When I was invited to attend dinner with Paul Pontallier, General Director of famed first growth Bordeaux Chateau Margaux, I was prepared to lose my job in order to be there. Thankfully, we were a little quiet at Jar last night and I was able to sneak out after monthly inventory to participate.
The Commanderie du Bordeaux hosts these amazing dinners from time to time. Last I was invited, they pitted eight or nine different vintages of Mouton-Rothschild against Leoville Las Cases blind. They are always well-organized and very classy. It's a treat to be a participant. One might call it a little stodgy: a bunch of guys, almost all over 60 years old, sitting around in their Commanderie crests, politely drinking Bordeaux and talking about recent business ventures. It's very much the antithesis of how I like to enjoy and treat wine, but still a wonderful experience.
Dinner was held at the California Club in downtown Los Angeles. This is an amazing place, if you haven't been there. Super old-school! There aren't many places like this left, particularly in California. High ceilings, antiques, large paintings, a maze of little rooms and corners to explore. It's like being transported to the past. The food was very good, but in my opinion, was as classic as the Club. The preparations and sauces also felt like they were from the ancient past. Almost as if they were using the same recipes from the 1960's. It brought to mind the food at Pacific Dining Car, which has been open since the early part of the 20th century and has never changed since.
On to the wine: The purpose of this dinner was for the members of the Commanderie to introduce young people to Bordeaux and Chateau Margaux. They were asked to bring someone under 40 years of age to the dinner as their guest. The wines poured were: 2008 and 2005 Pavillon Blanc, 2006 and 2004 Pavillon Rouge, and Chateau Margaux from 2004, 1999 and 1983. For dessert, we enjoyed a wonderful 1986 Barsac from Chateau Climens.
Unfortunately, my specific tasting notes were scooped up and thrown away while I was taking the photo above. So, I have nothing but memory to report. My apologies for the generalities and broadness of the information. But I was swallowing the wine, naturally, and thoroughly enjoying every minute of it.
The Pavillon Blanc is 100% Sauvignon Blanc every year. Margaux does not even plant Semillon. The 2008 was wonderfully fresh with loads of citrus, tangerine candy, lemon pith and white flowers. Their 2005, a reputedly better vintage, was not showing as well. Fruits were clearly more baked, like an orange tart straight from the oven. However, the oak was much more dominant in the finish, to a severely noticable degree. There is a great quote from Paul in "What to Drink With What You Eat" about oak being like the frame on a piece of art: It should accentuate the picture, not overtake it. His words were much more eloquent, of course. I felt as though the frame was showing a little oversized on the 2005.
The Pavillon Rouges were drinking beautifully, which is the intended effect. Drink them while you are cellaring your Chateau Margaux. The 2006 was wonderfully fresh and elegant with wonderful ripe fruits and florality. The 2004 suffered from a greener character shown as tobacco leaf, cigar box and spice. One can definitely tell that this was a cooler vintage. I actually like that aspect in my Bodeaux, personally. These were wonderful wines, but completely eclipsed when we hit the first labels.
The 2004 Chateau Margaux was still incredibly young, but definitely drinkable. Paul proclaimed that great Bordeaux does not HAVE to be cellared. It is drinkable young as well as with time in the cellar. As a general note, the first label shows much more perfume and elegance. They are wonderful to simply smell: spice box notes, vanilla, currant, fresh flowers and cedar. The 1999, while showing development, was also youthful with a terrific life ahead. Again, showing the signs of green from a cooler vintage, but beautiful to drink.
The 1983 was nothing short of spectacular. I cannot give wildly specific notes because there was variance in the bottles and I did not taste any one bottle individually. My first glass was a combination of two bottles, and at halfway consuming it, was topped off from a third bottle. Even tasting the mix of them, it is clear that what they say is true: there are no great wines, only great bottles. My first glass was showing stronger signs of barnyard and leather. It may have even been slightly corky, but Eric (our sommelier) was checking the bottles. With the topping of the third bottle, it showed much more youthful characteristics and vibrant fruit. It was actually a wonderful experience! The advanced development of the first glass joined with the slower of the mixture only improved the overall experience.
I have nothing to say about the Barsac except "yum". In a conversation with one of my co-attendees, I said, "Even when Sauternes sucks, it's still pretty awesome". The Climens was a far cry from sucking.
I was pleased to hear that Chateau Margaux is experimenting with alternate forms of closure for the wines. He mentioned synthetic corks and Stelvin (screw caps) in particular. However, he said they would never release a wine to which they had been applied until they knew that it absolutely made for a better wine. He assured they would never experiment on the customer. So, it sounds as if we may not see those new closures until the end of this century, if they perform well.
He also expressed concern about the 2009 futures and pricing some of their regular consumers out of the market. Unfortunately, business is business and they must follow the pack.
It was a let-down to return home and drink a 2005 Trespass 'Rendezvous' 2005 with Kara. But there was no real way to follow up Chateau Margaux, short of opening another one. The 'Rendezvous' is a right-bank Bordeaux-styled blend with primarily Cabernet Franc and Merlot. It was fair, with balanced plum, cherry and violet/cola tones. Not wildly generous on fruit, such that we consulted the lunar calendar to see if it was a "root" day (more on that another time). I have really liked this wine in the past and hope that it's just in a funky place in its evolution. It was not a disappointment as a late night bottle, though.
In short, thanks to Paul Pontallier for making some of the greatest wines on the planet. And for taking the time to spend with us over some of them here in Los Angeles. I will not soon forget the experience.
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