Grand Bordeaux 2003 horizontal tasting

2003 was hot vintage which at the time was not well understood and posed various challenges both in the vineyard and in the cellar. For example, there was no Le Pin. Eying to California for guidance, winemakers tried to focus on acidity by picking early. This often resulted in even more tannic wines, unfortunately.

My main observations were that some wines from the right bank already started to fall apart with cooked and overripe fruit and none of the big guns impressed with Pétrus (88 points) a particular disappointment. The left bank fared better with Pauillac probably the appellation managing the vintage best. In general, however, over-extraction was less of an issue than in 2009 probably thanks to the earlier picking.

All wines were opened before and served single-blind without decanting in flights of 4 (typically).

List of wines sorted by appellation and score.

Paulliac

Lafite Rothschild - 95
Mouton Rothschild - 95
Pichon Baron - 92
Forts de Latour - 92
Pichon Lalande - 89
Latour - flawed

St Estephe

Calon Ségur - 93
Montrose - 92
Dame de Montrose - 92
Cos d'Estournel - 90

Pessac

Haut-Brion - 91
Les Carmes Haut-Brion - flawed

St Julien

Ducru-Beaucaillou - 91
Léoville Poyferré - 91
Léoville Barton - 90
Léoville Las Cases - 88

Margaux

Margaux - 95
Issan - 92
Rauzan Ségla - 91
Brane Cantenac - 88

Pomérol

L'Eglise Clinet - 92
Pétrus - 88
Lagrange - 88

St Emilion

La Mondotte - 93
Angélus - 93
Troplong Mondot - 91
Ausone - 90
Valandrau - 80

Sauternes

Rieussec - 93
Yquem - 92
La Tour Blanche - 88
Guiraud - 80

Others

Clos Floridien Blanc - 80
Dubois Grimon - 78

• 2003 Les Forts de Latour 92 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

  Bordeaux 2003 vintage horizontal hosted by a private collector and moderated by Jean-Marc Quarin. Main observations: 1/ Average quality is acceptable, but weighted down by various low-lights, esp. on the right bank. 2/ In general a tannic vintage, lacking balance. 3/ Top 3 wines were Lafite, Mouton and Margaux (all 95). See the tasting story for a complete overview and additional vintage comments.
  
  Tasting note:
  Forest floor and mushrooms, dark cherry fruit, dried herbs and black tea with a floral overlay. The balance on the palate was leaning towards acidity, but the tannin did come across reasonably soft. In sum, a beautifully aged nose but with limited follow-through on the palate. This was a crowd favorite in terms of hedonism.

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• 2003 La Dame de Montrose 92 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe

  Bordeaux 2003 vintage horizontal hosted by a private collector and moderated by Jean-Marc Quarin. Main observations: 1/ Average quality is acceptable, but weighted down by various low-lights, esp. on the right bank. 2/ In general a tannic vintage, lacking balance. 3/ Top 3 wines were Lafite, Mouton and Margaux (all 95). See the tasting story for a complete overview and additional vintage comments.
  
  Tasting note:
  Both dark and red berry fruit with some blue elements. Subtle aging notes of sous-bois, a bit of leather and hints of barnyard, a mineral layer and floral high notes. Tannin still with a lot of grip and drying, high acidity. For me this was on a par with the Montrose 2003 overall.

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• 2003 Château Calon-Ségur 93 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe

  Bordeaux 2003 vintage horizontal hosted by a private collector and moderated by Jean-Marc Quarin. Main observations: 1/ Average quality is acceptable, but weighted down by various low-lights, esp. on the right bank. 2/ In general a tannic vintage, lacking balance. 3/ Top 3 wines were Lafite, Mouton and Margaux (all 95). See the tasting story for a complete overview and additional vintage comments.
  
  Tasting note:
  Red cherry fruit with elements of strawberry. Sweet spice adds a lot of sexiness. Bright and fresh with a perfect degree of ripeness. Aging noes only in the background. Pretty fresh fruit on the palate as the main positive, otherwise rather high acidity and mouthcoating tannin.

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• 2003 Château Cos d'Estournel 90 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe

  Bordeaux 2003 vintage horizontal hosted by a private collector and moderated by Jean-Marc Quarin. Main observations: 1/ Average quality is acceptable, but weighted down by various low-lights, esp. on the right bank. 2/ In general a tannic vintage, lacking balance. 3/ Top 3 wines were Lafite, Mouton and Margaux (all 95). See the tasting story for a complete overview and additional vintage comments.
  
  Tasting note:
  Red cherry fruit with some darker cherries in the mix as well. Leather and earth help to build a bouquet that is well aged and harmonious, but rather narrow in terms of aromatics. High acidity, rather coarse tannin and a dry finish knock this down a few steps in the league table. That said, it's been 5 years since my last bottle and that performed much better after a proper decant and with the benefit of an evening-long consumption.

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• 2003 Château Montrose 92 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe

  Bordeaux 2003 vintage horizontal hosted by a private collector and moderated by Jean-Marc Quarin. Main observations: 1/ Average quality is acceptable, but weighted down by various low-lights, esp. on the right bank. 2/ In general a tannic vintage, lacking balance. 3/ Top 3 wines were Lafite, Mouton and Margaux (all 95). See the tasting story for a complete overview and additional vintage comments.
  
  Tasting note:
  Dark cherry with mineral accents of pencil shavings. Earth and barnyard. Hight acidity and drying tannin. More dense and expressive than the Dame de Montrose 2003, but the latter had a more compelling fruit – all in all a comparable performance today. But: Had the Montrose twice before in the last 4-5 years, once after a 7h decant and once after a 5h decant. In both cases the wine showed leagues better than this one.

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• 2003 Château d'Issan 93 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux

  Bordeaux 2003 vintage horizontal hosted by a private collector and moderated by Jean-Marc Quarin. Main observations: 1/ Average quality is acceptable, but weighted down by various low-lights, esp. on the right bank. 2/ In general a tannic vintage, lacking balance. 3/ Top 3 wines were Lafite, Mouton and Margaux (all 95). See the tasting story for a complete overview and additional vintage comments.
  
  Tasting note:
  Ripe fruit of black currant and cassis, leather and barnyard, sweet accents - all of which nicely layered. Nice verticality. Fresh palate with dominant acidity and structural tannin, firm but well integrated. Manages pull off a juicy palate with fresh sweet fruit. While less complex than others, this drinks exceptionally well for the vintage.

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• 2003 Château Rauzan-Ségla 91 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux

  Bordeaux 2003 vintage horizontal hosted by a private collector and moderated by Jean-Marc Quarin. Main observations: 1/ Average quality is acceptable, but weighted down by various low-lights, esp. on the right bank. 2/ In general a tannic vintage, lacking balance. 3/ Top 3 wines were Lafite, Mouton and Margaux (all 95). See the tasting story for a complete overview and additional vintage comments.
  
  Tasting note:
  Ripe cherry fruit, extracted and concentrated but with decent definition. Earthy and smoky notes as well as a bit of leather. High-octane palate with lacking mid-palate presence. Not a great vintage for Rauzan Ségla.

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• 2003 Château Brane-Cantenac 88 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux

  Bordeaux 2003 vintage horizontal hosted by a private collector and moderated by Jean-Marc Quarin. Main observations: 1/ Average quality is acceptable, but weighted down by various low-lights, esp. on the right bank. 2/ In general a tannic vintage, lacking balance. 3/ Top 3 wines were Lafite, Mouton and Margaux (all 95). See the tasting story for a complete overview and additional vintage comments.
  
  Tasting note:
  The first impression already had a green, unripe sting to it. Iron-like minerality, some interesting elements of spice, but not much going on in terms of aging notes. The cherry-like fruit was on the one hand unripe and on the other masked. Heavy tannin load on the palate, fruit again borderline unripe. Not much fun.

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• 2003 Château Margaux 95 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux

  Bordeaux 2003 vintage horizontal hosted by a private collector and moderated by Jean-Marc Quarin. Main observations: 1/ Average quality is acceptable, but weighted down by various low-lights, esp. on the right bank. 2/ In general a tannic vintage, lacking balance. 3/ Top 3 wines were Lafite, Mouton and Margaux (all 95). See the tasting story for a complete overview and additional vintage comments.
  
  Tasting note:
  This one showed nice aging notes including some Cognac-like features. Dark cherry and black currant fruit and sweet oaky notes and coffee build the character. Bold and towering but still light. A fruit-forward and ripe palate with lots of power behind, but well balanced.

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• 2003 Château Valandraud 80 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru

  Bordeaux 2003 vintage horizontal hosted by a private collector and moderated by Jean-Marc Quarin. Main observations: 1/ Average quality is acceptable, but weighted down by various low-lights, esp. on the right bank. 2/ In general a tannic vintage, lacking balance. 3/ Top 3 wines were Lafite, Mouton and Margaux (all 95). See the tasting story for a complete overview and additional vintage comments.
  
  Tasting note:
  Slightly cooked fruit and beef juice like notes. There are some nicer, sweet features, but not enough to save this. Same on the palate. Too cooked and acidity is taking overhand. Very end of life from a drinking window perspective I found and a disappointing Valandraud.

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• 2003 La Mondotte 93 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru

  Bordeaux 2003 vintage horizontal hosted by a private collector and moderated by Jean-Marc Quarin. Main observations: 1/ Average quality is acceptable, but weighted down by various low-lights, esp. on the right bank. 2/ In general a tannic vintage, lacking balance. 3/ Top 3 wines were Lafite, Mouton and Margaux (all 95). See the tasting story for a complete overview and additional vintage comments.
  
  Tasting note:
  Fruit-forward, red berry-like aroma profile. Ripe and concentrated but still in acceptable territory. Herbal spices, salad seasoning, earthy undertones and a floral layer add attractive complexity. A juicy and well-balanced palate but plenty (which is to say: too much) of tannic structure.

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• 2003 Château Dubois-Grimon 78 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Castillon Côtes de Bordeaux

  Bordeaux 2003 vintage horizontal hosted by a private collector and moderated by Jean-Marc Quarin. Main observations: 1/ Average quality is acceptable, but weighted down by various low-lights, esp. on the right bank. 2/ In general a tannic vintage, lacking balance. 3/ Top 3 wines were Lafite, Mouton and Margaux (all 95). See the tasting story for a complete overview and additional vintage comments.
  
  Tasting note:
  Raisin and candid fruit profile with a Williams-like feature and notable heat. While the nose was still bearable, the palate was completely disintegrated with green, unripe tannin. This was very hard to taste.

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• 2003 Château Troplong Mondot 91 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru

  Bordeaux 2003 vintage horizontal hosted by a private collector and moderated by Jean-Marc Quarin. Main observations: 1/ Average quality is acceptable, but weighted down by various low-lights, esp. on the right bank. 2/ In general a tannic vintage, lacking balance. 3/ Top 3 wines were Lafite, Mouton and Margaux (all 95). See the tasting story for a complete overview and additional vintage comments.
  
  Tasting note:
  More mature and aged than most in the vintage, but with still pleasant features. Leather, smoke, underwood, ripe raspberry fruit, graphite, mocha. While admittedly improving with time in the glass, this sound better than it was with a chewy palate and drying tannin.

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• 2003 Château Angélus 93 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru

  Bordeaux 2003 vintage horizontal hosted by a private collector and moderated by Jean-Marc Quarin. Main observations: 1/ Average quality is acceptable, but weighted down by various low-lights, esp. on the right bank. 2/ In general a tannic vintage, lacking balance. 3/ Top 3 wines were Lafite, Mouton and Margaux (all 95). See the tasting story for a complete overview and additional vintage comments.
  
  Tasting note:
  Beautifully aged and dense nose with dried leaves, dark cherry fruit, ripe and concentrated but in a pretty good way, nice tobacco flavors. A fruity palate which was nice, but a light mid-palate and rather dry finish keep me from getting more excited.

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• 2003 Château L'Eglise-Clinet 92 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol

  Bordeaux 2003 vintage horizontal hosted by a private collector and moderated by Jean-Marc Quarin. Main observations: 1/ Average quality is acceptable, but weighted down by various low-lights, esp. on the right bank. 2/ In general a tannic vintage, lacking balance. 3/ Top 3 wines were Lafite, Mouton and Margaux (all 95). See the tasting story for a complete overview and additional vintage comments.
  
  Tasting note:
  Nicely extracted dark berry fruit with sweet spice of vanilla and mocha. A delicate frame of aging notes of tobacco and leather. Fruity and fresh palate with a good length finish. However, with time in the glass this started to feel fragile, hence not sure about the structural integrity in case of continued aging going forward.

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• 2003 Pétrus 88 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol

  Bordeaux 2003 vintage horizontal hosted by a private collector and moderated by Jean-Marc Quarin. Main observations: 1/ Average quality is acceptable, but weighted down by various low-lights, esp. on the right bank. 2/ In general a tannic vintage, lacking balance. 3/ Top 3 wines were Lafite, Mouton and Margaux (all 95). See the tasting story for a complete overview and additional vintage comments.
  
  Tasting note:
  An overly mature aroma profile. Ripe dark cherry but without much delineation, dried leaves and earth. Un-exiting palate with heavy-handed tannin and an acidic finish – the only positive was a certain lightness to it which vaguely hinted at the grandeur that could have been there.

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• 2003 Château Ausone 90 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru

  Bordeaux 2003 vintage horizontal hosted by a private collector and moderated by Jean-Marc Quarin. Main observations: 1/ Average quality is acceptable, but weighted down by various low-lights, esp. on the right bank. 2/ In general a tannic vintage, lacking balance. 3/ Top 3 wines were Lafite, Mouton and Margaux (all 95). See the tasting story for a complete overview and additional vintage comments.
  
  Tasting note:
  Ripe dark cherry fruit with some red elements, but also some unripe features. This even felt close to dipping over into beef juice territory. Aeration helped to shed much of this, however, and revealed espresso notes. Ultimately ended up being quite ok, especially vs an underwhelming Pétrus.

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• 2003 Château Lafite Rothschild 95 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

  Bordeaux 2003 vintage horizontal hosted by a private collector and moderated by Jean-Marc Quarin. Main observations: 1/ Average quality is acceptable, but weighted down by various low-lights, esp. on the right bank. 2/ In general a tannic vintage, lacking balance. 3/ Top 3 wines were Lafite, Mouton and Margaux (all 95). See the tasting story for a complete overview and additional vintage comments.
  
  Tasting note:
  Nice array of detailed aging notes of tobacco, earth, slate minerality, dried herbs, black tea and black coffee. Dark cherry fruit on the nose followed by a more red cherry type of fruit on the palate. Great tension and firm build. Nice juicy. Developed increasing complexity with only a few minutes of aeration. Along with Mouton one of the best performers in this horizontal.

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• 2003 Château Haut-Brion 91 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan

  Bordeaux 2003 vintage horizontal hosted by a private collector and moderated by Jean-Marc Quarin. Main observations: 1/ Average quality is acceptable, but weighted down by various low-lights, esp. on the right bank. 2/ In general a tannic vintage, lacking balance. 3/ Top 3 wines were Lafite, Mouton and Margaux (all 95). See the tasting story for a complete overview and additional vintage comments.
  
  Tasting note:
  Ripe and concentrated fruit, lots of smoke and dark minerality, leather, dried herbs and a fine floral overlay. So far so good, but the palate felt more aged, imbalanced and with beef juice accents.

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• 2003 Château Mouton Rothschild 95 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

  Bordeaux 2003 vintage horizontal hosted by a private collector and moderated by Jean-Marc Quarin. Main observations: 1/ Average quality is acceptable, but weighted down by various low-lights, esp. on the right bank. 2/ In general a tannic vintage, lacking balance. 3/ Top 3 wines were Lafite, Mouton and Margaux (all 95). See the tasting story for a complete overview and additional vintage comments.
  
  Tasting note:
  Beautifully fresh fruit of red currant and cassis. Sexy floral notes, almost perfumed. Roasted coffee beans. Fresh palate with nice fruit and good length. Structured but comes across light. Along with Lafite two of the highlights in the vintage.

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• 2003 Château Latour Grand Vin Flawed

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

  Bordeaux 2003 vintage horizontal hosted by a private collector and moderated by Jean-Marc Quarin. Main observations: 1/ Average quality is acceptable, but weighted down by various low-lights, esp. on the right bank. 2/ In general a tannic vintage, lacking balance. 3/ Top 3 wines were Lafite, Mouton and Margaux (all 95). See the tasting story for a complete overview and additional vintage comments.
  
  Tasting note:
  Aging notes dominate with only restrained dark fruit. Faint cardboard notes blur the picture, intensifying. On the palate more clearly corked.

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• 2003 Château Pichon-Longueville Baron 92 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

  Bordeaux 2003 vintage horizontal hosted by a private collector and moderated by Jean-Marc Quarin. Main observations: 1/ Average quality is acceptable, but weighted down by various low-lights, esp. on the right bank. 2/ In general a tannic vintage, lacking balance. 3/ Top 3 wines were Lafite, Mouton and Margaux (all 95). See the tasting story for a complete overview and additional vintage comments.
  
  Tasting note:
  Ripe and extracted, but well defined fruit of dark and red cherry. Fine aging notes, iron-like minerality. Nice palate with fresh acidity and plenty of structure. In this vintage the better Pichon, I found.

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• 2003 Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande 89 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

  Bordeaux 2003 vintage horizontal hosted by a private collector and moderated by Jean-Marc Quarin. Main observations: 1/ Average quality is acceptable, but weighted down by various low-lights, esp. on the right bank. 2/ In general a tannic vintage, lacking balance. 3/ Top 3 wines were Lafite, Mouton and Margaux (all 95). See the tasting story for a complete overview and additional vintage comments.
  
  Tasting note:
  Ripe and well defined fruit of cherry along with floral notes and toppings of sweet spice. Youthful with hardly any aging notes. Unfortunately, the palate felt marginally cooked and unbalanced.

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• 2003 Château Les Carmes Haut-Brion Flawed

  France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan

  Bordeaux 2003 vintage horizontal hosted by a private collector and moderated by Jean-Marc Quarin. Main observations: 1/ Average quality is acceptable, but weighted down by various low-lights, esp. on the right bank. 2/ In general a tannic vintage, lacking balance. 3/ Top 3 wines were Lafite, Mouton and Margaux (all 95). See the tasting story for a complete overview and additional vintage comments.
  
  Tasting note:
  Corked unfortunately. mostly cardboard and hard to find anything else.

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• 2003 Château Ducru-Beaucaillou 91 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien

  Bordeaux 2003 vintage horizontal hosted by a private collector and moderated by Jean-Marc Quarin. Main observations: 1/ Average quality is acceptable, but weighted down by various low-lights, esp. on the right bank. 2/ In general a tannic vintage, lacking balance. 3/ Top 3 wines were Lafite, Mouton and Margaux (all 95). See the tasting story for a complete overview and additional vintage comments.
  
  Tasting note:
  Ripe and marginally over-extracted fruit of cherry. A bit of earth, leather with a mineral layer. Cassis and liquorish added over time. The palate was wild and struggled with too much tannin. A roller-coaster with some highlights, but also lowlights.

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• 2003 Château Lagrange (St. Julien) 88 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien

  Bordeaux 2003 vintage horizontal hosted by a private collector and moderated by Jean-Marc Quarin. Main observations: 1/ Average quality is acceptable, but weighted down by various low-lights, esp. on the right bank. 2/ In general a tannic vintage, lacking balance. 3/ Top 3 wines were Lafite, Mouton and Margaux (all 95). See the tasting story for a complete overview and additional vintage comments.
  
  Tasting note:
  Red cherry and raspberry fruit, extracted but still fresh with herbs adding more freshness. Not overly expressive but with a certain plushness to it. The palate was a mix of unripe and cooked fruit with too much tannin. While the 2002 was a surprise winner in the vintage, Lagrance dropped down close to the bottom in 2003.

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• 2003 Château Léoville Poyferré 91 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien

  Bordeaux 2003 vintage horizontal hosted by a private collector and moderated by Jean-Marc Quarin. Main observations: 1/ Average quality is acceptable, but weighted down by various low-lights, esp. on the right bank. 2/ In general a tannic vintage, lacking balance. 3/ Top 3 wines were Lafite, Mouton and Margaux (all 95). See the tasting story for a complete overview and additional vintage comments.
  
  Tasting note:
  A nicely smoky nose with dried herbal features, mineral notes of slate, tobacco and floral accents. A nice nose followed by a rather wild palate that struggled with balance, unfortunately. The best of the Léovilles in this vintage.

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• 2003 Château Léoville Las Cases 88 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien

  Bordeaux 2003 vintage horizontal hosted by a private collector and moderated by Jean-Marc Quarin. Main observations: 1/ Average quality is acceptable, but weighted down by various low-lights, esp. on the right bank. 2/ In general a tannic vintage, lacking balance. 3/ Top 3 wines were Lafite, Mouton and Margaux (all 95). See the tasting story for a complete overview and additional vintage comments.
  
  Tasting note:
  A cool, more mineral driven bouquet with aging notes of barnyard and leather. Only limited fruit expression (cherry). Un-exiting palate which lacks aromas. Drying tannins. The weakest of the Léovilles in this vintage.

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• 2003 Château Léoville Barton 90 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien

  Bordeaux 2003 vintage horizontal hosted by a private collector and moderated by Jean-Marc Quarin. Main observations: 1/ Average quality is acceptable, but weighted down by various low-lights, esp. on the right bank. 2/ In general a tannic vintage, lacking balance. 3/ Top 3 wines were Lafite, Mouton and Margaux (all 95). See the tasting story for a complete overview and additional vintage comments.
  
  Tasting note:
  A smoky profile with extracted cherry fruit, graphite minerality and floral accents adding appeal. However, balance was lacking with pretty coarse tannin.

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• 2003 Clos Floridene Blanc 80 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Graves

  Bordeaux 2003 vintage horizontal hosted by a private collector and moderated by Jean-Marc Quarin. Main observations: 1/ Average quality is acceptable, but weighted down by various low-lights, esp. on the right bank. 2/ In general a tannic vintage, lacking balance. 3/ Top 3 wines were Lafite, Mouton and Margaux (all 95). See the tasting story for a complete overview and additional vintage comments.
  
  Tasting note:
  Already oxidative but still showing a bit of fruit and caramel. But pretty blurry aromatics and the palate has thinned out. Only for mature wine enthusiasts.

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• 2003 Château Rieussec 93 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes

  Bordeaux 2003 vintage horizontal hosted by a private collector and moderated by Jean-Marc Quarin. Main observations: 1/ Average quality is acceptable, but weighted down by various low-lights, esp. on the right bank. 2/ In general a tannic vintage, lacking balance. 3/ Top 3 wines were Lafite, Mouton and Margaux (all 95). See the tasting story for a complete overview and additional vintage comments.
  
  Tasting note:
  Beautiful amber color. Saffron spice, candid and dried fruit, mostly apricot. Nice concentration. Perfectly creamy with nice splash of freshness and a caramel feature in the long finish. Best in the Sauternes line-up and a rare occasion where Yquem didn’t come out on top.

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• 2003 Château d'Yquem 92 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes

  Bordeaux 2003 vintage horizontal hosted by a private collector and moderated by Jean-Marc Quarin. Main observations: 1/ Average quality is acceptable, but weighted down by various low-lights, esp. on the right bank. 2/ In general a tannic vintage, lacking balance. 3/ Top 3 wines were Lafite, Mouton and Margaux (all 95). See the tasting story for a complete overview and additional vintage comments.
  
  Tasting note:
  Only minor saffron spice, but complemented by a myriad of detailed and fine herbal features. White stone fruit with a more fresh type of peach than candid fruit. Fine caramel notes. The palate then more viscous than expected, sweet with honey notes and a tad too much acidity. Somehow this didn’t quite manage to engage me and didn’t convey a sense of harmony.

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• 2003 Château Guiraud 80 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes

  Bordeaux 2003 vintage horizontal hosted by a private collector and moderated by Jean-Marc Quarin. Main observations: 1/ Average quality is acceptable, but weighted down by various low-lights, esp. on the right bank. 2/ In general a tannic vintage, lacking balance. 3/ Top 3 wines were Lafite, Mouton and Margaux (all 95). See the tasting story for a complete overview and additional vintage comments.
  
  Tasting note:
  Burned sugar and Cognac-like features, but with dominant off-notes.

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• 2003 Château La Tour Blanche Sauternes 88 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes

  Bordeaux 2003 vintage horizontal hosted by a private collector and moderated by Jean-Marc Quarin. Main observations: 1/ Average quality is acceptable, but weighted down by various low-lights, esp. on the right bank. 2/ In general a tannic vintage, lacking balance. 3/ Top 3 wines were Lafite, Mouton and Margaux (all 95). See the tasting story for a complete overview and additional vintage comments.
  
  Tasting note:
  Limited expression, some sweet notes of honey but also a chemical touch. Viscous palate, thick and honey-like.

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