Union des Grands Crus (UGC) San Francisco 2010 Bordeaux Tasting
Palace Hotel, San Francisco
Tasted January 18, 2013 by europat55 with 807 views
Introduction
This is a pre-arrival Bordeaux tasting event where more than 100 wines from the 2010 vintage are being poured in a 2 hour event. I knew that I wouldn't be able to taste more than half of the wines so I tried spread my focus across as many appellations as possible, but there is so much that can be done in 2 hours in a very crowded place. I did manage to get a good scope of the reds from Saint-Julien, Pauillac and Margaux, but sadly, I couldn't cover much of the Saint-Emilion. Thankfully, I was able to sample most of the Sauternes, but I did not get a chance to taste any of the Graves whites... I find it very difficult to accurately rate wines is such an environment so I limited my notes to overall appreciations of the nose and palate profiles, except for the Sauternes where I took the time to provide ratings as most of them were quite evolved already, by contrast to the reds which were still very young, tannic and difficult to judge at this point.
I was extremely impressed by the nose from all the Saint-Julien wines that I tasted with the Léoville Poyferré, Gloria, Gruaud Larose, Beychevelle & Saint-Pierre standing out. The Pichon Lalande and La Conseillante also caught my attention, but these are quite expensive compared to other 2010 options. The Malescot St. Exupéry was also outstanding. I was quite impressed by some of the Suduiraut and Climens Sauternes which were delicious now and likely phenomenal in 10+ years.
In terms a QPR, I think the Poujeaux and Beaumont definitely deserve some attention.
Overall, I'm really glad that I had a chance to attend this tasting event as the 2010 Bordeaux vintage as it is likely going to be a phenomenal vintage and one to remember... in 20+ years when these wines start to mature! A clear difference with the 2009 vintage where many of the wines can be enjoyed much younger while likely being able to last as long.
Flight 1 - St. Estèphe (2 notes)
Flight 2 - St. Julien (9 notes)
Flight 3 - Pauillac (7 notes)
Flight 4 - Margaux (5 notes)
Flight 5 - St. Émilion (2 notes)
Flight 6 - Pomerol (1 note)
Flight 7 - Graves (3 notes)
Flight 8 - Other Medoc (3 notes)
Flight 9 - Sauternes (7 notes)
Closing
