Notes from a very enjoyable dinner-tasting of Bordeaux of the 1990 vintage. These wines have always seemed to me to be more fruit forward and ‘Californian’ in approach, if you will, than the more classic and arguably more austere 1988 and 1989 vintages that together make up this wonderful triptych of Bordeaux.

1990 Pol Roger Brut (magnum) – well after all, one wouldn’t want to plunge straight into Bordeaux! Much better, I have found, to edge sideways into the more serious wine, after getting your palate reacquainted with the whole idea by taking a bit of transitional wine – and what better to transition between nothing and Bordeaux (or anything else, for that matter) than a bit of bubbly? This Champagne has been showing well for several years and continues to shine, especially in large format. Nice yeasty lemony nose, very fine mousse, clean with good length.

Flight 1

Then for the first flight of Bordeaux, served with an assortment of dried meats – prosciutto, Parma ham, and about 5 different kinds in all, with a tad of grated horseradish on top. Great course, but it would have gone much better with a white, or with the Champers.

L’Arrossee (St. Emilion) – a little known wine that has considerable local following as a chance result of a local agent hooking up with them many years ago. Great way to start – ripe oak, berry and mushroom nose complex wine with good length. This lasted better in the glass than the vaunted l’Evangile!

Canon (St. Emilion) – less happening in the nose on this wine, but a bit darker and firmer. Over all pretty good, but on this night it wasn’t singing to us.

L’Evangile (Pomerol) – wow – funky, almost Rhonish nose, fairly sweet, and a big wine with good structure, lots of interest in the middle and a nice sweet, long finish. I was surprised to find that after an hour in the glass it was starting to fade a little while the l’Arrossee was still taking no prisoners.

Flight 2

Served with roast guinea fowl and apple cider braised red cabbage.

Sociando-Mallet (Haut Medoc) – always a wine that takes many years to hit the plateau, this still has time to go. Dark, with purple edges and a big cassis nose, there is still lots of tannin, good acidity and ample fruit. I won’t be touching my regrettably small stash of this for a few years yet!

Phelan Segur (St. Estephe) – the first wine that could be considered at all disappointing, but only when evaluated in this sort of high-flying company. Nice mellow wine with vanilla in the nose, well balanced, drinking perfectly and won’t get any better. If you are looking for a decent luncheon claret, this could be your bottle.

Cos d’Estournel (St. Estephe) – Concentrated herbal jammy nose, the wine still firm but no longer unyielding. Lots of power here, just starting to show well and not quite at the point where I’d move it into my drinking pile, as it clearly has much more improvement ahead of it.

I also tasted:

Mouton Rothschild (Pauillac) – the nose was quite intense, the mouth-feel silky, the length quite decent and the fruit adequate. It didn’t have the weight of a major vintage of Mouton, but it was very pleasant. It was quite similar to the bottle we had in the Mouton vertical last Fall. For those relying on Parker, be warned that his note reflects a 10 year old tasting – the wine is no longer as hard as it once was – quite the contrary in fact.

Flight 3

With Saltspring lamb in 4 styles – (this was seriously good grub!!)

Lascombes (Margaux) –simple fruit in the nose, the wine a bit murky. Simple on palate and with some tannin but fairly well resolved. No rush, but also not much complexity – this made the Phelan from the last flight look good.

Pichon Lalande (Pauillac) – this wine has always underwhelmed, a true disappointment in such a wonderful vintage. Simple candied fruit chewing gum with vanilla in the nose, and a simple presentation, dilute and tapering off into leanness. C’est domage!

Pichon Baron (Pauillac) – fascinating to be able to make this comparison, for I cannot recall another vintage where Baron out-performed Comtesse like this. A very good uplifted cherry nose, exquisite balance, long and tasty. It teeters on being over-ripe, but doesn’t quite cross the line. This wine was better than the Mouton.

Flight 4

With local cheeses.

Pape Clement (Pessac Leognan) – a forward wine with a mellow fruit nose, very tasty and with bright acidity. This one is ready to roll and I can’t see it getting much better than it is right now.

Leoville Barton (St. Julien) – rather closed in the nose, showing only a bit of spearmint. Lots of punch on palate, and one senses that it isn’t showing all it has to offer yet.

Lagrange (St. Julien) – sweet nose with lots of vanilla/oak. A big bruiser with tons of softening tannins and excellent length. Remarkably good showing for this modestly priced wine. No rush to drink this one. Why, oh why didn’t I buy this? By the case?

With some dessert or other (not a fan, especially with wines):

1970 Warres – this wine keeps getting paler by the year, but retains it’s defining characteristic (for me, anyway) the unusual heat in the nose, rather spirity, and without sufficient fruit at this point to sweeten and soften the alcoholic impression. Bit over-ripe, too. Not the best bottle I’ve had. Improved with a bit of cheese to absorb the ‘edges’.

1990 La Tour Blanche – outstanding performance by this house in this vintage! Lemony Botricised nose, not too rich, and then thick and unctuous in the mouth, finishing long and with a certain nuttiness. Should have bought this one too!! Damn! Great event, though very instructive about this excellent vintage.

Moral of this tasting? Start looking at them, especially the weaker wines, but for many they are just coming into drinkability range, and for quite a few, more continued patience will be rewarded.