Fifteen members of the Cincinnati’s Chapter of AWS were lucky enough to attend a rare vertical tasting of Chateau Pichon Lalande on September 11th, 2005. Most of the wines were from the cellar of Dr Herbert Francis. These wines were mainly bought on release and kept in perfect cellar condition. In addition to these wines Frank Yantek was able to obtain additional vintages to add to the tasting line-up. Both Frank and Herb deserve a big thank you from all those who attended for providing such an excellent group of wines.
The tasting venue for this unique tasting was held at the home of Warren Sublette. It has been quite a while since AWS has held a tasting here. It was only appropriate since Warren, one of the original members of our group, use to hold the majority of all of the tasting. Warren did an excellent job preparing for the tasting. There were two tables set with 12 glasses at each setting. This allowed each person plenty of room. The 12 glasses also allowed as much time as needed to enjoy the wine. A very important consideration when tasting wines of this quality.
As we waited for the final participants to arrive Warren opened a bottle of 1993 Henri Giraud Champagne. What a way to start a tasting. This wine had a golden straw color with a nice yeasty nose, extremely small, active bubbles, mouth cleansing fruit with a medium to long finish. Decanter magazine said the following about the wine in 2001 and I can not disagree with their assessment.
Fermented and aged in small oak barrels, hand-disgorged before shipment, the cork clamped with a 24k gold staple, the quality of this 70% Pinot Noir, 30% Chardonnay, 100% Grand Cru blend shows why the wines of Ay have their reputation. Probably the finest 1993 on the market, very limited supply.
Once all guest arrived, and the last of the champagne was finished, everyone was seated. It was decided we would taste the wines from youngest to oldest. Two wines each were tasted before moving on to the next pair. All wines were decanted. The wines tasted were as follows:
1995, 1994, 1992, 1990, 1989, 1986, 1983+, 1983-, 1966, 1964, 1962 and 1961
The following is a list of notes I (Dean Mitchell) made during the tasting. I by no means have a solid frame of reference for wines of this age or quality but have made my best attempt. By nature I am a technical taster and commonly approach wine tasting in that perspective. Wine makers concentrate a lot of time and effort ensuring a wine has desired flavors, aromas and textures. While the winemakers of these wines did an excellent job of putting all of these qualities in the bottle it is not the physical characteristics of these wines that shine. They attack you at a very basic emotional level. Tasting these wines are a sensual experience and each and everyone tasted this day provided me with that experience. With that being said I will leave the sensual descriptions of wine to those more experienced in that format (i.e. Parker).
Overall observations:
The quality of all the wines was much better than I expected. Not one wine had any major flaw or appeared tired. That is a lot to say for wines over a 44 year period. Even the wines obtained by Frank, where cellaring was an unknown, were in good condition for their age. I tasted a bit of each wine over a two hour period to see how they evolved in the glass. (Actually I just didn’t want to empty any of the glasses for I feared it was probably the last time I would ever have a chance to taste many of these wines.) Looking around the table this was a common practice. Believe me, the will power to let these wines linger was not easy.
1995 – Bright ruby colored, oaky cedar notes with dark fruit aromas that jump out of the glass. Tannins a bit heavy but the wine has wonderful balance. Spicy flavors again with dark fruit, a very silky wine with a lingering finish. Very young. My favorite wine of the 90’s tasted.
1994 – Similar color to the 95 with the same notes of oak with hints of tobacco smoke, Fruit is more concentrated than the 95 and harder to define. The merlot seemed to stand out a bit more in this wine. Had an excellent finish that actually seemed to get better and longer as it opened up in the glass.
1992 – Again a bright purple color of a young wine. Blackberry/raspberry nose. At first tasted slightly tart but seemed to mellow as it aged in the glass. Refreshing taste that was well balanced but lacking the intensity of the first two.
1990 - Nice purple color, hint of oak and earthiness. Higher acidity than the previous wines but still very balanced. Along with a bit of cassis it had a slight green pepper taste you find in many merlots. A nice finish when first tasted. This wine seemed to degrade the most of the earlier wines as it sat in the glass.
1989 – Very young looking wine. Floral nose and also showing a lot of it’s Merlot. Earthy flavor with ripe fruit, A very seductive wine that is a perfect example of bringing out the emotional feelings I talked about earlier. Smooth in the mouth while at the same time being complex. It continued to evolve over the two hours. If I had to describe this wine in one word it would be “Embracing”. My favorite of the 80’s group.
1986 – Dark ruby in color, little sign of any aging. Sweeter nose than the previous wines.
Another of the emotional wines. It had layers of flavors that kept drawing you in without letting you stay focused on any one item. The finish was a bit short for the aromas and flavors this wine displayed. It continued to hold its quality throughout the tasting.
(1983 +) – We had two 1983 wines in the tasting. This one was cellared by Dr Herb Francis while the other was picked up by Frank Yantek in an auction. This wine showed beautiful dark color. Slight oak on the nose with earthy notes. There was a hint of what I could best describe as dark chocolate cherry. The earthiness of the flavors mixed with the bright fruit providing a wonderful tasting experience. Nice acidity and lingering finish. As it aged in the glass the aromas seemed to become a bit more closed but the taste was still suburb.
(1983-) – Showing a bit more age than the 83+ and the aromas were not as pronounced. It seemed just slightly thinner at first but as the it opened up in the glass you got many of the similar qualities described in the 83+. Remained nice throughout the two plus hours in the glass.
1966 – Of all the wines tasted this was the only one that really showed a little more age than expected. Even at that the color was still nice and dark with only the edges showing a brick color. Earthy, vegetal nose (many at the tasting thought it had an asparagus aroma). While there were hints of asparagus it was not as detrimental as you would expect. The nose was sweet and the flavor was complex and slightly tart. Finished medium-long. A wonderful wine for being 40 years old. Remained consistent in the glass.
1964 – Nice color with just a hint of brown edge. Floral, earthy nose. Plum flavor with spicy undertones. Mouth filling for a 40+ year old wine that is showing it still has a little life left. Nice balanced finish. It did seem to thin out a bit after sitting in the glass for awhile.
1962 – Garnet colored with slight brown edging. Closed nose at first but once tasted the jammy fruit exploded in your mouth. It was very unexpected considering the nose of this wine. While not big in body the remaining fruit has allowed this wine to age very graciously. The finish, while not long, is very pleasant. After being in the glass the intensity of the fruit dispelled but it remained a very pleasurable wine.
1961 – Good dark color showing very little brown around the edges. The youngest looking of the 60’s, notes of cedar, chocolate and dark fruit. Deep flavors that embrace every part of your tongue. Pure luxury in a glass. A smooth silky finish. While it tamed a bit in the glass over time it never lost its luster. Unbelievable 45 year old wine. Favorite of the 60’s and overall favorite in the tasting. A rare treat that lived up and exceeded all of my expectations.
After the tasting Warren had a dinner of Spanish wine to enjoy with the wines (if you had the will power) left in your glasses. Again I want to thank Warren for providing a wonderful environment for the tasting, Frank for the idea of the tasting and supplying some of the wines and a very big thank you to the Dr Herbert Francis and his wife for their continued generosity in sharing their wines with our group.
