Wine Club - Bordeaux

2002 Chateau Brown Lamartine Bordeaux Superieur
Pepper, leather, tobacco, dark fruits - raspberry?, chocolate. Palate much less complex than the nose would imply - pretty much just tart raspberry. Light bodied but alcoholic, with a peppery tannic bite in the throat. 2.7 alone, 3.7 food. 1/4 alone, 3/5 food. $17.99




2003 Chateau La Lauzette-Declercq Listrac-Medoc Cru Bourgeois
Opens with earthy mushrooms, then cherry, pepper and burnt sugar. Nose continues on the palate, with cherry and black pepper. Minerals on the finish, some pleasant bitterness. Quite tannic, moderate balanced acidity. 2.5 alone, 3.4 food. 1/3.5 alone, 3/4 food. $19.99




2000 Chateau Roland La Garde Cuvee Prestige Premieres Cotes de Blaye
Hints of sweetness on the nose - strawberry, caramel, black cherry, and a hint of fir trees. The wine is actually very dry, but fruit forward, with a nice and long lasting fruity finish. Just a hint of minerals on the finish as well. Moderate acidity, firm tannins. 3.0 alone, 3.6 food. 1/4 alone, 2/4.5 food. $20.99



2003 Chateau Cantenac Saint Emilion Grand Cru
Very evocative nose for some: "romantic, dark and mysterious," "blooming tropical flowers on a hot humid night." Cherry and black pepper on the palate. Very long, balanced finish. Medium to full bodied with well integrated tannins and balanced acidity. 3.4 alone, 3.7 food. 2/4 alone, 2/5 food. $31.99



For the food portion of the evening, I seared up a piece of NY Strip steak and served thinly sliced pieces. I really felt that we needed a nice hunk of medium rare protein to fully appreciate these wines. As I stood in the kitchen over the smoking hot cast iron pan, my wine club companions were a little skeptical of the lengths I was going to. But I'm pleased to say they all saw the light once they tasted the combination. In deference to our vegetarian member, and because we all love cheese, we also had some Piave, which is one of the all-time great cheeses.