attended a 2000 Bordeaux horizontal

[Duane Meissner]

Included from the East bank were a Ch Milens Grand Cru and a Ch. Jardin de Petit Jardin second wine.
Included from the West bank were a Ch. de Fieuzal (classified), Ch. Rauzan Gassies (2nd), Ch. Piujeaux (Cru Bourgeois), Ch. Lanessan (Cru Bourgeois), Ch. La Croix Beaucaillou (2nd), and a Ch. Duhart-Milon (4th). We wanted to hit all the major areas, but our wine guy couldn't come up with a 2000 from St. Estephe, so we settled for a 2002 Ch. Montrose (2nd).

I was a little disappointed. Not in the wine, but in myself. I had a very difficult time putting words to the different tastes I encountered. Even when everyone was agreeing on "black cherry", for example, I had a hard time picking that out in the wine. It all tastes like "wine" to me. I noticed vast differences from wine to wine, and a superior quality in most of these over what I normally drink, but I never could describe what I was tasting. I feel like I'm missing out. It must have something to do with the fact that I am always a bit congested year-round and cannot smell much. I know the two senses are linked.

For what it's worth, my favorite of the night was the de Fieuzal ($47), with the La Croix Beaucaillou ($37) coming in second. Wish I could tell you why.