Well r/wine, I’m back after a 2 week ban for posting bottle porn without tasting notes. I’ve got plenty of notes this time though, because last night we went through a lot of wine and had a great time trying some really interesting and really old (to me) stuff.
First up was the 2015 Roederer L’ermitage. This was a beautiful sparkling wine, with notes of toffee and crème brûlée on the nose and crisp green apple and brioche on the palate. The texture of the bubbles was great, almost kind of creamy.
Next we opened the 1988 Pichon Baron and the 1992 Ridge Zinfandel. Wow – the Pichon Baron was unlike any wine I’ve ever smelled. And not necessarily in the best way. It smelled like horse shit in an old leather purse placed in a cigar box. I didn’t think decanting was necessary for such an old wine, so we popped and poured and tasted it over several hours. It didn’t change over time and was consistent the entire night.
In addition to the barnyard funk, there was also some mushroom and soil and truffle mixed in. But it wasn’t bad! It is was interesting. It was probably over the hill. But it wasn’t bad.
On the palate, there wasn’t really any fruit left. It was pretty much all leather, cigar box, and earth. Maybe a tiny hint of red fruit. Someone who knows more about aged Bordeaux will have to tell me if the smells and tastes are common for aged Bordeaux because I’ve only had 2 other wines this old, so I don’t really have much to go on. The 1988 Biondi Santi I tasted definitely had a lot of mushroom on the nose, but unlike this Pichon Baron, there was still a lot of cherry left.
On to the Ridge Zinfandel. The back of the bottle says it will be best in 5-6 years. So we exceeded that by about 25 years. It was certainly an interesting experience. I didn’t pick up a whole lot on the nose, but on the palate, it tasted like a cranberry raisin – a Craisin, if you will. It was very light in body, which didn’t seem typical for Zinfandel, to me, and it almost felt a bit watered down, but it was 31 years old, so it might just been the age.
Both the Pichon Baron and the Ridge had nice brick red colors, with very little brown.
For our main course, we had lamb and steak and I paired it with the 2010 Fleur Cardinale, which decanted for about 90 minutes. This was a beautiful, balanced wine. Fine tannins, not overly oaked. A bit of toasted vanilla notes, with subtle red fruit, it paired nicely with the meats.
To finish off the night, we drank an entire bottle of Sauternes. This 1988 Lafaurie-Peyraguey was the wine of the night for me. It wasn’t objectively the best wine – that’s a tie between the Roederer and the Fleur Cardinale, but it was the most interesting, most memorable (although the smell of that Pichon Baron is something I’ll never forget because of the weirdness), and the biggest surprise because I haven’t had much dessert wine and the ones I’ve had weren’t really enjoyable because they were too sweet and syrupy.
This Sauternes smelled like honey and beeswax and caramel. It was rich on the palate, but there was also some acidity that balanced it, and even a certain lightness to it that made me want to keep coming back for more. There were some citrus and tropical fruit flavors, as well as bit of cedar or pine. Overall, a super interesting wine that has now opened me up to the world of dessert wines.
What a great night. Even though I had higher hopes for the Pichon Baron, I’m still super grateful I got to try all of this stuff. Most of the wines were purchased on WineBid, so I’m glad nothing turned out to be vinegar.
Also, if you’re curious about the wine crate wall in the background, I made it myself. Took me a few months of buying empty wooden wine boxes from Total Wine. I disassembled the boxes and glued them onto wooden panels that are anchored into the drywall and studs. And whenever we move (hopefully not for at least a decade), I’ll be able to remove the panels because all the screws are still accessible since some panels are removable.
I just wanted to cover the wall with panels, so most don’t really have any special meaning or anything, though a few do. My new goal is to try wine from every one of the producers on the wall. Should be a fun adventure!
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Well r/wine, I’m back after a 2 week ban for posting bottle porn without tasting notes. I’ve got plenty of notes this time though, because last night we went through a lot of wine and had a great time trying some really interesting and really old (to me) stuff.
First up was the 2015 Roederer L’ermitage. This was a beautiful sparkling wine, with notes of toffee and crème brûlée on the nose and crisp green apple and brioche on the palate. The texture of the bubbles was great, almost kind of creamy.
Next we opened the 1988 Pichon Baron and the 1992 Ridge Zinfandel. Wow – the Pichon Baron was unlike any wine I’ve ever smelled. And not necessarily in the best way. It smelled like horse shit in an old leather purse placed in a cigar box. I didn’t think decanting was necessary for such an old wine, so we popped and poured and tasted it over several hours. It didn’t change over time and was consistent the entire night.
In addition to the barnyard funk, there was also some mushroom and soil and truffle mixed in. But it wasn’t bad! It is was interesting. It was probably over the hill. But it wasn’t bad.
On the palate, there wasn’t really any fruit left. It was pretty much all leather, cigar box, and earth. Maybe a tiny hint of red fruit. Someone who knows more about aged Bordeaux will have to tell me if the smells and tastes are common for aged Bordeaux because I’ve only had 2 other wines this old, so I don’t really have much to go on. The 1988 Biondi Santi I tasted definitely had a lot of mushroom on the nose, but unlike this Pichon Baron, there was still a lot of cherry left.
On to the Ridge Zinfandel. The back of the bottle says it will be best in 5-6 years. So we exceeded that by about 25 years. It was certainly an interesting experience. I didn’t pick up a whole lot on the nose, but on the palate, it tasted like a cranberry raisin – a Craisin, if you will. It was very light in body, which didn’t seem typical for Zinfandel, to me, and it almost felt a bit watered down, but it was 31 years old, so it might just been the age.
Both the Pichon Baron and the Ridge had nice brick red colors, with very little brown.
For our main course, we had lamb and steak and I paired it with the 2010 Fleur Cardinale, which decanted for about 90 minutes. This was a beautiful, balanced wine. Fine tannins, not overly oaked. A bit of toasted vanilla notes, with subtle red fruit, it paired nicely with the meats.
To finish off the night, we drank an entire bottle of Sauternes. This 1988 Lafaurie-Peyraguey was the wine of the night for me. It wasn’t objectively the best wine – that’s a tie between the Roederer and the Fleur Cardinale, but it was the most interesting, most memorable (although the smell of that Pichon Baron is something I’ll never forget because of the weirdness), and the biggest surprise because I haven’t had much dessert wine and the ones I’ve had weren’t really enjoyable because they were too sweet and syrupy.
This Sauternes smelled like honey and beeswax and caramel. It was rich on the palate, but there was also some acidity that balanced it, and even a certain lightness to it that made me want to keep coming back for more. There were some citrus and tropical fruit flavors, as well as bit of cedar or pine. Overall, a super interesting wine that has now opened me up to the world of dessert wines.
What a great night. Even though I had higher hopes for the Pichon Baron, I’m still super grateful I got to try all of this stuff. Most of the wines were purchased on WineBid, so I’m glad nothing turned out to be vinegar.
Also, if you’re curious about the wine crate wall in the background, I made it myself. Took me a few months of buying empty wooden wine boxes from Total Wine. I disassembled the boxes and glued them onto wooden panels that are anchored into the drywall and studs. And whenever we move (hopefully not for at least a decade), I’ll be able to remove the panels because all the screws are still accessible since some panels are removable.
I just wanted to cover the wall with panels, so most don’t really have any special meaning or anything, though a few do. My new goal is to try wine from every one of the producers on the wall. Should be a fun adventure!