Other resources
CellarTracker! Forum
About this site
Links to other sites
|
Leo's Blind Tasting Group - May '10 edition |  (770 page views) | | | - 1994 Château Laville Haut-Brion Blanc - France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan
Corked. Darn. (FLAWED)
- 1994 Château Pape Clément Blanc - France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan
Really lovely; rich, full bodied and creamy in texture with complex, layered flavours of rich white fruits, faint oily and lanolin notes and touches of hazelnut, butter and smoke. Very polished and seamless in the mouth, drinking beautifully right now. (92 pts.)
- 2006 M. Chapoutier Châteauneuf-du-Pape Barbe Rac - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Massively ripe to the point that many of us were guessing New World while this was blind. Immense red fruited flavours and some alcoholic heat; plush and dense in the mouth and not particularly interesting. (78 pts.)
- 2005 Domaine du Pégau Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Réservée - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Tight, reticent aromatics that don't yield much more than some dark fruited flavours and faint baking spices. It's more giving in the mouth with really pure, vivid black cherry fruit over touches of earth and spices, powerful and well structured with firm tannins lurking on the back end, but finishes with a little heat. (88 pts.)
- 2001 Henri Bonneau Châteauneuf-du-Pape - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Stunning; gorgeous aromatics with an intense, expressive scent combining bright red fruits, black cherries, sandalwood, herbs and faint floral notes and a palate full of deep red fruited flavours, herbs and earth, structured for the long haul with a spine of firm tannins and bright acids and finishing with serious length. (93 pts.)
- 1998 Château La Mission Haut-Brion - France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan
Starts out with beautiful understated flavours of cassis, red fruits and smoky accents with the oak subtle and nicely integrated in the background - then with some air this becomes wilder and shows more of a Cab Franc-like character, taking on beautiful forestal and herbal notes that combine seamlessly with the fruit and smokiness. Very polished, silken-textured and finessed in the mouth, power with restraint and a lightness of touch. Wonderful. (95 pts.)
- 1998 Château Smith Haut Lafitte - France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan
A 'wow' wine just from the aromatics alone; such an incredible scent combining cassis and plummy fruit flavours with cigar smoke and savoury earthy, graphite and cedar notes; rich and supple in the mouth with a great combination of primary and developed flavours that keep unravelling with time, beautifully balanced and finishing with serious length. (94 pts.)
- 1998 Château Haut-Brion - France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan
Starts out very tight and reticent with the oak and structure quite prominent - but after a little air that fades into the background and this opens up as gorgeous smoky, deep fruited and earthy flavours emerge; it's striking how the flavours here seem darker-complexioned compared to all the other Graves in the flight, as if the fruit was literally infused with damp earth and smoke. Very polished and finessed in texture, there's lovely acidity and grainy tannins at the back end and this kept developing and expanding in the glass, with the last sip being the most enjoyable. (92 pts.)
- 1998 Château Pape Clément - France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan
More funky and rustic than the others in the flight; there's a bit of brett in the aromatics with leathery and saddle sweat scents in between the deep fruited, smoky and faintly herbal flavours. A powerhouse in the mouth; dense and broad with a glossy, polished texture that makes it very easy to drink, really delicious stuff. (92 pts.)
- 1982 E. Guigal Côte-Rôtie La Landonne - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie
A knockout from the first sip. Absolutely stunning aromatics with all sorts of wild things going on; developed smoky, leathery and cedary flavours on top of beef blood, iodine and olives, in the mouth it's seamless and perfectly integrated with a beautiful finessed texture, grainy tannins still lingering and a long savoury and meaty finish. Wow. (95 pts.)
- 1986 E. Guigal Côte-Rôtie La Landonne - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie
Starts out surprisingly herbal and minty, then with a little air it builds an incredible flavour profile of red fruits, olives and beef with an intense smoky character beneath. Brawny and powerful in the mouth, feeling surprisingly youthful with the tannins still quite firm but the balance, depth and sense of presence here is amazing. (93 pts.)
- 1982 Château Gruaud Larose - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien
Starts out feeling a little tired with some mustiness that had me worried about cork taint, but that clears up with a little air to show lovely developed Bordeaux flavours; mature red fruits, graphite, dried herbs, dusty earth and some sweaty/leathery elements on a medium weight frame that's very elegant, building intensity and power with some air. (91 pts.)
- 1982 Château Léoville Poyferré - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien
Shockingly young; quite dark in colour with a core of intense cassis and plummy flavours and herbal, cedar and gentle forestal and truffle accents around the deep fruit. There's a sense of restrained power in the mouth; it's concentrated and full bodied but with a surprisingly light touch at the same time, and a seamless, glossy mouthfeel. Lovely. (93 pts.)
- 1982 Château Ducru-Beaucaillou - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien
Faintly corked; there's a little fruit and earthiness still prevalent, but there's just enough TCA to strip away a lot of the complexity and depth this has shown on a previous occasion with that overlying musty newspaper/cardboard character spoiling it. (FLAWED)
- 1990 Château Raymond-Lafon - France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes
Great stuff - packed with apricots, caramel, pineapple and orange peel with softer cinnamon and vanilla notes, intensely rich and sweet but there's surprising acidity that keeps it beautifully balanced and gives the flavours a fresh, youthful sensation. Delicious. (94 pts.)
|
|