A number of the usual Philly suspects gathered at Blackfish Tuesday night for a Leoville Las Cases vertical. Brief notes and summaries of the group opinions below.

We started with several whites, including a 1998 Ramonet Chassagne-Montrachet, 2004 Ramonet Ruchottes, and a 1997 Trimbach Cuvee Fredric Emile. The '04 Ruchettes and the Trimbach drank beautifully, 92 and 93 points respectively. The '98 Ramonet was slightly oxidized and therefore not scored.

Flight 1: Leoville Las Cases 1981, 1983, 1986, 1988

The remarkable aspect of this flight is how similar and readily identifiable these wines showed. All had a somewhat spicy and distinctive nose and great secondary flavors on a current and spice box frame. The 1983 was slightly corked (some said barnyard) and the 1981 and the 1988 were clearly the somewhat better wines of this flight with the 1988 showing fresher and younger and the 1981 at full maturity. If you could have combined the nose of the '88 with the palate of the '81 into the same wine it would have been very special. I scored the '81 at 90 points and the '88 at 89 points. There were two bottles of the '86 poured. Both were inky purple in color and definitely could have used more air time. With only approx. 1 hour of air, the wines (both '86's) were very tight and the fruit was hidden behind a tannic wall. My only concern is whether the fruit will survive long enough for the tannis to soften and become more balanced. This seems to be true for other 1986 Bdx that I have tasted as well. I hope to taste this wine again in about 10 years.

Flight 2: Leoville Las Cases 1989, 1990, 1996,

Great continuity to the first flight. The 1990 was astonishingly good and the consensus WOTN. What set this wine apart from the '89 was the laser focus on the finish. There is a purity of fruit that distinquishes this wine each time I have tasted it. I scored it at 97 points and a real treat on this night. The 1989 was not far behind and most folks second choice. The nose was a little more expressive than the '90 but the finish was a touch shorter. Actually, we were probably just splitting hairs as I scored this wine at 96 points. The 1996 had a lot going on, may be WOTN at someone's Leoville offline in 10 years, but was tighter as one would expect and not nearly ready for prime time. Again the house style shone through and these wines together with the first flight were readily identifiable as coming from the same terroir/producer.

Flight 3: Leoville Las Cases 1993, 1994, 1998, 1999, Leoville Barton 1994

The 1993 was corked. The '94 was drinking well for its youth but will probably not hit its stride for 2-3 more years. It was a very typical young bordeaux and if you have more than one go ahead and pop one. You won't be disappointed. I scored it 89 points. The 1998 continued the traditional style and was a fine younger Leoville, not up to the Flight 2 wines but probably of similar underlying quality to the wines from the '80s. Same score as the '94. The 1999 was a radical departure, much more fruit forward and new world in style. While it had bordeaux-like structure, it was not readily identifiable as Bordeaux and could have passed for California. Personally, it was not my favorite, although others liked the departure from the norm. I've got zero clue about aging potential here. I scored it 84 points. The 1994 Leoville Barton was a nice, but unmemorable wine somewhat misplaced in this group. 86 points.

In summary of the LLCs. the 89/90s were the stars of the show and drinking beautifully in the sweet spot of maturity. The 80's LLCs were all worth the wait and all had survived prosperously. I must admit that the '81 and '88, currently available at or below $100 seem to be much better value propositions in the current market than the new releases or the high end vintages at $250-$500 per.

We finished with a 1989 Burt Simon Auslese GoldKapsel (I missed the rest of the label) and a 2001 Lafaurie-Peyraguey. The Auslese was lovely, with the sweetness disguised by good acidity and beautiful round fruit flavors. I scored it at 93 points. The L-P- is fascinating--it had great mature color for a 2001 but drank as still fairly primary and very sweet. I think it is still a wine to forget about for a few years. 91 points but would be higher if more acidity was displayed.

All in all, a great night of wine. Thanks to all who attended for their generosity.

Thanks for the notes! Sounds like an awesome night.