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WCC 2003-2005 Red Bordeaux Blind
Yono's Restaurant, Albany, NY
Tasted July 28, 2011 by kenv with 1,343 views
Introduction
Most of my Albany-area group got together to taste 2003 and 2005 red Bordeaux with one 2004 ringer to round out the Graves flight. The food at Yono's was exceptional for the 2nd time in a row! Sadly, I forgot my camera, so no pix this time.
Flight 1 - Flight 1: St. Julien (3 notes)
Red
2005 Château Branaire-Ducru
93 points
Big bruising nose of black fruit. Warm thick tannic. Rich. A beautiful wine. Young with lots of sweet fruit. Should drink well for 10-20 years.
Red
2005 Château Beychevelle
89 points
A little more perfume in the nose. Silky. More ready to drink now. Just a hint of green in the finish keeps it from being excellent.
Red
2003 Château Léoville Poyferré
95 points
Black fruit and licorice. A touch of cedar. Very long and tannic. Great potential. More austere than 1, but with greater depth. Should be terrific in 5-10 years. My #2 WOTN, but I was the only one to vote for it.
Flight 2 - Flight 2: Pauillac (4 notes)
Red
2005 Château Clerc Milon
90 points
Smokey red fruit nose. Much more austere than anything in flight 1. Needs time.
Red
2005 Château Duhart-Milon
87 points
Sweeter in the mouth, but still very tannic. With a bit of a green streak.
Red
2003 Château Pontet-Canet
86 points
Short, sweet red fruit. A bit astringent, but pleasant after the one above. One of 3 wines tied for group #3 WOTN. Go know.
Flight 3 - Flight 3: Pessac-Léognan (3 notes)
Red
2004 Château Pape Clément
93 points
Ripe nose of black fruit. A delicious wine. Refreshing after the last flight. A joy to drink. One of 3 wines tied for group #3 WOTN.
Red
2005 Château Smith Haut Lafitte
94 points
Intense black fruit nose. Thick and rich in the mouth with delicious ripe fruit. Nice sense of harmony. Group #2 WOTN. My #3.
Red
2003 Château Pape Clément
96 points
Dark, delicious, stunning nose. Wow! What a wine! Dense and sweet with oodles of complexity. Very special. Great length. [I am thrilled to see afterwards that I bought a case on futures!] WOTN for me. Also, Group WOTN with 14 points.
Flight 4 - Flight 4: St. Estèphe (4 notes)
Red
2003 Château Lafon-Rochet
92 points
Big smoky red and black fruit nose. Rich and balanced, but quite tannic. Needs some time to show, but I think the potential is there. One of 3 wines tied for group #3 WOTN.
Red
2005 Château Calon-Ségur
94 points
Beautiful black fruit nose. Thick rich black fruit on the palate. Tight, tannic, yet still delicious!
Red
2003 Château Montrose
92 points
Bright red fruit nose. Doesn't smell like any other wine here. Very tasty up front, but a short tannic finish. Not in a good place now.
Red
2005 Château Cos d'Estournel
94 points
Long delicious complex. A little impenetrable right now both because it is so young and it is wine #14 tonight. These are all big wines. Still, this one has great potential. Pretty shut down. Not a single vote for WOTN.
Flight 5 - Dessert (1 note)
White - Sweet/Dessert
2005 Château Doisy-Daëne
92 points
Light yellow color. Loads of botrytis. Obviously Sauternes. A little harsh in the finish. Nice, but it's hard to drink a wine this sweet after 14 reds.
Closing
Plenty of good wines here, but hard to judge. Many showed better on release. I think 6-8 years after the vintage is an awkward time.