1996 Bordeaux

Piccolino, Liverpool Street Stn, London
Tasted Thursday, February 20, 2020 by SimonG with 241 views

Flight 1 (2 Notes)

  • 1996 Château Marquis de Terme 89 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux

    Lovely bright red fruit. Not decanted but a floral brightness from the off. Lovely fragrance. Smooth and fresh. Very drinkable if perhaps lacking a little substance. Proper old school charm. Lovely trad claret. Top ***

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  • 1996 Château Prieuré-Lichine 88 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux

    A little darker and slightly more dense. Drier on the attack with more grip through the mid palate. A touch of rusticity. Substance though. ***

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Flight 2 (2 Notes)

  • 1996 Château Potensac 90 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc

    Quite dense on the nose, restrained and dense on the attack too. Dark red fruit with an initial linear feel. Not expansive, but correct. Opens with air and rounds out. This has put on weight and shows more stuffing than the ‘luncheon claret’ of a decade ago. ***1/2

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  • 1996 Château Cantemerle 92 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Haut-Médoc

    Where the Pote sac is linear, this starts off very broad and quite short before lengthening and filling in all directions. Quite a lot here. A savoury element on the finish. Plenty of interest and as usual punches above its weight. ****

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Flight 3 (3 Notes)

  • 1996 Domaine de Chevalier 93 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan

    Gorgeous nose.all tobacco and cedar and warm gravel. Attack mirrors the palate. This is a big step up in complexity if not density. Palate doesn’t quite live up to the nose, but it’s very good. ****

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  • 1996 Château Léoville Barton 93 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien

    Dark and savoury nose. Blackcurrant in a velvet frame. Blackcurrant leaf too. Cool, dense, blackcurrant. Mellow and smooth. Fully resolved but palate still a little subdued. Extra level of density cf previous flight. ****

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  • 1996 Château Lagrange (St. Julien) 94 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien

    Dark to mid red fruit and a touch of green pepper. Again, similar on the palate. Red fruited with a pinch of green pepper. Very together. A richness and an extra layer of density cf previous flight. The right balance between propriety and fun. ****1/2

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Flight 4 (3 Notes)

  • 1996 Château Batailley 92 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

    A few years on and a step up from previous bottles. Blackcurrant with a touch of something lactic though this isn’t the case on the palate. Nicely blackcurrant through a slightly diffuse filter. Some density here. Very classic and solid Pauillac. ****

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  • 1996 Château Duhart-Milon 94 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

    Again, blackcurrant and a touch of cream. A little drier on the palate. Nicely Pauillac. Very resolved and together. Poised. The classical pick of the night. ****1/2

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  • 1996 Château Grand-Puy-Lacoste 93 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

    Blackcurrant with a redder fruited element. Very open and giving. Comely even. Pomegranates! Maybe a bit soft in a a Rubenesque way, but really just lovely and lush. My wine of the night for fun and current drink ability, but possibly not in terms of absolute classic quality. It’s a lot of fun. ****

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Flight 5 (1 Note)

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