Berry Brothers 2018 Bordeaux en primeur (plus back vintages)
Lindley Hall, London
Tasted Wednesday, July 3, 2019 by BenBlu with 638 views
Introduction
Much anticipated this as the prior year it was a great event and for the ticket price and absolute bargain. Just like last year my focus was not on the en primeur wines but rather on the mature specimen showcased alongside. This year it was mainly 09s, with the occasional 05, 07 and 10. So certainly a chance to roll-up my sleeves and try and taste through a large number of mainly 09s top chateau, many of which I have in my cellar and mostly haven't opened any yet.
Flight 1 (23 Notes)
Closing
The vintage has been a bit controversial as of late I feel with Parker having proclaimed it the best ever and peppered it with 100 pointers. Pretty unanimous is the view elsewhere that while very good it doesn't rank among the very greatest as 2010 is said to be superior and it isn't as classic with a lack of sense of place in many wines and potential lack of ability to develop in the longer term.
I am not usually a fan of very ripe wines and the high alcohol they come with. The ripe right bank wines (Clos Fourtet, Troplong) are pushing port territory - but I do like them. I probably like them more by the glass than by the bottle. But they are bona fide great wines. I want to smell and drink them. So I don't want to complain about it, I just want to take them for what they are.
On the left bank I feel things are bit more in check although they show the ripeness of the vintage clearly. But this is sexy when usually left bank is mostly not about being sexy. Maybe a lack of complexity at this juncture across the board. But the very good news is that all is drinkable. Without exception.
The quality across the board is very high. Accordingly I scored quite high. In the end I was like a kid in a candy store going back and forth to some of my favorite wines.
2009 is not an intellectual vintage. It is an obvious one. But I don't view it as problematic. I think these wines will age but I agree that they can be drunk earlier / now. So I am planning to take this vintage for what it is. An un-problematic pleasure giving one where I feel I can pull corks whenever and do not need to do my head in of how to prepare/decant.
Would I just be wanting to drink 09s? No. It would get pretty boring. After sampling so many 09s one has to be careful not to be swallowed up in a generic 09s tasting experience rather than detecting each wines individual nuances.
2010 Château Haut-Bailly 96 Points
France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan
Graphite, blue fruits, very good structure and concentration of fruit with silky tannins, some gravel powder. Speaking to the person present from the Chateau the opinion was that the 10 is (a lot) better than the 09 and looked pleased when I told him that I had recently sold my half case of 09 to buy a full case of 10 with. The 2010 looks like very good value here to me with the upcoming 10 year reviews next year.
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2009 Château Rauzan-Ségla 94 Points
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux
Kirsch liquor, ripe fruit, a bit chewy, very good but quite kinky and a bit too obvious for a higher score.
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2009 Château Saint-Pierre 96 Points
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien
I was very curious to taste this given I own a few cases and after the recent jump in score from NM putting it into the top band of the 09s in his 10 year reviews. The wine was noticeably less ripe than other 09 counterparts - which I think is probably a good thing as while initially pleasing the ripe fruit started to bore me / go on my nerves after the tenth sample as it created a too generic experience. Here some more restraint and a classic claret that still boosted great concentration, but with more balance and minerality than others. One to watch and set for long development. To me St Pierre together with Lagrange were the two "value" wines of the 09 vintage - they were one of the most classic wines that also still speak of its origin. Very well done.
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2009 Château Léoville Poyferré 97 Points
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien
My notes on this start "Wow!". Like jumping into a swimming pool of yummy cherry and strawberry jam. But it is not too sweet, still has some acidity and sticks on your palate just a bit longer than others. This is a ripe wine but I think it just works out to still be a long ager with interesting development that could become more classic and go along the lines of their fantastic 90 albeit will always remain a bit more sexy and voluptuous. Great and among the best wines of the tasting.
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2009 Château Léoville Las Cases 97 Points
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien
Just tasted after its neighbour Poyferre 09 the LLC follows a similar vein but shows more graphite with a nod to Pauillac border. Also very ripe silky tannins, not quite as ripe as Poyferre coming across as a tad more classic. A true delight and truly classy juice! One of the wines of the tasting for sure.
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2009 Château Cos d'Estournel 95 Points
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe
This was (deliberately?) served quite cold and was by far the coldest sample at the tasting. This made it a bit difficult and certainly wasn't the controversial monster I was expecting. Nose of poeny, lilac, ripe fruit with big but round tannins. I can see how this is more 09 than St Estephe and one could mistake it even for a right bank. Best Cos ever? Probably not. A bad wine? Definitely not.
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2009 Château Pontet-Canet 98 Points
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
The moment you put your nose in the glass you can't help being captivated by this beautiful red and blue fruit. It did remind me of how a glass of Mouton 09 smelled a few years ago. Super silky, ripe and highest quality fruit here. I think Bob called this all right. One of the stars of the tasting! You can drink this now but surely it will be tremendous in 10 years and last half a decade.
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2009 Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande 93 Points
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
Softer, and less ripe than other 09s. Classic Bordeaux and a very good wine. Just maybe coming across a tad tired vs others. For me stylistically similar was the 09 Lagrange (which I preferred and which sells for a lot lower price tag).
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2009 Château Canon 93 Points
France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru
Quite smokey, wasn't my favourite one to be honest, some dark chocolate. I think the 05 Canon is quite a bit better.
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2009 Château Troplong Mondot 95 Points
France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru
This was a positive surprise as reading Neal's latest tasting note I was not expecting to like this. Smoke, bacon fat, then some lovely fruit kirsch liquor. For lovers of ripe right banks this is a delight. I love to drink it - just maybe not every day.
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2009 Château Clinet 97 Points
France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol
For me probably the best right bank of the tasting and among the wines of the evening. I must say I was already very taken by Clinet 08 the previous year and it was one of the surprises. The 09 is ripe, yes, it hits you with honeycomb and dark chocolate. It is very sexy and truly delicious.
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2009 Clos Fourtet 97 Points
France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru
Another sex bomb after the Clinet 09. Dark chocolate, truffle, a port like liquor. I just preferred the Clinet over this but both are terrific wines. I can see if people find them too ripe and I am aching for a glass of Burgundy after this, also not sure I would be able to drink them by the bottle, but certainly by the glass a wonderful delight!
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2009 Château La Conseillante 95 Points
France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol
(A lot) better then when tasted ~3 years ago - blueberry, gravel, long and effortless and less heat than other right banks.
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2009 Château Figeac 96 Points
France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru
After the other very ripe right bank offerings this comes across much more left bank thanks to its Cab Sauv and general lack of over ripeness. Above my expectations and this is a wine I would be drinking by the bottle and think offers very interesting long-term development. I wanted to revisit this but the chateau was a bit stingy in terms of bottles they brought it seems as their table was the first to be cleared at this event (and it wasn't the busiest table in the room).
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2010 Château Pichon-Longueville Baron 98 Points
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
At last year's event they also brought the 2010 and it was one of my wines of the evening. This time it felt like it has further blossomed with the additional year and again one of the wines of the evening. One of the few 2010s where most other wines were 09 samples. Killer line of graphite, some vanilla. But also so pure and interwoven with silky tannins. Absolute top notch edging 1st growth quality for me on this sample.
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2009 Château Lagrange (St. Julien) 95 Points
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien
For me at this tasting of truly great but very ripe wines a refuge of delightful classic claret that still has the benefit of the ripe vintage in its immediate drinkability but comes across as fresh and mineral, some leather and truffle, and lower alcohol compared to other wines tasted. To me this is a bottle I would like to take away and just sit in the corner and drink. Given market prices this is a no brainer - as are other top vintage Lagrange. € for € I would say Lagrange is the best wine in all of Bordeaux and therefore no coincidence that it is the chateau I have the most wine of in terms of bottle count.
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2009 Château Branaire-Ducru 93 Points
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien
A nice wine and a notch up from a weak Beychevelle offering tasted just before. This felt a bit more developed and offered some classic claret in the midst of a lot of ripe other 09 offerings. It lacks the oomph of others but I feel this too (like the Lagrange - which is better though) is one of those bottles that would shine a lot more taken by itself when one has the chance to dig the teeth in and see how it develops glass after glass and not in a line-up as is not a typical "glossy" 09.
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2009 Château Beychevelle 90 Points
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien
Served very cold to me this was the weakest wine by far in an appellation that produced nothing but stunners in 09. Quite lean, not very long or complex. Given the market price a clear sell & swap against 2 cases of Lagrange if you are not after the label of a dragon boat.
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2018 Château Calon-Ségur 97 Points
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe
I hate to stick such a big score on an unfinished product and usually refrain from scoring en primeur wines, but boy, after drinking mainly 09s of top producers that evening this one hit you straight in the face with its obvious greatness. I could have drank the whole bottle! Silky, lovely fruit, such classy classy juice. Shame I didn't manage to pick it up en primeur. Will be looking out for that in secondary. BTW a LLC 18 tasted just after seemed very pale just after this Calon.
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2009 Château Guiraud 94 Points
France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes
From imperial a lovely palate cleanser after tasting through a few dozen of 09 reds. Nice balance and acidity with the right amount of sweetness. Lovely nectar.
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2009 Château Talbot 91 Points
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien
Quite a lot of toast on this, orange peel, a bit four square after other 09s tasted, better than Beychevelle but not as good as the other wines from the appelation.
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2005 Château Léoville Barton 94 Points
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien
You know I sort of had given up on this estate a little bit as I found a lack of drink-ability problematic. However I must report I had a recent good experience with 03 and very good experience with 90. So onto the 2005 - which was served alongside other chateaux 09s mainly. Clearly totally different vintage style becoming apparent. This is classic, much less fruity, some underbrush, leather. I think this will be lovely with an additional 10 years. But then that is the consensus with Barton always (and in ten years it will be in another ten years?). No really, I feel encouraged by the 03 & 90 experience... The 05 for me is better than their weak 2000.
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2009 Domaine de Chevalier 93 Points
France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan
Somehow not as good as I remember. Feels like it has shut down a bit. The underlying material is clearly here and even in this form it is good value. But I remember a terrific bottle a few years back. So I recommend to hold as I think it is in a dull phase.
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