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+--- Thread: Today's Bordeau Tasting (Trade Event) (/thread-5923.html)
- TheEngineer - 03-11-2009
I was invited to a Trade tasting of 100 bordeaux priced for retail between $8 and $35. I was a bit worried about going. I mean, bordeaux nowadays is like burgundy Good wine are never cheap and cheap wines are never good.
So except that it was held at the Ritz Carleton, which means at least good cheese and snacks, or else I might not have gone. Having said that I was really glad to have gone. I meet up with a few industry luminaries like Bill Blatch of Vintex.
Also, it was very educational to compare the '03's to the '04's, to the '05's and the 06's. For me, the '03's with the exception of some really good wines like Palmer and Leoville Barton, they are starting to fall apart and time to test and to drink up. The '05s are really good across the board. Even at this level, the wines are all solid, perhaps not very interesting for some of them but overall, it really is an excellent vintage. Between the 04's and the 06's I was really hoping that I 'd like the 04's more.... as they are cheaper.... but no, the 04's jsut ahve slightly less of everything, more elegant in approach at best, in general, more muted, less ripe, less dense, less generous.,,.... The 06's are more ripe, fuller nose, crispy acidity, good structure., medium plus body, like a slightly less flamboyant and more elegant 05.
Always tough to take notes in these environments but here it goes,...and no I did not taste all 100....would you taste Mouton Cadet? [img]http://www.wines.com/ubb/smile.gif[/img]
Whites
2007 Chateau Beauegard Ducase (70% Semillion, 30% Sauvignon Blanc)
Pale gold in color, very complex nose, signs of good things to come. Very ripe, full mineral laddened, stoney, powerful white wine. Wow, one of those that I had to go back for and try again. I thought it was a northern Italian white…..like Gravner!
2007 Chateau Lamothe de Haux (40% Sauvignon Blanc, 40% Semillion, 20% Muscadelle)
Very pale straw in colour, more semillion on the nose and initial palate, Good round mouthfeel, and the Sauvignon Blanc works itself back into the picture by the end. Medium length.
2007 Verdillac (100% Sauvignon Blanc).
Very pale straw in colour, muted nose, slightly green, nothing really to go back for.
2007 Chateau Les Vergnes (60% Sauvignon Blanc, 20% Muscadelle, 20% Semillion)
Very typical Sauvignon Blanc nose, grassy, tropical fruits, guava….from France ?. Wine not in great balance, actually finishing sour.
Reds
2005 Chateau Armens (50% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Franc)
Slightly funky nose, ripe red fruits, good structure, chewy tannins, needs a bit more time.
2005 Chateau La Bonnelle (80% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc)
Solid merlot based nose. On palate, slightly thin and unripe for a 2005. high acidity and chewy tannins,
2005 Chateau Cazat Beauchene (70% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Cabernet Franc)
Slightly muted nose again, solid but not very interest, high acidity, good persistence but very straight forward.
2005 Chateau Clarke (48% Cabernet Sauvignon, 42% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Franc, 2% Petit Verdot)
A classy wine that does not appear to be showing well right now. Very muted, solid character, good balance but not showing much.
2006 Chateau D’Agassac (65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Merlot)
Slighted muted nose again, violets, ripe red and dark fruits, but on palate, medium+ body, elegant approach, good structure, but oak has yet to be properly integrated.
2005 Chateau La Fleur Bibian (60% Merlot, 40% Cabernet Sauvignon)
Ripe red fruit nose, slightly floral nose, while more cab, merlot appears to dominate the nose and palate.
2004 Chateau Greysac (50% Merlot, 40% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Cabernet Franc, 2% Petit Verdot)
Elegant wine on nose and approach, ripe but medium body, good mouthfeel but not really interesting.
2006 Chateau Haut-Vigneau (70% cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot)
Solid ripe nose, if perhaps a bit simple, on palate, very forward and slightly sweet, medium + body and good length.
2006 Chateau Jonqueyres (85% Merlot, 15% cabernet Sauvignon)
open, ripe full red and dark fruits, oaky, smokey, and much the same on the palate. Good mouthfeel, with dry tannins and a shorter finish.
2003 Chateau La Couronne (90% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Cabernet Franc)
Ripe, soft fruit, tastes more advanced than age suggests, good acidity for an 03 but seems to be one that need drinking ….. and fast…..
2006 Chateau La Couronne (90% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% cabernet Franc)
The percentages seem wrong, esepecially as this wine has more Cab character, more solid, much fully, ripe and better structured than the 03. In fact, this one only serves to make the 03 taste that much more advanced.
2004 Chateau Larose-Trintaudon (65% cabernet sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 5% cabernet Franc)
Typical for the vintage, slight muted nose, more elegant and medium body, red fruit with decent structure but again very little to be found of interest.
2006 Le Chene De Puynard (70% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Franc)
Overoaked, unripe, finishes sour………..
2005 Château Les Tours de Peyrat Vielle Vignes (Merlot)
Muted nose, slightly sweet, thin and slightly green, surprising because of the vintage, finishes hot and thinner yet.
2006 Chateau de Lugagnac (50% Merlot, 50% Cabernet Sauvignon)
good simple nose, ripe fruits, red and dark, on palate, much the same and nicely structured, smokey, good medium + finish
2006 Chateau Malbec (60% Merlot, 35% cabernet Sauvignon, 5% cabernet Franc)
Anyone else notice……no Malbec in the wine J ripe red fruits very forward but nothing follows beyond that. Little of interest here
2005 Chateau Plain Point (75% Merlot, 20% cabernet Sauvignon, 5% cabernet Franc)
This is more like it ! This wine rock! For the price, it reaches well into the next two prices levels. Ripe, very ripe, but very interesting nose, lots going on, slightly sweet, on palate, like Chateau Puygueraud for viscosity (good and high), gycol, and other, many other things going on. I wanna find this one…. For me, wine of the show and it was at the $20 price point!
2003 Chateau Reignac (75% Merlot, 25% Cabernet sauvignon)
Smoky, ripe, round slightly sweet, good mouthfeel but appears to be moving towards early aging.
2005 Chateau Saincrit (60% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% cabernet Franc)
Slight muted nose, ripe fully red adn dark fruits, and much the same on the palate, simple but nicely done.
2006 Chateau de Seguin (50% cabernet Sauvignon, 50% Merlot)
Ripe but muted nose, simple and forward and a short finish.
2003 Chateau Loupiac-Gaudiet
Simple lighter style of Sauternes, floral, honey, but short finish
2003 Castelnau de Suduiraut (90% Semillon, 10% sauvignon blanc)
Lighter than its older brother in both colo rand viscosity, floral, honey, peaches, slighty citrusy, good acidity makes it surprisingly refreshing
- wondersofwine - 03-12-2009
Engineer, we had the same 2007 Verdillac as one of the wines at the Bordeaux dinner I attended.
- TheEngineer - 03-12-2009
I've not seen that wine before (in fact, most of the wines there I've not seen before). Unfortunately, I was hoping that there would be more white bordeaux to try as it is not something I buy much of and was hoping to learn a bit from the tasting.
Of the whites, I really did like the 2007 Chateau Beauegard Ducase and of the reds, it was the 2005 Chateau Plain Point that did it for me. It was showing well.
I failed to mention that overall, I was fairly impressed at the quality of the wines (these being not well known wines) as at least most of them were pretty solid bottles that would not be difficult to drink and are not even close to being an alternative to drano, especially given the price. Having said that, a few years ago (I can't believe I'm speaking this way.....), say a 2000 Destieux, Grand Meyney, Lagrange or a Grand Pontet were all in the $25 area and were a very compelling drink. This level has appeared to at least for now, moved up intot he $50 level.
- newsguy - 03-13-2009
thanks for the notes. i know how hard those massive trade tastings can be. and i'm being serious in saying that.
[This message has been edited by newsguy (edited 03-13-2009).]
- wdonovan - 03-17-2009
03's are falling apart? I have table wines that old that are still in good shape. It's only 6 years. Most 2000's I bring upstairs are still not as ready as I'd like them. What the hell did they do to the 03's?
- TheEngineer - 03-17-2009
Not sure. Plenty of experts are arguing this now I guess. I've had higher end 03's such as the Palmers and they are absolutely great wines. These wines are much more at the $8 to $35 level and the 03's here were not doing well.
- wdonovan - 03-18-2009
Maybe they're just made as drink-me-now wines with soft tannins and nothing to really hold them together. The thing that disturbs me though is the Reignac. This is the only 03 on your list I know and from past experience (like the 2000) it had more tannin than a Chinese tea factory. Blindfolded I might guess it to be a Pomerol with years and years to go. You say smoky and that's definitely a trait of aged Reignac but so soon? I just hope they are not moving toward drink-em-this-weekend wines. I hope even more that what you saw is a function of low end wines and not a trend in Bordeaux style for the (nearly) new millennium.
- andrawes76 - 04-01-2009
Thanks Mike, this helps out tremendously. Amazing that you made it thru the entire tasting! I get a little fuzzy warm feeling after the fifth wine (even with a spit bucket) :-)