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
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
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
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
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.
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
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
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
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
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
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
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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