Julian S-M's 1996 Bordeaux

• 1996 Pol Roger Champagne Vintage Brut

  France, Champagne

  Mid straw. Nicely full. Quite a rich nose, touch of gingerbread and biscuit. Decent fizz upfront (though the bubbles die quickly in the glass). Reasonably linear through to the finish. Persistent but it is quite evolved. Good acidity but this one isn't for the longterm I think. Very enjoyable though. ***1/2

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• 1996 Château Monbousquet

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru

  Deep, dense ruby to deep garnet. Rich, plummy, quite savoury nose. Good acidity with some tannin. A touch of heat at the end. Licorish starting to come through on the finish. The front end of this is carried by the alcohol/glycerin and there's not much complexity sitting behind it. ***(+)

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• 1996 Château Grand Mayne Flawed

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru

  Corked.

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• 1996 Château Moulin Saint-Georges

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru

  Bright ruby. Medium density. Slightly dusty, dense, velverty texture, dark red fruit on the nose. Lovely upfront, good fruit, nice structure but falls away a bit in the middle though. Lacks persistence/development. Jolly nice though. Top ***

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• 1996 Château Haut-Bailly

  France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan

  Green chilli on the nose. Very fresh, cool, capsicum. Long. Now we're talking, proper wine. Quite long, harmonious, refreshing. A lovely drink. ****

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• 1996 Vieux Château Certan

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol

  Plush, velvety nose. A touch of spice and chocolate. Rich, full, a touch of mineral. Neil's quite right when he likens the nose to Blackforest gateau. Far better than bottle at Phil's VCC lunch - more mid-palate weight and roundness. A hint of cream on the nose. Fine tannins and decent acidity. Plusher than the Haut Bailly but less zing. This could have done with a bit of time in the ice bucket to focus it. Bare ****

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• 1996 Château Palmer

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux

  Lovely, bright blackcurrant fruit. Very elegant and complex nose. Tightly coiled. You can see where it's going but come back in a decade or so. Consistent with last taste at Keith's 28-50 blind challenge last autumn. ***(*1/2)

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• 1996 Château Rauzan-Gassies

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux

  Bright, red-fruited nose. Positive attack, light, bright red fruit. Not much development across the mid palate but quite persistent if a little dusty. Finishes well enough. Pales in the company. ***

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• 1996 Château Ferrière

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux

  Initially lovey bright red fruit when decanted. Fragrant. Now (4 hours later) a little fuller and a touch of leather. relatively light but in a lovely place and true to its AC. Good red fruit, medium length and nice lift on the finish. Just lovely. ****

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• 1996 Château Duhart-Milon Flawed

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

  Corked.

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• 1996 Château Lynch-Bages

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

  Lovely nose in the cool, minty spectrum. very elegant and harmonious. Lovely energy and lift. All there. Nicely persistent. More open than the Palmer but non-the-less, this has time in hand. ***(*1/2)

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• 1996 Château Batailley

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

  Classic Pauillac nose. Blackcurrant, a touch of blackcurrant leaf, good acidity and decent length. ***1/2 Not quite the class it showed at Neil's Square offline last January, but a very solid wine.

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• 1996 Château Lafon-Rochet

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe

  Smokey, tobacco, mineral. Showing well with bright, fresh acidity. Lacks the weight and mid-palate depth/richness of the Lynch Bages, but it's very decent. Top ***

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Had to dash before the remaining wines were tasted, so missed: Gruaud Larose, Leoville Barton, Gloria and finally, Rieussec.