Amstel Boathouse, Amsterdam, NL
Tasted Monday, June 21, 2021 by Xavier Auerbach with 434 views
During two sessions, five hours in total, I managed to taste 70 Bordeaux wines from the 2018 vintage. It was a marvellous tasting, sitting down, with wines of your choice served in flights of three by very diligent staff. A big thanks to Dutch wine magazine Perswijn for giving me this opportunity. The 2018 vintage is by no means a uniformly great vintage. Spring and early summer were cool and wet, but from July it was very hot and very dry. Not all vineyards and not all vignerons coped equally well with these challenging circumstances. On the left bank it really paid off to have a vineyard that "can see the river", and/or to be on the slightly richer soils in the north of the Haut-Médoc. On the right bank, the vineyards on the limestone plateau of Saint-Emilion and the couronne of Pomerol were clearly at and advantage, whilst vineyards on lighter, sandier soils suffered. In 2018 the wine was clearly made in the vineyard, but some wine makers on the right bank used the opportunity of a rich and ripe vintage for some good old over-extraction. The best wines of 2018 however, strike a seamless balance between richness and freshness, concentration and elegance. Personal favourites on the left bank are Rauzan-Ségla, Beychevelle, Léoville-Barton and Les Carmes Haut-Brion, with Batailley and Lafon-Rochet delivering excellent value for money. On the right bank I rated Canon, Clinet, Pavie-Macquin and Valandraud very highly, with Canon-la-Gaffeliere and Bon Pasteur close on their heels. For the dry whites it is not an easy year, but I will buy Domaine de Chevalier Blanc with confidence (I am still working my way through a case of the 2003). I tasted too few Sauternes to get a representative impression, but I really liked Clos Haut-Peyraguey.
Lovely nose, very expressive, flowers and ripe blackcurrants, energetic and fresh, nice balance and tension, slightly dry finish.
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Relatively meaty and spicy style, not as linear and precise as many other wines in this tasting, comfortable but a bit loose.
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Expressive nose, ripe fruit and flowers supported by some smoky oak, quite firm and structured on the palate but the tannins seem ripe, complete finish, good length.
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Tight and tannic and very closed, not easy to assess, but energy and tension seem very good, as are balance and precision. Needs time.
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Powerful but not overdone. Concentrated, good ripe fruit, hint of red meat, firm tannins, a masculine Margaux but nothing sticks out, clearly a long haul wine but should get there.
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Spices and flowers, cranberries, freshness and grippy tannins, long and tight finish.
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This is lovely! Flowers, spices, blackcurrants and cherries, cream and silk, firm but paper-fine tannins, complete and elegant, très Margaux in a voluptuous style.
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Not an easy wine to relate to. Meaty, spicy, warm fruit and a sense of floral freshness, supple and grippy at the same time, good length.
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Elegant, stylish, complete, everything in place, relaxed and flowing, blackcurrants and flowers, displays real Saint-Julien balance and harmony, with some extra ripe fruit ladled on top, big tannins covered in flesh. Quite stunning.
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Attractive ripe fruit but the acidity seems a bit agressive, quite coarse in texture, the tannins on the other hand are ripe and the finish is complete.
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Ripe fruit, slightly earthy, solid and satisfying rather than exciting, ripe tannins, well integrated oak.
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The nose has an unexpected leafy aroma, and in spite of a good charge of ripe fruit, it does not come close to the authority displayed by its elder brother in this vintage. The finish seems a bit muddled. Retaste. Not rated.
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The nose is an essence of ripe Cabernet-Sauvignon supported by warmth from the wood, the palate is powerful and concentrated but energetic and fresh, with excellent tannic grip and a long, tight finish. Will drink well young or old, and should last a long time.
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Well balanced, elegant and generous, comfortable and harmonious, slightly sweet and spicy oak, attractive fluffy fruit, velvety tannins, relaxed and flowing wine, everything in place, delivers what you would expect from Poyferré in 2018.
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Powerful and burly style, ripe black fruit, well integrated oak, big but ripe tannins, velvety texture, very good persistence. Needs time but should get there.
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Earthy nose, quite fierce tannins, powerful and concentrated but dry and aloof.
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Fresh and transparent, lovely floral aromatics and bright red fruit, satiny texture, moderate tannins, true to type, shows restraint, perfectly integrated oak, good length.
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Classic Pauillac, blackcurrants and spices, violets, lovely freshness and integration, pure and expressive, paper-fine tannins, energetic but flowing, real elegance and finesse.
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Richer, riper and rounder than its stablemate d’Armailhac, spicy warmth, well balanced, attractive, supple but with good tannic grip, hint of liquorice root on the finish. A complete package.
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This is a rich and velvety Lynch-Bages, clearly displaying the warmth of the vintage in its spicy depth, but it is not playful or charming, it is a bit earthbound in this vintage.
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Solid, grippy, energetic, masculine, food wine.
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A successful 2018, very complete, the terroir clearly excelled in this vintage. Rich and rounded but precise and fresh, ripe but with lovely lift, creamy texture, perfectly integrated oak, very fine tannins, excellent length. An outperformer.
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Meaty and spicy, fleshy red berries, ripe and gourmand but firmly structured, big tannins but with flesh to match.
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A bit anonymous, solid, complete, generous and very tannic, has potential but not much individuality.
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Spectacular nose, ripe Cabernet Franc in excelsis, remarkably elegant and playful palate, nothing out of place, layered and precise finish. Real finesse here.
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Deft wine making here, marries a sense of precision and elegance with ripe and sweet fruit, very carefully managed tannins, reminds me of the 2009 but with a much more delicate extraction.
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A generous and ripe style for Haut-Bailly, quite spicy and warm, not the most refined of tannic textures, tight and dry finish.
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Yet another wine that has difficulty finding its balance. Stalky nose with a hint of cherry stones, ripe and creamy fruit, there is a certain freshness and some sweet oak, but it fails to convince.
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Sweet fruit and spicy oak, pretty tannic, lacks depth.
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Very tannic. It feels like I am back in 2005, when a ripe vintage was a good excuse to make fiercely tannic and overextracted wines.
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Generous but elegant, effortless balance and harmony, ripe but cool, everything perfectly integrated, ripe cherries, gently smoky oak, supple but energetic, long and flowing finish.
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The ripe strawberry and raspberry fruit on the nose is an absolute joy, ripe but fresh, elegant but broad, flowers, supple and juicy, deceptively easy, hints of fresh meat and chalk, firm but finely grained tannins, lovely length.
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Lovely fruit of strawberries and raspberries, ripe and creamy but cool and fresh, grippy tannins will need some time to integrate, very little noticeable oak, hint of earth, good persistence.
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Ripe red berries, solid and spicy, good fruit but not exciting. Tannic.
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Similar profile to the Canon tasted just before, but with much more tannic extraction, it’s burlier and grippier, not as elegant and flowing, the tannins block the finish. Needs time.
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Very ripe black fruit, rich and full and succulent palate, moderate extraction, new world in style, drinking well already, what’s not to like?
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Very tannic. It’s got the ripe fruit, but those tannins are huge! Not sure where this is going, if anywhere. Non-committal score.
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I had expected Larcis to be a ripe and powerful wine in 2018, with its vineyards exposed due south, but it seems to be quite stalky, cool and with grippy tannins. Retaste. Not rated.
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As usual, Pavie-Macquin is quite an intellectual wine, powerful and concentrated but not showing much of itself today, rich and velvety but restrained by its chalky terroir high on the Côtes, impeccably constructed, long and complete finish.
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Soutard. A bit earthy and vegetal on the nose, black cherries on the palate, solid and creamy, no excess tannins, nice freshness and length. Optimistic score.
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Extraction-wise, this holds the middle ground between the Canon and the Clos Fourtet tasted just before. Pure and supple and succulent but well structured, ripe but firm, lift and concentration.
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For a 2018, this is a pretty tightly coiled wine, and while there is some floral lift, it feels a bit stalky and the tannins are pretty drying. Cranberries. Lacks ripeness. Spicy finish. Heat stress? They have old vines…
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Clearly one of the stars of the show today - as always in recent years. Rich and concentrated, almost decadent, but with immaculate minerality and freshness to balance the ripeness, velvety tannins covered in flesh, long and layered finish. Very attractive already, with the inner harmony to last a long time.
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Good ripe fruit and spice on the nose, tightly coiled palate, dry tannins on the finish.
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Delightfully creamy style, black cherries, glossy and spicy, finely grained tannins covered in flesh, coped very well with the heat. Beautifully made.
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Really shining in the powerful and masculine style of the Château, wonderfully floral and expressive, big tannins are perfectly integrated, tight finish, excellent length. Outstanding but needs time.
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Lifted Cabernet Franc and ripe Merlot, firm but ripe tannins, good presence on the palate, good resonance and length. Marries power and a certain charm.
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Much lighter in style than the Clinet which preceded it, but it is elegant and expressive, floral and lifted, energetic and fresh, with good grip and length.
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All things considering, this is a bit dull. It’s big and ripe, but it’s solid rather than exciting, with grippy tannins. Its terroir deserves better.
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Dry and tannic. Lacks fruit and charm. Hint of TCA? Not rated.
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Quite nice but not really very precise. Supple, juicy, well judged oak, creamy lemon and tropical fruit, slightly loose and fuzzy on the finish. Drink young.
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Ripe but fresh, clean as a whistle, creamy lemon and vegetal notes, perfectly integrated new oak, hint of tropical fruit, gentle bitters, excellent length. A classic DdC in a warm vintage - based on the 2003 I have every confidence in this wine and its longevity.
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Very floral and lifted nose, creamy lemon and orange zest, juicy and supple, nice hint of vanilla on the finish, ripe but fresh, light finish but good length.
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Floral and vegetal intensity but not much fruit expression, not too much oak either, gentle bitters, lacks a bit of stuffing, slightly raw finish.
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Actually this is quite drying, with substantial bitters and a distinct lack of fruit. Feels hollow.
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Meaty reduction on the nose, quite dry on the palate and not much fruit. Similar problem as the Latour-Martillac, but not as bad.
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Limited fruit expression but not too dry, slightly grippy bitters, hint of muscat on the finish.
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Light and bright, supple and floral, easy-going, hint of cream, juicy but a bit loose, nicely integrated oak, light and fuzzy finish.
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Very floral - remarkably so. Juicy, supple, creamy, lemon and peach, easy-going, soft but fresh, hardly any noticeable oak, probably best to drink relatively young.
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Overtly oaky. With tropical fruit to match, but quite oaky none the less. Slightly alcoholic finish. Attractive but lacks finesse, some liquorice on the finish.
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Fresh and elegant and juicy, beautifully pure expression of noble grapes, lovely finesse and sweetness, tropical fruit, perfectly integrated oak, lovely length.
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Slightly dull nose, good weight of tropical fruit but not very expressive, it does possess drive and length.
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Nice rôti, bitter orange, elegance and depth, delicately sweet, supporting oak, power and elegance, subtle bitters.
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2018 Château Beaumont 88 Points
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Haut-Médoc
Good cherry and berry fruit, floral top notes, hint of smoke, medium body, light but supple and juicy style, overall attractive but slightly drying tannins, decent length.
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2018 Château Belgrave 87 Points
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Haut-Médoc
Relatively earthy style, very dry, cranberry fruit, lacks ripeness and charm.
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2018 Château de Camensac 89 Points
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Haut-Médoc
Modern style, ripe and rounded but with grippy tannins, floral lift, quite toasty finish.
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2018 Château Cantemerle 89 Points
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Haut-Médoc
Quite polished style, smoky oak, delicately fleshy fruit, flowers and earth, relatively light and dry on the finish.
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2018 Château La Tour Carnet 89 Points
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Haut-Médoc
On the plumper side, ripe but lacks a bit of precision and definition, nice density but little finesse.
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