose is coy and showing next to nothing. The palate is full, strong, offering great minerals and very nice balance and integration. Patience is a virtue – but right now I would bury this wine in the cellar and drink something else – hoping for some kind of awakening.
***+1997 Phelps Insignia: I thought this wine got a bit lost in the fray. Deep fruit, mocha, signature mint, slate, surprisingly firm, almost painful finish. It was delicious but seemed almost one dimensional. I have always been a huge fan of this wine from 1985 – 1991…I think it has become almost simple as it has attempted to cater to the international palate.
***1998 La Tour: Not a great LaTour, though clearly a noble wine. I do not have a strong recollection of this wine other than that I was surprised how one dimensional it was, offering deep, chalky black fruit and nice grip – but overall lacking the quality that makes me “1st growth”. I have had truly great LaTour, including the 59 / 61 / 70 / 90. This was not one of those. Nice.
****++2000 Mouton Rothschild: Another mind bending wine. Wow. What depth. Tobacco, cassis liquor, violets, mint and deeeeeeep stone fruit. Wonderful palate with minerals, red and black fruit, clove, briar. A statuesque wine. At $350 this is almost a steal.
That’s it. The 89 HB, 00 MR, 91 MB and 91 Stags are my wines of the evening, in that order. So in our 1976 Paris Tasting the French reclaim the title! All are 95 to 100 point wines, IMHO. No losers here.
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