A private tasting

at home
Tasted Friday, January 7, 2011 by Xavier Auerbach with 694 views

Flight 1 - NV Champagne and Sekt (2 Notes)

Flight 2 - Rheingau Erstes Gewächs 2007 (3 Notes)

Flight 3 - Beaune Premier Cru 1997 (3 Notes)

Flight 4 - Clos de l'Oratoire des Papes (3 Notes)

Flight 5 - La Tour de By (3 Notes)

  • 2003 Château La Tour de By 87 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc

    Ripe and sweet fruit but also a bit leafy, speciously attractive, will not make old bones.

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  • 2004 Château La Tour de By 87 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc

    The contrast with 2003 shows very clearly in the glass, tighter and a bit coarser, you sense the cool clay, more herbal and earthy, definitely a food wine.

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  • 2005 Château La Tour de By 90 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc

    Still quite closed and very primary, but clearly superior to both 2003 and 2004 in structure, depth and weight. Will develop into a very successful Médoc, fortunately I have 11 bottles left! Drink 2013 - 2020.

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Flight 6 - Left bank 1998 (5 Notes)

  • 1998 Château Maucaillou 87 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Moulis en Médoc

    As so often this is a sturdy and serviceable wine, but the soil has little or no gravel and the wine is a bit four-square, lacking charm and breeding.

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  • 1998 Domaine de Chevalier 91 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan

    In a very nice place now, lovely and with the typical aroma of warm bricks, medium weight, much better than an earlier, slightly tired bottle.

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  • 1998 Château du Tertre 90 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux

    A very charming wine, fragrant and femnine with cabernet franc to the fore, a very successful first vintage for the new regime, much better than some of the critics will have it.

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  • 1998 Château Grand-Puy-Lacoste 91 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

    Wonderful cassis fruit, a classic Pauillac, not quite the weight and power of the 1996 but has lost any dry tannins it may have had, drinking very well now, not as backward as the 1996.

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  • 1998 Château Cos d'Estournel 91 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe

    Not quite living up to its reputation in this vintage, but still a very good and characteristic Saint-Estèphe, with the clay and graphite you would expect.

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Flight 7 - Sauternes 1999 (4 Notes)

  • 1999 Château de Rayne-Vigneau 92 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes

    Slightly lighter style than some of the other Premiers Crus, but wonderfully elegant, lovely rôti, tangerine, perfectly judged oak, long, great finesse. I love it.

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  • 1999 Château Guiraud 91 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes

    Classic and rich Sauternes, quite a big wine, much less finesse than the Rayne-Vigneau 1999, vanilla and caramel, much more marked by the wood. Good but not to my taste. I will sell the remaining bottles that I have.

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  • 1999 Château Rieussec 93 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes

    Unsurpassable tonight for its exotic richness and weight - not even by the Yquem 1999!

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  • 1999 Château d'Yquem 92 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes

    Has most of the weight, power and oak you would expect from Yquem, but seems to be in a difficult phase right now, as Yquem often tends to be around the age of 10 (with the exception of the 1998). Revisit in 2014. May merit a higher score then.

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