Nine winos met at the home of FreeTheGrapes on Wednesday, January 19th for an evening tasting the wines of the Left Bank of Bordeaux. FTG provided all of the wines from his cellar. The wines were not paired with dinner, though there were some appetizers, cheeses and finger foods available for those who wanted a little bit to eat. Also, some bread and crackers were provided as palate cleansers in between the flights.
All flights were arranged by FTG, and all of the decanting (as he felt necessary) was also done by him. The wines were tasted in the following flights:
2003 Château La Rame La Caussade Bordeaux Blanc 2000 Château Labat Haut- Médoc 2000 Château Potensac Médoc1989 Château Meyney St.-Estèphe 1995 Domaine des Gartieux Pauillac1995 Château Clerc Milon Pauillac1995 Château Léoville Poyferré St.-Julien 1995 Château Talbot St.-Julien1985 Château Talbot St.-Julien1975 Château Talbot St.-Julien 1996 Château d'Issan Margaux 1983 Château Pichon-Longueville-Lalande Pauillac1990 Château Pichon-Longueville-Lalande Pauillac 1962 Château Lafite Rothschild Pauillac My number one WOTN was the 1983 Château Pichon-Longueville-Lalande, while number two was the 1995 Château Léoville Poyferré. Number three was the 1989 Château Meyney. As you can imagine, not all of the wines showed well, but only one bottle was noticeably corked (though I had questions about a second). In my opinion, the above three wines, along with the 2000 Château Potensac, represent very good to excellent values at current pricing.
I certainly could think of worse ways to spend a Wednesday night. And I look forward to our visit to the Right Bank on Wednesday, February 23rd.
Mike