WCC Saint Estèphe Blind Tasting
Provence Restaurant, Albany, NY
3/23/2017

My Albany area group got together to taste the wines of Saint Estèphe. Our group leader organized the tasting and the flights. Everyone else only knew that the wine(s) that they brought were in there somewhere. All the wines were doubled-decanted either in the morning or early afternoon.

Dinner started about 7:30 and ended around 9:30. The food was very good and generally well-matched to the wines.

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Flight 1: The Oldest Wines
Charcuterie: Country Pâté, Foie Gras Terrine, Cornichons, Whole Grain Mustard, and Grilled Baguette.
  1. 1966 Château Calon-Ségur - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe
    Smoky, herbaceous, tarry sour cherry nose. Silky and tart in the mouth. Some mulch and mushrooms mixed with cherries.
  2. 1970 Château Calon-Ségur - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe
    Sour. Mildly corked. (NR/flawed)
  3. 1970 Château Cos d'Estournel - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe
    Tart, sour cherry. Still alive, but barely. Drink up. (83 points)

Flight 2: Château Calon-Ségur
Sakura Pork Belly with Aux Champignon Crispy Wild Quail Egg.
  1. 1983 Château Calon-Ségur - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe
    Big, smoky black cherry nose. Smooth, fully mature. Lovely, but drink up. [My last bottle!] (88 points)
  2. 1989 Château Calon-Ségur - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe
    Black cherries in the nose and mouth. Has an elegance to it. Must be at peak. Group WOTN. (89 points)
  3. 1995 Château Calon-Ségur - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe
    Thick, rich, youthful, expansive. Complex with good fruit and balance. The best wine so far. (93 points)
  4. 2000 Château Calon-Ségur - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe
    Ripe black fruit, almost jammy. A very tasty wine. Similar to 6, but a bit more vibrant. Tied for Group #2 WOTN. (94 points)

Flight 3: Château Montrose
Crispy Duck: Seared Mallard Breast and Duck Cassoulet with Lingonberry Compote.
  1. 1989 Château Montrose - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe
    Rich, young, tart, tannic, complex. Bright future. (93 points)
  2. 1990 Château Montrose - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe
    Rich, complex, great structure. Stunningly long finish. Serious wow factor. Best wine so far. [Eventually my 3rd WOTN.] (96 points)
  3. 1996 Château Montrose - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe
    Another terrific, rich, tannic young wine. Complex. Marvelous. (95 points)
  4. 2000 Château Montrose - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe
    Another wow wine, but a bit more reserved at this point. Great future here. Lots of rich red fruit and structure. (94 points)
  5. 2003 Château Montrose - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe
    Tart black fruit, tannin. Quite backward at this point. Slightly green tannins are a bit of a concern. (92 points)

Flight 4: Château Cos d'Estournel
Framage Crépinettes: Roquefort, Bordeaux Onion Marmalade, and Medjool Date Crépinette.
This was the one course that didn't go well. It would have been good with Sauternes.
  1. 1982 Château Cos d'Estournel - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe
    Wow! This one's got it all! Smooth, silky black fruit. Very long, complex finish. Similar to the best in Flight 3, but there is a sweetness to the fruit here that elevates it just a bit above. My WOTN. Tied for Group #2. (97 points)
  2. 1985 Château Cos d'Estournel - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe
    Smoky black fruit in the nose. Juicy black fruit in the mouth. Long and still a bit tannic. Once I knew which wine this was, I was shocked. I would never have imagined that a 1985 would taste this young past 30 years of age. (95 points)
  3. 1989 Château Cos d'Estournel - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe
    Rich black fruit. Great length. Another wow wine. Gorgeous and harmonious with lots of life left. My #2 WOTN. (96 points)
  4. 2001 Château Cos d'Estournel - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe
    Juicy black fruit. A very good wine, but falls a bit short after the first 3 in this flight. Still quite young. (93 points)

Conclusion

This was a great tasting. The wines went from strength to strength. Montrose and Cos d'Estournel are making terrific wines and Calon-Ségur is not far behind.


Tasting notes posted from CellarTracker.


WOTN Voting (3pts each for #1, 2pts for #2, 1pt for #3)

RankPtsWine
1181989 Calon-Ségur
2-tie112000 Calon-Ségur
2-tie111982 Cos d'Estournel
482003 Montrose
5-tie71989 Montrose
5-tie72001 Cos d'Estournel
761989 Cos d'Estournel
841990 Montrose
9-tie31970 Cos d'Estournel
9-tie31996 Montrose
11-tie21966 Calon-Ségur
11-tie21983 Calon-Ségur


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All original content © Ken Vastola