20 years ago? was indeed 1997
Time sure flies when you are having fun, vinous or otherwise. Twenty years ago, in Bordeaux, after a pretty warm and early start to the summer, it tended to rain a lot leading up to the harvest. So last night, I had an opportunity to catch up with four Bordeaux chateaux twenty years on, who are no strangers to making exceptionally good wine. One property was from St.Emilion, one from Pauillac, one from St.Estephe and one from St.Julien. What a great way to see the different styles of Bordeaux blends when presented in a weak, so to speak, vintage. All four Chateaux shone their unique assemblages in a way that if the wines had come from a drier vintage, the concentration of fruit may not always provide the taster with the clear definition of the delicatness of that individual blend.
The Buenos Aires hedonistik-communistique party hosted the dinner with a pre-taste of Ch.Cos d’Estournel, Ch.Pichon-Baron, Ch.La Gomerie & Ch.Leoville-Barton. As a foot note on the grub, the entrada was a rustic Brandade de Morue and the big stuff was a Rabbit stew to die-for. Local cheeses ended the evening, all washed down with an excellent bottle of 3 puttonyos 2002 Oremus Tokaji Aszu, from Hungary.
In order of table preference, Pichon-Baron and La Gomerie were the stars of the evening, followed by Leoville-Barton and then Cos d’Estournel. I could certainly tuck into a lot more of La Gomerie.
1997 Ch.La Gomerie
This wine may deserve an outstanding rating, yet the lavish oak and international style are controversial. Nevertheless, it is a hedonistic, dark ruby/purple-colored, exotic, ostentatious 1997 with superb fruit and concentration. A smashing wine.
1997 Ch.Pichon-Baron
Well focused and delineated for a 1997, this offering is characterized by copious quantities of sweet blackcurrant fruit intermixed with toasty pain grillé scents. In the mouth, there is a well-focused feeling, moderate tannin, and a moderately long finish. Pretty classy!
1997 Ch.Cos d’Estournel
This opaque purple-coloured Cos offers up a gorgeously sweet nose consisting of ripe blackcurrant fruit, Provençal olives, smoked herbs, pain grillé and licorice.
Rich and powerful, as well as elegant and stylish, the wine possesses plenty of fat, in addition to layers of fruit and glycerin. It is an intensely charming, graceful Cos.
1997 Ch.Leoville-Barton
Intense opaque colour, finely structured Barton fruit flavours, with good purity and balanced tannins. Another very classy wine for this vintage.
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