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WTN: Two very unfashionable Bordeauxs

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WTN: Two very unfashionable Bordeauxs

by Jenise » Fri Apr 14, 2006 11:05 pm

1997 Chateau Bernadotte, Haut-Medoc
Awhile back, I got an amazing deal on a case and a half of this and jumped on it. The only prior Bernadotte I'd had was the already-in-bottle and fruitier 2000 which bears little resemblance to this lesser, more austere wine. But it has outlasted many a more pedigreed 97 and we have enjoyed numerous bottles in the past year during which this wine emerged from sleep and started showing modest secondary characteristics. Now, it's still an ungiving wine in which I am betting the tannins outlast the fruit--and people who want their wine to crawl up and cuddle in their laps would understandably hate it--but it's nonetheless a traditionally styled wine that goes beautifully with food AND it's stil improving in the bottle. This glass that's sitting beside me is better than the wine was when first poured three hours ago.

1984 D'Issan, Margaux
Here is a nose for necrophiliacs like Otto: a musty medicinal aroma that my husband calls 'formaldehyde' but which I have no descriptor for although 'bandaid-y' might be close, dried rose petals, dry mint, and caramel. The palate is simpler: sour cherries on the mid palate and cola nut on the finish. A wine clearly past it's time but those lovely aged notes make the experience well worth it. It doesn't have the potential of a younger wine, but a younger wine doesn't have the grace and beauty this wine does. My husband just called it "poignant". Good word.
My wine shopping and I have never had a problem. Just a perpetual race between the bankruptcy court and Hell.--Rogov
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Re: TN: Two very unfashionable Bordeauxs

by AlexR » Sat Apr 15, 2006 5:21 am

Hi Jenise,

Bernodotte is owned by May de Lencquesaing of Pichon Comtesse. It's a very good middle-of-the-road wine.

Issan is going places. It has often been underrated in the past because it is not a big wine. But it's profile has changed slightly in the past couple of years and represents excellent value for money.

I would like to commend you very warmly for buying wine from "off vintages". You are living proof that you can drink such wines - and survive!

They often give you big bang for your buck, and most often are ready to drink earlier than the heavigly mediatized vintages.

Best regards,
Alex R.
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Peter May

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Brett ?

by Peter May » Sat Apr 15, 2006 5:29 am

Jenise wrote: [
1984 D'Issan, Margaux
a musty medicinal aroma .........'bandaid-y'


Hi Jenise, how many of these do you have?

Bandaid is a classic descriptor of brett, and musty can also be sign of bacterial infection
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Re: TN: Two very unfashionable Bordeauxs

by Jenise » Sat Apr 15, 2006 12:09 pm

AlexR wrote:I would like to commend you very warmly for buying wine from "off vintages". You are living proof that you can drink such wines - and survive!

They often give you big bang for your buck, and most often are ready to drink earlier than the heavigly mediatized vintages.

Best regards,
Alex R.


Hi, Alex! I've probably explained this to you before, but I got into Bordeaux rather late and discovered simply by experimentation what you're saying about the advantages of these off vintages. It has aided me greatly in exploring Bordeaux--getting a sense of the wines without limiting myself to only the best wines of the so-called great vintages that would require more than my dinky fortune to acquire in ready-to-drink form.
My wine shopping and I have never had a problem. Just a perpetual race between the bankruptcy court and Hell.--Rogov
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Re: Brett ?

by Jenise » Sat Apr 15, 2006 12:12 pm

Peter May wrote:
Jenise wrote: [
1984 D'Issan, Margaux
a musty medicinal aroma .........'bandaid-y'


Hi Jenise, how many of these do you have?

Bandaid is a classic descriptor of brett, and musty can also be sign of bacterial infection


Oh, there was definitely a little brett in there, but in the fractional amount that's fairly typical of lots of Bordeauxs.
My wine shopping and I have never had a problem. Just a perpetual race between the bankruptcy court and Hell.--Rogov
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Re: Brett ?

by Saina » Sat Apr 15, 2006 2:32 pm

Jenise wrote:
Peter May wrote:
Jenise wrote: [
1984 D'Issan, Margaux
a musty medicinal aroma .........'bandaid-y'


Hi Jenise, how many of these do you have?

Bandaid is a classic descriptor of brett, and musty can also be sign of bacterial infection


Oh, there was definitely a little brett in there, but in the fractional amount that's fairly typical of lots of Bordeauxs.


I remember reading some article where it said that bandaid aromas are caused by a different strain of Brett than the shitty aromas. If my memory did not fail me in this matter, there would have been two evident strains of Brett in this wine? That indeed does sound like my sort of wine ;)

Jenise, you might be surprised to know that even I think that a wine can be over the hill!

Otto

p.s. Off vintages rock!
I don't drink wine because of religious reasons ... only for other reasons.

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