2001 Barde-Haut, St-Emilion

The 2001 Barde Haut has an open-knit nose of black plum and crushed strawberry; subtle, almost gamy aromas develop in the glass. The palate is medium-bodied with a pliant texture and fine acidity, fleshier than some Right Bank wines but nicely balanced. While not a complex Saint-Émilion, it has bags of charm and feels carefree and malleable. A 20-year-old that is now à point. (NM)

Finding an affordable wine of distinction is the best kind of treasure hunt, and the 2001 Barde Haut, St. Émilion is like Indiana Jones falling into the Well of Souls. I paired this memorable Bordeaux with a steak sandwich and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 in D minor performed live at The Hollywood Bowl. Not unlike Beethoven’s masterpiece, this wine evolved in the glass with each movement. Prior to and during the Allegro ma non troppo, un poco maestoso, I decanted the wine. From the moment the cork was pulled, the aromatics rose out of the bottle like a fleet of colorful hot air balloons. Spice, black pepper, chocolate, gravel, and luscious black fruit. The nose alone makes a promise of exceptional quality. It was difficult to wait until the melancholy of the Molto vivace to take my first sip, but once I did, the wine was true to the turbulence of its vintage. Layers of brooding complexities slowly emerge, swirling in the glass with earth, tobacco, and mushroom. Then the delicate but rousing Adagio molto e cantabile; the wine’s mid-palate moves toward the sublime with rich, opulent, fruit – black cherry, sweet red and black plums, blackberry, and cranberry framed by supple well integrated tannins. The Finale, arguably the best twenty-five minutes of music ever written, gains in power and intensity until the choral crescendo “Ode to Joy”, the perfect metaphor for the joy of this Bordeaux, in the end bursting with cedar, baking spices, graphite, violets, and hints of mint and oak-infused flavors that were still popping off my tongue an hour later. “We enter, drunk with fire.” “All creatures drink of joy.” “Kisses she gave us and grapevines.” The lyrics to "Ode to Joy" seem to be written with his wine in mind. This Bordeaux will be the centerpiece of my Christmas dinner. Highly recommend.