Union des Grands Grus 2009 Bordeaux Tasting
Petersen Automotive Museum, Los Angeles
Tasted Friday, January 20, 2012 by MattTM with 1,598 views
Introduction
I think it must be said upfront, the 2009's did in fact live up to the hype. While there were some average wines in the room, the quality across the board was fantastic and there were some real stunners in this group, and no real stinkers. At least from the wines I tried.
This was my second time attending the UGC event hosted by Wally's Wine & Spirits, and while I was thrilled with the wines, I was extremely disappointing with how the tasting was organized. Poor crowd control at the entrance, limited spit buckets, no pourers at the tables when the doors were opened, and lacking clear signage.
When the doors were first opened, it was a bull rush to get in and grab a glass, then with no pourers manning the stations, the crowd turned to pouring their own wines. With an already light supply of wine to feed the massive crowd, this further reduced the stock and most of the good wines were finished by the end of the first hour.
I decided to taste Pauillac first, my favorite region, then move onto Saint Julien. Unfortunately this means I missed out on a lot of my favorites, especially the big guns from Pomerol and Margaux.
I was surprised by the showing of the whites, which were all very good, as well as the Sauternes. While the reds from 2009 have been heralded, the whites have somewhat gone under the radar.
Flight 1 - Pessac-Léognan (9 Notes)
Flight 2 - St. Émilion (2 Notes)
Flight 3 - Haut-Médoc (1 Note)
Flight 4 - Margaux (1 Note)
Flight 5 - St. Julien (8 Notes)
Flight 6 - Pauillac (5 Notes)
Flight 7 - St. Estèphe (1 Note)
Flight 8 - Barsac & Sauternes (6 Notes)
Closing
I really do wish I had a chance to taste more of the wines, which leaves me with mixed feelings on the event.
If I had to pick a top 5 on the evening, they would be
1. 2009 Château Lynch-Bages - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
2. 2009 Château Pichon-Longueville Baron - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
3. 2009 Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
4. 2009 Château Smith Haut Lafitte Blanc - France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan
5. 2009 Château Coutet - France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Barsac
2009 Domaine de Chevalier Blanc
France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan
Beautiful nose of fresh citrus and a hint of tropical fruits, along with a grassy aroma blended in. Tart citrus shows strong on the palate, as well as crushed stones, grass, pineapple, lychee, and a hit of oak. Gripping acidity, with a somewhat oily texture. Seemed a bit shut down to me, but was still showing the quality you can expect from this estate. Very good.
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2009 Domaine de Chevalier
France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan
Rich and concentrated on the nose, giving off aromas of freshly ground coffee beans, black pepper, tar, and cassis. Some tartness on the palate, showing plum, red cherry, black currants, and black pepper. Quite dense and concentrated on the palate, this is a big wine. Silky tannins, with a medium finish ending with a note of cranberry. Good.
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2009 Château Haut-Bailly
France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan
Gorgeous rich nose showing tons of spice - black pepper, black cherry, floral, prune, asphalt, and graphite. The strong showing of spice carries through on the palate, along with lead pencil, black plum and black cherry. Dense, gripping tannins, and tons of acidity. Medium+ finish, ending with notes of graphite and black plum. I really enjoyed this. Very good.
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2009 Château Haut-Bergey Blanc
France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan
Fabulous nose of bitter papaya seeds, tropical fruits, cantaloupe, and lime zest. On the palate the sweet papaya follows through, along with toasted oak, lemon juice, and melon. Nice acidity, with a long finish ending with notes of papaya and lemon. A great showing for this humble wine, this was hitting way above its weight class. Very good.
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2009 Château Haut-Bergey
France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan
Rich nose of cassis, toasted oak, black currants, and red cherries. Lots of spice - black pepper and clove on the palate, along with black cherries, black plums, currants, and coffee. Moderate tannin, with a medium finish ending with a note of black pepper. While this was nice, it came off as being fairly simple. Good.
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2009 Château Pape Clément Blanc
France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan
A very nice papaya seed aroma on the nose, as well as lime juice, melon, and some floral notes. A touch of grass on the palate, along with crushed rocks and toasted oak. This was oily in texture, with a medium+ finish ending with notes of oak and grass. Very good.
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2009 Château Pape Clément
France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan
Beautiful rich nose of dark dried fruits, asphalt, black pepper, toasted oak, and coffee. Tons of black pepper come through on the palate, along with black cherry, cassis, asphalt, graphite, toasted oak, and a touch of mint. Moderate tannins, with a medium+ finish ending with notes of cassis and black pepper. Very good.
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2009 Château Smith Haut Lafitte Blanc
France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan
Huge nose of fresh sweet papaya, bitter papaya seeds, lime, and tropical fruits. Delicious smelling nose. Tons more papaya follow through on the palate, along with lime, almond, toasted oak, and a touch of grass. Very creamy in texture, and quite complex. Long finish, ending with notes of papaya and lime. Fantastic.
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2009 Château Smith Haut Lafitte
France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan
Rich nose, with lots of black pepper and clove spice upfront, followed by red cherry, cassis, some floral aromas and smoke. As well quite smokey on the palate, along with tart red currants, lots of spice -black pepper and clove, toasted oak, and black plum. High acidity, with mouth numbing tannins. Medium+ finish, ending with notes of clove and oak. Very good.
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