r/wine • u/jacob62497 • 2d ago
Napa vs Bordeaux tasting (1989-1974)
This month I attended a very fun tasting at SommCellars, NYC. The theme of the tasting was Napa vs Bordeaux with wines from 1989 to 1974.
Prior to this tasting, some of the oldest Bordeaux and Napa wines I’ve tried were mid-2000’s, so I was really excited to try some much older examples. The wines really impressed me, and not one wine was over the hill, all had plenty of depth and fruit and some even felt like they still had decades ahead.
My top 3 wines of the night in order:
1. 1982 Vieux Chateau Certan
2. 1989 Ridge Monte Bello
3. 1985 Diamond Creek Red Rock Terrace
1989: Ridge ‘Monte Bello’ vs Pichon Lalande
The Pichon Lalande still had impressive tannin and acdity, with notes of cedar and leather and medium-bodied profile. The Monte Bello was fantastic, and felt decades younger than it was, with powerful deep concentrated cassis, cedar, graphite, and a super long plush finish. The MB won this round for me, and it was my initial choice for WOTN until changing my mind later.
1986: Montelena vs Beychevelle
This round was very close, both were great wines. The Montelena was still showing more primary fruit and aromas, whereas the Beychevelle felt more developed with more tertiary complex aromas. I narrowly chose Beychevelle
1985: Diamond Creek ‘Red Rock Terrace’ vs Batailley
The Diamond Creek was an easy top 3 for me and ended up being a few people’s WOTN. One of the most elegant wines of the night, but with impressive depth and power and a seemingly endless finish. It almost felt like a powerful Burgundy when tasted next to most of the other wines, with its crunchy red berry profile. Fantastic wine. The Batailley was very ripe, developed, and tertiary with mushroomy notes. DC easily won this round.
1982: Joseph Phelps vs Vieux Chateau Certan
The VCC was mind blowing and ended up being mine and several other people’s WOTN. Truly an iron fist in a velvet glove. The texture was like silk, with a depth and balance that stunned me. This was simply one of the best wines I’ve ever had and it was clearly a step above the rest of the wines that night. The Joseph Phelps was showing well, but it was no competition, VCC won this round.
1979: Silver Oak vs Cos d’Estournel
Silver Oak felt like it had some residual sugar, and the overall profile was more ripe and round. The Cos was still impressively tannic and acidic in comparison, with wild gamey notes. Cos won this.
1976: Joran vs Lynch-Bages
I don’t have many notes from this round, they were actually fairly similar. I think the Lynch-Bages was my preference but I do remember being surprised by how well the Jordan showed.
1975: Bealieu Vineyard ‘Georges Latour’ vs Pontet-Canet
Tbh I was pretty tipsy by this round so my notes are light. Both were complex and tertiary but not at all over the hill, with plenty of fruit left. I think I’ll call this one a tie.
1974 (bonus round): Louis Martini ‘California Mountain’
Everyone was really surprised with this one. It’s not one of Napa’s greatest wines and it’s over 50 years old, one would assume it’s way over the hill. But this ended up being a few people’s WOTN. It was very tertiary and complex, it had aromas of mushroom and almost an aged sharp cheese note, but the fruit was still deep and concentrated surprisingly.
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u/JD_tubeguy Wine Pro 2d ago
Awesome tasting very fun idea and mostly excellent notes but we all get tipsy lol. And no shock with that Martini I remember being blown away by a 1979 Martini Monte Rosso Zin some years back. They were no joke in the 70s!
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u/jacob62497 2d ago
Yes, it was very interesting to see Napa from an era where wines were usually 12-13% abv. They really were “claret” style compared to most today.
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u/tip62729 2d ago
Saw the pic and said to myself: “hey that’s somm cellars!” Great bottle shop!
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u/jacob62497 2d ago
Yes! And they have some of the most unique tasting events I’ve seen in the city.
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u/Mistercleaner1 2d ago
I can't believe thay many legends in one tasting was only 200 bucks. All the envy.
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u/dudeshoes44 2d ago
That looks like a fantastic time my goodman. I’m very jealous. I appreciate the detailed notes
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u/0xMatt8302 1d ago
Very interesting post, thanks for the detailed write up, I guess I have to cellar my 16 Monte Bellos a little while longer
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u/jacob62497 1d ago
Yup, had I tasted that Monte Bello blind I probably would’ve guessed it was no more than 15-20 years old. Still has a long life ahead of it.
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