March 26, 2024 - Canon vs. Duffau-Lagarrosse 2009-2020 tasted blind (Fribourg): Dark ruby, Rich and ripe, with licorice and dark fruit. Lots of structure but the tannins are better than in the first flight and the fruit is still fresh. A good notch more extracted than the 2010 Canon next to it.
June 3, 2023 - Some pro reviewers rate this like the RP fabled 1990 and it has all the dense fruit and structure. If I were younger I’d give it another decade or so. As it is, I pulled the cork and decanted at 8:00 AM and double decanted before dinner. Clearly a superior wine and could have decanted more or even with an aerator. Maybe the night before. A little too dense and bold post dinner without food. My own guess is I’d perhaps enjoy undistinguished vintages of this chateau as more representative of the house and terroir and perhaps more quaffable. That’s a tip from the technical director of Cheval Blanc, who recommended holding his own 2010 until 2024 (interestingly, he saw little confidence/foundation in collector/connoisseur drinking windows).
July 1, 2022 - Decanted 30 mins had 2 bottles with friends. Good wine, but inconsistent as one bottle was oxidized and other was not. Fulled bodied and is mature and should be drank within a few years. Smooth drinking, and finish.
September 24, 2020 - Starting to open up. This is very big, delicious ripe fruit and bitter chocolate.
June 29, 2020 - Bordeaux 2010 - 10 Years On - 61 Reds: Bordeaux 2010 after 10 years. 61 reds, mostly big names, tasted blind. Average score 92.1 and lower than the more open and charming 2009 vintage last year (93.4). A few observations: A) It’s not yet the harmonious, complex, classic, clean vintage. Especially the masculine appellations of the left bank need at least 5 more years to just open up, potentially longer to soften. B) Left bank trumps right bank thanks to less detectable alcohol, cleaner lines and the two best wines of the vintage (Mouton, Margaux). C) Pomerol shines bright with many strong wines which can all mask the high alcohol levels (best AOC slightly ahead of Pauillac). D) As in 2009, there are several right banks already past peak, incl. big names (Duffau Lagarosse, Ausone). All in all, 2010 is a very good vintage with pockets of greatness but today 2009 shows more open and hence complex. More information, top and worst 10 list, appellation rankings from five participants in the story link.
TN: When revealed, this was a big disappointment as this bottle showed strong signs of oxidation, soy sauce with little other expression. Disjointed. Could it be a just a bad bottle? Very unlikely. Check out the 10 years on tastings the critics did: Neal Martin/Vinous had two bottles at two tastings, both over the hill. Lisa Perotti Brown/WA had one and it was over the hill too. This vintage of this wine has obviously a serious problem. Weakest group rank beside the corked Larrivet Haut Brion.
Group average: 86.7
Group rank: number 60 out of 61 wines
June 22, 2020 - Grand Bordeaux 2010 ten years on tasting; 6/21/2020-6/22/2020 (Fribourg): Big Bordeaux 2010 2-day horizontal hosted by a private collector. My 3 main takeaways from the vintage were 1) more frequent perception of heat, 2) a slightly stronger left bank and a less consistent right bank, 3) while in general it is still too early to pop the 2010s, wine selection is key as some appear to be in decline already, especially on the right bank. The top wines were Mouton (99), Margaux (98) and VCC (98). The biggest positive surprise was Clos Manou (95). Biggest disappointment was Pape Clement (86). More details and complete tasting overview included in the tasting story.
Tasting note:
Unfortunately going South already with a noticeable beef juice nose, I found, otherwise ripe and rather jammy fruit, overpowering palate with too much of everything. The only positive is that it was not corked.
April 13, 2019 - This Grand cru is still a baby but does it show its potential. The bouquet is heavenly with notes of fresh flowers, sweet currants, tinged of mushroom, leather, a bit of nutmeg so on and on. The body is supple and fleshy with plenty of tannins to last a lifetime. Exceptional wine and if you have it please treasure it in your cellar for at least another 10 years.
March 18, 2019 - The color is still inky, like a barrel sample. And that is just part of the story. The nose knocks you out with its power, complexity, and depth. On the palate, the wine is insanely concentrated. But don't let that fool you. This is no one trick pony! The waves of fruit just keep on coming. They are dark, pure sweet and taste like you took a basket of fresh picked plums and cherries at their perfect level of ripeness and squeezed them over rocks and stone before placing all that gorgeous juice in the bottle. This is a legend in the making that will be talked about for future generations. The texture, weight, density, and quality of the fruit is surreal. There were only 1,100 cases produced, so if this sounds like your style of wine, you should have this in your cellar.
September 16, 2016 - 66x Parker 100-Pointers from Bordeaux 1947-2010 tasted blind (Switzerland): Tasted blind. Dark purple. Nose of dark fruit, plum, cassis, very ripe and Californian without being oxidative like the Pavie next to it. Painfully concentrated palate with lots of alcohol. This feels forced. The whole approach does not work for me. Nothing wrong here technically but just no pleasure to drink this, at least at this stage. I am settling for 94 points tonight on this wine. Group score: 16.38, group rank: 55/64
October 31, 2015 - Blackberries, cassis, cherries, sour cherries, quite dense. Very rich and opulent in the nose but in the palate it is very different, rather elegant with a high acidity. This really feels like a supertuscan right now