Bordeaux
Tasted Wednesday, April 5, 2006 - Monday, April 10, 2006 by PanosKakaviatos with 800 views
TASTING NOTES PART III
THE MEDOC: WHERE CABERNET RULES
Please take note, that these are older notes from barrel back in 2006, that I just felt like publishing 10 years on, to see how they compare to more recent impressions.
These final notes on wines from the Medoc
represent wines with the most Cabernet Sauvignon, albeit with exceptions. Indeed, the northernmost (St. Estephe) and innermost vineyards (Moulis, Listrac) to the left of the Gironde River, have high proportions of Merlot, because soils there tend to be heavier (more clay) and colder (further away from the river). Indeed, the closer one gets to the river, the more temperate the micro-climate and the greater the logic of using a later ripening grape like Cabernet Sauvignon. You do not want to grill your Merlot, now, do you? Of course this is simple logic, as there are exceptions, such as certain plots where Merlot does well – even if it is hotter – but the axiom is a good general rule. We will start with the mid range (Moulis, Listrac and Medoc) and end on higher notes with the major league appellations (Margaux, Pauillac, St. Estephe, and St. Julien), symbolized by the beautiful châteaux that accompany the
wines, such as the above photo of Château Pichon Baron, at the entrance of Pauillac.
Following a blind tasting of Pauillac, St. Julien and St. Estephe wines at Château Talbot, fellow journalist Florence Varaine – a veteran of blind tastings – told me that she had never had such pleasure tasting Bordeaux en primeur. Though 2005 is a uniform vintage, in that all appellations had success, I feel that the appellations with more Cabernet Sauvignon did best, just by a hair. The high ripeness of the vintage brought perhaps one slight risk, especially for those who harvested late, and that was over-ripeness of Merlot. Paul Pontallier of Château Margaux, for example, felt that the high alcoholic content in some Merlot was not suited for his first wine. Going back to the Merlot-majority Rive Droite tasting, some of the wines did taste over-extracted and alcoholic. On the other hand, almost all Cabernet-dominated wines seemed at least good. For me, Pauillac is the appellation of the vintage. If we are going to split hairs, because the others, particularly Margaux, were also of very high quality. Interestingly, some of the lower-ranked St. Estephes – with more Merlot – were less successful. Pauillac’s Château Latour gets my nod as wine of the vintage (tied with Pétrus, which is almost 100% Merlot, so it is not black and white) and both Rothschilds are very nice. In the blind tasting of Pauillacs, almost all wines were terrific with only a couple of exceptions, I re-tasted both and stayed disappointed with one, but reassured from the other. Nowhere else does one reach such heights, I think. Perhaps in Margaux
Tasted blind at Chasse Spleen
Tasted blind at Chateau Talbot
Tasted blind at Chasse Spleen
Tasting with Paul Pontallier and owner Corinne Mentzelopoulos at Chateau Margaux / 1st Growth
Paul Pontallier said that 2005 belongs to “the family of the very best vintages.” He pointed out that he would like “nature to stop here” because the alcohol levels were at the very limit of what he likes from his terroir – and stressed that the highest alcohol Merlots (some reached up to 15.5°) either were not used at all or used in the second wine, Pavillion Rouge.
Tasting with Bernard de Laage de Meux, development director
3rd Growth, officially, but often of higher quality (and price) than its rating...
Tasted blind at Chateau Talbot on April 5
At the chateau on April 10
With Lilian Barton on April 10
Tasted blind at Chateau Talbot on April 5
Chateau Mouton Rothschild / 1st Growth
A lovely April 10 morning tasting at Chateau Mouton Rothschild / 1st Growth
I re-tasted the majestic Clerc Millon (shown at right) – the Pauillac to buy from the same owner of Mouton Rothschild (at left), if the price is right...
Lafite Rothschild / 1st Growth
Morning tastings continued on the right foot, next at Chateau Lafite Rothschild with winemaker Charles Chevalier (at right). Just as in 2004, the grand vin was not very expressive. Could have been the high pressure of the day, but he joked about critics sometimes going overboard with the adjectives en primeur. “A marathon runner will not reveal everything in the first 10 meters,” Chevalier said.
Afterwards, I tasted the wines of Christian Seely – managing director of Pichon Longueville Baron, Pibran (cru bourgeois) in Pauillac, Suduiraut in Sauternes and Petit Village in Pomerol, at Chateau Pichon Baron. Later had lunch with Bill Blatch and a group of merchants.
With winemaker Xavier Pallu
Facing Château Pichon Baron, just at the entrance to Pauillac and adjacent to Latour, is the Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse. The two Pichons were once owned by the same family, but have long since been divided into two separate estates. And the wines are made differently. The Comtesse is more feminine, aptly. Typically made with more Merlot, the wines here tend to be softer, but also of very high flavor intensity. Both Pichons were classified in 1855 as 2nd growths, just behind the top tier in the Medoc.
With Jean Xavier Borie, owner of both GPL and Haut Batailley
It is always a pleasure to drive up the hill leading to St. Estephe, as one sees the oriental style palace that is Château Cos d’Estournel. An impressive building, and an impressive wine: one of the two Super Seconds of St. Estephe (the two châteaux classed 2nd growths are Cos and Montrose). While I was very impressed with these two properties, the rest left me a tad under whelmed. But I did not get a chance to taste as many cru bourgeois (a class of wine that is officially just below the “classed growths” which go from 1st growth the 5th). Indeed, St. Estephe’s power comes from its multitude of cru bourgeois, which did so darn well in 2003. I was expecting similar glory from the ones I tasted in 2005, but that was not to be.
Tasted blind at Chateau Talbot
Château Cos d’Estournel at the château on April 10
Tasted with Jean-Guillaume Prats, owner
Chateau Montrose at the château, April 10
With winemaking director Philippe de Lagarigue
2005 Château La Tour de By 90 Points
France, Bordeaux, Médoc
(4/5/2006)
Nice suave nose of forest strawberry and oak-derived toast, vanilla and hints of coffee. The palate is ripe and fresh with plum notes, but ripe plum. Tannins are granular; there is a good texture, but slight drying off at the back end. Overall, quite nice indeed! 89-91+
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2005 Château Greysac 86 Points
France, Bordeaux, Médoc
(4/5/2006)
Commonly sold in U.S. supermarkets, Greysac has a nice nose of cherry and tobacco but the palate, while fruit-driven, is metallic and monolithic. Lacks breed... but aging in oak will likely lift it up. 86-87+
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2005 Château Fonréaud 88 Points
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Listrac-Médoc
(4/5/2006)
A slightly wet dog nose and quite oaky, too. But the palate is thankfully better. Full and fruity. An improvement from the above, at least. 87-88
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2005 Château Fourcas Hosten 87 Points
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Listrac-Médoc
(4/5/2006)
Slightly green notes, with some red fruit on the nose and a hint of plum. The palate is medium bodied and fruity but nothing very substantial either. 86-87+
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2005 Château Fourcas Dupré 88 Points
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Listrac-Médoc
(4/5/2006)
Slightly fuller nose than the above though still a tad green! Palate is tighter if fruity, with hints of chocolate on the better finish. Will likely improve with time in barrel. 87-88+
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2005 Château Clarke 89 Points
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Listrac-Médoc
(4/5/2006)
Oaky and creamy like Baileys cocktail on the nose – the most interesting in a while actually... The palate is like chocolate liqueur and quite full and tannic. Nice job! 87-90+
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2005 Château Maucaillou 90 Points
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Moulis en Médoc
(4/5/2006)
White flower, very toffee like, too. The palate is smooth, espresso-like, though there are also some drying tannins, but very good lift on the back end. Dominated by oak but not overwhelmed either. The palate has nice texture and a good finish. 89-91
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2005 Château Chasse-Spleen 87 Points
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Moulis en Médoc
(4/5/2006)
Smells almost like a Sauvignon Blanc, with bourgeon de cassis aromas, strangely bordering on green! The palate is tight and hard, but will soften with time in barrel. Normally a very fine estate!
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2005 Château Poujeaux 91 Points
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Moulis en Médoc
(4/5/2006)
The nose is fairly closed, but what lovely subtle expressions of cocoa and creamy cassis. The palate has a fine tannic texture and a good smooth finish. 90-92
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2005 Château Potensac 90 Points
France, Bordeaux, Médoc
(4/5/2006)
A Medoc AOC made by the owner of Château Léoville Las Cases in St. Julien, Potensac is a very well known Medoc wine, and it did very well in 2005. A bit closed at first, then reveals good palate intensity, with fine grained tannins, deliciously fruity on the palate. Nice job. 89-91+
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