5/2/2024 - englishman's claret wrote:

The 2008 Lafon Rochet is a serious, slightly ungiving wine, uncoiling slowly - perhaps reluctantly! The nose of red hard candies, red licorice, and charcoal grows on me. This still bracingly tannic in the mouth, really demanding at least another 5 years before you might consider drinking it with food.

5/2/2024 - englishman's claret wrote:

The 01 Drouhin Musigny surprises with its youth - I think it will get there (and it’s pretty fabulous today) but its best days are ahead.

5/2/2024 - englishman's claret wrote:

A totally enchanting, captivating ‘93 Roumier Bonnes Mares, black and red cherry, damp earth, rose, game, a little spice just expanding endlessly with a fullish, supple texture that is so evocative.

4/30/2024 - englishman's claret wrote:

Bottled 5/2014 (presumably 2013 base), disgorged 6/2017
Lime blossom, lemon curd, oyster, yuzu - immeasurably better after open for 2 hours.
Zesty and fresh but still with generosity, fattening up gorgeously. 94-95

4/28/2024 - englishman's claret wrote:

Oxidized, v&m

4/27/2024 - englishman's claret wrote:

The 1966 Branaire is a pleasure from the moment it's opened, full of redcurrant, cranberry, star anise, and tea. Delicate, expansive, and billowy, this offers the immediate pleasure of old claret just waiting to be drunk. It's still got that '66 grippy tannin, but this is best enjoyed now with food.

4/27/2024 - englishman's claret wrote:

Cos Labory shows some kinship with its neighbor Cos d'Estournel in the 2010 vintage with a large-scaled cassis, blueberry compote, lavender, pencilly, squid ink profile - bold on the nose and broad on the palate if not profound in its depth or finish. Drinking well now and set to evolve well, this really does offer very nice St. Estèphe character.

4/26/2024 - englishman's claret wrote:

The 2009 Lafon Rochet shows a stocky, broad, fleshy character for the first few hours in the decanter, trading on power and ripeness rather than nuance. Blackberry, cherry, plum, and wet clay fill the nose, but there’s a little bit of perfectly ripe mixed berry character on the palate that does nothing but build and develop when revisited 12 hours later. An initial whiff of Brett seems to blow off and a slightly prominent alcohol at the outset seems to integrate, boding well for the future. Even if this will never be a profound wine, holding it another 5 years will likely repay the patient owner handsomely.

4/22/2024 - englishman's claret wrote:

The 2001 Calon Ségur has a serious disposition, austere rather than generous but appealing nonetheless with a nose full of red cherry, redcurrant, juniper, warm cedar, and Iberian ham. Rather austere in the mouth, the fruit reluctant but the tannin present front and center! Lithe and well-proportioned, this offers plenty of pleasure in its slightly introverted way.

4/21/2024 - englishman's claret wrote:

Alas, oxidized!

4/21/2024 - englishman's claret wrote:

Good, but a bit of a let-down, withholding the glorious floral aroma I remember from the last bottle.

4/15/2024 - englishman's claret wrote:

Like being in the garden in the morning: rose, lavender, blueberry, raspberry, terracotta, cool dark earth, a hint of sea breeze. This very much makes the best of 2015 with perfect ripeness but not a hair out of place, powdery and aromatic. If drunk with something to match the tannin, this is perfect now in the charming flushes of its youth but its depth, balance, and persistence suggest a long, lovely future ahead. I’m tempted to raise the question of whether it’s the best St Pierre ever made but really, this is the beginning of an era - not the apogee of the estate’s potential.

4/13/2024 - englishman's claret wrote:

This is my third encounter with the 2020 Léoville Poyferré, this time at home with plenty of time to chart its course - and thank goodness for that. This has certainly become much easier to taste than it was just over a year ago, the nose more expressive a big, naturally ripe boysenberry, cassis, and lilac nose, managing to stay just shy of over-ripeness. The tannin, which previously seemed a bit grating, seems to match the large-scale body now and the ripe coolness of the 2020 vintage comes through. A long, blue and black fruit finish bodes well for the future. 64% Cabernet Sauvignon, 31% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc, 2% Petit Verdot brought in between Sept 14-30.

This is a wine that really seemed the odd man out among the St. Juliens at the UGC in early 2023 and which benefitted from an unhurried evaluation, checking in over the course of 24 hours. I think there's little doubt that the Rolland influence shone through in 2020 in a way that it didn't so much from 2016-2019, say, and one wonders if it might have achieved a little more elegance with a little gentler extraction. Yet it's OK to be different, too, and with the benefit of watching this unfold over time (closing down hard after an hour of air, shining at hour 12, fading at hour 24) it's easier for me to be optimistic about this developing into an excellent wine, even if it marches a bit to the beat of its own drum among the St. Julien grands crus classes.

Drinking from 2040 on. 94-96 point potential.

4/12/2024 - englishman's claret wrote:

Lafon Rochet certainly shows the vintage character with a nose of cooked and dried fruits: prune, cooked fig, and kirsch. Paradoxically the palate offers fresher fruit at times - still sweet but not stewed - and accented by a little floral appeal and soy sauce. Despite its 21 years, the palate remains grippingly tannic. Happily the 14% ABV (as labeled) doesn't seem particularly conspicuous. Striking Lapsang souchong, beef blood finish. This bottle, in excellent condition, requires some time for the fruit to awaken on the palate and shows its best with 30 minutes - 2 hours of time in the decanter. This has its merits, but the nose is marked enough by the vintage that I find it hard to love. I could imagine that more vivacity earlier in life could have imparted a better impression than tonight's bottle.

4/10/2024 - englishman's claret wrote:

The 2017 Cos d'Estournel is really pleasing right out of the bottle with a classic profile for the estate. With notes of black cherry, plum, clay, incense, sea salt, and pencil weaving in and out, this promises to be enjoyable in another 10 years or so. Displaying a medium body and relatively well balanced alcohol (it's labeled at 13%), this is fundamentally shaping up to be another very good 2017 and another very good Cos d'Estournel that in some way harkens back to the vintages of the 1980s in profile and weight. While this never really seems to show profound presence on the palate or finish, this should be a pleasure to follow given its balance and aromatic profile. The assemblage this year is 66% Cabernet Sauvignon, 32% Merlot, 1% Cabernet Franc, 1% Petit Verdot.

4/8/2024 - englishman's claret wrote:

The 1985 Talbot is softly fading, the full, fleshy ripe fruit which was so front and center a decade ago now blending into the more delicate redcurrant jelly notes that often characterize Talbot with age. Cedar, unsmoked cigar, and a touch of capsicum round out the nose, a hint of Brett present but not obscuring. This is an enjoyable drink now and I don’t find the stuffing of the really great vintages at Talbot that suggest this will live a very long life. But it’s been a fun ride and it’s not over yet. Neck fill, perfect cork.

4/7/2024 - englishman's claret wrote:

The 2019 Saint Pierre offers a big, fresh, full nose, supple and expressive, bursting with boysenberry and black cherry. Remaining just shy of over-ripeness, its fruit is complemented by incense, cedar, and an inky black caviar marine element. This is broad-shouldered and generous enough that it balances the alcohol well (labeled at 14%) and the depth of clean, fresh black fruit in the mouth grows and grows with air. As with many other 2019s, the preservation of acidity keeps this fresh despite its size. This is a very serious St. Pierre, representing the gradual iteration in the wine here. If I felt that vintages of the 1980s-early 2000s were a little under-developed and diffuse, the vintages from mid 2000s-mid 2010s seemed a little too ambitious and heavy-handed. Yet from the mid-2010s onward, St. Pierre has seemed to strike just the right balance.

93-94 points

4/6/2024 - englishman's claret wrote:

2019 has shown us a relatively forward, generous expression of Léoville Las Cases with a fresh, generously-fruited nose of raspberry jelly, blueberry, and kirsch, moving from the red toward the black end of the spectrum with more time in the decanter. The pencilly palate is enjoyable but somewhat atypical for Las Cases with already-supple tannin cloaking a full body and slightly conspicuous alcohol. This is the second vintage in a row over 14% (the 2018 coming in at 14.42%) and while it's not too overbearing in either case, neither quite navigates the heat of the vintage quite as deftly as the 2009 (13.8%). This is made with 79% Cabernet Sauvignon, 11% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc harvested between September 18 and October 8. 14.02% ABV, pH 3.67, IPT 80.

Time will tell, but I suspect this will land in the 94-95 point range depending on how well balanced it is when it's through its adolescence.

4/5/2024 - englishman's claret wrote:

Lovely now, Meyer lemon, poached pear, a little custard. Fullish and rich, but showing enough zip to reflect the vintage - but not succumb to it.

4/5/2024 - englishman's claret wrote:

Enjoyable, deeply-pitched blueberry and blackberry, still lavishly fruited but tempered by cedar and bay leaf. More tannic than you might imagine after the nose. Showing very well.

4/5/2024 - englishman's claret wrote:

Tasted blind after some 1970s Napa, this showed clearly from a different era - actually hot on the palate, with a cooked blackberry, black cherry, licorice, sweetish profile. Not quite what I'd hope and a distinct step down from the Howell Mountain. 50% HM, 50% Oakville.

4/5/2024 - englishman's claret wrote:

Almost 2 years to the day since I last had the pleasure of tasting this, the '74 Sterling Reserve shows similarly. Potent, serious, dusty black cherry, a little bit of bay leaf, mint, sage, black earth, coffee, cocoa powder. Serious, brooding, deep. Still whoppingly tannic!

4/5/2024 - englishman's claret wrote:

Oxidized, alas. Others had nice things to say, but I couldn't get past it.

4/5/2024 - englishman's claret wrote:

With a pleasant candied red cherry character, old leather, and warm earth notes this was a pleasant if slightly spirity and uninspirational 63.

4/4/2024 - englishman's claret wrote:

Pleasant but light and nondescript.

4/3/2024 - englishman's claret wrote:

The 2008 Cos d'Estournel isn't exactly in a welcoming place at the moment, requiring 3 hours to really start coming out of its shell. Boysenberry and black plum dominate the nose with subtle lavender potpourri and sea salt elements - appealing enough in its constituent parts, though it hasn't quite eaten its oak and comes across as a tad heavy-handed. Though there's plenty of body, the palate remains a little stern and the alcohol intermittently pokes through; this is a wine that wants to stay in the cellar a bit longer. 12 hours really does help the cohesion of the palate and the depth of flavor is impressive. There's potential for the future, even though it's clear this isn't one of the great vintages for Cos.

3/30/2024 - englishman's claret wrote:

The 1947 Suduiraut shows a delightfully aromatic, generous nose, brimming with burnt orange rind and rich nougatine, trading on its balance of fresh citrus and the deep baritone notes of age rather than amazing complexity. Yet it’s undoubtedly a deeply satisfying drink, offering a character that many decades in bottle can provide. As usual, half the joy with Sauternes and Barsac is the juxtapositions they provide - sweet and acidic, freshness and age. One of life’s great drinks.

3/30/2024 - englishman's claret wrote:

It’s a real pleasure to revisit the 1996 Cos d’Estournel. I’m sure I’ve tasted it in the interim, but my last note on this was in 2012. Over the past 12 years, this has retained almost every element of the character I last found, full of plum and blueberry compote, clay, lavender, cedar, cigar, espresso, and intense pencil. The palate is slightly less generously fruited, showing more beef blood and cumin. This takes half an hour to get going and then after an hour of pleasure Brettanomyces starts to dominate. Yet it’s still a wine relatively early in its evolution, mellowing, losing (a little) heft and cultivating some finesse, underlining the reassuringly slow glide of great claret across time.

3/30/2024 - englishman's claret wrote:

Subdued nose (double decanted about 5 hours beforehand) but my, what panache on the palate. Succulent fruit, powdery textures, full of gorgeous potpourri, blueberry, raspberry, and ganache. Wonderfully layered and expanding endlessly, weightless yet full of impact. Really fine.

3/30/2024 - englishman's claret wrote:

Again en magnum; I'm just as enthusiastic as I was in 2019, though the profile has shifted somewhat in favor of showing off the Merlot elements much more prominently. Wonderful energy, naturally ripe boysenberry and plum, ganache, a hint of truffle - brimming with life, full of energy. Fine, natural sweetness in the mouth and a lingering finish.

3/30/2024 - englishman's claret wrote:

Showing nicely from magnum, this example has lots of mineral to balance its rich, black fruit and slightly truffley personality. Drinking well now with a long life ahead.

3/26/2024 - englishman's claret wrote:

Strong performance - Meyer lemon, lime, oyster. Fullish nose nice weight and zip in the mouth. Really enjoyable, classic Chablis!

3/23/2024 - englishman's claret wrote:

One of the fun things about wine is the layers of enjoyment it can provide. The 1985 Pichon Baron is a good but not profound drink, Brettanonyces obscuring some relevant details and slightly underripe but pleasant black fruit mingling with charcoal embers and black olive. But perhaps the most gratifying aspect of drinking this wine is seeing the end of an era at Pichon Baron (or close to the end of an era, anyway). 1985 was the first vintage made by technical director Jean-René Matignon who, joined by Jean-Michel Cazes just a few years later, crafted Pichon Baron in its modern form (evidenced by the wines from 1989 to present). These two men revitalized the estate after a period in the doldrums and the chateau hasn’t put a foot wrong since, their work ably carried on by the next generation.

3/23/2024 - englishman's claret wrote:

Served blind, I admittedly thought it was Bordeaux - though Cabernet-based and 1980s were obvious. Black fruited at its debut, transitioning to red fruit, inflected with loam, Brettanomyes, and black olive. The Brett slightly overwhelmed at the start, though it became less dominant with time.

3/21/2024 - englishman's claret wrote:

I adore Burgundy, but it can be so annoying. You know how great it can be and then - from a hot producer in a good vintage and a good terroir you get something like this. It’s good, maybe great on the nose initially - but despite the promising rose, red fruit, and red spice elements, it seems to devolve into a dense package that is neither particularly articulate nor particularly long, neither satisfying nor promising, seeming to become less agreeable with more air rather than launching to the next level.

3/21/2024 - englishman's claret wrote:

I’m sure this note will provoke a blind tasting in about 20 years time (and I hope it does). Today this shows the vintage more than Drouhin or Musigny, ripe red and black cherry, polished and suave, but not profound. Rather humbler than it should be, in fact very irritatingly so.

3/21/2024 - englishman's claret wrote:

Whatever the reason, good but not inspiring - deep red cherry, a little spice, a hint of game. Just not popping. Maybe a victim of its own success, in need of more years to blossom, but the finish didn’t really convince either. I actually preferred the amoureuses.

3/21/2024 - englishman's claret wrote:

An excellent showing, sapid red cherry, mineral, smoke. Fullish yet with delicacy befitting its station.

3/21/2024 - englishman's claret wrote:

I’ve loved this in the past (twice) but tonight, for whatever reason, it seems a bit butch and simple. Plain, introverted, unwelcoming.

3/21/2024 - englishman's claret wrote:

Again satisfying yet unspectacular, cherry, star anise, mineral, the first drag of a Pall Mall. Satisfying, appealingly delicate, yet not really compelling.

3/21/2024 - englishman's claret wrote:

Defying age - lemon, straw, mineral, only the merest hint of nuttiness to suggest its age. Really vital and fresh, this almost seems like it hasn’t hit its stride yet.

3/21/2024 - englishman's claret wrote:

Terrific, building and expanding over an hour and then remaining at that level, full of Meyer lemon and mirabelle. You wonder about a little botrytis here but in a way that doesn’t detract but seems to enhance the opulence and resonance of the wine. Beautiful viscosity and finish.

3/21/2024 - englishman's claret wrote:

Delicate, wispy fruit, red cherry, raspberry, cinnamon, game, fragrant. Lovely now. Not profound but satisfying, scratching the itch. No 2004 problems.

3/20/2024 - englishman's claret wrote:

The nose is attenuated on the first day but comes into full form after 48 hours of air. Fragrant, filled with creme caramel, toffee, apricot, burnt orange rind, and butterscotch. This is amazingly viscous but the alcohol and acid effortlessly keep the wine fresh. The aromas linger in the mouth in the most extraordinary way, offering candied chestnut and smoke.

3/20/2024 - englishman's claret wrote:

A momentous wine, vying with the 1945 as my favorite Beychevelle vintage. Glorious in every way, the 1929 rockets from the glass with a wild strawberry nose, full of star anise, rose, sandalwood, and Darjeeling. Delicately fragrant yet voluminous, enveloping, and naturally sweet, this has everything that you hope properly mature Bordeaux can deliver. The '29 style is simply so enchanting, so full of appeal - a vintage for the heart as much as the head, in possession of just about everything you could ask for from old claret.

Recorked at the chateau in 1974.

3/20/2024 - englishman's claret wrote:

How decadently arresting the 1929 Gruaud Larose is, bursting with succulent wild raspberry, macadamia, old leather, cedar, toffee, and sweet tea. This still boasts healthy tannin, but it's so easy, fragrant, and full. For me, the '29 style is utterly irresistible, ravishing yet classic at the same moment. A great Gruaud Larose. Unlike the '28, there's some rush to drink these now. Mid shoulder fill. I equivocated between 96 and 97 points; while maybe there could have been a little more definition, I found it so enchanting and really couldn't stop thinking about it.

3/20/2024 - englishman's claret wrote:

Defying age, the 1928 Beychevelle still shows a densely-fruited blackberry nose. The aromatic profile is undoubtedly complex, with loamy, mulchy, nutty, black coffee, and nori notes complementing the fruit. It shouldn't be surprising knowing the vintage, but this is still so tannic! Like other 1928s, this is in no danger of fading imminently. It's funny to think now of those who complain that the 1986s will never come around - many said the same thing of the '28s when they were as old as the '86s are now. The virtues of patience!

3/17/2024 - englishman's claret wrote:

Tasted semi-blind, the 2009 Beychevelle shows gloriously. Plumpish and plush on the nose, offering plum and clay, purple flower and saltwater. Impressively fragrant, floral volume in the mouth, retaining its equilibrium for all of its impact. Clean, unlike the last example, finishing well.

Harvested Sept 21-Oct 12 at 45hl/ha, 46% Cabernet Sauvignon, 44% Merlot, 6% Cabernet Franc, 4% Petit Verdot.

94-95

3/17/2024 - englishman's claret wrote:

The 2009 Léoville Barton offers a pretty, wild strawberry nose, full of cedar pencil. Layer on layer of naturally sweet mixed berry fruit evolve in the mouth, complemented by sea air and potpourri (elements which the three Léovilles share). There are sometimes Brett problems with this wine and this example is unfortunately affected by this, growing increasingly conspicuous with time. But clean examples are fabulous.

3/17/2024 - englishman's claret wrote:

A supple, fragrant, amply-fruited nose introduces the 2010 Beychevelle, a wine full of boysenberry, plum, clay, and a hint of potpourri. The subtly smoky and toasty notes suggest the oak needs a few more years to integrate and there's a whiff of Brettanomyces grows increasingly conspicuous with time, but there's no doubt that this is a lovely wine. Clean examples should develop well, reaching a good place by age 20 as suggested by the pace of aromatic evolution and the appealing grippiness of the tannin.

54% Cabernet Sauvignon, 38% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc, 3% Petit Verdot harvested at 45.5 hl/ha between Sept 27 and Oct 13.