Bordeaux night
Tasted Friday, March 29, 2024 by melvinyeowq with 44 views
Introduction
Shared some Bordeaux with a bunch of high-school friends (all bottles from me except the '90 Haut-Bailly, '00 DDC, '19 Tiberio and '06 Marc Colin). Glad to have shown three things that I have been banging on about: (i) Bordeaux needs a minimum of 20 years to come around and even unfashionable producers can age effortlessly, (ii) the golden era of Bordeaux was the '80s and '90s, the movement towards Parkerized wines was evident in the post-2000 wines, (iii) for the quality of wines you can get, Bordeaux represent great value (the 9 wines that I brought averaged out to be S$130 per bottle).
1995 Château Beychevelle 94 Points
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien
Think I liked this more than others did but then again I am a sucker for nose over palate. Beautiful, explosive aromas of coffee, spice and berries, rare to get such an intoxicating nose in Bordeaux. Palate was suave and balanced with toasted oak notes and dark cherry fruit, but just lacking a little depth to be a complete wine.
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1995 Château Grand-Puy-Lacoste 94 Points
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
The complete opposite of the Beychevelle, but equally lovable. GPL to me represents the archetypal workhorse Bordeaux, and in good vintages they can possess serious depth as was the case here. Not as silky as the Beychevelle alongside but much more structure and tension holding the wine together.
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1996 Château La Tour Haut-Brion 93 Points
France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan
Based on previous notes this wine suffers from bottle variation but fortunately I drew the long end of the stick for this bottle. Savoury leather and deep tobacco notes, some Chinese tea. Very representative of Graves. Terrific length.
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1996 Château Branaire (Duluc-Ducru) 93 Points
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien
Both Branaires showed similarly and punched well above their weight. Old-school in a good way with a little brett and rusticity that benefited rather than detracted from the wine, energetic dark red fruit for its age. In a great spot.
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2001 Château Branaire (Duluc-Ducru) 92 Points
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien
Slightly darker fruit and more extracted than the ‘96 but without being overdone. Still resolutely old-school and its austerity suggests that this wine has some way to go yet.
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2001 Château Calon-Ségur 91 Points
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe
Initially muted with all tannins and no fruit, rather burly and clumsy that almost everyone didn’t like it. Revisited a couple of hours later and a wonderful opaque core of black fruit emerged to balance out the drying tannins. A little more modern than I would have liked but not overly so.
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2002 Château Langoa Barton 88 Points
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien
Full-on modern with a creamy milkshake texture, blackcurrant, plum and liquorice notes. Too polished and international for my liking.
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2002 Château Pontet-Canet 89 Points
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
Another darker, lusher, and more extracted wine. The Parkerized wines also had the dried black fruit and chocolate qualities that I dislike.
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1990 Château Haut-Bailly 91 Points
France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan
Solid old-school Bordeaux with cigar box, eucalyptus notes. A little astringent for me despite the ripe, dark fruit. Didn’t have an extra gear that I thought a ‘90 would have but others loved it. Fully mature.
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1992 Château Cantemerle 91 Points
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Haut-Médoc
Brought one of the few birth year wines I had since it was a dinner with a few high-school friends. Sweet and vibrant dark red fruit for an awful vintage, a classic luncheon claret that does what it says on the tin. Love old-school Bordeaux that can be bought for a song such as these.
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2000 Domaine de Chevalier 94 Points
France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan
Guessed this as a traditional, good left-bank producer from a classic vintage like 2001. Smooth, sensual texture with refined tannins that made it rather Burgundian, especially with the pretty, dark red fruit. Some tobacco and mocha notes that brought you back to Bordeaux. A beautifully balanced wine that harked back to an era when DDC were producing good wines.
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2016 Domaine A.-F. Gros Beaune 1er Cru Boucherottes 89 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Beaune 1er Cru
Guessed a Gevrey from a modern maker and a warm vintage like 2009. Monolithic, sweet and candied fruit with earthy, iron notes. Not the biggest fan of this producer.
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