TN: 1990 Bdx at Tribeca Grill

1990 JJ Pr=FCm Wehlener Sonnenuhr Auslese Light petrol and honey on the nose, quite young and a little tight. By the time the first course (foie gras) came around, it had opened up- lush apricot fruit, only moderately sweet, with good acidity- very tasty! B+-A-

St Emilions

1990 Pavie A little high-toned at first, then settles to a nice earth and cedar nose. John sitting next to me keeps saying it stinks , but I'm not getting that. After some comparisons, it turns out its his stem that stinks- he gets a replacement and is much happier. The Pavie has red plum and currant fruit, a nice overlay of cedar. Medium-bodied, pleasant wine. B

1990 Canon la Gaffeliere Initially a very funky nose that quickly blows off. Some spice on the red fruit. Nice enough, a bit bigger than the Pavie, but if anything I preferred the Pavie. Close call. B

Graves 1990 Pape Clement Pretty, clean, but with an undercurrent of lushness. Nose of cigarbox and leather, nice dark berry fruit. Very nice. A-

1990 Domaine de Chevalier Now this does stink a bit. Kind of a furry animal type thing, Arv says "wet dog". It's not overwhelming, this is drinkable, but too many good wines coming up, this gets the dump bucket. C+

The first course arrived, enough of us had ordered foie gras to open one of the Sauternes, the 1990 Guiraud. Very nice- plenty of botrytis, apricot and pineapple fruit with some cinnamony spice. Fat but not flabby. A--B+

Pauillacs (consumed with a small pasta course)

1990 Pichon Lalande This lived up to its not-great rep. Not the greenness I've found in some Pichon-Lalande, but some animal notes (not as much as the Chevalier). But very thin and short for a 1990. C-C+

1990 Lynch Bages Nicely balanced. Young and tight right now. But you can see the ripe fruit under the tannins, long clear finish. B+-A-

Pomerols

(this flight arrived at same time as my filet, a very pleasurable combo).

1990 Bon Pasteur Sweet ripe fruit, velvety texture, nice notes of spice and chocolate. A--B+

1990 Pebreast-Village Surprisingly young tasting, still a bit tannic. Good concentration, fresh plum and blackberry fruit, nice finish. A--B+

1990 Trotanoy Another young tasting wine. Nice tannic structure, cbuttis and blackberry fruit with some leather and a mineral finish. A-

1990 La Conseillante Great concentration, but still with a delicacy that really pulls one in. Mineral, vanilla, and leather aromas, deep dark fruit. Complex and beguiling. The old "iron fist in velvet glove" metaphor comes to mind. My WOTN. A

St. Julien 1990 Gruaud Larose Powerful, deep black fruit, long finish. Some menthol and tobacco. Earlier this year I had this and found it just a little roasted-overripe, but this doesn't seem to be. Excellent. A--A

1990 Lagrange Big and still young (the oak still tastes like oak), but a very nice bottle of Lagrange. Cbuttis, toasty oak, good finish. B+-A-

1990 Leoville Poyferre More medium-bodied, good blackcurrant fruit with some floral notes on the nose. Nicely balanced, drinking very well. A-

1990 Leoville Barton Man, the St. Julien and Pomerol flights were both persons. The Barton is bigger than the Poyferre (though not as brawny as the Gruaud). Rich, voluptuous, nicely herbal. A--B+

St. Estephes & Haut-Medoc

1990 Cos D'Estournel Dark fruit, not as tannic as I expected. A bit of cedar and decay. Not impressed, but others liked much more than I did. B-

1990 Calon Segur Medium-fruit, hard tannins, a disappointment (this and the Pebreast-Village were mine). A bit thin and musty -I think this was maybe slightly corked. A B- if this is an intact bottle.

1990 Sociando Mallet- no maybe about it, corked!

1990 Suduiraut (Sauternes) Very dark color. Apparently there's some question re storage of this bottle. Still, an ok very mature fat honied wine. B

Some very nice wines. I know some folks were talking about 1990s cracking up early, but most of these seemed to have plenty of life ahead. Thanks to organizers and all who attended!

Grade disclaimer: I'm a very easy grader, basically A is an excellent wine, B a good wine, C mediocre. Anything below C means I wouldn't drink at a party where it was only choice. Furthermore, I offer no promises of objectivity, accuracy, and certainly not of consistency. =20