Bordeaux 1997 @ my place

Netherlands
Tasted Friday, October 28, 2005 by jkoenen with 447 views

Introduction

Casual tasting a mi casa w/ Thijs, David, Dave B. and Arjan.
All wines served blind.

Flight 1 (5 Notes)

  • 1997 Château Maucaillou 86 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Moulis en Médoc

    Dusty, reticent nose, velvety mouthfeel. Plum, cherries, laurel, undergrowth, pencil shavings, judicious use of oak. Very fresh and airy, good acidity. Elegant and sympathetic wine. Good, not very complex. 15.5/20

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  • 1997 Château Bouscaut 83 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan

    Light nose of cassis, ceder, cherry and flowers. In the mouth one-dimensional and uninteresting, tastes like cherry soda. Lightweight, unpretentious and fresh. 14/20

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  • 1997 Château Phélan Ségur 87 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe

    Dense, ruby red. Spicy and sultry, warm plumcake, currants, leather and tobacco. Quite complex. On the palate this is convincing, powerful, yet soft and carressing. Modern and concentrated, has a Ripasso-kind of feel. Nice. 16/20

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  • 1997 Château Bellevue St. Émilion Grand Cru 81 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru

    Lightest wine of the evening, green bell pepper, morello, rosehips. Slightly aggressive, fierce acidity, underripe. Hollow mid-palate, very average wine. 13/20

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  • 1997 Château Maucaillou 83 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Moulis en Médoc

    Indiscriminate nose of warm dates, figs, plum. Alcohol and oak dominate the palate. There is some tiny red curranty fruit in the middle, but otherwise this is short, tart and underripe. 14/20
    After the paper bag came off, I was surprised to see the same wine twice in this tasting. They performed very different.

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Flight 2 (5 Notes)

  • 1997 Château Montus Madiran 88 Points

    France, Southwest France, Madiran

    Black core. Cigarbox, pipe tobacco, licorice, schoolpaint, clay and grilled meat in the nose. On the palate I also get a lot of ink, laurel, blackberries. Good concentration and acidity. Plenty of length. This is young, powerful and tasty. Very nice! 16.5/20

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  • 1997 Château Tour des Termes 83 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe

    Light and mature colour. Quite simple, soft and mature. Nuances of old fashioned Dutch licorice ('katjesdrop'), chocolate and undergrowth. No faults, but no complexity either. 14/20

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  • 1997 Château Fonroque 84 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru

    Had to work hard on this palate. There was some cherry, mocca and chocolate, but I found it nondescript. Or was it very subtle? Anyway, not very expressive. Tannic, metallic finish, marked by tart acidity. Okay wine, correct but anonymous and it had just passed its peak. 14.5/20

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  • 1997 Lapostolle Merlot Cuvée Alexandre Apalta Vineyard 88 Points

    Chile, Rapel Valley, Colchagua Valley

    Very dark red, almost black. Floral and inky, black- and blueberries and grafite. Lots of tannines, which seem very ripe and sweet. Clearly an exponent of modern-day viticulture. Very nice. Probably a ringer. 16.5/20

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  • 1997 Château Charmail 88 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Haut-Médoc

    Purple black. Dark and brooding, cassis, cede, school paint, very oaky. Very complete wine, and there is some cellaring potential left. Good fruit definition. Very stylish. 16.5/20

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Flight 3 (1 Note)

  • 1997 Château de Malle 89 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes

    Clear gold, orange hue. Very bright and clean Sauternes, lovely hints of orange peel, apple sauce, apricotjam and banana. Exquisite balance in sweetness and acidity. Charming, fresh and elegant. Like it! 17/20

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Closing

Personal WOTN: De Malle 1997
Other wines to look out for: 1997 Charmail

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