Two Perfect Scoring 1982 Bordeaux

          Chateau Haut-Brion & Chateau Latour---don't wait too long to open your special bottles 

Recently we hosted a Bordeaux dinner in our home with some significant wines.  There were two piece de resistance Grand Crus from the 1982 vintage:  Chateau Latour & Chateau Haut-Brion.  Both of these wines were given 100 point scores by Robert Parker.  If you can find them, the Latour sells for >$2,600 a bottle, the Haut-Brion north of $1,500.  Accompanying these First Growth wines was a Ployez-Jacquemart Champagne and a Chateau Suduiraut 2000.   It was a hedonistic evening.

 Haut-Brion, one of Bordeaux's 5 Premier Grand Cru wineries, is a usual stop on Wine-Knows trips

The Haut-Brion had been brought by dear friends (merci, Carrol & Steve).  Their bottle had been purchased on futures in the late 1970’s.   After bottling, it had carefully been stored in a cool, dark area for the first twenty years, and in a wine refrigerator for the last twenty.  Our Latour had been stored in a refrigerated wine case for over 20 years, and in a temperature-controlled/humidified wine cellar for nearly fifteen years.   We weren’t anticipating any storage problems with either.

               Wine-Knows visits Chateau Latour, another of Bordeaux's 5 Premier Grand Cru 

There was a great deal of thought given by both parties regarding preparing the wine for its ceremonious uncorking.  Typically, a ten or twenty year old powerful Cabernet requires an hour or two of contact with the air to soften its bold tannins.  As tannins and fruit both dissipate with age, however, there was concern of how long these forty year old Cabernet-centric wines should be opened in advance:  too early could mean loss of fruit flavors which were already on a downward trajectory.   Online sleuthing yielded a mixed bag for when the wine should be opened.  Expert suggestions for length of time to open the wines were very outdated (nothing had been written since the early 2000’s).   We were on our own to trust our best guess based on the evolution of both tannins and fruit.

                 Chateau Latour's tasting for Wine-Knows featured 5 wines from 3 different vintages

My husband and I finally agreed to open our Latour ninety minutes prior to serving and then decanted it.   Our initial taste and smell, thankfully, showed that the wine had no flaws.  Our friends opened their Haut Brion two hours prior to dinner, decanted it, and then placed it back in the bottle to bring to our home where it remained corked until shortly before serving.  Thankfully, their Haut Brion had also weathered the forty year storm with no flaws. 

                              Chateau Haut-Brion is surprisingly owned by an American family

Each wine was served in identical large Bordeaux glasses by Riedel, side by side.  Beef short ribs cooked in a Cabernet sauce was paired with the wines.  The structure of both the Latour & Haut Brion was intact, although the two wines were beginning to head on a downward course for both tannins and acids.  Experts had predicted that both wines would be drinkable through 2030, however, both bottles should have probably been consumed five to ten years earlier for a maximum tasting experiences.   The two wines’ flavor profiles were all earth-centric---very little fruit, if any, remained in either wine.  While pleasant, both wines lacked a certain je ne sai quoi for complexity. 

The experience of these two 1982 Grand Cru Bordeaux reinforced the following lessons:

         1.  Keep your wines well cellared.

         2.  Consult the experts, but trust your gut based upon knowledge of a wine’s 

                    structural components & evolution.

                             3.  Before opening an older wine consider both structure (tannins & acids), as well

                  as fruit in determining the optimal open date. 

Sassy Sauv Blanc

                   Wine-Knows will be visiting Bordeaux's Chateau-Haut-Brion in 2021               

          

Sauvignon Blanc is a feisty varietal that can produce wine ranging in flavor from grassy to tropical depending upon the terroir in which it is grown.  The popular grape variety is grown in most of the major wine countries of the world.  In cooler climates such as coastal New Zealand, the grape tends toward the “green profile” (grass, gooseberry, asparagus and lime/limon/grapefruit).  Warmer areas yield Sauv Blancs (think Sonoma) that focus on a ripe fruit profile:  passion fruit, pineapple and peach.

    Wine-Knows will be visiting New Zealand's Sauv Blanc vineyards in 2020

Sauv Blanc’s origin is France.  Sometime in the 18^th century, this racy white grape crossed in the vineyard with the red grape Cabernet Franc and birthed a new variety, Cabernet Sauvignon.  Thus, Sauv Blanc is one of the parents of well-loved current day Caberent.

                          France's Loire Valley may be the birthplace of Sauv Blanc

Wines can be made with 100% Sauvignon Blanc or the grape can be blended.  The most famous blend is a white Bordeaux in which Sauv Blanc is mixed with Semillion.   Crisp Sauvignon is combined with voluptuously textured Semillon to complete a near perfect pairing.  A well-made white Bordeaux can be phenomenal.  If you can’t afford Chateau Haut-Brion’s outrageously luscious white ($500), than consider Chateau Brown ($40), a lovely rendition of the marriage.

Best food choices for Sauvignon Blanc?   It all depends on the style of the Sauv Blanc.  The “green” style herbaceous wines pair nicely with dishes containing green herbs such as cilantro, basil or mint.  This is why Sauv Blanc is one of the few dry wines that work well with Asian cuisine.  My favorite New Zealand wines in this style include Dogpoint and Greywacke (both the $25 range).  These two faves have integrated a lemon/lime/grapefruit profile with stone fruit and nuances of herbs.

                                                Sauv Blanc works well with sushi

Sauv Blancs from warmer climates often are made with some oak influence, thus they pair well with chicken or veal, and can work with anything containing butter or cream (including pastas or soups).  I can’t seem to get enough of Merry Edwards’ Sauv, a true benchmark for what a Sauv Blanc should be.  Selling for just under $35,  I think it’s the pinnacle for a Sauv with the tropical flavors.  I serve it as an aperitif, but also have served it with the first course (as long as it’s not a salad), and it is killer with Julia Child’s veal scallopini.

Sauv Blancs versatility makes it a wine to have on your buy list!