Pastis - Vancouver, BC
Tasted Monday, January 21, 2013 by MattTM with 1,105 views
The Vancouver chapter of the Commanderie de Bordeaux assembled at Pastis for their annual horizontal to take a look at the 2003 vintage. This was my first foray into one of these 10 year post-vintage dinners. On this evening we tasted only wines from the left bank, which in general was much more consistent than the Merlot dominated wines from the right bank. While there were definitely a few misses on the night, in general the wines showed quite well and avoided the overripe and pruny characteristics that have been thrown around in regards to this vintage.
2003 Château Malescot St. Exupéry
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux
Quite expressive on the nose offering a lot of rich blackberry jam and black pepper spice upfront, along with some violet floral aromas, fresh mint, herbs, and a touch of blueberry. Plenty of ripe black cherry comes through on the palate, as well as more black pepper and sweet blackberry, oak, asphalt, and a bit of green pepper. Lots of underlying acidity and gripping tannins. A long length finish ending on notes of rich black cherry and black pepper. There's a bit of heat on the palate but it's not overly distracting. This was on the edge of being too ripe for me, but some time should help this soften and balance out a bit more. Very good -
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2003 Château Latour-Martillac
France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan
This is pretty green on the nose, showing aromas of black cherry, black pepper, dark plum, mint, kirsch, and some floral notes. Lots of green bean on the palate, along with black cherry, spearmint, black plum, black pepper, and some prune. Moderate acidity with light sandy tannins. Medium length finish ending on notes of kirsch and black pepper. Quite dilute and watery on the palate. My least favorite of the flight, showing overly green and weedy characteristics. Good
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2003 Château Haut-Bailly
France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan
Quite restrained on the nose, giving off aromas of black cherry, asphalt, earth, black plum, and menthol. This moves more to the red side of the fruit spectrum on the palate, showing red cherry, black plum, tar, menthol, and black pepper. Moderate acidity with soft round tannins. Medium finish ending on notes of black cherry and black pepper. Less ripe and much more elegant than many of the others tasted on the evening. Nice balance, but overall lacks any real interest. My favorite of the flight. Very good
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