Ex-friend just topped up my ’99 Paulliac with Jacobs Creek Shiraz!!Ah, Thanksgiving…

Posted by winesleuth in France | 6 comments

Pauillac '99

So there I was. It’s Thanksgiving and we are celebrating an American holiday here in London town. I had the day off and spent most of the afternoon defrosting the turkey. Once defrosted, popped into the oven and carefully basted every half hour until a lovely golden brown. Then the sides- potatoes, stuffing, sprouts, gravy, etc. Almost time to eat. And what do we have to go along with this sumptuous feast? A variety of wines from Jacob’s Creek Shiraz for the less discerning  to a fantastic Beaujolais cru (more on that later) and a Paulliac, the Lacoste-Borie 1999.

Finally time to sit down and eat. I  had decanted the Paulliac an hour earlier which should have been sufficient time for it to open up. I poured. Now, Lacoste -Borie is the second wine of the famous Chateau Grand-Puy-Lacoste but it is still quite good, a well made wine with finesse and elegance. The wine is composed of primarily cabernet sauvignon with merlot making up the remainder. I took a sniff –  lovely cedary, graphite aromas with subtle tobacco notes peaking through. I swished it round – nice! Supple tannins, very cassis–y notes underpinned by a toastiness that stayed on for some time. It was a perfect wine for turkey around the holidays. I was quite enjoying it, talking, laughing, eating and then I made the fatal mistake of setting my glass down for a minute.

I can still recall the exact moment. It was all in slo-mo. I remember chatting to my neighbor then turning my head and  reaching for my glass. At the same moment here comes my friend with the dreaded Jacob’s Creek in hand, she was topping up her glass. It just didn’t register that she was going to top up my glass as well and before I could scream – NOOOOO! It was too late, the deed was done.

Despite her repeated apologies, I found it a bit difficult to forgive her but fortunately there was still some Paulliac left. I managed to console myself with what was left in the decanter. Oh well, these things happen and I was able to at least enjoy a full glass of delicious Bordeaux before its desecration.

The  Lacoste-Borie ’99 is available from wineandco.co.uk , retail £15, great value for the holidays. Just be sure you’re the one topping up your glass this holiday season!