This month’s WOTM is a very special wine pulled from Bad Man’s (that’s me) cellar on a very special occasion – an art installation at the Bad Man abode. It is the 1985 Château Pichon Longueville Comtessse de Lalande Pauillac, 12.5% abv, $175.
I’ve had this in my cellar for a few years, and thought what better time than the present! And oh what a present this time is – having just finished a new art installation in my living room, consisting of a 19th marble statue weighing in at, oh, maybe 300 pounds. Could be 400, or 800 for that matter. Takes two huge lads to hoist it onto the dolly, where the invention of the wheel makes navigating it from shipping van to viewing gallery a mere trifle. Still, beauty, though weightless to the soul, is fastened most surely to the earth.
Some of you are saying, “Enough about the bloody statue already, this is supposed to be about the wine!” All in due time, my dear chaps, all in due time.
Accessible right from the gate, heady aromas of mulch and millyard – there’s definitely some oak involved with this old girl. Right from the onset the finish was remarkable, silky cherry and red fruit juiciness lasting a good 30 seconds after the draw. But I’m getting ahead of myself. First there’s colour. It’s a tawny sunset blend from edge to inner core of dark brick. The fill was solid above the shoulder, but the cork was saturated all the way to the end. It was firmly set, so no harm there, but probably wouldn’t make it to much farther. On the nose, in addition to oak, there’s pomegranate, bayleaf, mineral, camphor, crushed rocks, mint, pine needle. Not my favourite nose, but quite giving and complex, with definite elements of Bordeaux. In the mouth it is viscous and assertive, some tannins looming under the tongue and on the sides, with reasonable acidity. The fruit flavour profile consists mainly of red fruits. Surprisingly mouth-filling; not tight or austere. As the night wore on this wine proved her essence – in a word, remarkable.
In conclusion, not my cup of tea due to the herbal attenuation on the nose and the red fruit, but an amazing excursion into relatively old Bordeaux (a 27 year old) which I enjoy and heartily recommend. There’s something satisfying about the elegance of the experience that crystallizes the dichotomy between Old and New World wines. I’m not saying one is better than the other, as for me it’s mood based, but if you like red wine and you drink a well-stored example of this old girl you won’t regret the price of admission.
For those interested in the art installation: the The Royals are having a shindig soon and pictures will most assuredly, and luridly, be posted.
BM: 89
