I decided to splurge (for my budget) on this bottle at a local Brooklyn
restaurant that was offering a two for the price of one entree deal. The menu
is decidedly French bistro with the usual suspects of steak frites, moules
frites, confit de canard, salad vert, etc., and the wine list is French through
and through, deep in Bordeaux. I was deciding between the '99 Beychevelle
(which I have never had) and '95 Prieure Lichine.
In the tiny bistro wine glasses it was tough to get a good nose out of the
wine but it did have a fine scent of toasted oak, earth and current. As it
opened up over the next 45 minutes it took on a much more complexity and
developed richer tones of berry and even a little bit of coffee bean.
Despite it being very out outside and the wine being a tad too warm, it was
immensely enjoyable with my steak frites. I found it to have nice suppleness,
and structure with pleasant tannins that made for a lingering finish after each
sip.
For $56 off the list I was satisfied and would definitely consider purchasing
Beychevelle in the future.