Bordeaux 1999 overview

Restaurant Boreas, Heeze
Tasted Saturday, November 3, 2012 by jkoenen with 850 views

Introduction

The champagnes and 10 bottles of 99-Bordeaux (Ausone, Hosanna, Petrus, Haut Brion, Lafite, Mouton, Cheval Blanc, Margaux, Latour, Yquem) were served single blind: we knew what was coming but not in what order.
White wines and ringers were served double blinded.

Flight 1 - Champagnes (2 Notes)

  • 1999 Louis Roederer Champagne Cristal Brut 95 Points

    France, Champagne

    Light golden colour. Perfect pearls. The bouquet of this wine is down-right gorgeous... It's smooth, ripe and round yet very youthful and clear. A scrumptious, seductive basket of fruit (peaches and apricots prevail), accompanied by flinty minerality and some cheeky candy-shop notes. Open and generous on the palate, very pure, almost sunny, really complex. Next to all the glamorous fruit (again peaches and apricots, but also wild strawberries and baked apples), there are tasty nuances of honey roasted almonds, brioche and sponge cake. The aftertaste is long and dry and, while it's also slightly rugged, I suspect this wine needs some more time in the cellar. No hints of oxidation yet. Full of freshness and ripe fruit. Sexy, splendid, clean and complex. 18.5-19/20

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  • 1999 Salon Champagne Blanc de Blancs Brut 94 Points

    France, Champagne

    Tasted next to Cristal 99, this also showes quite lush and ripe, yet more reserved, concealed than the Cristal. Tight and taciturn, although after a while some mandarin, toast, yeast and chalky minerality starts to peer through the heavy, velvet curtains that seem to cover this wine. This is highly interesting and it's a real privilige to experience, but this wine is very hard to pin down and denominate now. Guess it needs more time. 18.5/20

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Flight 2 - White flight #1 (2 Notes)

  • 2009 Schäfer-Fröhlich Monzinger Halenberg Riesling Großes Gewächs 93 Points

    Germany, Nahe

    Cotton candy and apple sauce on the nose. And 'sponti'. Frisky and tingling presentation. Open and generous, some might say obtrusive and self-confident. Good tension on the palate, long mineral dry finish, although the nose hints that this wine might be off-dry. Best feature is the wet rock - hot slate minerality. Powerful, complex and complete. Great. 18-18.5/20

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  • 2009 Schäfer-Fröhlich Bockenauer Felseneck Riesling Großes Gewächs 94 Points

    Germany, Nahe

    Clean as a whistle. Wonderful nose, reticent on opening, showing seabreeze and matchstick. After extensive aeration more minerality and fruit show up, but still holding back. In fact, it seems to contribute to the elusive, mystique personality of this wine. While the palate is still clenched as a fist aromatically, the mouthfeel and structure has magnificant tension, massive but fine-grained concentration. Geez, is this good.. And geez, is this young. For now, 18.5/20

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Flight 3 - White flight #2 (2 Notes)

  • 2006 Château Smith Haut Lafitte Blanc 90 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan

    Straw yellow in the glass. Rich, bulky bouquet hinting at butterscotch, oak, vanilla milkshake and creme brulee. On the palate this shows ripe fruit but the structure and mouthfeel are still tight, concealed and stubborn. At the moment it seems a little bit unbalanced. Too young. Oak has yet to integrate. Potentially outstanding wine. For now, 17.5/20

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  • 1999 Château Smith Haut Lafitte Blanc 93 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan

    Fantastic nose oozing gorgeous vegetal aromatics (grilled greens) but also melon, almonds, vanilla, coconut-oil and candied lemon-peel. This is a slender, beautifully evolved wine, drinking at it's peak. Great length and purity on the palate, all sorts of floral and nutty nuances. Expressive and complex. Great wine! 18-18.5/20

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Flight 4 - White flight #3 (2 Notes)

  • 2008 Jordan Winery (Jardin) Chardonnay Cape Winemakers Guild Reserve 92 Points

    South Africa, Coastal Region, Stellenbosch

    Straw yellow colour. In the nose green fruit like kiwi, starfruit and green apples are blended through a vanillin oak dressing. On the palate the entry is much thicker and bigger than the nose suggests. Nuances of hot buttered toast, pine-apple, melon and orange peel provide an interesting showing. Especially when I notice that the mid-palate and finish are fairly sleek, refreshing and full of elegant complexity. Maybe needs a year or 2 to obtain the right balance. Beautiful Chardonnay. 18/20

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  • 2003 Aubert Chardonnay Ritchie Vineyard 89 Points

    USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast

    Hot, spirity, bombastic nose, which reflects on the palate. A clumsy, awkward wine that does have good purity of flavors, but is totally lacking finesse and grace. Sauteed pine-apple, vanilla essence, Turkish Delight, mandarin liqueur. To overwhelming for me, even with food. Not very harmonious, seems like a designers wine to me. Probably well arranged, but not up my alley. 17/20

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Flight 5 - White flight #4 (3 Notes)

  • 2002 Marc Colin et Fils Bâtard-Montrachet 94 Points

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru

    Bright, light yellow colour. Young, nervous, jumpy, lively. Clean and delicate nuances of fresh cut green herbs, granny smith, ripe pear, lemon, glazed donuts. Strong, tight, great mineral complexity of flint and chalk (?). The pinnacle of balance and graciousness. Tender, precise mouthfeel in the mid-palate flow into a long and persistent finish. Outstanding. One of my best white Burgundies ever. 18.5/20

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  • 2007 Bernard Van Berg Le Fourneau Blanc 93 Points

    France, Burgundy, Bourgogne-Grand-Ordinaire

    Although I prefered the elegance, precision and clarity of the previous wine, I have to admit that I was impressed by the richness and purity of the tropical fruit flavors in this wine: succulent peach, baked banana, lemon-oil, cocnut, vanilla/custard pastry. A wonderful spark of acidity keeps this wine from toppling over. Modern, and expensive, for sure. But very, very pretty. 18-18.5/20

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  • 2009 M. Chapoutier Ermitage Blanc De L'Orée 92 Points

    France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage

    Extremely young, compact and, at the moment, very straight-forward. The subdued aromatics and the very dense, unforgiving structure make that this wine is hard to evaluate right now. Bet it will be fantastic in 5-8 years time. Did notice the exceptionally well-judged bitterness in the back, though. Alcohol is well hidden. Not ready yet. 18/20 for now.

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Flight 6 - Intermezzo (3 Notes)

Flight 7 - Bordeaux 99 flight #1 (2 Notes)

  • 1999 Château Haut-Brion 95 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan

    Garnet colour, some bricking at the meniscus. Fantastic, complex nose, showing a lovely, detailed, graceful herbal component. The palate is carressed by a wonderful soft, earthy, velvety structure. There's succulent fruit and sappy, juicy flavours all around. Great, classic chalky tannines providing bite and grip to the charming, meandering finish. Ready to go. Was very glad to see the bottle after disclosure. Confirmed my long-time preference for this First Growth. 18.5-19/20

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  • 1999 Château Margaux 95 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux

    Gorgeous, sensual wine wafting very pure cabernet flavors: cassis, cedar, tobacco. For me, this is totally a point. Mature nuances of horse-stable, dusty library, smoke and a subtle gravelly, earthy sensation that makes my clock tick... Add a handful of juicy black cherries, a hint of interesting green herbaceousness, oriental flowers and some creme de cassis, and this is what you get: absolute harmony and balance. Marvelous wine! 18.5-19/20

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Flight 8 - Bordeaux 99 flight #2 (2 Notes)

  • 1999 Château Latour Grand Vin 96 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

    Boy, is this good, or what!? Clearly more powerful, masculine than the preceding wines. The cassis is so pure and precise, plush and juicy, that I almost forget that this is fermented grape juice that were tasting... Magical balance between the feral, impetuous personality of this wine and the velvety, carressing tannic structure, the finely tuned oaky veins that run through and the luxurious nuances of saddle leather, kirsch, chocolate covered strawberries, spicy grilled beef and cuban cigars. Spectacular wine and one of the best this evening. 19/20

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  • 1999 Château Mouton Rothschild 92 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

    Dark garnet colour. An unabashedly sexy, lecherous nose of oriental perfume, tropical flowers, incense, and ripe fruit. Extremely seductive. Also reasonably full bodied on the palate, but it doesn't live up to the promise of the bouquet... Earthy, outdoorsey flavours, dried herbs, blood, cigarbox. Mouthfeel is a tad stubborn, friable due to the still present tannic structure. By all means, it's a wonderful glass of wine, and it's probably great with food. But after that enticing, stimulating start I couldn't help feeling like being turned down... 18/20

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Flight 9 - Bordeaux 99 flight #3 (2 Notes)

  • 1999 Château Lafite Rothschild 95 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

    Decadent and elegant in its perfume, this has a feminine and extremely seductive presentation. Vivid and full of fruit like black cherries and cassis. Tannic structure is still a bit present and needs a little more time to integrate. Spicy, touch of black pepper and cinnamon, generous and supple, sensitive dosage of oak. A young but stylish adolescent. Marvelous! 18.5-19/20

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  • 1998 Gaja Langhe Nebbiolo Costa Russi 90 Points

    Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Langhe DOC

    Well, this is something different. Warm, stewed fruit on the nose. In the mouth it is quite fresh and open, fortunately. This is very nice and drinkable at the moment, although clearly more acidic than all the other wines. Heavy tannines, but they're ripe and sweet, not bitter. All in all, it seems to lack complexity in the company of the other wines. Furthermore, I had the impression that the finish was short, clipped. Hmmm, the disclosure of the bottle left me puzzled. Would really like to try this one again. 17.5/20 (ringer)

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Flight 10 - Bordeaux 99 flight #4 (2 Notes)

  • 1999 Château Hosanna 93 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol

    Dark red. Big, wonderful, lush Cabernet Franc-nose of raspberries, graphite and some of that intriguing, herbaceous roasted vegetable-action going on. The palate is lively, brisk and fresh for such a polished, modern style of a wine. Loved the balance and its juicy mixture of plums, blackcurrant, chocolate, anise and allspice. Medium length on the finish. Great wine. 18-18.5/20

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  • 1999 Pétrus 94 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol

    Baked red fruit in pastry on the nose, like a forest-fruit cobbler. Also plums, rosehip, oriental spice, tobacco leaf and some underbrush. Lovely, juicy and sappy, feminine yet Rubensian, not very delicate. I really, really wanted to adore this wine (especially after the unveiling of the bottle), but I couldn't get over the thought that there have been better, more convincing, more harmonious, wines tonight. Simply outstanding, but not extraordinary, alas. 18.5/20

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Flight 11 - Bordeaux 99 flight #5 (2 Notes)

  • 1999 Château Ausone 97 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru

    A penetrating, amazingly well defined and complex nose attracted my immediate attention. This is the master... Very classical and conventional, true to the Bordeaux-traditions. It's all about balance. The aromatics and complexity seem so carefully arranged and composed, in fact it's flawless...
    The transparancy, clarity, delicacy and definition of all multi-layered components are truly awe-inspiring. Bright red fruit, fresh-cut greenery, roasted meat, grilled vegetables, incense, fire-works and lace-like tannines are only some of the mesmerizing characteristics I came across. Unbelievable wine. 19-19.5/20

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  • 1999 Château Cheval Blanc 94 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru

    Fresh, quite airy and light on its feet, compared to the more compact wines served earlier. Smart and perky. Lovely acidity carries this wine to a medium-long finish. Red berries, earth, undergrowth, grafite and spicy cigarbox are its typical nuances. Great balance and harmony. The presentation of this wine feels so convenient and easy-going, that it's easy to overlook it, particularly in this arena. I found this wine to be in its prime drinking window and it's quality is unmistakable. Terrific! 18.5/20

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Flight 12 - Sweet wines (2 Notes)

  • 1999 Château Rieussec 92 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes

    End of the evening. No more notes. Viscous, oily, rich and sweet. Wonderful. Rieussec? 18/20 (ringer)

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  • 1999 Château d'Yquem 94 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes

    End of the evening. No formal notes. More delicate, mineral, precision. Clarity, more citrus in its fruit, lighter on its feet, yet more complex. Yquem? 18.5/20

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Closing

Personal WOTN: Ausone 1999
Other wines to look out for: Cristal 1999, S-F Felseneck 2009

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