Amsterdam UGC Tasting and Winemakers' Dinner

Grand Hotel Krasnapolsky / Café De Klepel
Tasted Monday, March 7, 2016 by Xavier Auerbach with 615 views

Introduction

I attended the evening session of the Amsterdam UGC tasting this year, which featured wines from both the 2013 and 2011 vintages. There was little time, there were many friends and discussions were lively. By consequence, my notes are relatively few and relatively brief. The overall picture is clear however. The 2013 vintage is a difficult one, but the best wines turn the lack of power and weight into feminine charm and will provide lovely drinking from now until eight to ten years after the vintage. The 2011 vintage by comparison displays much more power and depth, but few wines escape the tell-tale dryness in the tannins and austerity on the finish. Many wines still need a few years to soften, but obviously bottle-age is no cure for unripe tannins. In both vintages, careful selection is essential as they are by no means successes across the board. For Sauternes and Barsac, both 2011 and 2013 seem to be good to very good vintages, the latter capable of delivering real elegance and grace.

Flight 1 - White Graves / Pessac-Léognan (6 Notes)

Flight 2 - Right Bank (10 Notes)

  • 2013 Château Canon 87 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru

    Thin and drying. Weedy, but there is some nice fruit. Not one I would recommend - a fine expression of the difficulties of the 2013 vintage.

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  • 2011 Château Canon 90 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru

    Much more depth than the 2013 that preceded it, ripe cherry fruit, lovely hint of oak, drying finish. Should turn out all right.

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  • 2013 Château La Gaffelière 90 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru

    Ripe fruit, light structure but considerable charm and style, nice oak spice and decent length. Embraces the delicacy of the vintage to good effect.

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  • 2013 Château Larcis Ducasse 90 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru

    Good presence, truffle, ripe fruit (slightly overripe perhaps?), quite a firm tannic structure. Ambitious.

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  • 2011 Château Larcis Ducasse 91 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru

    Powerful, tannic, structured, drying finish but the fruit is ripe. Very typical for the vintage and the style of wine making.

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  • 2013 Château Pavie Macquin 91 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru

    A very serious 2013, ripe and velvety in the context of the vintage, quite deep and rich.

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  • 2011 Château Pavie Macquin 92 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru

    Very complete, ripe fruit, rich and spicy, full-bodied, harmonious, tannic, with the hint of austerity on the finish that is so typical for the 2011 vintage,

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  • 2013 Château La Conseillante 92 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol

    Above-average weight and complexity, still a bit closed and needs time to settle, but the balance a structural components are all present and correct,

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  • 2011 Château La Conseillante 92 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol

    Wonderful typicity, perfectly judged concentration and extraction, slightly drying finish.

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  • 2013 Château Clinet 91 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol

    Good richness and ripeness in the context of the vintage, plump almost and certainly juicy. A fine 2013.

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Flight 3 - Left Bank (16 Notes)

Flight 4 - Sauternes / Barsac (8 Notes)

Flight 5 - Winemakers' Dinner (5 Notes)

  • 2001 Château du Tertre 92 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux

    Magnum. This is such a wonderful vintage for Du Tertre - what a pity that it took almost a decade to come my way again. It is fully mature now, with lovely tertiary development and complexity, whilst retaining its elegant and fresh core. Lovely flavours and length.

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  • 2004 Château Pavie Macquin 91 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru

    Magnum. Lovely evolution, good depth and balance, slighly drying Cabernet Franc, spicy and rich.

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  • 2001 Domaine de Chevalier 93 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan

    Magnum. Wonderfully lively and balanced, energetic, cool, spicy, ripe and fresh, medium weight, powerful and elegant, long. Excellent. Classic Claret.

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  • 2001 Château Léoville Poyferré 92 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien

    Magnum. Perfectly mature Poyferré, with its characteristic generosity, amazing fruit, balance and structure, vegetal notes, gentle, vital, bright.

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  • 2001 Château Giscours 92 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux

    Magnum. Almost twelve years since I last tasted this and it has developed very well. In 2004 it was outshone by the youthful energy and greater weight of the more powerful 2000, but after fifteen years it has attained a finesse and balance all of its own. Elegant, with nothing lacking.

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