Union des Grands Crus de Bordeaux 2010

Metro Toronto Convention Centre, Toronto, ON
Tasted Friday, January 25, 2013 by lumpyelbow with 1,201 views

Introduction

UGC 2010 - Dustin and I attend as Erica was out of town on business. The Whites were pretty excellent across the board, with an exception or two and some real standouts. For the reds we travelled, roughly, in this order: St Julien; Margaux; Haut Medoc; Moulis; Pauillac; Pessac; St Emilion; Pomerol; St Estephe.

Sauternes at the end.

Palate fatigue was an issue this year. Sampled 73 wines and due to the firm structure of 2010 it was a challenge - even with numerous food breaks. Bountiful and of great quality, very apparent but I could see new comers to Bdx being left a bit puzzled, as most of the wines are a bit brutish at the moment and you really had to look beyond some of the discomfort to focus on the quality underpinnings.

Writing this the morning after the event, without referring to my notes. The wines I recall stirring me (no particular order):

White - Pape Clement, Smith Haut Lafitte, Domaine de Chevalier, Malartic Lagraviere

Red - Rauzan Segla, Pape Clement, SHL, Figeac, Troplong Mondot, Leoville Barton, Pichon Baron, Pichon Comtesse

Dessert - Guiraud

Flight 1 - Whites (13 Notes)

Flight 2 - Left Bank Reds (41 Notes)

No surprise, all the reds had an abundance of tannin and structure, Pauillac was very typical and as a commune may have performed best overall?. There was lot's to enjoy in St Julien. Margaux was more structured than average and this seemed to create 2 groups of wines - some that were bitter and a bit much to handle at present; others were within the style of Margaux but supercharged. Lots of nice wine from this commune. The right bank had all the usual suspects performing well other than Pavie Macquin which seemed out of sorts. Pessac was drinking really well and was one of my favourite.

Flight 3 - Right Bank Reds (10 Notes)

Flight 4 - Dessert (9 Notes)

Didn't take notes as was pretty exhausted by this point. Recall Guiraud being a standout, especially for price. Some variances in sweetness but found amount of botrytis to be fairly consistent and not overly prevalent. A solid year.

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