Tuesday, June 3, 2008

La Vierge de Bordeaux

We were in the mood for lamb chops and suitable accompaniments. Our usual Saratoga chops; asparagus, with aïoli of course. I doctored a bag of Trader Joe's insta-lentils with some sautéed onions, roasted red peppers, garlic, olive oil and fresh thyme. It was time to break out some Bordeaux.

The Princess was intrigued by the idea, having not yet been exposed to a really fine Bordeaux. I explained the Classed Growth system: in 1855 the wine brokers of France, at the request of Napoléon III, made a ranking of Bordeaux wines based on their price and reputation at the time. Although there have been many changes in vineyard ownership and actual quality since then, the assignments of properties into "first-growth" through "fifth-growth" have pretty much been set in stone.

The cellar held a 1997 Château Langoa-Barton (third growth), so we would have the double treat of something non-California (varietas vincit omnia) and some maturity, accelerated by being in half-bottle. I decanted and found a bit of fine sediment, and in the glass saw the slightest browning at the edge. This promised a different experience.

Now for the nose: wow.

Profound. (pause here for several minutes nose-in-glass as dinner cools dangerously)

Roasted meats, blackberries, smoke, black peppercorns and more spectres of umami swirled in our heads. When we finally tasted, the balance was perfect, everything in its place. I have paid more attention lately to balance and alcohol, and believe the modest 12.5% is helpful. A half bottle of this was really not enough. I never wanted to see it end.

The Princess pronounced it "intoxicating, earthy, rustic" and noted that fruitiness was not really in the picture, compared to our typical New World wines. She admitted that she "would like to try another Bordeaux sometime - maybe a second growth?"

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