En Primeur campaign for the 2022 vintage Day Four
Bordeaux
Tasted Tuesday, April 25, 2023 by chatters with 383 views
Introduction
For the second year, Daniel very, very, very kindly agreed to take me to the En Primeur campaign.
Flight 1 - St Julien and Pauillac Chateau visits (30 Notes)
We were again guests of the negociaant Ballande & Meneret.
Another early start and off we go to St Julien and Pauillac…traffic was terrible so it took us about an hour and 30 minutes to get from downtown Bordeaux to our first stop. Phew.
When we got to Beychevelle rather than just doing the 'standard' tasting of the Chateau's wines we got herded into the UGCB tasting...bit of a result for me as they had a selection of 'lesser' wines from the Haut Medoc that I particularly wanted to look at.
The Langoa was particularly pleasing today, Pichon Baron looked good and I enjoyed the Suduiraut VV quite a lot.
Flight 2 - Lunch at Pichon Baron (4 Notes)
"Poshish sit down lunch with 100ish covers…I sat next to a lovely couple from New Zealand who were over with the reps from the Glengarry team.
The Suduiraut vieilles vignes was served with marinated salmon, the Pichon Baron 2016 with Blanquette de vis and black rice, the 2011 with a selection of cheese and the Suduiraut 2011 with fresh strawberries"
Flight 3 - Academie du vin de Bordeaux (43 Notes)
After last year I never thought I would have the opportunity to attend this incredible event again so I was extremely grateful to get back to it thanks to an invitation from The Wine Merchant. It is a huge privilege and I treasure the experience completely. I've explained the format below but it's quite hard to do proper, formal notes so they tend to be more in the 'quickly jotted impression' space.
Now to the details: A note on the format. Basically, there are a number of ‘tasting tables’ which shows wines from vintages ending in the year of the dinner – this year was 2023 so the tasting table had wines from vintage ending in 3 e.g.1983, 1943 or 2003 etc. Additionally, there is a dinner where some of the first growths are also shown with the same vintage ruling.
The evening flows as follows (well, it did for me) you arrive, find out your room and table of allocation (there are three rooms and multiple tables) and have a choice of Champagne or Sauternes/Barsac as an aperitif with nibbles, then there are some speeches (the green party mayor, the head of the academie and then Olivier Bernard who explains the format of the dinner), flesh is pressed, hands pumped and friends reacquainted, then you go and sit down for dinner, have the first course with the first ‘first growth’, then Olivier Bernard rings a bell and a massive scrum of older gentlemen in tuxes and ladies in fine dresses converge on these tables, elbowing, biting and scratching (okay, a little bit of poetic licence here but not much) to get a taste (pours are in the -20 ml kind of area) of each of these wines. After a few minutes of frenzied slurping and scrimmaging the bell is rung again and we return to our tables for the next course (with the associated first growth and a little introduction from one of the guests)…and thus the evening proceeds until all the wine is drunk, the clock strikes midnight or the patron in question can no longer stand.
Closing
A lovely set of visits followed by the Academie du vin de Bordeaux was a pretty superb day
2022 Château Gruaud Larose Sarget de Gruaud Larose
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien
Immediate minty notes, plums, sweet spice, a little meaty underpin, touch of blackcurrant and berries, oaky notes. Juicy with drying tannins are grape and wood based though more in the latter space. It's quite savoury and the fruit a little muted, those tannins dominate the palate with alcohol warmth on the finish. Meh.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
2022 Château Gruaud Larose
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien
Medium minus intensity aromas of muted black hued fruits, cedar and soft spice touches of red plum, quite polished. Opens with time and agitation. Spice over fruit here, a little very slight fruit cake note. Juicy tends to medium plus intensity acidity, a little cream joins the black hued fruits, tannins are drying, woody, chalky textured. Non-intrusive alcohol warmth on the finish, the tannins are slightly too intrusive but time should help. A bit hmm for me at the mo'.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
2022 Château Beychevelle
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien
Blackcurrant over plum, polished oak, smells plush, a little blackberry. Juicy with medium plus intensity acidity, black hued fruits; plum, blackberry, blackcurrant, over spice, woody coarse flour textured tannins, drying tannins, on the finish a little savoury notes and some warmth on the finish. Okay
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
2022 Château Léoville Barton
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien
Blackberry, blackcurrant, plums, cedar, sweet spice and a little cream. Medium plus intensity acidity lends juiciness, fleshy, plenty of dark hued fruits, cedar, tannins are grainy, persistent but this is far more elegant than Sunday's tasting, balanced. Yum.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
2022 Château Langoa Barton
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien
Plums, cream, slightly sweet spice, a little crunchy blackcurrant, cedar in support. Medium plus intensity acidity, fleshy, generous wild fresh black fruits are positively crunchy, supported by persistent and supple talc textured tannins. Very good
Post a Comment / 1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Report Issue
2022 Château Talbot
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien
A little compote tending to Jammie notes, black fruits; currant; berry, slight red fruit, cedar, very slight creamy notes. Medium plus intensity acidity married to quite dense, slightly extracted black fruits that tend to a more jam/compote quality, chalky, drying tannins. It's slightly out of whack and shouty. Time required but a bit meh for me today.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
2022 Château Léoville Poyferré
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien
Slightly baked black fruits, sweet baking spice, polished okay, touch of almost butter, very slight herbaceous notes and a touch of sourness. Medium plus intensity acidity, it's quite tough and chewy, a little herbaceous note here as well, plenty of drying chewy oak. Nah.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
2022 Château Fourcas Hosten
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Listrac-Médoc
Plums, fresh, Autumn berries and currants in support, a sense of freshness, a little toasty oak in support. Medium plus intensity acidity, chewy, slightly drying tannins, fresh black fruits, simple, arguably a little dilute but this is pleasant
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
2022 Château Fourcas Dupré
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Listrac-Médoc
Cream, blackberry, very slight blackcurrant, plums, slight sweet spice, like the Fourcas Hosten it's quite fresh smelling. Medium plus intensity acidity, fresh black fruits married to drying wood and grape tannins are supple and talc textured. Liquorice and a touch of bitterness on the finish is a little bit off putting but otherwise yum.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
2022 Château Poujeaux
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Moulis en Médoc
Very slightly baked black fruits; blackcurrant; plum, sweet spice, a little creamy note, smells a little riper than the last two wines, touch of polished oak in support. Medium plus intensity acidity, a lick of alcohol warmth, chewy woody tannins, the fruit is a little muted, touch of bitterness on the finish. Meh
Post a Comment / 1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Report Issue
2022 Château Maucaillou
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Moulis en Médoc
Medium minus intensity aromas of slight, almost smoky, non-delineated black fruits, a little sweet spice, fruit tea, plenty of grippy, drying tannins take over the palate. Out of whack. Something not quite right.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
2022 Château Fonréaud
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Listrac-Médoc
Slightly dusty sweet spice baked black fruit, sweet spice, plenty of tannins prove woody and dry backed by black fruits. Hmm
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
2022 Château Ducru-Beaucaillou Haut-Médoc Madame de Beaucaillou
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Haut-Médoc
Black hued fruits, baked by a touch of liquorice, sweet spice, a little plum. Medium plus intensity acidity, plums, black fruits, liquorice washed away but a flood of okay tannins that flay the mid palate.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
2022 Château Ducru-Beaucaillou Le Petit Ducru
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien
Sweet spice, slight alcohol warmth, black plums, berry, liquorice. Medium plus intensity acidity, concentred to the point of savouriness, again plentiful grippy woody tannins dominate the proceedings, a little creamy note on he finish.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
2022 Château Ducru-Beaucaillou La Croix Ducru-Beaucaillou
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien
Ripe plum with a slightly pyrazine notes, quite savoury underpin, again a touch of liquorice, sweet spice. Medium plus intensity acidity, slightly sour but also concentrated black fruits accompanying drying chalky, woody tannins which close down the palate.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
2022 Château Ducru-Beaucaillou
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien
Black fruits; blackcurrant, sweet spice, a little toasty biscuit note. A touch of plums, a sense of power but not as overtly clumsily concentrated as the other wines from Ducru Beaucaillou that are here today. Medium plus intensity acidity, a very slightly sour underpin to the black hued fruit again monster level tannins are chewy, drying, broad, big and bolshy but the fruit persist on the long finish. Woof. Very slight bitterness on the long finish.
Read 3 Comments / Post a Comment / 1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Report Issue
2022 Château Pibran
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
Plummy fruits proves quite black hued but fresh with a little creamy underpin and sweet spice, fresh earth and a tiny fruit tea note. Medium plus intensity acidity, again plummy fruits with those fruit tea notes, woody and grapy tannins are drying, slightly coarse and a little chocolate note on the finished by a little alcohol warmth. Hmm
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
2022 Château Pichon-Longueville Baron Les Griffons de Pichon Baron
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
Blackcurrant, slightly herbaceous notes, a little dusty spice underpin, touch of plum and blackberry in the background. In the mouth it has medium plus intensity acidity that is juicy, fresh and crunchy black fruits are a little non-delineated, slightly bitter notes join the chewy drying tannins that provide both time and quite woody, fruit just about persists,. Hmm.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
2022 Château Pichon-Longueville Baron
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
Ooh, a little immediate minty waft, plenty of cream black hued fruits especially currants, sweet oaky spices. Medium plus intensity acidity, fresh dark hued fruit slide seamlessly into drying grape and wood tannins that are quite chalky textured, the fruit persists,. There is a tiny of red fruit sourness on the finish. It's slight out of balance at the moment but complex. Good.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
2022 Château Suduiraut Lions de Suduiraut Blanc Sec
France, Bordeaux
Green apple over gooseberry, smells fresh and proves equally so on the palate with gooseberry and green apple, a little texture. Simple. Nice. Probably going to be prohibitively expensive for what it is.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
2022 Château Suduiraut Vieilles Vignes Grand Vin Blanc Sec
France, Bordeaux
Medium plus intensity aromas of gooseberry, apple, slightly stony minerality, a little candied peach and passion fruit notes. Forward with a little sweet spice and a tiny touch of savoury herbaceousness. Nice and complex nose. In the mouth it's juicy and fleshy, a similar melange of flavours, perhaps some lees work or time on solids, like the Pichon Baron, the slide from fruit to texture is seamless. Arguably lacks a little fresh acidity for any form of longevity but otherwise wonderful.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
2022 Château Suduiraut Pur Sémillon
France, Bordeaux
Apple, a little fresh hay with a herbaceous underpin, a touch of chalky minerality and leesy work. Juicy, fleshy, it's a bit on the flabby side with a touch of bitterness on the finish. Meh.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
2022 Château Suduiraut
France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes
Muted botrytis shows a little apricot compote, a little smoky note then some sweet spice. Lusciously sweet with insufficient acidity to support the sugar, that smoky note here as well helps create the impression of bitterness, a little sugary apricot jam. Meh.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
2022 Château de Pez
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe
Slightly muscular plums and blackcurrant backed by earth, spice, a little pyrazine. Medium plus intensity acidity, similarly muscular dark hued fruits on the palate, a little alcohol warmth helps carry the fruit past the drying moderately coarse tannic grip. Time. Okay in a bullish way.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
2022 Pichon Comtesse Réserve
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
Quite spiced plums over polished oak, a little blackcurrant. Juicy, surprisingly sweetly fruited, sweet spices straying towards a little fruit cake note, chalky tannins are present but as non-intrusive as the slight alcohol warmth on the finish which also shows a touch of bitterness. Okay
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
2022 Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
Dense black hued fruits, a little clay, plenty of oaky spice in support. Juicy, medium plus intensity acidity, chewy woody tannins have smashed the black fruits asunder. Slightly bitter on the finish. Big, time will help but not for me.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
2022 Château Pontet-Canet
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
Short note - For me this was over-extracted and over-worked to the point of undrinkability. Read the below if you want a more detailed diatribe/rant
Longer note - Medium plus intensity aromas of concentrated (to the point of bitter savouriness) black fruits; blackcurrant especially but touches of plums, oaky spices, dried woody notes and a little baked earth on the nose. Ripe concentrated black fruits and woody, though smoothy textured, tannins smash around the mouth like two cars trying to squeeze into the same tiny parking spot. With time the fruit appears to win the fight by beating the tannins into submission with an alcohol based nightstick. the tannins then park their ugly wooden vehicle on top of the fruit. Pretty awful over-extracted stuff. One for the masochists and I'm no masochist. Pontet Canet appears to be striving to be the Pavie of the Left Bank.
Read 13 Comments / Post a Comment / 13 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Report Issue
2022 Château Branaire-Ducru
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien
Cream, plum initially, a little violet, blackcurrant has a little jammy note, sweet spice. Medium plus intensity acidity, red and black fruits; currant, berries and plums, a tiny liquorice note lends a little touch of bitterness, concentrated without being over wrought, tannins are talc textured, persistent with a touch of alcohol warmth on the finish which helps carry everything long.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
2021 Château Branaire-Ducru
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien
Creamy, more blackcurrant than plums, a tiny green note, dialled back sweet spice. Medium plus intensity acidity is juicy, fresh, crunchy black fruits, a little rhubarb, married to talc textured persistent tannins, long with a little green note joining on the finish but, for me, absolutely lovely
Read 8 Comments / Post a Comment / 1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Report Issue
2020 Château Branaire-Ducru
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien
Popped and poured…Very closed…a little plum, rubber, smells dense. With a fairly vigorous shake starts to show a little black currant, a little pyrazine, touch of almost baked notes and concentrated savoury and saline dark fruits, lend an almost meaty quality. medium plus intensity acidity, dark hued fruits; plums; blackcurrant, polished oak, talc textured and persistent tannins, a little sweet spice and non-intrusive alcohol warmth on the finish. Hmm.
Post a Comment / 1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Report Issue