2002 Bordeaux Offline

A lucky 13 of us gathered at Frank's Steakhouse on the West Side of Manhattan for a pretty comprehensive look at 2002 Bordeaux.

Thanks to everyone for coming. This was as complete a look at a vintage as I've ever had. My overall impression was that the wines were better than I expected, but I'd say good not great. The few wines I tried in both 2001 and 2002, I would say I choose 2001 over 2002.

WOTF:
Troplong Mondot

• 2002 Château Troplong Mondot

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru

  A bit of herb and mint. Chewey but edgy fruit, some vanilla oak, but not huge. Teeth coating tannins. Pretty good, but not showing a lot, somewhat thin fruit.
  B-/C+

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• 2002 Château Pape Clément

  France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan

  Thick, full, chewey, dense. Some new oaky vanilla power Some secondary herbs, very full, Punchy.
  B++

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• 2002 Château Smith Haut Lafitte

  France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan

  Olive, some fruit, not as dense as Pape. Herbal, some darker fruit, but a bit thin.
  B-

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• 2002 Château Haut-Brion

  France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan

  Very herbal, some lemony acid. Fruit is behind. Too sharp. Broad secondary flavors with a sweet core. Austere. Lots of structure, not enough fruit.
  B

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WOTF:
Margaux (9)
Palmer (4)

• 2002 Château Margaux

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux

  Smooth, rich & silky. Rich fruit, nice complexity. Some black fruit behind. Fairly powerful, but classy
  B++/A-

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• 2002 Château Palmer

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux

  Red currants, a little earthier than Margaux. Some dark tar. A little rubbery mud, medicinal.
  B

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WOTF:
Leoville Barton (10)
Leoville Poyferre (2)

• 2002 Château Léoville Poyferré

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien

  Lots of vanilla fruit, but short. Some tacky tannins, a little light.
  B/B-

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• 2002 Château Léoville Barton

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien

  Blocky fruit, darker, dense, thicker. Dark & chunky.
  B/B+

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• 2002 Château Léoville Las Cases

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien

  Large, sweet fruit. Dense, lots of structure. Sweet candy, some herb, a little rubbery. Dissapointing.
  B

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• 2002 Château Lagrange (St. Julien)

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien

  Lots of full fruit, vanilla oak. Sweet full. Not a lot of secondary flavors, but nice fruit. Big & full.
  B/B+

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• 2002 Château Branaire-Ducru

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien

  Nice fruit, more tame. Not extremely punchy, smooth, broad, classy, elegant. More herbal, iron. Classic. I think this would be even better on it's own, not in a tasting of multiple wines.
  B+

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WOTF:
Latour (11)
Lafite (2)

• 2002 Château Mouton Rothschild

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

  Rich, full, silky. Not extremely complex, round. Quite drinkable now.
  A--

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• 2002 Château Latour Grand Vin

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

  Rich, smooth, silky. Delicious, classy, wonderfully complex. Some darker fruit, nice sweet fruit.
  A-

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• 2002 Château Lafite Rothschild

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

  Classy, smooth, rich, more herbal. Wonderful complexity.
  A-

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• 2002 Château Pontet-Canet

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

  What a game showing of this wine, matched up with the first growths due to circumstance. Nice fruit, a little light, sweet finish. Showed well for the flight. Obviously outclassed, but very good, especially for the price.
  B/B+

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WOTF:
Lalande (7)
Baron (5)
GPL (1)

• 2002 Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

  Rich, big fruit. Sweet, lots of stiff tannins. Fruit a bit short & flat. Nice.
  B

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• 2002 Château Pichon-Longueville Baron

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

  Rich, full, big fruit. A bit tannic, fruit hiding a bit. Lots of structure, long. Not a lot of difference between the Pichons. Surprisingly, the Baron may have been less approachable now.
  B

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• 2002 Château Lynch-Bages

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

  Dark, black tar. Stiff. Earthy. Flat. Short finish. Extremely dissapointing.
  C/C+

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• 2002 Château Grand-Puy-Lacoste

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

  Punchy, tannic fruit. Flat-ish. Bitter dark fruit.
  C+

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WOTF:
Cos (13)

• 2002 Château Sociando-Mallet

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Haut-Médoc

  Thick, smooth, full, classy. Rich. Great structure. Some darkness, some green. Nice. Approachable for a young Sociando. Like it.
  B/B+

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• 2002 Château Montrose

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe

  Tacky tannins, sandpaper. Lemony, tannic. Puckery.
  C+

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• 2002 Château Cos d'Estournel

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe

  Very nice. Good fruit. Well ballanced. Deep dary fruit. Should have a long long life. Espresso. Thick. Huge. Very impressive.
  A--

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WOTF:
Lascombes (6)
Giscours (4)

• 2002 Château Giscours

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux

  Rich & sweet. A bit one dimensional. Nice vanilla fruit, smooth.
  B/B-

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• 2002 Château Lascombes

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux

  Nice fruit, perfumed, classy, smooth. A bit lighter. Full flavored. Very good.
  B+

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• 2002 Château Malescot St. Exupéry

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux

  Nice complexity. Good secondary flavors. Lots of structure, needs some time. Some dark fruit.
  B/B+

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Wine of the night (1st, 2nd, 3rd favorites):
Latour (31)
Margaux (9)
Palmer (8)
Pape Clement (6)
Cos D'Estournel (5)
Leoville Barton (5)
Haut Brion (4)
Mouton (4)
Lafite (3)
Smith Haut Lafitte (1)

Non First Growth WOTN (one vote per person):
Palmer (5)
Cos D'Estournel (4)
Leoville Barton (1)
Pape Clement (1)