2011 UGC Bordeaux Tasting: 2008 Vintage
Palace Hotel, San Francisco, California
Tasted Friday, January 21, 2011 by rjonwine@gmail.com with 2,346 views
Introduction
Another beautifully organized, very enjoyable visit from the members of the Unions des Grands Crus de Bordeaux, making their tour with the '08 vintage (except for one Château that missed the memo on the vintage) to San Francisco, L.A., Chicago, Boston and New York City. I always enjoy this event, as it is unparalleled in giving one the opportunity to compare a wide group of producers, organized by appellation, across an entire vintage. There is no other large scale traveling tasting like this that I can think of that happens regularly that gives one such a complete picture of the vintage, in an important region like Bordeaux. And the venue, this time, was ideal: the Palace Hotel Ballroom provides an elegant and beautiful setting, and the temperature was pretty much ideal (unlike the SF venue a couple years back).
This year, 95 producers were represented at the San Francisco edition of the event, giving one the opportunity to taste 108 wines (including both the Blancs and Rouges from Graves and Pessac-Léognan producers). I was able to taste through everything in about a three and a half hour period. I had also bought a ticket for the K&L evening version of the event, that is open to the general public, so came back for about an hour of that, to taste back through my top scoring wines of the afternoon (it's always helpful to re-check impressions) and all the Sauternes again. My conclusion on the vintage from this tasting is that it is a relatively light vintage that favored the Left Bank, particularly St. Julien and Pauillac. There is less concentration in this vintage than average, and low acidities in many cases (including a number of the Sauternes). For those of us who prefer lighter, more food friendly Bordeaux, there are a number of attractive wines in this vintage that do have good acidity and balance that will afford good early drinking, and that will probably be showing up at pretty reasonable prices, compared to what we've been seeing from Bordeaux in recent years. For more detail by appellation, see the notes and summaries below. My favorite red of the tasting was the very distinctive Gruaud Larose, which I rated 93+ pts. My favorite white Bordeaux was a usual suspect, the regularly excellent Domaine de Chevalier Blanc. My favorite Sauternes was Château Guiraud.
Most of the wines in this tasting are already quite approachable, and should be good to go with another year or two of bottle age, with some exceptions as noted. I am presenting the notes below in basically the order in which I usually taste these wines, an order which is facilitated by the way the tables and tasting notebook is organized: Graves Blancs (I taste the Graves Reds at the end, but list them with the whites for the reader's convenience), Right Bank reds, rest of the Left Bank reds and then the Sauternes.
Flight 1 - Bordeaux Blancs and Reds - Graves, Pessac-Léognan (27 Notes)
Graves and Pessac-Léognan were well represented at this tasting, and I always enjoy the opportunity to taste through the Bordeaux Blancs from this appellation. A number of us were concerned about the oak level on many of the whites. I tend to prefer Blancs that let the Semillon aspect of the usual Sauv Blanc/Semillon blend show through. As mentioned above, my very favorite Blanc was the Chevalier, followed by the Smith Haut Lafitte. Most disappointing among the whites was the oaky Pape Clément.
On the red side in this appellation, there was not that much that stood out, as compared to some of the successes of the vintage from St. Julien and Pauillac. The best among these reds for me was the Château de Fieuzal for its balance and solid fruit.
Flight 2 - Right Bank: St. Émilion (17 Notes)
St. Émilion was pretty well represented at this tasting, with 17 producers. Château Dassault was listed in the program, but did not put in an appearance. As mentioned above, this was a lighter, not so concentrated vintage there, in great contrast to most of what I've tasted from this appellation from the past decade. My two favorites, at 92+ pts. each, were Angélus and Canon-la-Gaffelière, followed by Troplong Mondot and La Gaffelière. There was a lot of oak showing from this appellation, as I typically find to be the case. Without the ripe fruit to support it, it was a little more obtrusive, even than usual.
Comte Stephan von Neipperg
Flight 3 - Right Bank: Pomerol (5 Notes)
Pomerol wasn't all that well represented at this event, which is typically the case. Château La Cabanne oddly decided not to pour an '08, and offered a pretty mediocre '06 example instead. The easy standout in this group was the La Conseillante, which is a usual favorite of mine (and I'm looking forward to sampling a few mature vintages of this wine at a Right Bank Bordeaux lunch I've organized for tomorrow). The other one that got my attention was the Château Beauregard, for its particularly refreshing lightness and balance. I don't see any U.S. retailers offering it at the moment, but I hope that will change.
La Conseillante Director Jean-Michel Laporte
Flight 4 - Left Bank: St. Julien (9 Notes)
On to one of the best overall showings of the appellations--these wines from St. Julien showed quite well across the board. Best for me was the complex and distinctive Gruaud Larose, with its fairly high proportion of Petit Verdot, at 9%. It was one of a few wines that had a goodly Petit Verdot component that showed well at this event. The Léoville Barton was a strong second wine for me among this group.
David Launay, Managing Director of Gruaud Larose
Lilian Barton-Sartorius
Flight 5 - Left Bank: Pauillac (9 Notes)
This was another rather good showing across the board, as might be expected from a group that included several with track records as strong as these. My top wine from Pauillac was the tight but impressive Pichon Lalande, which included 5% Petit Verdot in the blend. In close second place was the Pichon Baron, but there were several here that should be decent values for drinking over the next few years, while waiting for your '05s and '00s to become drinkable.
Flight 6 - Left Bank: St. Estèphe (5 Notes)
In this handful of St. Estèphes, there was quite a bit of herbaceousness showing, suggesting this appellation had trouble getting as ripe as its neighbors immediately to the south. Best in this group was the Phélan Ségur.
Flight 7 - Left Bank: Margaux (15 Notes)
I found the large contingent of Margaux wines--from an appellation I tend to turn to in bigger years, for relative balance and finesse--to be rather disappointing, as a whole. Best for me was the Marquis de Terme, which had a touch more richness, and some lift, compared to the others.
Corinne Conroy, Communications Director for Brane-Cantenac
Flight 8 - Left Bank: Haut-Médoc (6 Notes)
I didn't have high expectations for this grouping, so I wasn't particularly disappointed by what I tasted. Best of this group was the La Lagune, which I often find to be a relatively good value.
Director Céline Villars-Foubet of Camensac
Flight 9 - Left Bank: Other Médoc, Listrac, Moulis (5 Notes)
The big standout in this mixed group was the Chasse-Spleen, from the same Director, Céline Villars-Foubet, who runs Château Camensac, and who is pictured in the section above.
Flight 10 - Sauternes and Barsac (9 Notes)
This was the one group that I tasted through entirely twice. The vintage is lacking the acidity that I very much prize in the best Sauternes, but there was appealing botrytis and complexity in several of these wines. My favorite was the Guiraud, but I also very much liked the Climens and Sigalas Rabaud. It's hard to see this as being a particularly long aging vintage, lacking the acidity needed for that, but there is good body to most of these and they'll be enjoyable sweets over the next several to 10 years, I should think. Château de Fargues was listed in the tasting notebook, but did not show.
Closing
This big bouquet, which I noticed on leaving the tasting, represents my sense of appreciation for the great organizers of the event here, Balzac Communications, and to the many Château owners and representatives who participate in these tastings.
2008 Château Bouscaut Blanc 90 Points
France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan
Peach, mineral, apple nose; tight, kiwi, tart peach palate; medium finish 90+ pts. (50/50 Semillon and Sauvignon Blanc)
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2008 Château Bouscaut 90 Points
France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan
Very dark red violet color; tart plum, black fruit nose; tart plum, black fruit palate with depth; medium-plus finish
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2008 Château Carbonnieux Blanc 91 Points
France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan
Lemon, green herb, witch hazel, lime nose; tangy, tasty, green fruit, mineral palate with good acidity; medium finish 91+ pts.
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2008 Château Carbonnieux 86 Points
France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan
Very dark red violet color; ripe currant, oak nose; tight, tart currant, oak palate; medium finish 86+ pts.
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2008 Château de Chantegrive Blanc 89 Points
France, Bordeaux, Graves
Nice herbal, oily, Semillon nose; on the ripe side, green fruit, lemon grass, mineral palate, lacking some acidity; medium finish
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2008 Château de Chantegrive Graves 89 Points
France, Bordeaux, Graves
Very dark red violet color; appealing cassis, tart plum nose; plush, ripe cassis, plum, oak palate; medium-plus finish
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2008 Domaine de Chevalier Blanc 93 Points
France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan
Lovely, focused, apple, subtle oak, peach nose; tasty, rich, tight, tart peach, lime, mineral palate with balance; medium-plus finish
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2008 Domaine de Chevalier 91 Points
France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan
Opaque red violet color; intriguing, tart black fruit graphite, sweet oak nose; tight, tart black fruit, plum palate; medium-plus finish (60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 10% Petit Verdot)
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2008 Château de Fieuzal Blanc 88 Points
France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan
Oily, almond, apple nose; tasty, light-medium bodied, citrus palate; medium finish 88+ pts.
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2008 Château de Fieuzal 91 Points
France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan
Very dark red violet color; tight, tart black fruit, tart berry nose; tight, tasty, tart berry, black fruit, plum palate; medium-plus finish 91+ pts.
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2008 Château Haut-Bailly 91 Points
France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan
Dark red violet color; espresso, roast coffee, oak nose; rich, tight, tart plum, cassis palate with grainy tannins, needs 4-5 years; medium-plus finish
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2008 Château Haut-Bergey Blanc 90 Points
France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan
Deep, minerally, witch hazel, VA nose; intriguing, solid, almost chewy, mineral, tart citrus, grapefruit palate; medium finish 90+ pts.
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2008 Château Haut-Bergey 87 Points
France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan
Dark red violet color; oak, tart black fruit nose; tight, tart plum, cassis palate; medium finish
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2008 Château Larrivet-Haut-Brion Blanc 90 Points
France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan
Oak, green bean, mineral nose; citrus, light oily textured, mineral palate; medium finish
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2008 Château Larrivet-Haut-Brion 88 Points
France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan
Opaque red violet color; tart currant, herbaceous, menthol nose; tight, tart currant, menthol palate; medium finish 88+ pts.
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2008 Château Latour-Martillac Blanc 89 Points
France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan
Oak, green herb nose; cat pee, lemon grass, mineral palate; medium finish
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2008 Château Latour-Martillac 87 Points
France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan
Opaque purple red violet color; oak, plum, berry nose; tight, tart plum, tart currant palate, needs 3-plus years; medium-plus finish 87+ pts.
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2008 Château Malartic-Lagravière Blanc 88 Points
France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan
Peach, ripe citrus nose; round, ripe citrus, lime palate; medium finish
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2008 Château Malartic-Lagravière 87 Points
France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan
Opaque purple red violet color; oak, herbaceous, ripe plum nose; tight, ripe plum, currant palate; medium finish
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2008 Château Olivier Blanc 90 Points
France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan
Lime, mineral, green fruit nose; tight, tasty, lime, citrus palate; medium finish 90+ pts.
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2008 Château Olivier 87 Points
France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan
Very dark purple red violet color; tart berry, red plum, cassis nose; tight, tasty, tart currant, red plum palate; medium finish 87+ pts.
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2008 Château Pape Clément Blanc 87 Points
France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan
Oak, green fruit nose; oak, green fruit palate with low acidity; medium finish
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2008 Château Pape Clément 90 Points
France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan
Dark purple red violet color; intriguing, herbal, cassis, red plum nose; tasty, ripe cassis, red plum palate; medium finish 90+ pts.
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2008 Château Rahoul Blanc 90 Points
France, Bordeaux, Graves
Ripe lemon, white flower nose; poised, tart peach, white flower, oak palate with balance; medium finish
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2008 Château Rahoul 85 Points
France, Bordeaux, Graves
Very dark red violet color; tart currant, green bean nose; tart currant, herbaceous, green bean palate; medium finish 85+ pts.
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2008 Château Smith Haut Lafitte Blanc 92 Points
France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan
Nice white flower, pear, green fruit nose; poised, concentrated, tart green fruit, lime, white flower palate; medium-plus finish
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2008 Château Smith Haut Lafitte 87 Points
France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan
Dark purple red violet color; oak, green herb, red currant nose; tart red currant, flat, low acidity; medium finish
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