Bordeaux Blind
Wine Exchange - Orange, CA
Tasted Saturday, July 28, 2007 by Badfish with 1,156 views
Introduction
This was a very interesting blind tasting of a wide variety of red Bordeaux. The wines were tasted single blind and I believe they were decanted but do not know for how long. For the most part the wines were consistently excellent with a few performing poorly and a few performing superbly. Each note has the impressions I recorded at the tasting followed by comments made after learning the order of the wines.
Flight 1 (19 Notes)
Closing
There is an interesting observation I took away from this tasting involving the perceived ripeness of the wines. Even though the amount of examples for some of the vintages was low I thought it was curious that the 2003s were not the only wines that showed ripe sweet fruit. Perhaps it was just this set of wines and top performers from these vintages would show differently but to my taste 2003 does not appear to be the big bad monster people make it out to be. For the most part the wines revealed themselves to be beautiful marriages of complex ripe fruit and firm even handed structure.
2003 Château de Francs Les Cerisiers 87 Points
France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Francs Côtes de Bordeaux
Deep garnet to light purple at the rim. Herbs, menthol, soft red fruit on the nose. Rustic fruit on the palate, firm tannins, not a lot of complexity. Comments: A straightforward effort with soft aroma and flavor but not a lot of character. Not recommended.
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2004 Château Lucia 93 Points
France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru
Dark garnet to the rim. Ripe black fruit, mint, essence of merlot aromas. Sweet lush herb tinged flavors in the mouth. Fine velvety tannins and a fresh quality. Comments: I was really surprised to find this was a 2004 considering the ripe velvety texture. This is a masterful success in my opinion and clearly shows the skill of Stephane Derenoncourt. Highly recommended.
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2002 Château Cos d'Estournel 88 Points
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe
Ruby purple. Fresh flowers, red fruit, some minerals, pleasant but somewhat reticent. Comments: Clearly a disappointment, this wine very well may be closed. Not recommended, for now.
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1996 Château Léoville Poyferré 91 Points
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien
Slight orange brick red color. Funky earthy nose but the wine yields notes of cedar, lead pencil, and cherry. Nice flavor complexity. Still has some firm tannins. Comments: If you can get past the weird nose on this wine it does show a large array of flavors. This hairy beast has plenty of character and life left in it. Recommended.
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2005 Château La Croix de Roche 89 Points
France, Bordeaux, Bordeaux Supérieur
Deep purple red to the rim. Sweet somewhat one-dimensional nose. The palate is better with ripe boysenberry, good tannin structure, and a nice mouthfeel. Comments: I had this wine on two occasions prior to this tasting and I believe I scored it 88. I will note that on one occasion there was some sulfur on the nose that blew off. This wine seems a little inconsistent and I wonder if it is due to the poor quality cork used. With that said this is a solid wine for the money. Recommended.
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2000 Château Haut-Chaigneau 84 Points
France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Lalande de Pomerol
Orange purple. Stewed fruit aromas with overripe fruit and soft tannins on the palate. Not a lot of structure. Comments: I thought this was the worst wine of the tasting because it showed cooked aromas and flavors. Considering the color and the lack of structure I think this wine may have seen better days. Not recommended.
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2003 Clos de l'Oratoire 88 Points
France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru
Garnet with a slight orange tinge. A good nose of ripe plum. The fruit is sweet but the tannins seem slightly under ripe. Overall good structure. Comments: I found this wine to have pure fruit characteristics but the tannins seemed off like they had problems managing them in this vintage. However I believe it is possible the tannins can resolve and leave a pleasurable wine. Recommended.
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2005 Château Bois Chantant 91 Points
France, Bordeaux
Dark purple throughout. Sweet seductive dark fruit, graphite, and chocolate aromas. Firm structure with blackberry and mineral flavor. Comments: I would not argue with the statement that this wine has a New World facade but I think the minerality and tannins are very much Bordeaux. A great success by Bernard Magrez at this price point. Recommended.
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1998 Château Clinet 87 Points
France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol
Brick red color. Nose is similar to #4 (Leoville Poyferre) with funky earthy notes. The palate consists of earthy red fruit, subdued tannins, and a lack of complexity. Comments: This was a definite disappointment as I was expecting a lot more from a 1998 Pomerol. The nose was weird and the palate seemed very reticent. I have no idea where this wine is going. Not recommended, for now.
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2004 Château Sénéjac 91 Points
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Haut-Médoc
Opaque black purple color. Super sexy aromas of black currant and minerals. Sweet supple fruit and tannins with a glycerol mouthfeel and solid balance. Comments: Another surprising performance from a 2004, this wine seemed like a 2003 to me with its sexy fruit and thick texture. I have little experience with the 2004s but they appear to be in a very good place right now. Recommended.
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2003 Château Duhart-Milon 93 Points
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
Moderate garnet color. High-toned nose of scorched earth that zooms through to the succulent fruit on the palate. Excellent structure. Comments: For me this was the most memorable wine from the tasting because of the unique flavor that was seamless from nose to finish. A brilliant expression of terroir and a wine that I am very happy to have in my cellar. Highly recommended.
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2003 Château Pape Clément 91 Points
France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan
Opaque purple. Inky charred oak and dark berry aromas. Sweet dark fruit and pronounced minerality in the mouth. Comments: This wine showed well if a little over exuberant on the nose with the oak overtones. I'm sure it will settle down and give a lot of pleasure down the road. Recommended.
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2005 Villa Mongiron 91 Points
France, Bordeaux
Dark red purple to the rim. Sweet strawberry, currant, and earth on the nose. Exotic and structured on the palate with inky black fruit. Comments: I have never heard of this wine but it is exceptional with solid complexity on the nose and an exotic quality throughout. Recommended.
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2003 Château Pibran 88 Points
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
Supple red color. Straightforward red fruit and licorice nose. Earthy raspberry styled flavors on the palate. Seems like an open for business Merlot based wine. Comments: I am not sure about the cepage of this wine but my tasting note seems to suggest a good chunk of Merlot. Drinking well now and being a respected Cru Bourgeois I'm sure it will age well. Recommended.
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2003 Château Haut-Mazeris Canon-Fronsac 90 Points
France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Canon-Fronsac
Dark ruby purple. Ripe chocolate and red currant aromas. Nice acid and tannin structure with sweet currant and raspberry fruit. Comments: Very likeable nose on this wine begging you to consume it. Following that the structure was a nice surprise and bodes well for the future of this wine. Recommended.
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2003 Clos du Marquis 88 Points
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien
Soft red purple color. Easygoing nose seems to have Merlot characteristics. On the palate red currant and earth flavors combined with soft tannins and structure. Comments: This is a solid effort for a second wine, it has enough softness and charm to drink well now but the balance should give it longevity. Recommended.
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2000 Garreau Cuvée Armande 87 Points
France, Bordeaux
Orange purple color. Inky red fruit aromas. Nice flavors of cherry, earth, and herbs. Soft structure. Comments: Seems to be a good early drinker but I did not see a lot of room for improvement and I believe there are better values out there. Not recommended.
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2004 Château du Tertre 91 Points
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux
Deep purple. Structured nose of inky blackberries. Notes of sweet blackberry and charred oak on the palate. Well balanced with nicely crafted tannins. Comments: Yet another 2004 that was showing very well. This wine combines a pure expression of fruit with superb balance. Recommended.
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2003 L'Egregore Cuvée d'Exception 90 Points
France, Bordeaux
Ruby purple color. Heady aromas of strawberry and raspberry. Sweet earthy strawberry and currant fruit flavors. Comments: There was good correlation between nose and palate on this wine making it very approachable. I am not sure where it is heading but it is another strong effort from Bernard Magrez. Recommended.
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