Second Sunday Group: 2009 Bordeaux

R&D's
Tasted Sunday, March 10, 2019 by AllRed with 273 views

Introduction

The 2nd Sunday group gathered for our regular double blind tasting. For this group, we are presented a couple of double blind warm ups before the main flight. The warm ups are discussed & unveiled before moving on to the themed main flight. We spent forty five minutes or so tasting and evaluation the eight wines for the main flight before ranking the wines and then making guesses as to what we were tasting. Wines are ranked 1-8, one point for each place, and then unveiled from last place to first place. After the tasting, dinner is served with the additional wines brought by the group, nonblind. For this tasting we had fourteen tasters and the cost was $40.

Flight 1 - Warm ups (3 Notes)

The Gosset was tasted nonblind prior to the still wines.

  • NV Gosset Champagne Brut Excellence 91 Points

    France, Champagne

    L4151524. Enjoyable bouquet of toasted brioche and apple. Has a slight austerity that fades with time in the glass. Nice orchard fruit, dough, nuts and ginger.

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  • 2017 Domaine Louis Michel Chablis 89 Points

    France, Burgundy, Chablis

    Double blind. Notes of lush tropical fruit and citrus. Tropical on the palate as well- very nice fruit. There were a few very brief, fleeting moments during which chardonnay crossed my mind, but then everything else suggested otherwise. Good, if not varietally correct. I don't recall anyone guessing chardonnay, let alone Chablis.

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  • 2017 Regis Minet Pouilly-Fumé Vieilles Vignes

    France, Loire Valley, Upper Loire, Pouilly-Fumé

    Double blind. Loads of limey citrusy fruit on the nose and palate, with abundant underlying acidity. I was fairly sure this was sauvignon blanc, but I thought southern hemisphere. Very tasty though, and the better of the two warm ups for most of the group.

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Flight 2 - Main flight (8 Notes)

As a group these were fairly consistent. They showed nice, forward fruit and old world earth, along with good structure and balance. Some showed a nice plushness as well. It seemed fairly clear early in the tasting that these were Bordeaux. I correctly guessed 2009. They showed a bit lighter at the meniscus suggesting they weren't new releases, but still dark enough and without any secondary or tertiary elements to go too far back. I correctly guessed these as 2009s, and another taster was able to pick out a left bank versus right bank theme. On the whole, these were very nice and I'd be happy to have any in the cellar. They're beginning to drink very nicely, if on the young side. The only one I would say is a definite "hold" is the Chapelle LMHB, which just never opened up. I will definitely keep my eye open for opportunities to add these to my cellar.

  • 2009 Virginie de Valandraud 92 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru

    Double blind. Deep garnet color turning just a bit lighter towards the meniscus. Immediately appealing bouquet of cherry, red berry fruit and earth. Slightly tannic, almost austere on the palate. Opens quite a bit with additional time in the glass, allowing the fruit- primarily red- to come forward on fill out on the palate. Expressive and lovely old world Bordeaux nose. For most of the tasting this was my #1.

    My #2, Domino's #2
    Group #1, 47 pts

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  • 2009 Alter Ego 92 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux

    Double blind. Currant and plum notes. Fairly tannic with mixed red and black fruits on the palate. Opens nicely though, showing more ripe berry fruit along with cedar and floral elements. Dark fruit and tar qualities on the palate. Good structure and fruit; nice balance.

    My #3, Domino's #1
    Group #3, 49 pts

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  • 2009 Château La Mission Haut-Brion La Chapelle de La Mission Haut-Brion 86 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan

    Double blind. Very reticent- there's a an earthy clay note, but not much else. Quite firm and tannic on the palate, to the point of being austere, with red fruit tones underneath the tannin. Even as the others opened, this stayed tight and unyielding. Red fruit aromas and flavors, but tannic and firm.

    My #7, Domino's #4
    Group #7, 75 pts

    > It's always nice to get a taste of something that is in your own cellar. We have a couple of these tucked away and based on this bottle, they will continue to rest in the cellar. Hold until 2025+.

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  • 2009 Château La Confession 91 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru

    Double blind. Notes of dark fruit along with dried leaves and earth. Slight tannin along with flavors of dark berry fruit and currants. Adds brighter red fruit elements in the bouquet as it opens, and becomes more plush on the palate which remains dark-fruited. Finishes with good length and balance.

    My #5, Domino's #7
    Group #4, 58 pts

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  • 2009 Réserve de la Comtesse 92 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

    Double blind. On the first pass through, this had a loamy, green almost Chilean cabernet quality to the bouquet. Red fruit flavors on the palate have a slightly sour edge, and it's not as firm as the others in the lineup so far. Changes quite a bit as it sits, becoming less green and more herbal, adding dark fruit and earthy forest floor elements. Red fruit and earth on the palate. Nicely balanced, with a good finish.

    My #4, Domino's #3
    Group #5, 63 pts

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  • 2009 Château Pipeau 92 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru

    Double blind. Aromas of red fruit, earth, leather and graphite. Mixed fruit on the palate. Medium tannins are balanced by plush mixed fruit. This has a really nice texture and feel, with nice forward fruit and wonderful earth undertones. I struggled to choose an order among wines A, B and F, changing my ranking multiple times, but at the moment I needed to turn in my sheet, F won out.

    My #1, Domino's #6
    Group #2, 48 pts

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  • 2009 Château Pavie Arômes de Pavie 89 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru

    Double blind. Lovely berry fruit and earth bouquet. More of the same on the palate. Medium tannins and finish. This is nicely balanced, though not quite as expressive as some of the others in the lineup, and it didn't change much during the tasting. Very good, just lacking a bit in comparison.

    My #6, Domino's #5
    Group #6, 64 pts

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  • 2009 Les Pagodes de Cos Flawed

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe

    Corked.

    My #8, Domino's #8
    Group #8, 100 pts

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Flight 3 - Dinner/dessert wines (13 Notes)

Nonblind with pork shoulder, polenta and salad.

Closing

This was definitely one of the more fun & enjoyable all-around tastings we have had in a while. Thanks very much to our hosts, R&D.

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