2022 TerClim Conference, Bordeaux
Bordeaux, France
Tasted July 4, 2022 - July 8, 2022 by penguinoid with 114 views
Introduction
The 14th International Terroir congress and the 2nd ClimWine symposium were held in conjunction this year in Bordeaux. These are notes on some (but not all) of the wines I tried while I was at the conference. I mostly didn't make notes on the wines served with lunch since there wasn't much chance to stop and make notes.
Flight 1 - Field trip to St Émilion (8 notes)
We visited a couple of chateaux in St Émilion, saw their vineyards and looked at some soil pits, then tried some wines. Notes are also included for the wines tried at dinner that night.
Red
2014 Château de la Greniere
France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Lussac-St. Émilion
Black plum, mulberry. Rosehip. Leafy, tomato leaf. Strawberry - especially on nose. Fresh acid. Chalky drying tannins. Cedar, sweet spice.
Red
2018 Château Vieux Bonneau
France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Montagne-St. Émilion
Plum jam. Cassis. Black plum. Cedar. Tomato leaf. Moderate fresh acid. Mild tannins - smooth. Quite smooth and ripe.
Red
2016 Château Corbin Montagne-St. Émilion
France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Montagne-St. Émilion
Blackcurrant jam, cassis, black plum. Sweet on nose. Tobacco, tomato leaf. Fresh acid. Moderate, slightly drying tannins.
Red
2018 Château Guibeau Noé
France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Puisseguin-St. Émilion
Black plum, mulberry. Black cherry. Tomato leaf, tobacco leaf. Cedar. Fresh acid, fine drying tannins.
Red
2015 Château Tour Bayard
France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Montagne-St. Émilion
Touch of brick red to the colour. Quite advanced on the nose. Strawberry jam, raspberry. Plum jam, cassis. Rosehip. Oak, sweet spice. Still slightly reductive? Earthy, sous bois. Drying firm tannins. Fresh acid. Improves with air.
Red
2016 La Mauriane
France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Puisseguin-St. Émilion
Cassis, blackberry. Black plum. Cedar, sweet spice. Tobacco on the nose. Tomato leaf. Firm drying tannins. Fresh acid.
Red
2017 Château La Rose Perrière
France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Lussac-St. Émilion
Vanilla, creme brûlée. Blueberry, cassis, black plum? Cedar. Cream on nose. Fresh acid, moderate drying tannins.
Red
2016 Reclos de la Couronne
France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Montagne-St. Émilion
Vanilla, blueberry, blackberry, cassis. Touch of cedar. Tomato leaf. Fresh acid. Moderate drying tannins.
Flight 2 - Visit to La Tour Carnet (3 notes)
My first visit to the Médoc. An absolutely beautiful estate, complete with albino peacocks. They're trialling some alternative varieties, which may prove useful as the climate in Bordeaux warms up.
White - Sweet/Dessert
2010 Château Clos Haut-Peyraguey
France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes
Rich, sweet. Apricot, orange marmalade. Touch of honey, barleysugar. Quite young. Balanced by good fresh acidity. Unctuous. Lovely medium gold colour.
Actually paired well with charcuterie!
White
2019 Château La Tour Carnet Blanc
France, Bordeaux
Lemon, lemon peel. Lime. Lemongrass. Tonic water? Touch of bitterness. Oak not obvious. Fresh acid. Lithe, fresh. 50/50 Sauvignon blanc/Semillon blend.
Red
2011 Château La Tour Carnet
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Haut-Médoc
From magnum. Red and black plum. Strawberry jam on nose. Cranberry, pomegranate, rosehip. Tomato leaf? Cedar. Fresh acid. Smooth, fine grained, slightly drying tannins. 60% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Sauvignon, remainder Cabernet Franc & Petit Verdot.
Flight 3 - Gala dinner (11 notes)
The gala dinner. We visited some estates in Sauternes (my group visited La Tour Blanche, but some lucky people visited Yquem), tried some wines, and looked at soil pits. Afterwards we tried some Sauternes before dinner with appetisers (and I managed to make notes, somehow, despite there being no tables to put my glass on while writing) then had dinner with several magnificent wines -- not least my first taste of Yquem!
White - Sweet/Dessert
2012 Château La Tour Blanche Sauternes
France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes
Medium gold. Honey, orange marmalade, stewed quince, preserved cumquat. Vanilla, French oak. White flowers and lemon peel on nose. Rich, broad, unctuous, very full and very sweet but balanced by good fresh acidity. 13,5% alcohol, 135g/L sugar, 3,9g/L acid as sulfuric acid.
White - Sweet/Dessert
2007 Château Tuyttens
France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes
Medium gold. Honey, lemon peel, lemon marmalade, quince, cumquat marmalade. Dried apricot. Vanilla. Fresh acid. Unctuous, sweet. A touch fresher than the Latour Blanche.
White - Sweet/Dessert
2001 Château Guiraud
France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes
Honey, barleysugar, orange marmalade. Cumquat. Touch of aged character. Pour was too small. (I guess this means I really liked it, trying to decipher my written notes some months later!)
White
2019 Château Carbonnieux Blanc
France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan
Medium lemon green. Lemon, lemon peel. Passionfruit. Lemongrass. Underripe nectarine. Tonic water, touch of bitterness. Fresh acidity. Lively.
Red
2011 Château du Tertre
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux
Intense ruby. Cassis, red and black plum, Davidsons plum. Mulberry. Strawberry jam on nose. Earthy, forest floor. Cedar. Sweet spice. Oak quite prominent. Balsamic vinegar, fresh acid. Structured, fine tannins. Medium bodied.
Red
2006 Amiral de Beychevelle
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien
Intense ruby. Red and black plum. Cassis, Davidsons plum, pomegranate. Cedar, touch of sweet spice, caramel. Touch of earth. Fresh acid, fine smooth tannins, medium bodied.
Red
2016 Château Clarke
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Listrac-Médoc
Notes from magnum. Intense ruby. Black plum jam. Mulberry, cassis. Blueberry, blackberry. Charred oak, sweet spice. Smooth fine tannins, fresh acid, medium bodied.
Red
2014 Château Lagrange (St. Julien)
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien
Intense ruby. Black plum, cassis, pomegranate, davidsons plum. Blueberry. Touch of cedar, slightly charred, smoky. Earthy. Very fresh acid, fine grained tannins, drying, structural. Medium bodied.
White - Sweet/Dessert
2005 Château d'Yquem
France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes
Medium(+) gold. Cumquat marmalade, orange marmalade. Dried apricot. Candied orange and lemon peel. Candied pineapple. Vanilla, touch of French oak. Elegant. Moderately rich, sweet, but perfectly balanced by fresh acidity. Really long on palate. Outstanding!
From a warm dry drought year - not an opulent year but elegant and refined.
Flight 4 - Last day of the conference (1 note)
We tried some very nice wines, including two excellent Spanish grenache. I can't remember why this was the only wine I made notes on...
Red
2014 Château Gombaude-Guillot
France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol
Medium ruby. Red and black plum. Pomegranate. Tamarillo? Blackcurrant. Cedar, sweet spice. Touch of earth. Medium bodied, elegant. Fresh acid, fine grained tannins.
Closing
This was a great conference, and the food and wine were amazing. Events like this remind me how lucky I am to be studying wine science!
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