5th Annual Pilgrimage to Chateau Lanessan (and its 200 year old cellar )
Chateau Lanessan, Bordeaux
Tasted August 17, 2012 - August 19, 2012 by Papies with 733 views
Introduction
What begun as a long weekend and end up an annual "pilgrimage" the beautiful chateau Lanessan and it's remarkable 200 year old wine cellar.This is our fifth year now.
Lanessan is a great place to visit. Open on Sundays, the staff speak english and also they allow you to try and create a blend from the single varieties. For more www.lanessan.com
The Bouteiller family has owned this since the start almost for 150 years and as a family they owned Chateau Palmer ( they now own approx 20%) and Pichon Baron until 1988 when it was sold to AXA.
The family cellar dates to just after the classification of the 1855 and among their own bottles one finds really old gems from Latour 37 to Cos 29 and of course Palmer and Pichon Baron. This year we even noticed a magnum of 1953 Talbot commemorating the 500th year of marechale Talbot.
Flight 1 - Lunch at Le Tertre, St Emilion (1 note)
Nice old school French cuisine with good albeit very expensive wine list. Better for dinner as it is on the heavy side. Ask for the table for 4 in the cellar cave as it makes the experience so much more special. http://restaurant-le-tertre.com/
Open, really long and round on the nose. Very aromatic,herby, floral at points with light cedar notes along with a solid core of fruit. On the palate it feels young,but not austere. Some harsh notes on the finish but overall this is a great wine with a lot of life ahead of it. 93+ for now
Flight 2 - Cheval Blanc Cellar visit (1 note)
Nice visit to this legendary chateau. Good to see the mix of the old buildings connecting to the new modern chai although not sure if the whole new design fits the surroundings. Good but rather cold visit.
Flight 3 - Dinner at Chateau Lanessan (5 notes)
The wine is so much alive, complex with a beautiful bouquet. Fully mature but still vibrant with good presence on the mid palate and a good minute long finish. 93+
The 50s are great years in Lanessan and this great 52 outclassed the 52 Palmer we had side by side. Ironically at that time Lanessan owned Palmer too.
Fully mature yet still elegant and alive. The nose is open with light hints of fruit and earth. On the palate it was still alive and although lacked weight it was very enjoyable. Ironically it was beaten by the beautiful Lanessan 1952.92
Big on the fruit, very 2003, with a good solid core of red and black fruits. On the palate it is rounding well with no harshness and good finish. This wine has a long life ahead of it and for its price ( along with its siblings from 2001 and 2000) a great value buying for classic aged Bordeaux sub £20. 89 from us.
Flight 4 - Gruaud Larosse Cellar visit (2 notes)
A great chateau to visit. Well manicured and managed. The guide was enthusiastic and took us round the vineyards explained the problems with the 2012 vintage and showed us around the estate.
Flight 5 - Lunch at Chateau Lanessan (1 note)
Flight 6 - Dinner at Chateau Lanessan (3 notes)
Very light brownish colour as expected but clear, not cloudy at all. Much like its uncle the 1906 we tried the night before this was far from dead. If nothing else we would say it showed a vitality of a 50 year old wine with good palate presence and good finish. An honour as always to try these centenarian wines. This is superb.
Another great testament to grand-pere Bouteiller's wine making ( we believe this was his last vintage) and although not as good as the 50s Lanessan wines at this stage this was still a great wine to enjoy. The colour, the nose, the palate presence speak of a fully mature yet very much alive wine. Light fruit, good earthy note, classic old school claret and with a good finish to round of a great wine experience. At a small fraction to other 61 medoc wines a well cellar version of this wine will for sure bring lots of satisfied smiles. 92-93 from us. If you have some lucky you.
Closing
Another great visit that combined great friends, great and legendary wines and wonderful memories. A great thank you to our friends Gildine and Guillaume for inviting us again. See you in 2013.
The only let down was realising how troubled the grapes are in 2012. Across the chateaus we visited this was consistent. Problematic flowering and growing season. 2012 looks like it's going to be a tough one. Another "grower" vintage....