Margaux Babies
at Bull & Bear
September 29, 2012 at 6:00 pm
Climbing back out of the hole Margaux was in during the 70s to taste some of the greatest vintages of all time.
Well, this was a very disappointing tasting. Very little great wine was made in the 1970s in Bordeaux, and Margaux made none of it. But while the other first growths were releasing knockout after knockout during the 80s, Margaux was still struggling. It was not until 1989 that things really came together. The tasting was not helped by the fact that two of the better vintages–the 1978 and potential 100 point 1990–were corked. Overall a very lackluster group.
Fortunately the members brought some great wines, so we drank well during a fabulous tasting dinner that featured an octopus sort of crepe thingie, amazing mussels, and cod that was laboriously prepared using locally gathered pine needles(!) The new Italian sous chef was in charge, and really knocked it out of the park.
| 1977 | Ch. Margaux | Red | Bordeaux | 241 | |
| 1978 | Ch. Margaux | Red | Bordeaux | 377 | |
| 1979 | Ch. Margaux | Red | Bordeaux | 285 | |
| 1980 | Ch. Margaux | Red | Bordeaux | 342 | |
| 1981 | Ch. Margaux | Red | Bordeaux | 340 | |
| 1982 | Ch. Margaux | Red | Bordeaux | 1017 | |
| 1983 | Ch. Margaux | Red | Bordeaux | 582 | |
| 1984 | Ch. Margaux | Red | Bordeaux | 198 | |
| 1985 | Ch. Margaux | Red | Bordeaux | 445 | |
| 1986 | Ch. Margaux | Red | Bordeaux | 543 | |
| 1987 | Ch. Margaux | Red | Bordeaux | 335 | |
| 1989 | Ch. Margaux | Red | Bordeaux | 483 | |
| 1990 | Ch. Margaux | Red | Bordeaux | 1077 | |
| 6265 |
Wine Notes
1977 – classic Bordeaux nos, iron, coffee grounds, smoke, meat, thin, short, 88 pts
1978 – corked. some underlying fruit and tannin, coffee grounds, no score
1979 – a bit of caramel, medicinal, iron, meat, wax, vanilla, tannin, 87 pts
1980 – chalk, dust, decent structure, spice, coffee candies, 86 pts
1981 – spicy, coffee, refined fruit, 90 pts
1982 – coffee, curry, big structure, simple, 94 pts
1983 – tannin, not a lot of fruit, salty, 91 pts
1984 – chalk, soft, short, 82 pts
1985 well-structured, tannic, iron, 89 pts
1986 – mint, tannic, thin, short, 91 pts
1987 – gamey, mint, thin, 85 pts
1989 – smoke, earth, gamey, lead pencil, 95 pts
1990 – corked, big fruit, no score
Other Wines
2000 Pavillon Rouge by Margaux – Dick – big fruit, long, blackberry, ocean, 95 pts
2007 Spottswoode Cabernet Sauvignon – Steve – vanilla, pepper, meat, mint, shell, herbs, chocolate, coconut, chewy, long, 99 pts
2008 La Cigare Blanc – Andy – interesting Rhone blend, nutty, balanced, butter, 91 pts
2005 Domaine Weinbach Clos des Capucins Cuvee Theo – Ron – petrol, armpit, elegant, 93 pts
2008 Evans Ranch Chardonnay – John – butter, toast, big, balanced, long, 91 pts
2010 Bonny Doon Sparkling Albarino – Andy – caramel, butter, high acide, fascinating, 90 pts
1967 Nuits-Saint-Georges “Les Boudots” Georges Noellat – Ron – Cigar, sweet cherries, 89 pts
2002 Clos de Vougeot Maison Champy – John – closed, cherries, short, 84 pts
2004 Evans Ranch Lone Oak Pinot Noir – Andy – vanilla, spice box, baking spices, 92 pts
2000 Segla – Dick – 2nd wine of Rauzan Segla, tannic, not much fruit, 88 pts
1986 Laurel Glen Sonoma Cabernet Sauvignon – Ron – chewy, tannic, vanilla, cherry, peppers, acid, old style CA that will age well, 90 pts
2007 Ch. de Fonsalette Rhone by Rayas – Ron – cherries, anilla, chalk, herbal, kirsch, raspberry, young, 92 pts
2004 Noon Eclipse GSM – Ron – great structure, long chocolate finish, 92 pts
2003 Henry’s Drive Reserve Shiraz – Steve – extremely aromatic, wood, vanilla, intense mint, 94 pts
1969 Beerenauslese Osterreich Assmannhauss – Steve – balanced, good acid, wax, 92 pts
1975 Ch. Les Justices Sauternes – Steve – botrytis, simple, 88 pts
2007 Argyle Minus Five Cryo Cluster Riesling – Andy – petrol, varietal, 90 pts
Acquisitions
| none | $0 |
Upcoming Events
| November 17 | Syndicate |
Treasurer’s Report
| Previous Balance | -4856 |
| Dues Payable | 5000 |
| Purchases | 0 |
| Dinner | -1860 |
| Balance | -1756 |
Please bring your dues of $1000 per couple to the event.