Bibendum Bordeaux tasting

Held at Lords to kick of the 2008 Bordeaux campaign, the producers were showing a lot more than just the 08 vintage, with a collection of other vintages being shown, and a guest appearance from Decanter man of the year Mr Nicolas Catena and his stable of thoroughbreds.

• 2004 Château Phélan Ségur 92 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe

  Rustic, chalky nose, unusual and exotic. Really keeps you guessing. Red and black berry on the palate, great structure, plenty of age left in it. Stands out from the crowd here.

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• 2006 Château Grand-Puy-Lacoste 89 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

  Good Bordeaux nose. Black fruits, cassis. Smells slightly dusty and follows through with red berries and oak nuances. Good structure and quite hard and austere. Needs time to soften, and needs a bit of tlc with the right food.

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• 2006 Château Haut-Batailley 88 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

  Quite hard and austere. Classic Pauillac nose and characteristics. Cassis, lead, and 'tyson' tough tannins. For the brave at the moment, and I would suggest needs some taming. Locking up in a cellar might do the trick.

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• 1999 Château Branaire (Duluc-Ducru) 89 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien

  Deep dark red fruit and dark cherry. starting to brighten and has nice oak tinges. Has a good future ahead of it, with a good balance of tannin and acidity.

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• 2005 Château Haut-Bages Libéral 91 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

  Powerful nose, firm fruits, good oak, silky and velvety on the palate. Quite raw, and energetic with crunchy black and red fruit. Maybe some violets and pencil lead. This is very young and in keeping with the vintage has many years before it is ready for the dinner table. Lock this one up till it comes of age. At least another 5years. 91+

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• 2005 Château Gruaud Larose 90 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien

  Big nose, elegant and fruit forward with black, red fruits and cassis rising up. This vintage is wonderful and has produced great power. Dry on palate and has good length. Has the ability to grow old with you.

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• 1998 Château Léoville Poyferré 90 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien

  Good depth and secondary flavours coming through. Earth, truffle and leather, with dark cherries. Still quite hard and austere, but leaves a good note of red berry and cherry. Needs a suitable food pairing to work well, but I think still has a few years in the legs yet.

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• 2004 Château Sociando-Mallet 92 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Haut-Médoc

  Very impressive nose, pungent vegetal and evolved. Great ripeness of fruit and ably supported by a large oak tree. Mouthfeel is fleshy, full and leaves a lasting impression. This works well and seems a lot more approachable and silky than other 04s that i have tried. Good stuff, and is promoted to my wish list.

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• 1998 Château Cantenac Brown 90 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux

  Nicely evolved and secondary flavour starting to emerge now. Bordeaux really rewards time cellared and I am constantly surprised by how different these wines are from when they are youngsters. Good structure and drinking well. Not spectacular, but solid and dependable. A bit John Terry.

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• 2004 Château Durfort-Vivens 89 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux

  Good nose, nice floral notes lighting up the fruit component. Quite approachable for the vintage. Enjoyable and drinking nicely

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• 1998 Château Ferrière 90 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux

  Well evolved and good intro to Margaux. Quite rare, so I was pleased to try this with a bit of age. Elegant and subtle, but everything is there and works well as a team.

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• 1999 Château Kirwan 89 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux

  Tannic with an abundance of black fruits - blackberry, black cherry. Quite vegetal and earthy, which I like. Not super tight and seems to soften in the mouth. Nice package.

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• 2004 Château de Fieuzal 91 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan

  Pungent and vegetal, has a strong hint of roast vegetables. The mouthfeel is silky and having tried the second wine in the past this did surprise with its complexity. Meaty notes and drinking well now.

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• 2004 Vignobles Dubois & Fils Château l'Aiguille du Pin 87 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Blaye Côtes de Bordeaux

  Great effort. A lot of spice on the nose, with deft richness, enjoyable and certainly more than capable of keeping up with the others on display here. Drinking nicely now

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• 2004 Château Angélus 93 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru

  Garnet coloured, tremendous depth and pungency on the nose. Really makes a statement. Vegetal, tobacco box, red berry and fairly big, all encased in a creamy oak envelope. This has a long time ahead and will certainly improve with complexity. Long finish.93+

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• 2004 Clos de l'Oratoire 91 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru

  Deep ruby red, nice rich creamy red fruits, vanilla and depth. Interesting and approachable. Good length and I believe a good QPR.

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• 2006 Château Canon-la-Gaffelière 91 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru

  Great nose of spices, pepper and red fruit. Lots of depth and complexity, good use of oak and stands out well. Approachable now, with a good decant and would certainly improve over time.

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• 2008 Château Figeac

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru

  Great nose - tobacco, plum, black fruit and spice. Very good and worth looking into. Too young and untouched by barrel to firm a score - hence the range 90-93

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• 2006 Château Figeac 91 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru

  Classically bordeaux with a rustic style and slightly metallic nose, very dry with red and black fruit. Still very young and would need time. Complexity is showing through and this will improve. Good length and structure with quite grippy tannins.

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• 1999 Château Cheval Blanc 95 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru

  Garnet colour with a tinge of orange at the rim. Incredible nose of cranberry, tobacco oak nuances, leather, coffee and mocha. I am now appreciating the prestige of this wine, and the leap in quality is clear. The secondary flavours are really coming through on the palate, with the leather, truffles and a slight sweet & sour berries - (cranberry and red berry)note. Very interesting. Not massively rich, yet seemingly transparent as the flavour profile is quite forward and is easy to pinpoint. The length is great, long and enthralling. This is not a stand out vintage, yet this still is markedly brilliant. I don't believe this wine will have a huge life, however expect it to continue rewarding for the next 10 years.

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• 1999 Château Troplong Mondot 90 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru

  Ruby garnet, and with a nose of liquorice and rich red berry spices. This is medium bodied wine, that retains elegance and good balance. Nicely put together and drinking well now. Lacking in some of th complexity of the other wines here, but a good effort for the vintage all the same.

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• 2008 Château Gazin Pomerol 90 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol

  Deep ruby, great richness, with red berry and spices. Creamy and full, with great length and a good future. 90+

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• 2008 Château Gazin Pomerol 91 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol

  Heavier and noticeably more dark fruit at this stage. Great depth of flavour, and certainly greater concentration than the 04 at this time.

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• 2008 Château La Conseillante 92 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol

  Big, rich, with purple and black fruits and plenty of spice. One of the standout 08's on show here.

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• 2004 Château La Conseillante 92 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol

  Cream, plum, very rich and a degree of opulence. Great luscious weight. Certainly getting black fruits, with a lot of creamy mocha and spice. Nice package, quality finish, and has years left yet.

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• 2006 Château Petit Village 88 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol

  Great spice with red fruit, plenty of oak, vanilla and tannic structure. Not overly complex at this time, but will improve i'm sure.

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This was a great line up including D'Yquem. However the standout, for value, being the exceedingly good Doisy Vedrines. The 08 tasted(although not noted) was pretty good too!

• 2005 Château Guiraud 92 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes

  Grapefruit, honeyed tinged citrus fruit and great length ably supported by a magnificent acidic core. Crisp and very enjoyable.

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• 2004 Château Sigalas Rabaud 89 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes

  Honeyed tones, marmalade and great acidity. Good substance, however compared to the other Sauternes on show here, not quite as focused and maybe loses a bit of structure.

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• 2002 Château Doisy-Védrines 94 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes

  Great purity of fruit, rich but not cloying and the full spectrum from sweetness to perfect acidity is wonderful here. Wine feels fat and poised, with a myriad of flavours including honey, cream orange marmalade, dried apricots and lemon. Was expecting this to be one of the higher price point wines from this region and was massively happy to notice that this is very affordable. My find of the evening.

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• 2002 Château Suduiraut 90 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes

  Nose emanating citrus, honey and orange jam. Super refreshing, great length, however did feel this was a little thin.

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• 1995 Château d'Yquem 94 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes

  Super honeyed, sweet, crisp and wonderfully clean. The nose really is delicious. The wonderful clarity of flavours follows through to the palate, with citrus, pineapple, lemon curd, creamy notes and a sensational finish. Although at less than a 10th of the price you can have a Doisy. This is still immensely classy and doesn't disappoint.

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• 2005 Y de Yquem 93 Points

  France, Bordeaux

  Incredibly savoury - and I imagine accentuated somewhat by the neighbours here, but still gives off wonderful complex notes of grapefuit and slightly cooked fruit. Unusual and wasn't expecting at all. Very well made and balanced with a great length.

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Decanter's man of the year was suitably represented by some delicious wines.

• 2004 Bodegas Caro (Barons de Rothschild / Catena) Caro 92 Points

  Argentina, Mendoza

  Sweet tannins, with black peppers and a delightful twist of cream. More evolved at 4 years than many of the Bordeaux wines here. Super rich and complex. Has time

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• 2005 Bodega Catena Zapata Malbec Catena Alta 93 Points

  Argentina, Mendoza

  Silky black fruits seamlessly woven with sweet oak nuances of vanilla and resin. A lot of spice and tremendous length and staying power. Drinking nicely now, but will age. Makes me think of steak!

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