HDH Bordeaux Auction

Chicago, IL
Tasted Friday, November 4, 2016 - Saturday, November 5, 2016 by acyso with 426 views

Flight 1 (6 Notes)

  • NV Pierre Péters Champagne Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs Cuvée de Réserve 90 Points

    France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru

    (11/4/2016)

    A very fresh and driven showing this morning. A light touch of brioche and sweet stone fruit (more so white peaches than apples and pears) on the nose, and showing quite similarly on the palate. There's a real nice dose of taut minerality on the palate, and some fairly forceful acidity as well. Excitingly bright and fresh.

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  • 1983 Château La Mission Haut-Brion 93 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan

    (11/4/2016)

    Quite classic, as far as Bordeaux is concerned. The nose shows a lot of ripe fruit, as well as a great dose of dirt. A touch of leather rounds out an otherwise very, very clean nose. The palate shows textbook secondary characteristics, with some dried fruit, coupled with the same earthy tones. The tannins are still very, very chewy, and given how much fruit this is showing, I suspect this still has a fair bit of aging potential.

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  • 2014 Château Smith Haut Lafitte Blanc 88 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan

    (11/4/2016)

    A very lovely nose, with lots and lots of those classic grassy sauvignon blanc aromas -- kiwi and gooseberry, coupled with just the right amount of oaky richness. The palate does show a bit of oak, but it integrated very well into the wine. If anything, this could stand to be a little more extracted, as this comes across as just a bit too much of an acid bomb. The oak on the palate is very judiciously applied here -- not overt toast, just a light bit of caramel.

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  • 2006 Château Pontet-Canet 88 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

    (11/4/2016)

    Very, very ornery right now. Just lots of black fruit and a bit of non-toasty oak. Very dense and black, there's just not much to be had right now. I'm certainly curious to see what this will become -- if memory serves, this is actually denser and more concentrated than the 2005 (but it has been ages since I had the 2005). Not to be touched now.

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  • 2001 Müller-Catoir Haardter Bürgergarten Riesling Spätlese trocken 95 Points

    Germany, Pfalz

    (11/4/2016)

    #24-02, 12.5% abv, 2113. Exhibit 9001 of why HGS is the best riesling maker ever. Very seldom am I convinced by a dry riesling, but this is certainly one of the few times I have been. Simply put, this is on the same scale as the epic 2134, but just without the sugar. Everything's here. There's stuffing up the wazoo, with tons of weird almost non-riesling flavours, like passion fruit and mangoes, but a host of typical things as well like pineapple and Thai herbs. Bone dry, with tons of acidity, finishing with some zippy tart pineapple. Simply kaleidoscopic.

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  • 1990 Mönchhof Robert Eymael Ürziger Würzgarten Riesling Auslese Goldkapsel Auction 88 Points

    Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer

    (11/4/2016)

    #11-91, 8.5% abv. "Leftovers" from last night, from a half bottle. Quite dark in colour (but not worryingly so). The nose is a bit demure, showing some tasty stone fruit alongside a hint of caramel. The palate is quite rounded, and the sweetness here has mostly started to fade. A very nice acidic streak on the back end. The palate seems a little bit advanced, with that caramel poking out a little bit more than it ought to.

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Flight 2 (11 Notes)

  • 2006 Billecart-Salmon Champagne Brut Millésimé 88 Points

    France, Champagne

    (11/5/2016)

    Quite obviously pinot-heavy. Somewhat nutty on the nose, showing just a very slight touch of oxidative style. The palate shows lots of browned fruits, as well as some baked apples and a bit of nuttiness. The alcohol seems a little bit disjoint right now, poking out at the back end. A bit too acidic at this point. I suppose this needs some time for everything to knit together.

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  • 2010 Francois Carillon Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Perrières 93 Points

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru

    (11/5/2016)

    Very moderately reduced on the nose. There's a very modest touch of florals here, counterbalanced with lots of riper white and yellow fruit. This doesn't have the screaming acidity of 2010, or perhaps, it has receded a little bit with time. There's some serious stuffing here as well, but it's quite a gentle expression of Puligny at the moment. Linear, precise, and clean.

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  • 2009 Domaine Leroy Bourgogne-Aligoté 90 Points

    France, Burgundy, Bourgogne-Aligoté

    (11/5/2016)

    Oh boy, this has some real stank on the nose: this smells like farts. But there's also some nice stuff underneath that -- a bit of green herbs and Thai curry, exotic notes that you just don't expect in Burgundy. This is a very different aligote: waxy, thick, and a touch oily, but very concentrated with its herbal elements. A touch of lychee surprisingly pops up here.

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  • 2001 Pavillon Blanc du Château Margaux Flawed

    France, Bordeaux

    (11/5/2016)

    Browned apple juice. Waxy, but the story of the day is that this is more than a bit advanced.

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  • 2008 Domaine Michel Lafarge Volnay 1er Cru Clos du Château des Ducs 93 Points

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Volnay 1er Cru

    (11/5/2016)

    This is about exactly as I remember it. Maddeningly pretty. Red fruited, light, and floral. A very modest touch of spice. Crunchy tart red fruit on the palate, with some cranberry flavours without any of the bitterness. Fresh and tart acids, with plenty of brightness. The tannins here are quite soft for a 2008, and perhaps this may be an early-drinking vintage of this wine, but it's so damned incredible now.

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  • 2003 Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande 88 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

    (11/5/2016)

    A bit of roastedness on the nose, but not too much. Dark fruit here, this shows obviously very, very ripe, but this wine really does seem to grow on you with time. Quite a lot of tannin, and a touch of stewed fruit, as well as a touch of burnt something or other on the back end. But despite all of that, this is still a pretty solid 2003.

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  • 1990 Château Léoville Barton 90 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien

    (11/5/2016)

    Well, this is about as Bordelais as it comes. There was quite a bit of stink on this but air did this a lot of good, blowing that stuff off and leaving a very classic wine. Very much on the red spectrum of Bordeaux, this is a very light example of the vintage. Lots of secondary characteristics here, with a bit of dried fruit and cedar.

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  • 1996 Henri Giraud Champagne Grand Cru Aÿ Fût De Chêne Brut Flawed

    France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru

    (11/5/2016)

    A bit advanced, and possibly slightly corked. Which is a damn shame, because there's some seriously good stuffing here. Opulently rich and powerful, with lots of stone fruit, as well as some serious oxidative character.

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  • 2004 Château Pontet-Canet 90 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

    (11/5/2016)

    I actually really, really liked this wine. It's massive and heavily extracted to be sure, but this is very true to its vintage and form. Lots of dense black fruit here, but it doesn't feel heavy at all. There's a light touch of green that gives this serious lift and freshness. Quite a surprise for me.

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  • 2000 Château Gruaud Larose 88 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien

    (11/5/2016)

    Dark and inky. Very hard to gauge this today. There's a pronounced rusticity to this wine. Tons of tannin and power here with lots of black fruit. This is coarse and dense, with more leather than dirt. A very tough nut to crack right now.

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  • 2000 Château Grand-Puy-Lacoste 90 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

    (11/5/2016)

    Next to the insane rusticity and dustiness of the 2000 Gruaud, this comes off as extremely polished and refined. This is elegant and classic, with a very silky texture. The tannins are surprisingly well integrated already. A very nice touch of acid as well rounds this out. There's a modest bit of barnyard on the back here.

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