Bordeaux 2001 Blind Tasting (+ two 2000s)
Tasted Saturday, October 5, 2013 by octopussy with 1,207 views
Introduction
On a rainy saturday we met with nine people to taste some 2001 Bordeaux that were assembled by our two hosts. We knew the wines before except for two wines that a friend and I brought. They were 2000s though. We both thought we had the 2001, but it was (only) 2000. This added an interesting aspect to the tasting though as it allowed a glimpse into the relative development of both vintages. The wines were served blind for all (wrapped and shuffled) in flights of 3 wines served one after the other and uncovered after each flight. We drank them from Zalto Bordeaux glasses. All wines had been opened a few hours before, but none had been decanted.
Flight 1 - d'Armailhac, Figeac, Poujeaux 2001 (3 Notes)
The first wine already delivered well. It was cool, dark fruited, a bit tart, but with so much saliva inducing deliciousness. I could have drank two glasses of that wine right there. Just great. Since we knew we would have only one 2001 Pauillac, I guessed d'Armailhac. The second wine was off-putting at first with its bizarre mix of over- and underripe notes. It also had a strong meaty/barnyard nose. It got a little better with time, but I didn't like it very much even after it got better. Due to the barnyard nose, most at the table guessed at Figeac, but we were all a bit disappointed having to guess at Figeac. I really liked the third wine of the flight. It was just complete, ver elegant, fragrant, persistent. Some others at the table found it a bit simple, mainstream und not very spectacular. But this lack of real excitement really appealed to me. Nobody guessed that it's Poujeaux.
Flight 2 - La Conseillante, Beychevelle 2001, Léoville-Barton 2000 (3 Notes)
Also the second flight started really well. The first wine was a bit more meaty and opulent than the wines before, but got more and more linear and restrained with air. I loved the minerality in the mouth. Only one in the group guessed La Conseillante, the rest of us guessed at a left-bank wine. The second wine was very disappointing, very simple and not appealing at all. Good that we had a third wine in the flight, which was very compact, even a bit monolithic, obviously very young, but not just hinting at its great class. Most of us guessed Montrose, but my friend Michael who brought the wine guessed it right.
Flight 3 - Reignac, Lascombes 2001, Pontet Canet 2000 (3 Notes)
The third flight started with a weak wine, which was accessible, even a bit flashy. Nobody in the round really liked the wine and all guessed that it would have a lot of Merlot in it. Since we had already had the two other red-bank wines, we all guessed the wine to be Reignac. The second wine in the third flight reminded me of the 2000 Léoville Barton in that it was a bit backwards, compact and young, but with so much class. Our host pretended to not like Pontet Canet, so he wouldn't want to believe that it was the Pontet Canet, but everyone else guessed at Pontet Canet. Wine 3 was ok, but it was obviously very modern with lots of oak and too much extract. Not a wine I want to drink a half bottle of. I guessed at Lascombes because it was so modern.
Flight 4 - Clos du Marquis, Dom. de Chevalier, Montrose 2001 (3 Notes)
The first wine in the last flight differed a lot from the wines before because it was red-fruited rather than black-fruited (red currant). I didn't like it very much at first, but it got better with every minute. Our host is a big Clos du Marquis fan and immediately guessed it right. The second wine was hard to pin down, it was good, but not brilliant, a bit diffuse maybe. During the entire evening, there had been many Montrose guesses: "Now, this must be Montrose, it's so good", etc. But it only became clear with the last wine that that had to be Montrose. It was wine of the night for most, very young and compact, but soooo seductive and great. Real class and for me - who doesn't have it in the cellar - a wine to look for. I loved it.
Flight 5 - Rieussec 2001 (1 Note)
To end the evening, we had a half bottle of Château Rieussec 2001. For me, it was the first time I had Rieussec from 2001. It's just great, no doubt about it, very young, but already so complex.
Closing
The Grand Vin de Reignac could not repeat its surprising showing a few years ago at that tasting with the crème de la crème of Bordeaux. I had the wine for the first time and could imagine that it was quite silky and smooth in its relative youth. But everyone at the table said when served blind that the wine that turned out to be Reignac didn't have the class of the other wines. The biggest disappointment was Figeac. Our host tried the remainders of it the next day (it was the only wine of which there was more than a drop left) and said it showed much better than the night before. So it could be that it would have been better with more air. The night of our tasting, I found it pretty weird with a really weird mixture of under- and overripeness. It was constantly changing though. One for the risk-takers. Also Beychevelle was disappointing, but the Bordeaux expert at the table said that Beychevelle had a weak period around the millenium. I also didn't like Lascombes very much, I gave it some points, but I wouldn't want to drink a whole bottle of it. The biggest positive surprise was Poujeaux. I also really liked d'Armailhac because it was so obviously Pauillac in character.
The two 2000 wines were interesting in that it became clear that they were much less developed than most 2001 (except maybe for La Conseillante and Montrose). In any case, we had 12 really good wines on the table that night (+ the great Rieussec) and way more than half of them were just delicious, too, perfect dinner table wines that go well with many different dishes, that have good substance, but are also lean enough to not impose themselves. I just continue to really like well made Bordeaux.
2001 Château d'Armailhac 92 Points
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
Dark Bordeaux-red, lighter towards the rim. In the nose, this is rather "male" and marked by Cabernet with notes of musk, dark berries. It's got good balance and is shimmering with finesse. On the palate, it's very male again, slightly furry and edgy, but nicely balanced with good acidity and a long finish marked by red currant and sour cherries. Makes me wanna drink more of it. Great Pauillac.
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2001 Château Figeac 88 Points
France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Saint-Émilion Grand Cru
Dark Bordeaux red. In the nose, there are rather strong animalic notes of barnyard and beef broth. There's also some cooked fruit and raspberry drops. Ripe blackberry and some coffee, too, as well as some alcohol. The nose is rather off-putting. The nose gets a bit better with air, but nor really. On the palate, it's lean, slightly biting with very strong acidity. Short finish that ends abruptly. This is not a catastrophy and the wine did get a little better with air, but I was disappointed. Bad bottle maybe?
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2001 Château Poujeaux 93 Points
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Moulis en Médoc
Transparent colour. In the nose this is wide open, meaty with a really good balance of light and dark berry notes (red and black currant, mostly). There's also some mint and some marzipan as well as some sweetness. It's very elegant and balanced. It tickles the palate, tastes complete and juicy, the acidity is well integrated, fills the mouth. Very harmonic. Long and surprisingly complex. Seems at its peak.
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