Essex County Wine Society

WINE PRESS

                  ESSEX COUNTY WINE SOCIETY

March 7, 2010

Argentina Recap

Attendees at the Argentina tasting on March 4^th enjoyed some great wines and wonderful discussion. Jonathan Sibley led us through two flights (five wines each) of the red wines of Argentina, providing us with the background and benefit of his trip to some of the vineyards, and proving that these wines can excel at both the high and low ends.

The first flight focused on lower and mid-level wines with prices from $14 - $50. Attendees voted (blind) the least expensive wine, the 2006 Punto Final Reserva, the clear winner of “wine of the flight,” and it even received a few votes for “wine of the night” against the more expensive second flight.

The second flight included more of Argentina’s “luxury cuvees,” many of them joint ventures with well-known American or European winemakers. Most tasters were impressed with the quality across the flight. Since these are big, young wines, we took two votes for this flight: drinking best tonight vs. eventually will drink best. This also led to an interesting discussion about how to evaluate a wine for future evolution. In the “drinking best tonight” vote, the 2004 Cobos was the easy winner with 19 votes; the 2005 Grand Vin from Cuvelier los Andes came in second with 9 votes, and the 2005 Catena Zapata Argentino finished third with 8 votes. In the vote for “best eventually,” the race tightened up, with the 2005 Catena Zapata Argentino and the 2004 Cobos tying with 12 votes each. In the final overall “wine of the night” vote, the Cobos again took the honors with 17 votes.

New Board

The members in attendance approved the new Board members, comprised of: President, Dennis Roland; Treasurer, Peter Balance; Secretary, Gary Schwarz; 1^st VP, Bob Erickson; 2^nd VP, Catherine Brown; Trustee, Howard, Menaker.

Next Tasting – 1989 Bordeaux

Our final tasting of the season, on April 1^st (no fooling), will be particularly special. Bob Erickson will lead a tasting of 1989 Bordeaux, sourced from his cellar (and the cellars of Gary Schwarz and Dennis Roland). Since most of these wines were bought on release or as futures, and have been well-stored since then, the provenance is superb. Since the Society is purchasing these wines as prices favorable to auction rates, I do not believe this tasting could be recreated at this price. I expect that this will sell out. Please reply with your check immediately in order to secure your place at the tasting. In the event that we are oversubscribed, we will accept attendees in the order in which we receive their responses. The “guest invitations” will not be sent out for several days so that members have a “head start” advantage – but only if you send your check now. In addition, it is to be noted that this tasting takes place during Passover. We will offer matzoh, in addition to bread, for those observing.

The price will be $97 for members and $117 for guests.

We will be serving nine red Bordeaux plus an aperitif.

The tasting will include:

1989 Chateau Lynch Bages

“Consistently backward and dense, with enormous potential. The color is not quite as opaque as the 1990's, but reveals more purple and no lightening at the edge. Hugely concentrated flavors have just begun to offer up a nose of cedar and creme de cassis. Powerful and muscular, with high tannin and superb concentration, this is Lynch Bages at its biggest and most beastly. However, everything is in balance for a stunning evolution. Anticipated maturity: 2004-2030.” Robert Parker, 95 points (review from June 2000).

1989 Chateau Montrose

“An outstanding Montrose, the 1989 is one of the vintage's stars. It possesses an opaque dark ruby/purple color, a sweet nose of minerals, black fruits, cedar, and wood, dense, medium to full-bodied, highly extracted flavors, low acidity, and moderate tannin in the long finish. While it appears to be closing down far more quickly than the legendary 1990, it has layers of sweet fruit as well as an elevated level of glycerin. Give it 5-7 years of cellaring, and drink it over the subsequent 2-3 decades.” Robert Parker, 96 points (review from January 1997).

1989 Chateau Pichon-Longueville-Baron

“The dense, full-bodied 1989 is brilliantly made with huge, smoky, chocolatey, cassis aromas intermingled with scents of toasty oak. Well-layered, with a sweet inner-core of fruit, this awesomely endowed, backward, tannic, prodigious 1989 needs another 5-6 years of cellaring; it should last for three decades or more. It is unquestionably a great Pichon-Longueville-Baron.” Robert Parker, 95 points (review from January 1997).

1989 Pichon-Longueville Comtesse de Lalande

“Speaking of superior vintages, Pichon-Lalande's 1989…is a beautifully made wine. It exhibits a deep ruby/purple color, and a sweet, roasted nose of rich cassis fruit, herbs, and vanilla. Lush and round, this medium to full-bodied, nicely-textured, layered Pichon-Lalande possesses low acidity, outstanding ripeness, and beautiful purity and balance. It is already drinking surprisingly well, so owners should not hesitate to pull a cork. It should continue to offer rich, seductive drinking for another 15+ years.” Robert Parker, 92 points (review from February 1997).

Additional wines (all 1989) will be:

Chateau Beychevelle (WA89/WS93)

Chateau Le Gay (WA90/WS95)

Chateau Meyney (WA90/WS93)

Chateau Poujeaux (WA86/WS93)

Chateau St. Pierre (WA89/WS91)

The cost for the tasting will be $97 for members and $117 for guests.  

Our next event will be our annual Spring Dinner on May 2, 2010 at Scalini Fedeli.

De gustibus non disputandum est,

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