Killer Night With the Boys From Waco
When the boys come in from Waco, they always bring the heat! Last nights lineup was a real treat, with some killer bottles of wine.
Bordeaux represented by 1978 Mouton, 1998 Haut Brion, and 1986 Cheval Blanc. California was in the house with yet another 1978 Ridge Montabello, and the 2008 Sine Qua Non extended barrel aged syrah – The Duel. Unfortunately no Dom Perignon in the house yesterday, but we made up for it with the 1999 Salon and the 1996 Krug. Last but not least was the 1996 Domaine Leroy Pommard Les Vignots.
My wine of the night was the 1996 Domaine Leroy Pommard Les Vignots. This wine has been in my friends cellar for almost 8 years and I am super glad he finally decided to pull it out! The wine needed about one hour in the decanter before it woke up, but when it did WOW! The nose was showing freshly picked cranberries with pomegranate, earl grey tea, and limestone minerality. The palate was soft as a mothers kiss. Elegant red fruit mingled with anise, freshly picked herbs, and powdered chocolate. A long finish perfectly capped the wine and made it difficult to keep any vino in the glass.
The 1978 Mouton was served blind and I called it 1983 Pichon Lalande. A distinct green note presided over the wine backed by musky earthy aromas and notes of black cherry, graphite, and cedar. As the wine opened it got richer and darker in fruit while still showing notes of sliced bell pepper. This may have been my Bordeaux of the night.
The 1998 Haut Brion was a real astonishment for me and was showing amazing well. The wine needed about a hour in the decanter but once it opened up the glass brimmed with ripe black currant, plum, mocha, violets, and allspice. The earthy nuances were just starting to peak out from behind the fruit, but they will take another 5-10 years before they really start to show.
I was super excited for the 86 Cheval Blanc as I remember it being one of my favorite wines from the vintage. We popped the bottle and saw that it showed very light notes of strawberries and red cherry. After the first hour in the decanter we tasted the wine in hopes of a choirs of angelic flavors coating our palate. What we were greeted with instead was… nothing. The wine was flat and ungiving. Its ok! Another hour in the decanter should solve this problem. Hour two came and went with no real development in the glass. After hour thee we started to give up hope that the wine would ever live up to its lofty name. But then hour four came! And went… The wine sucks…