Very good food and an intriguing group of wines enjoyed with good friends resulted in an enjoyable evening. Perhaps the most shocking wine (an inexpensive Bordeaux I have consistently recommended as a “good buy”), was the magnum of 1952 Château Recougne, which was brilliant. The wine still possesses good density, lively fruit, lots of complexity (cedar, earth, herbs, and spices), and a full-bodied richness. It is amazing how this wine, which is usually aged totally in tank or old wood, has held up. It was younger, more vital, and richer than the 1961, which was considered to be a greater vintage. The 1961 Recougne is an interesting Bordeaux as it never went through malolactic fermentation. The acids were higher because of that, and while that has kept the wine alive, it displays nowhere near the depth, concentration, or complexity of the 1952. The other old wine (from my birth year) was an outstanding bottle of 1947 L’Eglise Clinet. It revealed lots of caramelized red and black fruits along with notes of truffles, underbrush, smoke, and cedar. Fleshy and sweet (not from residual sugar, but from glycerin and ripeness), with plenty of fruit, a chewy character, and wonderful melted tannins, as this wine sat in the glass, it improved dramatically, then went into a quick decline. That is not unusual for a wine of this age. Even better was the 1955 Croix de Gay, one of the finest examples of this cuvée I have ever tasted. Deep ruby/purple-hued with a little garnet at the edge, this wine, which I believe was served from magnum (which would no doubt account for its vigor), exhibited sweet mulberry and black cherry fruits, a kirsch-like component, licorice, tar, and truffle notes. Rich and full-bodied with plenty of fruit still in evidence as well as sweet tannin, this was another revelation.

Among the young Bordeaux, two properties that are making terrific wines are Barde-Haut and Clos l’Eglise. The more fruit-driven 2005 Barde-Haut is impressively pure and rich with a medium to full-bodied density and high, but sweet, melted tannins. The 2001 Barde-Haut is just reaching its plateau of full maturity. Gorgeously complex notes of plums, underbrush, flowers, and earth are accompanied by a fleshy, medium to full-bodied mouthfeel, and no hard edges. This wine should keep for another decade. The stunning 1998 Clos l’Eglise is just coming into its own. Sweet notes of caramel, toffee, black cherries, currants, coffee, and smoke are complex as well as persistent. Full-bodied, succulent, and fleshy, this rich, concentrated 1998 is one of the finest made at this tiny Pomerol estate. Actually more evolved, the 2001 Clos l’Eglise is at the top of its game. Super-rich plum, black currant, and cherry fruit intermixed with forest floor and underbrush characteristics emerge from this medium to full-bodied, pure, deep style displaying a velvety mouthfeel and a savory, long finish. It is the kind of wine that makes Bordeaux so appealing, and Pomerol so popular. The outlier in the group was the Paul Jaboulet-Ainé 1985 Hermitage La Chapelle. I always find throwing a different style of wine made from different grapes into a relatively pure tasting of Bordeaux is fraught with difficulty in trying to appreciate it for what it is. Coming in the middle of the tasting, it showed lots of animal, earth, herb, pepper, and meaty/blood-like notes intermixed with cassis, underbrush, and a certain leafy character. The color was much lighter at the rim than any of the Bordeaux’s, including the older cuvées, and the Hermitage seemed soft, round, and fully mature.