On Sep 11, 10:28*am, Bobchai > wrote:
> On Sep 10, 11:33*pm, "JT" > wrote:
>
>
>
>
>
> > Solihull Fine Wine Society September Tasting
>
> > A vertical of Barton, put on by Kaivan, and on a rare occasion for the
> > society, not blind. You got what was on the label.
>
> > oldest first, another interesting variation and created some discussion..
>
> > 1985, bright hint of brown, expressive cassis, mint organic nose, complex,
> > true claret. What an entry of soft fruit tannins acidity, all in harmoinous
> > balance with pepper and spice. Wonderful. 3rd WOTN
>
> > 1986, youthful, full extract, very dumb with a bit of tobacco at a pinch,
> > then a mouthful of puckering tannin, there is fruit but will it ever come
> > round? reminded me of 1975 Lascases.
>
> > 1988, deep ruby, no age, a dumb nose of oak and leather, and then a suprise,
> > wonderful palate of berries spice, long, most unexpected after the nose..
>
> > 1989, viscous and deep, looks magic, textbook claret, cigarbox, cassis,
> > vegetal, leather, big soft tannins with layers of mature fruit, a rich wine
> > and a textbook claret, will still evolve.
>
> > 1990, deepest wine of the night with 1996, sparkles, another magic nose as
> > the 89, but even more layered and complex, superb balance, all spice and
> > fruit, very rich and so long, magnificent WOTN
>
> > 1993, quite pale ruby but good legs, a simple claret nose which revealed
> > nowt, soft with some tannins and good fruit, a perfect luncheon claret. Not
> > bad for a fair *only year.
>
> > 1994, please be good as I have bottles left!!, deep ruby, shines,
> > marshallows and old dusty cupboards, sweaty saddles sweet violets, grip,
> > soft with still some unresolved tannins, good acidity and mature fruit and
> > cinnamon, needs food.
>
> > 1996, huge extract as 1990, dumb, but opens up in time to reveal muted
> > layers of immature claret, but what a palate, intense fruit and firm
> > tannins, liquid blackcurrants, good now but will be superb, a wonderful
> > Barton.
>
> > 1998,Looks like cherryade, smells like cherryade, a fruity alcopop,
> > overextracted and in the old days a few bags of sugar, awful.........much
> > discussion, duff bottle or the style of the vintage, I hope for the former.
>
> John:
>
> Sounds like a wonderful tasting! *I'm living in a bubble in Napa
> Valley, because all of the local merchants stock mainly the local
> product, but I remember Leoville Barton and Leoville Lascases quite
> fondly. I even had a barrel tasting at Lascases many years ago,
>
> Pauillac and St. Julien tend to be the more tannic wines of the Medoc,
> but all that is changing with the newer styles of winemaking. I'm
> impressed that you found the 1985 still vibrant, because we are
> reaching the outer range of maturity for most of these wines. The
> 1982's survive, but unless someone wants to keep bottles as trophies
> under impeccable storage, they are probably going south. * eBay might
> be a solution.
>
> My personal love affair is with the cantons of Margaux and Cantenac,
> Chateau Palmer and Brane-Cantenac, but I'm also a devotee of Pomerol
> and St. Emilion. *Tasting Pauillacs today is a rare treat, because we
> just don't fine them locally. I have a Napa Valley palate, although
> I'm disgusted with so much of the local high alcohol, heavily
> extracted monsters. *I see wine as Audrey Hepburn, not Jayne
> Mansfield. Yet I can appreciate a Bordeaux with power and finesse,
> character which is elusive in this part of the galaxy.
>
> I wish I had been there at your tasting. I am intrigued by your
> remarks about the 1998. That wine should be coming around by now, but
> your comments suggest that it's still a "mewling, puking babe" (as the
> poet said). After ten, eleven years, that is not a good sign.
>
> Because most of my experience is with tastings from barrel, my focus
> has shifted to young wines now. *Tannin management in young reds has
> become the winemaking phenomenon of this decade, and we are starting
> to see powerful wines which are drinkable in youth. *Anything beyond
> four years of age for me is now becoming a curiosity.
>
> --Bob

A lot of lesser '82s might be fading, but my experience is that well-
stored midrange classified growths are doing fine (and things like
Mouton, LLC, etc are way young). For my tastes plenty of 85s are
drinking well now.

John, nice notes. The 86 has always been one where I fear the fruit
will never outlast the tannins. I have a couple of the '98s, you've
got me worried.