Of the many ways we are spoiled here in Northern California, my favorite is the wine supply. Our corner party stores here totally outclassed the wine shops I checked out in Minneapolis last year. The best of the best here is K & L out 4th Street by the ballpark, that’s where the Maitre’d and I went today for a tasting of Bordeaux wines. Every Saturday they pour for the masses at the reasonable price of $17. French wines are not a strong point for me, but I’m growing more and more fond of them, mostly because I’m developing a preference for terroir qualities that tend to go missing in most California style wines.
Here’s what we had:
1999 Carillon d’Angelus, St. Emillon ($24.99) (90% Merlot)
A weighty merlot, dark purple. The fruit and tannins could use a little taming, luckily the acid and alcohol was pretty low. This is the second label from Angelus, something they only do in the poorer growing years.
1999 Phelan Segur, St. Estephe ($24.99) (60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc)
Had this last year at a tasting with LJR. A very traditional style Bordeaux with all the expected berry and earth flavors. We liked it a lot until we had the 1996 next.
1996 Phelan Segur, St. Estephe ($29.99) (60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc)
Same makers, same proportions in the blend, but a better year for wine and an extra 3 years in the bottle made this bottle easily worth the 5 dollars more than the ’99. The fruit had absorbed the oak and this brought everything into a great balance.
1998 Haut Bailly, Pessac-Leognan ($29.99) (50% Merlot 50% Cabernet Sauvignon)
This wine had a better nose and displayed both red and black berry flavors along with a smoky character. This was a wine that will get better over the next three years and then hold for another 10 or more. Wine Spectator gave it 90 points. I’ll be buying a few of these.
2000 Ferriere Margaux ($68.00) (75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot, 5% Petit Verdot)
This one had a serious earth smell that the Maitre’d didn’t like but I really did. Like a stinky cheese, the flavors were not in proportion to the odor and I thought it tasted really good. The fruits were nicely fleshed out but the top notes were the chewy ones, tobacco and chocolate. This got 93 point from the spectator, but that only works if you really like this sort of style and based on a private survey of just us, one out of two didn’t.
2000 Haut Bages Liberal, Pauillac ($39.99) (80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 17% Merlot, 3% Petit Verdot)
This is considered the best release ever for this vineyard, it got a Spectator 93. After a while you get tired of saying that it has cassis, plum, etc . . . It’s a cab, of course it has these. I’m not concerned about the individual berry notes as much as I am about whether they are in balance with the tannins and oak. For a four-year-old wine, the tannins are half what a Napa cab would be, but the balance with the fruit was great and the guy pouring guesses this is a wine that could keep that up for almost 20 years.
2001 Pichon Baron, Pauillac ($49.99) (70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc)
Robert Parker says this about the 2001, “93 points Robert Parker: "A very successful effort for this vintage in the Medoc, this deep ruby/purple-colored Pauillac exhibits class/nobility/breed along with black currant liqueur, licorice, and incense notes.” Huh, class/nobility/breed, what a putz, eh? Truly a great wine, though. An amazing 45-second finish. This is another one for a long stay on the shelf. I’ll get one or two of these.
And then we had some bread, rinsed our glasses out and got what turned out to be the find of the event.
2003 Marjosse Blanc ($9.99) (85% Semillon and 15% Sauvignon blanc)
This was such a refreshing, brisk wine that we bought a bottle to take with us for a late breakfast at the Blue Jay Café on Divisadero. It was perfect with my andouille sausage, mushroom, and Swiss cheese scramble with salad. We’re gonna split a case of this.
2002 Petit-Verdrines, Sauternes ($11.99 – 375 ml)
If there’s been an annoying trend in Napa for the last few years, it’s been the explosion of grossly over priced late harvest wines. There are some wine makers, like Van der Heyden, who truly make an exceptional product that is worth the $40 a half bottle or more that they go for. But, 90% of them aren’t anywhere as good as these sauternes that go for quarter the price. I like this one for not being too sweet.
2002 Doisy-Verdrines, Sauternes ($25.99) (80% Semillon, 17% Sauvignon Blanc, 3% Muscadelle)
Probably pick up a bottle for my sister. This is the classic Sauternes, just sear the Foie Gras (while you still can) and roll your eyes up in pleasure. The melon-citrus quality is nice. A bit too sweet for just sipping, for my taste anyway.
And there you have it.
Go in Peace