UGC 2015

Chicago, IL
Tasted Wednesday, January 28, 2015 by acyso with 944 views

Introduction

These are very short notes, and mostly reflect first impressions of tasting these wines. Due to the obvious palate fatigue that results from tasting so many young Bordeaux, I've left out most of the discussion of the tannic structure of the wines, and focussed more on the quality of fruit and oak treatment. It's very obvious how fruit bombs do well at tastings like these -- I've tried to be cognizant of that fact in my notes. I've also tried very hard to keep the scoring consistent with my rubric, though it's very likely that I would score these wines very differently in, say, a dinner setting.

Flight 1 - Pessac-Leognan (8 Notes)

Perhaps the gravest (pun fully intended) crimes against terroir are occurring in Pessac-Leognan these days. Seriously, dial down the oak.

Flight 2 - The Right Bank (7 Notes)

A bunch of emaciated disappointments from the right bank. The Pomerols were all thin and lacking in muscle, which would have been fine if they weren't all trying to win Mr. Universe this year.

  • 2012 Château Canon-la-Gaffelière 85 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru

    I really, really liked the nose on this: there was plenty of herbal and bell pepper character thanks to the cabernet franc. Ripe dark fruit on the palate, but there was some distracting oak influence that could have been dialed back.

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  • 2012 Château La Dominique

    France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru

    Either the oak was so toasty to the point my brain could no longer process it, or this was a flawed bottle.

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  • 2012 Château Beauregard 85 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol

    Light whiff of brett, with a stemmy and herbal nose. Darker in character, this was surprisingly weak on the midpalate and finish given the nose.

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  • 2012 Château Le Bon Pasteur 85 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol

    Another Pomerol husk: an empty palate with nowhere near enough density of fruit or anything else of interest to counterbalance the large amount of barnyard character.

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  • 2012 Château La Cabanne 83 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol

    Funky animale nose. Not too much depth on the palate, and this thins out even more towards the finish. A bit of peppery character.

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  • 2012 Château Clinet 88 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol

    Quite big and ripe on the nose; much more so than other Pomerols. Restrained and powerful, with some black cherry on the palate. Definitely could be worse.

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  • 2012 Château Gazin Pomerol 85 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol

    This had a very nice spicy and peppery nose. Moderately fruited, perhaps almost jammy? Finishes with some cherry cough syrup notes, but again lacking in density.

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Flight 3 - Margaux (7 Notes)

Flight 4 - Saint-Julien (7 Notes)

  • 2012 Château Beychevelle 88 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien

    This had a sweet black fruited nose, but the palate was interestingly savory and meaty. A darker and heavier wine, this fades towards the finish.

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  • 2012 Château Branaire-Ducru 85 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien

    Oi, what happened here? A good whiff of oak on the nose, followed by a surprisingly fruit-bomb-y wine, although the oak wasn't as obtrusive on the palate as it was on the nose.

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  • 2012 Château Gruaud Larose 88 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien

    This was a very pretty red-fruited wine. Quite fruit-forward on the palate, with sweet cherry tones. Dusty tannins and a very moderate amount of oak/vanilla, this was restrained and light.

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  • 2012 Château Langoa Barton 83 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien

    A slight hint of graphite on the nose (already?). The nose was promising, but the palate thins out and doesn't show very much at all.

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  • 2012 Château Léoville Barton 88 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien

    Dark fruited and more gravitas than the Langoa. Lots of fresh acidity, this is quite pretty, though I think the oak still could have been dialed down on the finish.

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  • 2012 Château Léoville Poyferré 88 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien

    This had a very strong black cherry character. Darker-fruited, with the black cherry persisting all the way from the nose to the finish. A well-integrated package with good concentration and density.

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  • 2012 Château Talbot 88 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien

    Spicy and peppery on the nose, and definitely more austere. Showing some good St. Julien dustiness. On the bigger side of things with good fruit, but restrained at the same time.

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Flight 5 - Pauillac (7 Notes)

  • 2012 Château d'Armailhac 88 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

    Very pretty, with a lovely light-bodied red-fruited character throughout. Lots of acidity. Fresh and delicious.

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  • 2012 Château Clerc Milon 80 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

    This is a lot darker than the d'Armailhac, and has an overt and obnoxious display of oak on the finish. No thanks.

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  • 2012 Château Grand-Puy-Lacoste 88 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

    Darker in profile, with a fruity yet medicinal and herbal nose. The palate has good fruit density, and everything's in its place. This is a wine made to fit the vintage, instead of distorting the vintage to fit what the wine "should" be.

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  • 2012 Château Haut-Bages Libéral 88 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

    This has a ripe dark fruit character through the nose and palate, but this also embraces the vintage and runs with the acidity. Lovely drinking Bordeaux.

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  • 2012 Château Lynch-Bages 88 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

    Quite austere and big, with a very prominent dusty character. This is a huge wine, like a restrained beast, but not one that is resisting its chains and fighting to break free. Decent red- and black-fruit; one of the few wines that accomplished having both this vintage.

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  • 2012 Château Pichon-Longueville Baron 85 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

    Medicinal and herbal. Dark fruited, big, and powerful, but definitely another hot mess. Fortunately the cool vintage prevented this from becoming too hot and too messy.

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  • 2012 Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande 85 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

    Very, very dark. A bit of sweet fruit that's followed by moderate but annoyingly nagging oak. A very masculine Comtesse (I had to make the joke), this really lacks the elegance I expect.

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Flight 6 - Miscellaneous reds (3 Notes)

They may be classified under miscellaneous, but two of my winners (the Phelan Segur and Cantemerle) belong to this group.

  • 2012 Château Cantemerle 90 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Haut-Médoc

    Now this is a wine that took the vintage and ran with it. Very restrained on the red fruit but quite perfumed. Soft and pretty, this is the perfect embodiment of the vintage. Moderate tannins. Fantastic drinking Bordeaux.

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  • 2012 Château La Lagune 85 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Haut-Médoc

    A bit of earth and darker fruit. Almost jammy on the nose. The palate has a savory character, along with dark fruit and some earth. A relatively big structure for what's on the bones. A slight bit of oak on the end.

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  • 2012 Château Phélan Ségur 93 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe

    My wine of the UGC. Yeah, there, I said it. This had a nose with graphite, dust, and earth, but was also transparent and pretty, showing some very clean and crisp red-fruited character. Lovely stuff, this had everything that I look for in a Bordeaux wine.

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Flight 7 - Sauternes (7 Notes)

Botrytis? What botrytis?

  • 2012 Château Coutet Barsac 88 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Barsac

    There's this super-weird sulphur note on the nose. Took me to the Mosel for a brief second. Lovely floral notes, though this seemed a bit light on the acid. Light and airy, and nary a hint of botrytis, this is a really juicy and yummy bottle of Sauternes.

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  • 2012 Château Doisy-Daëne 90 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Barsac

    There was a prominent cat pee note on the nose -- yes, you get it from sauvignon blanc all the time, but I really didn't expect it in Sauternes. Almost green on the palate, this is quite clean and thin in texture, but tastes a bit like liquefied pineapple gummy bears.

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  • 2012 Château Guiraud 90 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes

    This was fresh and lively with a bright sunny tropical character. Quite sweet, with a light hint of lychee, with a thicker texture. Seems quite ripe.

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  • 2012 Château Clos Haut-Peyraguey 88 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes

    A very reticent nose compared to its peers. Very honeyed and sweet on the palate, and if this weren't served so cold, I could easily see this ending up a bit cloying.

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  • 2012 Château Lafaurie-Peyraguey 85 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes

    This is a really weird one -- there was a dose of earthy funk on the nose, which persisted with some mushroom character on the palate. Very thick and unctuous. Strange...

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  • 2012 Château de Rayne-Vigneau 85 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes

    This is one of the few examples of Sauternes where I picked up some clear notes of botrytis. Honeyed, which some lychee notes, but finishes with some clear new oak influence.

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  • 2012 Château La Tour Blanche Sauternes 85 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes

    A relatively closed nose, but there is a fair bit of botrytis on it, as well as a lot of coconut. Quite big and rich, but the freshness is provided by the serving temperature, not acidity.

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Closing

The red wines were, for the most part, very light and approachable young Bordeaux. They certainly do not have the midpalate depth for them to last as 30-year wines. That said, these are drinking very well now, and I could see use for the 2012 reds as bistro-style wines, so long as the prices are right.

The Sauternes were un-botrytised and definitely served on the cold side, which gave them a lot more zing that they would normally have. There is a strange prevalence of sulphur in these wines. However, these are also great to drink now, in the juiciness of their youth.

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