1995/1996 Cru Bourgeois offline

Canteen, London
Tasted Friday, July 20, 2007 by king-bing with 943 views

Introduction

Nine of us gathered at our outside table at Canteen. It was undercover so we survived the British summer. Restaurant did us proud with lots of space and some very good food. Quiche especially good. Having an outide table gave us lots of space too. The venue worked well.

Thanks to Neil Holland for suggesting and leading the organisation, inlcuding the excellent tasting note sheets, together with full colour map showing where all the wines came from. Nice touch. Thanks to Alex for organising the venue and the 1996 Clos de Goisses, and to all those who brought beyond the call of duty.

Flight 1 - Margaux (4 Notes)

  • 1995 Château d'Angludet 87 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux

    Mid ruby colour. Gently perfumed nose. Some says carrot too - strange but yes, it's there. Gentle texture, but distinct rustic tannins on the finish. More enjoyable than it sounds.

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  • 1996 Château d'Angludet 88 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux

    More mature colour, a touch deeper colour and a soild rim. Good nose - sweeter, deepr. More fruit on the palate, less tannic - a touch more refined, but also less sense of place than the 1995.

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  • 1995 Château Labégorce-Zédé Flawed

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux

    Mid ruby. Some alcohol on the nose, and eventually some cedar too. Not much fruit, though tannins seem fully resolved. Consensus that this is slightly corked.

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  • 1996 Château Labégorce-Zédé 89 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux

    Deepr richer colour than the 1995. Aain some heat on the nose. Much less developed than the 1996 Light but persitent palate and some meatiness. Good length. Nice wine.

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Flight 2 - Moulis and Avenson (Haut Medoc) (4 Notes)

  • 1995 Château Poujeaux 88 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Moulis en Médoc

    Fading rim. Nice, gentle cigar box nose. Some fruit. Odd, almost sherbetty and rather short finish.

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  • 1996 Château Poujeaux 90 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Moulis en Médoc

    Again the 1996 is deeper, though the nose is a touch closed. Lovely silky palate with fine tannins that really coat the mouth. Lovely balance. Almost WOTN. Real quality here.

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  • 1995 Château Citran 88 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Haut-Médoc

    Mid ruby colour - and lighter than the 1996. A hint of tobacco on the nose. Light gentle palate.

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  • 1996 Château Citran 88 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Haut-Médoc

    Nice distinct expresso and tobacco on the nose. Slightly disappointing palate. Fairly high acidity and crunchy tannins. Finish a bit dilute.

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Flight 3 - Listrac (Haut Medoc) (3 Notes)

Flight 4 - Saint Estephe and northen Medoc (3 Notes)

  • 1995 Château Lilian Ladouys Flawed

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe

    Corked.

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  • 1996 Château Charmail 87 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Haut-Médoc

    Perhaps the youngest looking wine of the night. Lovely deep nose with a hint of richness. Some tobacco and meatiness, even Bovility? Palate stilll pretty tannic and disjointed. Slightly short finish. Will the fruit outlast the tannins?

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  • 1996 Château Bernadotte 85 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Haut-Médoc

    From the pre-Pichon Lalande era. Slightly muted nose, some beefiness. Shows a fair maturity of colour. Still pretty tannic highish acidity. Nice savouriness bit dilute for me.

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Flight 5 - Pauillac (blind) and Saint Julien (3 Notes)

  • 1995 Château Duhart-Milon 86 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

    Tasted blind though knew a cru classe Pauillac. Very mature clour, and fairly light. Classic claretty nose - some pencil. Very drying and acidic palate. Not much fruit and rather thin. Guess 1995. Duhart Milon? Yes. Lucky! Not a great wine, and way behind the subsequent 1996. Biggest gap between two wines of the evening.

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  • 1996 Château Duhart-Milon 90 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

    Much deeper colour and nose than the previous wine [which tuned out to tbe 1995 Duhart]. Slighty horsey, sweaty nose adding a gentle complexity. Slightly drying but much finer tannins. Nice long finish. Showed its class in this company. WOTN for me.

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  • 1995 Château Talbot 88 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien

    Again a touch muted on the nose, but with a minerally quality, with classic clean cedar too. Some blood/iron quality on the palate. Some fruit, but overall strangely underwhelming.

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Flight 6 - Dessert (1 Note)

  • 1996 Château Doisy-Védrines 88 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes

    Lovely rich marmalade nose that really sings from the glass. Palate relatively disappointing with dilution in the mid-palate and shortish finish. Low acidity.

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Closing

Other than the Fourcas Hostens, there was a clear quality gap between the 1995 and 1996 wines. The 1996s showed consistently better. They had more fruit, finer tannins, more depth and better balance than their 1995 siblings. They should age better too. For the 1995s, it will be more of a battle between fruit and tannin as to which will eventually win.

An interesting night all round and good to meeet more forumites.

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