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Dow's 1991 Vintage Port

We finished our nieces' farewell dinner with a bottle of vintage port and a cheese course. I love port and blue cheese. The 1991 Dow is a good but not great vintage port. It had thrown a ton of dense sediment, but was still a pretty deep ruby in color. Hot nose suggests unresolved alcohol. Cherries, plums, spice, and raisins. Not too sweet. Grade: B/B+

Chateau Gruaud Larose (St. Julien) 1982

We've had our nieces here visiting this week. One of them was born in 1982, so for the farewell dinner I opened one of the last 1982 clarets left in my cellar. As regular readers know, of course, Gruaud Larose has long been one of my favorite wineries and the 1982 one of the greatest wines I've ever had.

This bottle performed even better than expected. Surprisingly little sediment. Double decanted about 40 minutes before serving. Medium depth ruby with a small band of brick at the rim.

Modest bouquet, although it opened up some as it continued to breathe. A short attack lead into a deliscious mid-palate. Cigars, cedar, leather, dried currants, prunes, and truffles. Long, lingering finish. Fully mature with well-resolved tannins, but a core of surprisingly youthful fruit. It could continue improving for another decade or longer. Lord only knows how special the occasion will have to be for me to open the last bottle left in my cellar ... but, then again, that's why we have wine auctions. A few more bottles might be exactly what I ought to spend some book royalties on.

Grade: A+

Pahlmeyer Red (Napa Valley) 1996

A proprietary blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Malbec, and Petit Verdot. Ruby with slight edge of brick at rim. Still pretty deep colors. Moderate sediment. Double decanted about 40 minutes before serving.

Good, clean bouquet of cassis, black cherry, leather, and cedar. Deep vein of dark fruit on the palate. Medium finish. Grade: A-

Antinori Tignanello (Tuscany) 1999

Excellent. Lots of fine sediment, so I double decanted about 35 minutes before serving it. Ruby with some very slight brick showing at the rim. Huge bouquet. Leather, truffles, fall leaves, cedar, cassis, dark berries. Super-long finish. All in all, a lovely wine that was a pleasure to drink.

Unlike the more tightly wound Solaia 1999 we also drank tonight, the Tignanello was fully mature and very generous at the moment. I'd estimate maybe another year or two of prime drinking time and then a slow decline. Grade: A-/A

Prior notes 2010 (B++) and 2004 (A-). Based on this bottle, I would revise the aging potential estimate I offered in 2010 to suggest near term drinking. I've got one bottle left and it'll get drunk by the end of 2013.

Joseph Phelps Syrah (Napa Valley) 2002

A pleasant wine but not a profound one. Basic blueberry and blackberry fruit with a dash of spice and pepper. Tannins have all smoothed away, leaving it easy to drink. It was too light bodied, however, to stand up to the Gaucho -style flank steak I served it with. It would have worked better with a mild pork dish or roast chicken. Grade: B-

Getting ready for Thanksgiving

Since it's just the two of us for Thanksgiving this year, Helen and I are going out to eat instead of dealing with 20 pounds of left over turkey. If I were eating at home, however, I definitely try a couple of these celebrity chef recipes. Plus, of course, I'd take my own advice on What American Wine to Drink at Thanksgiving.

Carruades de Lafite (Pauillac) 2000

Disappointing. I expect Carruades to perform at least a fifth growth level, especially in a great vintage like 2000. Sadly, however, this bottle offered up a one-dimensional wine with decent fruit but not much else. To be sure, the wine was faultless in the sense of lacking faults. But there was no complexity. No nuance. No depth. Casssis and a dash of cedar. Grade: B

Piña Howell Mountain Estate Cabernet Sauvignon (Napa Valley) 2001

Multiple reviews of this wine over the years, as the house and vintage are both personal favorites (see, e.g., 6/05 and from a UCLA wine tasting). At age 10, however, it is now fully mature--although hardly over the hill--and drinking splendidly. Deep purple-ruby despite having thrown a substantial amount of heavy sediment (decanting is a must, say 45 minutes before drinking). Big nose that evolved with time to breathe from slightly vegetal to rich fruits, herbs, and leather. Flavor associations that sprang to mind included cassis, blackberry, and tobacco, plus an intense herbal note I can't quite identify. Tannic finish suggests it will age quite a while yet. Sadly, however, this was my last bottle. Time to look for it auction. Grade: A-/A  Pina Howell Mountain Estate Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 2001

Behrens & Hitchcock Cabernet Sauvignon Ink Grade (Napa Valley) 1997

Ink is the right description for the color, despite 14 years of age and a fair bit of sediment having been deposited. Big nose. Rick dark fruit, earth, and something vaguely menthol-like. The main flavor associations were currants, plums, prunes, and earth. Medium finish. Grade: B+

Chateau Gruaud Larose (St. Julien) 1986

As Helen and I continue to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary, I decided to push the boat out a bit further than the 1986 Chateau Meyney we enjoyed last night. So I pulled one of our all time favorite wines: a 1986 Chateau Gruaud Larose.

As I've had occsaion to note before, Gruaud-Larose has a special place in my heart, as it was the first classed growth Bordeaux that I drank on a regular basis. In the 1980s, Gruaud-Larose was churning out one great vintage after another, so I loaded up with it. I've got many happy memories of bottles that now would be past their prime, such as the eminently satisfying 1981s.

In 1986, Gruaud-Larose made a wine for the ages. I've been slowly working my way through a case for years, waiting for it to come around, so that I could use it as my anniversary dinner wine. In 2004, it was spectacular, but still needed a bit of time. In early 2005, it was still remarkably youthful. In 2006, at age 20, it was "finally very drinkable."

In 2011, it was very good, but not outstanding. Indeed, this bottle was somewhat less satisfying than last night's Meyney. Decanted off fairly heavy sediment about half an hour before service, the bouquet was muted. On the palate, however, the wine was excellent. Deep dried black fruit flavors, coupled with cedar, tobacco, and leather.

One expects a certain amount of bottle variation with a wine of this age. With 3 1986 Gruards left in my cellar, it'll be interesting to see if those bottles show more impressively.

Grade: B++

Chateau Meyney (St. Estephe) 1986

The 1980s vintages of Chateau Meyney were one of our house wines for many years. Now, of course, only the most long-lived vintages are still going strong. Among these, the 1986 is a sentimental favorite because that was the year Helen and I got married. So I opened a bottle tonight as we celebrate our 25th anniversary.

At age 25, the Meyney is amazing -- and still improving if my note from 2003 is any guide. It is still a deep ruby in color. The bouquet is huge, permeating the dining room with scents of prunes, cassis, leather, tobacco, and cedar. On the palate, there is still a stunning amount of rich black fruit. Plus, mocha and toffee.

How much longer does it have? Maybe 5 years. Maybe 10 if impeccably cellared in some Scottish Highland castle's wine cellar where the temperature never varies from about 45 degrees. But it is delicious to drink now. The last two bottles in my cellar should be worried, because I'm coming for them.

Grade: A

Il Bruciato (Bolgheri) 2007

A blend of Cabernet Sauvignon (50%), Merlot (30%), and Syrah (20%) sourced from the Tenuta Guado al Tasso estate on the Tuscan coast. It gets a relatively short stay in oak barrels (only 8 months), which leaves the fruit as the dominant element in both the bouquet and the palate. Not a wine for the cellar, but a lovely wine for early drinking with, say, steak. Indeed, the soft tannins and refreshing acidity make it very food friendly and easy to drink at age 4. Black cherry, blackberry, and prunes, with a touch of vanilla and smoke from the stint in oak. Grade: B+

Erna Schein "Fat Boy" (Napa Valley) 2007

Despite being a blend of Bordeaux red wine varieties (60% Cabernet Sauvignon, plus Merlot and Cabernet Franc), the 2007 Fat Boy is not a wine for the cellar. Instead, it a delicious, big, somewhat brawny wine suited for near term drinking (say through 2015 at the outside) with steak frites or something comparable.
Deep ruby in color. Big nose of cassis, black cherry, prunes, and mocha java. Smooth, sweet tannins do not interfere with current enjoyment, but merely scrub the palate before your next bite of unctuous beef. It has a remarkably long finish that perfumes one's senses.
In sum, I like it a lot.
Grade: A-

Beaulieu Vineyard Georges de Latour Private Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon (Napa Valle) 1991

The last bottle of a half case purchased at the winery in, if memory serves, 2000 and cellared in temperature and humidity controlled conditions ever since. The bottle was in excellent condition, with no significant ullage and no signs of cork seepage. A substantial amount of heavy sediment mandated careful decanting. At first, there was a slightly funky odor, which blew off after about 45 minutes in the decanter. The bouquet eventually resolved into rich, ripe currant and prune aromas. On the palate, there were lots of mature Cabernet markers, such as pencil shavings, dried dark fruits, and leather. Fully mature. I doubt whether it would have rewarded much in the way of extra cellaring, but it was delicious tonight. Grade: A-/A

Chateau Pichon-Longueville Baron (Pauillac) 1998

A rich ruby in color, the wine required careful decanting as it had thrown a considerable amount of sediment. A pleasant bouquet of dark fruits, cedar, and tobacco. On the palate, the entry was a bit thin, but the finish was of respectable length. Black currants, cedar, prunes, and plums were the principal flavor associations. Grade: B+