WCC 2003-2005 Red Bordeaux Blind

Yono's Restaurant, Albany, NY
Tasted Thursday, July 28, 2011 by kenv with 1,340 views

Introduction

Most of my Albany-area group got together to taste 2003 and 2005 red Bordeaux with one 2004 ringer to round out the Graves flight. The food at Yono's was exceptional for the 2nd time in a row! Sadly, I forgot my camera, so no pix this time.

Flight 1 - Flight 1: St. Julien (3 Notes)

  • 2005 Château Branaire-Ducru 93 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien

    Big bruising nose of black fruit. Warm thick tannic. Rich. A beautiful wine. Young with lots of sweet fruit. Should drink well for 10-20 years.

    Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

  • 2005 Château Beychevelle 89 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien

    A little more perfume in the nose. Silky. More ready to drink now. Just a hint of green in the finish keeps it from being excellent.

    Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

  • 2003 Château Léoville Poyferré 95 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien

    Black fruit and licorice. A touch of cedar. Very long and tannic. Great potential. More austere than 1, but with greater depth. Should be terrific in 5-10 years. My #2 WOTN, but I was the only one to vote for it.

    Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

Flight 2 - Flight 2: Pauillac (4 Notes)

Flight 3 - Flight 3: Pessac-Léognan (3 Notes)

  • 2004 Château Pape Clément 93 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan

    Ripe nose of black fruit. A delicious wine. Refreshing after the last flight. A joy to drink. One of 3 wines tied for group #3 WOTN.

    Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

  • 2005 Château Smith Haut Lafitte 94 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan

    Intense black fruit nose. Thick and rich in the mouth with delicious ripe fruit. Nice sense of harmony. Group #2 WOTN. My #3.

    Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

  • 2003 Château Pape Clément 96 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan

    Dark, delicious, stunning nose. Wow! What a wine! Dense and sweet with oodles of complexity. Very special. Great length. [I am thrilled to see afterwards that I bought a case on futures!] WOTN for me. Also, Group WOTN with 14 points.

    Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

Flight 4 - Flight 4: St. Estèphe (4 Notes)

  • 2003 Château Lafon-Rochet 92 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe

    Big smoky red and black fruit nose. Rich and balanced, but quite tannic. Needs some time to show, but I think the potential is there. One of 3 wines tied for group #3 WOTN.

    Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

  • 2005 Château Calon-Ségur 94 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe

    Beautiful black fruit nose. Thick rich black fruit on the palate. Tight, tannic, yet still delicious!

    Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

  • 2003 Château Montrose 92 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe

    Bright red fruit nose. Doesn't smell like any other wine here. Very tasty up front, but a short tannic finish. Not in a good place now.

    Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

  • 2005 Château Cos d'Estournel 94 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe

    Long delicious complex. A little impenetrable right now both because it is so young and it is wine #14 tonight. These are all big wines. Still, this one has great potential. Pretty shut down. Not a single vote for WOTN.

    Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

Flight 5 - Dessert (1 Note)

  • 2005 Château Doisy-Daëne 92 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Barsac

    Light yellow color. Loads of botrytis. Obviously Sauternes. A little harsh in the finish. Nice, but it's hard to drink a wine this sweet after 14 reds.

    Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

Closing

Plenty of good wines here, but hard to judge. Many showed better on release. I think 6-8 years after the vintage is an awkward time.

×
×