5th Annual Pilgrimage to Chateau Lanessan (and its 200 year old cellar )

What begun as a long weekend and end up an annual "pilgrimage" the beautiful chateau Lanessan and it's remarkable 200 year old wine cellar.This is our fifth year now.

Lanessan is a great place to visit. Open on Sundays, the staff speak english and also they allow you to try and create a blend from the single varieties. For more www.lanessan.com

The Bouteiller family has owned this since the start almost for 150 years and as a family they owned Chateau Palmer ( they now own approx 20%) and Pichon Baron until 1988 when it was sold to AXA.

The family cellar dates to just after the classification of the 1855 and among their own bottles one finds really old gems from Latour 37 to Cos 29 and of course Palmer and Pichon Baron. This year we even noticed a magnum of 1953 Talbot commemorating the 500th year of marechale Talbot.

Nice old school French cuisine with good albeit very expensive wine list. Better for dinner as it is on the heavy side. Ask for the table for 4 in the cellar cave as it makes the experience so much more special. http://restaurant-le-tertre.com/

• 2001 Château Figeac 93 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru

  (8/17/2012)

  Decanted for approximately 30 minutes and at this stage it is advisable.
  Open, really long and round on the nose. Very aromatic,herby, floral at points with light cedar notes along with a solid core of fruit. On the palate it feels young,but not austere. Some harsh notes on the finish but overall this is a great wine with a lot of life ahead of it. 93+ for now

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Nice visit to this legendary chateau. Good to see the mix of the old buildings connecting to the new modern chai although not sure if the whole new design fits the surroundings. Good but rather cold visit.

• 2006 Château Cheval Blanc

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru

  (8/17/2012)

  Tasted at the chateau. far too young at this stage to honestly judge, with intense mocha notes from the wood on the nose fighting with light spicy ones. On the palate the youth is evident and we would suggest one awaits maybe 10 years before approaching . Will not rate at this stage. ( CB 1994 is the one to go for especially price adjusted in our view)

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• 2002 Bollinger Champagne La Grande Année 92 Points

  France, Champagne

  (8/17/2012)

  On the young side ( we prefer the 2000 at this stage) but still has the marks of a great future that lies ahead. Toasty, yeasty on the nose with mineral notes a lovely "roundness" to it on the palate. You don't need to be James Bond to see this has a great future ahead of it. 92 for now but this will be in the mid 90s in a few years. Lots of life ahead.

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• 1952 Château Lanessan 93 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Haut-Médoc

  (8/19/2012)

  At the chateau over dinner and direct from the chateau's cellar. good bottle and solid cork.Decanted for 1 hour. We had two bottles both of which were singing.
  The wine is so much alive, complex with a beautiful bouquet. Fully mature but still vibrant with good presence on the mid palate and a good minute long finish. 93+
  
  The 50s are great years in Lanessan and this great 52 outclassed the 52 Palmer we had side by side. Ironically at that time Lanessan owned Palmer too.

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• 1952 Château Palmer 92 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux

  (8/17/2012)

  Straight from Chateau Lanessan's cellar. Good levels and cork.
  Fully mature yet still elegant and alive. The nose is open with light hints of fruit and earth. On the palate it was still alive and although lacked weight it was very enjoyable. Ironically it was beaten by the beautiful Lanessan 1952.92

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• 1906 Château Lanessan

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Haut-Médoc

  (8/17/2012)

  From Chateau Lanessan's cellar where it laid since bottling bar a quick re-corking in the 50s. Good level and cork with snapped in half. Always an honour to try these ancient gems and here we had 2 bottles one which had a slight maderised notes on the nose and thankfully the second one was in great shape. Far from being dead it showed a surprising vitality for its age and palate presence. Very light colour as expected, but clear not cloudy. Light on the nose but with a pretty good finish. Adjusting for its age this was superb!

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• 2003 Château Lanessan 89 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Haut-Médoc

  (8/17/2012)

  Decanted and served, but at this stage an hour at least is advised.
  Big on the fruit, very 2003, with a good solid core of red and black fruits. On the palate it is rounding well with no harshness and good finish. This wine has a long life ahead of it and for its price ( along with its siblings from 2001 and 2000) a great value buying for classic aged Bordeaux sub £20. 89 from us.

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A great chateau to visit. Well manicured and managed. The guide was enthusiastic and took us round the vineyards explained the problems with the 2012 vintage and showed us around the estate.

• 2001 Château Gruaud Larose Sarget de Gruaud Larose

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien

  (8/18/2012)

  At the Chateau. Slight oxidative, maderised notes on the nose, most likely as it was opened the day before. On the palate it was very nice thought well aged and drinking well with light spicy notes. We believe this shows that the grand vin is a good buy from 2001. Will not rate though as this is not a good bottle.

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• 2007 Château Gruaud Larose 89 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien

  (8/18/2012)

  At the chateau. For a 2007 this showed very well with good fruit on the nose and starting to integrate the oak. Good fruit on the palate and although it lacks depth it makes for good early drinking in our view. 89

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• 2009 Les Calèches de Lanessan 88 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Haut-Médoc

  (8/18/2012)

  Lunch at the chateau. The first bottling since the new winemaker Paz Esperjo took over and with the new label. Aimed for early easy drinking. Forward and well round already with no harsh edges hits the goals it was set out to achieve. Very enjoyable although dont expect to find magic here. 2009 was a very good year for Lanessan and the absence of lots of wood made for balanced and harmonious wines. 88 drink at will

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• 1914 Château Lanessan

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Haut-Médoc

  (8/18/2012)

  Straight from chateau Lanessan's family cellar where it spent all it's life. Probably re-corked in the 50s this had decent levels and although the cork was brittle the wine was pretty alive.
  Very light brownish colour as expected but clear, not cloudy at all. Much like its uncle the 1906 we tried the night before this was far from dead. If nothing else we would say it showed a vitality of a 50 year old wine with good palate presence and good finish. An honour as always to try these centenarian wines. This is superb.

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• 1961 Château Lanessan 92 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Haut-Médoc

  (8/18/2012)

  At the chateau from the family cellar. Good solid cork and decanted for one hour or so.
  Another great testament to grand-pere Bouteiller's wine making ( we believe this was his last vintage) and although not as good as the 50s Lanessan wines at this stage this was still a great wine to enjoy. The colour, the nose, the palate presence speak of a fully mature yet very much alive wine. Light fruit, good earthy note, classic old school claret and with a good finish to round of a great wine experience. At a small fraction to other 61 medoc wines a well cellar version of this wine will for sure bring lots of satisfied smiles. 92-93 from us. If you have some lucky you.

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• 1900 Château Lanessan

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Haut-Médoc

  (8/18/2012)

  The mystery of the 1900 Lanessan continues. Much like the one we tried 4 years ago, again from Chateau Lanessan's family cellar, this was an aged fortified wine. Probably Rivesalt or any fortified wine from the south. Or maybe an experiment 100 yrs ago to fortify some wines.. Who knows! Ne of the great experiences of having a 150 year old cellar. For the record what ever the fortified wine was it was very nice with a light brown colour and lots of spirit to it!

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Another great visit that combined great friends, great and legendary wines and wonderful memories. A great thank you to our friends Gildine and Guillaume for inviting us again. See you in 2013.

The only let down was realising how troubled the grapes are in 2012. Across the chateaus we visited this was consistent. Problematic flowering and growing season. 2012 looks like it's going to be a tough one. Another "grower" vintage....