Haut Medoc Birthday lunch

Last celebration for my birthday. Mats and his son came over from Sweden as well (not just for this but to tour around and see the countryside) which was rather nice. This time a little change of format with 5 brackets of wines focusing on the Haut Medoc looking at horizontal and vertical brackets. Basically I got to run a little education session which was fun for me.

The idea of this bracket was to see the evolution of a Haut Medoc (from mostly critically acclaimed vintages) over a considerable length of time. Served with Burrata (50g Burrata cheese / zucchini escapece / mint / toasted pine nuts / aged balsamic from Modena)

• 1998 Château Lanessan

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Haut-Médoc

  Cherry, a little Kirsch, pretty, sweet spice, a little leather. Juicy, a little volatility; quite sharp in fact, muted cherry. Slightly chalky with medium minus intensity tannins. Hmm.

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• 2000 Château Lanessan

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Haut-Médoc

  Bit funky, dirty, leathery, earthy, farmyard, a little black hued fruit. Juicy, blackcurrant, plums, a little alcohol heat. Front of mouth grip and a little burr on the mid palate. Hmm.

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• 2005 Château Lanessan

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Haut-Médoc

  Blackcurrant, leather, a little vanilla, sweet spice, plums, earthy, earthy. Juicy, fleshy, black hued fruit, tight, drying tannins, a little alcohol warmth and spice. In a good spot.

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• 2009 Château Lanessan

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Haut-Médoc

  Plums, sweet spice, blackcurrant, vanilla, caramel, very primary still. Juicy, very spicy, alcohol heat, drying but integrated tannins. Quite plummy on the palate as well. Hmm

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• 2010 Château Lanessan

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Haut-Médoc

  Quite muted initially but with vigorous agitation it shows meaty black currant and sweet spice. Juicy, still has plenty of tight tannins, blackcurrant, plums, long, spiced. Superb.

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• 2015 Château Lanessan

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Haut-Médoc

  Jubey blackcurrant jam, plus, berries, muted sweet spice. Juicy, jubey, tightly silky tannins, black fruits, long, good but young.

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For this one I wanted to show my mates how vintage variation impacts in a marginal climate so it was a far more compressed timeline for the vintages. Served with Beef Tartare (black Angus Beef fillet Tartare / parmesan crust / Italian black truffle)

• 2009 Château Sénéjac

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Haut-Médoc

  Blackcurrant, cassis, black cherry, sweet spice. Juicy, blackcurrant, cassis, a little cream, cedar, tight but integrated tannins, generous, yum.

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• 2010 Château Sénéjac

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Haut-Médoc

  Muted, slightly savoury, blackcurrant, black cherry, earthy, slightly leathery, slight pyrazine. Dense, savoury, very juicy but closed with slight spice, plenty of tight, drying tannins. Loads of time for me.

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• 2012 Château Sénéjac

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Haut-Médoc

  Biscuit, toast, blackcurrant, plum, sweet spice. Juicy, toasty, coffee, muted black fruits, tight, drying talc textured tannins. Long.

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• 2013 Château Sénéjac

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Haut-Médoc

  Wet…with agitation it's quite delicate and almost ethereal compared to the previous three wines in the bracket. With time it shows some slightly jubey blackcurrant and cherry. It's wet on the palate as well, the fruit a little unripe, the tannins a little coarse, but this is pleasant enough considering the vintage.

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• 2014 Château Sénéjac

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Haut-Médoc

  Slightly muted and closed. With agitation plenty oak, savoury, slightly meaty black hued fruit with a slight jubey note. In the mouth it's juicy, fleshy, black fruits, silky tannins, and a little savoury underpin. Nice.

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• 2015 Château Sénéjac

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Haut-Médoc

  Young, closed, a little plan chocolate, juicy black currant, pretty almost confected fruit. Young and a little disjoined on the palate. Savour, tannins are drying, perhaps a little too young for me. Time and plenty of it.

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the first blind bracket was to see if everyone could pick the Australian of the Bordeaux. Rather impressively everyone nailed it. Served with Tagliatelle (wild boar ragu / porcini mushrooms / montasio cheese / chestnuts / crispy herbs)

• 1996 Bowen Estate Cabernet Sauvignon

  Australia, South Australia, Limestone Coast, Coonawarra

  Pyrazine, unripe blackcurrant, leather, sweet spice, tomato. Juicy, with flavours of unripe black currant, tomato, tomato leaf, quite green and sharp with grippy tannins and a little alcohol warmth. Meh

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• 1996 Château La Lagune

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Haut-Médoc

  Blackberry, blackcurrant, perfumed spice, a little liquorice and earthy wetness, a little tomato leaf. Juicy on the palate with black fruits, sweet spice, plenty of front of mouth grip, rather pleasant.

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• 1996 Château Haut-Marbuzet

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe

  Wet, black over red currant, sweet spice, slightly gamey. A little damp cellar on the palate and a little volatility, juicy, tight, slightly gritty tannins…these 'negative' attributes do not detract from an overarching freshness and balance. Good.

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• 1996 Lindeman's Cabernet Sauvignon St. George

  Australia, South Australia, Limestone Coast, Coonawarra

  Polished oak; caramel, vanilla, blackberry and currant fruit. Earthy leathery, sweet spice. Thick, dense and a little alcohol n the palate, plenty of oak juicy, similarly focussed fruit. Nice.

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• 1996 Château Patache d'Aux Médoc

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc

  Coffee, biscuit, blackcurrant, earthy spice, leather,. Juicy to the point of sourness more red currant with lashings of tannins that are chalky and drying. Hmm.

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• 1996 Tahbilk Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve Flawed

  Australia, Victoria, Central Victoria, Nagambie Lakes

  Corked over blackcurrant and leather. Bah. FLAW.

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Second blind bracket - this time it was to pit the Haut Medoc against classed growth wines. I tried to pick wines that were close to the classed growth villages in question and threw in the Sociando Mallet as a curve ball. Pity the Cos Labory was corked. This was far more divided with both the Cissac and Citran showing well though, as they say, class will out. Served with Slow Roasted Lamb Shoulder (Sweet potato puree / balsamic baby onions / demi glace sauce /crispy sage)

• 2000 Château Rauzan-Gassies

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux

  Leather, blackcurrant, earthy, plumy, spicy, a little biscuit and spice. Juicy, savoury, graphite, black fruits, a little volatile acidity. Tannins near resolved. Medium plus length. Nice.

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• 2000 Château Citran

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Haut-Médoc

  Medium minus intensity aromas of blackberry, earthy, leathery, muted nose…juicy - the acid is fresh and rather lovely - muted black fruit, long, slightly grippy, burr edged tannins, slight alcohol warmth. Long. Nice.

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• 2000 Château Cissac

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Haut-Médoc

  Blackcurrant, leather, cassis, sweet spice a little wet smelling. Juicy, a little toast on the palate, dense, drying, grippy, chalky textured tannins. Good.

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• 2000 Château Lynch-Bages

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

  Blackcurrant, cassis, sweet spice but a little funky, farmyard underpin then cream and vanilla. Juicy, tight tannins, lovely, silky but drying tannins, fruit is arguably little muted but this is balanced. Yum.

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• 2000 Château Cos Labory Flawed

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe

  slightly corked. Leather, earthy, muted, slightly sharp, black fruits. Massive tannins, cherry, crushed rock, black fruits more brambles than blackcurrant. Pity about that taint which grows in the glass, sucking the enjoyment from what could have been a lovely wine, I'm sure. FLAW.

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• 2000 Château Sociando-Mallet

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Haut-Médoc

  Pyrazine, blackcurrant, crushed rock, spice, earthy, leathery. Juicy, savoury, grippy, leathery tannins, wetly fresh. Black hued fruit tends to the green but not too bad. Kind of lovely in a traditional claret kind of way. For me it's not really reflective of what I expect from the vintage though.

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Last bracket was just to look at a group of 2009 Haut Medoc (with a single ring in) to see how the Bordelais wine makers handled a more 'new world' vintage. Served with 12h slow cooked Beef Ribs (short beef ribs / Whisky and dark chocolate jus / Radicchio in agrodolce /almonds sliced)

• 2009 Château Liversan

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Haut-Médoc

  Wild blackcurrant, cedar, pyrazine, a little shitty note, wet, savoury, graphite. Good.

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• 2009 Château Bernadotte

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Haut-Médoc

  Medium plus intensity aromas of cedar, blackcurrant, fresh. With agitation the fruit comes up even more. Juicy, blackcurrant, spiced, grippy tannins, quite a liquorice joining on the palate..

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• 2009 Château La Tour de Bessan

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux

  Biscuit, a little cardboard, baked earth, black fruit and plum, jubey, cream. Tightly tannic, juicy, fruit a little muted on the palate. Nice.

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• 2009 Château Belle-Vue (Haut-Médoc)

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Haut-Médoc

  Plums, cream, ripe blackcurrant, spice, a little alcohol warmth and, oddly, pyrazine. On the palate, it's big, bold with alcohol warmth, flour textured tannic grip, medium plus length. Hmm.

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• 2009 Château La Tour Carnet

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Haut-Médoc

  Ripe blackcurrant, chocolate, cream, sweet spice, a little alcohol ferment note and a smidge of rhubarb (?) Juicy, tightly tannic, still very much a puppy on the palate.

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• 2009 Château La Tour de Mons

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux

  Plums, spice, biscuit, earthy, feels like it's merlot dominant though I'm sure it isn't, with plenty of alcohol and chocolate. In the mouth it's alcohol, plums, spice, grippy tannins. Bit overblown. Hmm

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Phew! Well, It was a lot of fun but, despite spit buckets, it got a bit messy. If I did it again I'd probably restrict it to 4 brackets but it was splendid. We ended up finishing up the dregs with a selection of cheeses and then I rather foolishly went out with Mats & his son for a couple of cleansing ales and a quick whisky...which proved unwise the following morning...