IMW Bordeaux Tasting - 2013 Vintage

Hyatt, San Francisco
Tasted Tuesday, January 30, 2018 by RajivAyyangar with 449 views

Introduction

Floorplan: https://www.evernote.com/l/ABbYd907jCBG7aKE8cgqEpNjZlqUBWMqMxM

General Observations:
Some wines were tart, some astringent (tannic).
Brett is common - mostly spiced, well-done brett melded with oak.
Alcohols were medium across the board - around 13-13.5%

Right Banks: thin
St. Estephe: green
Pauillac: tannic
St. Julien: light
Margaux: sour
Sauternes: typical

Flight 1 - Randoms (2 Notes)

Flight 2 - St. Emilion (5 Notes)

Thinner and greener than normal. Still softer than the Left Banks.

  • 2013 Château Angélus 88 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru

    Brooding mushrooms. Black plum with Brett. Vanilla-cinnamon oak. Aromatic but shows it's oak a bit clumsily. Some development and integration. An austere palate.

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  • 2013 Château Cheval Blanc 87 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru

    Medium ruby with red at the rim. Aromatic with vanilla/cinnamon (new oak), faint blackberry, light stewed bell peppers (pyrazines). The nose is a bit oak-dominated at the moment. In the mouth it's tarter and more astringent than the Evangile, Lafleur, or Angelus - more cab franc dominant perhaps. Feels floral but at the same time quite austere.

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  • 2013 Château Dassault 83 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru

    Thin nose, with green asparagus and slight Brett. More tart than tannic on the palate - watery and soft palate.

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  • 2013 Château Pavie Macquin 88 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru

    Fresh, floral, black plum and blackberry with some raspberry. Tart and juicy with decent midpalate fruit. It's awake and ready to drink. Elevated structure but the open midpalate balances it out.

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  • 2013 Château Valandraud 84 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru

    Slightly burnt nose (oak or reduction?). Fishy (Isinglass? pyrazines? something else?) with stewed faded bell pepper and some plum. Light palate. Soft.

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Flight 3 - Pomerol (5 Notes)

Thinner and tarter than normal.

  • 2013 Château Certan de May 85 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol

    Reductive black pepper and smoked meat with tart blackberry. Rhone-like. Tart and astringent on the palate. I'd probably blind this as a tannic rhone.

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  • 2013 Château La Conseillante 86 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol

    Faded watery, overripe bell peppers with some cherry. Slight black plum and Brett. Slight vanilla cinnamon (oak). Soft and tart on the palate. Thin finish.

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  • 2013 Château L'Evangile 87 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol

    Aromatic. Some spiced Brett and some Merlot fruit (chocolate-covered blackcurrant) with dark cedar. Astringent and bitter on the palate with tannins, alcohol, and acid all elevated.

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  • 2013 Château Lafleur 86 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol

    Aromatic but austere on the palate like l'Evangile.
    Elevated tannins and acid.

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  • 2013 Château Petit Village 83 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol

    Slightly fishy(?) pyrazinic nose with a bit of black plum. Softer palate (less tannic and acidic) than the Left Bank wines. Still - this is really austere for a Right Bank.

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Flight 4 - St. Estephe (4 Notes)

Pretty green and variable.

  • 2013 Château Calon-Ségur 87 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe

    Dark raw green pepper and coffee grounds (pyrazines, oak), Brett, tart black currant. Like Clerc-Milon. Tart on the palate.

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  • 2013 Château Cos d'Estournel 88 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe

    Blackberry and smoked ham (reductive). Mildly Bretty with impressive concentration and elevated structure (alcohol, acid, tannins).

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  • 2013 Château Lafon-Rochet 85 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe

    Thin and pyrazinic. An austere Left Bank style. Some black currant.

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  • 2013 Château Montrose 84 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe

    Lighter than the Cos d'Estournel. Soft palate with bretty, pyrazinic blackberry. Light with milder acid and tannins than it's St. Estephe compatriots. Some cedary oak and underripe weedy fruit - reminds me a bit of a lower-end Malbec.

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Flight 5 - Pauillac (5 Notes)

Green and tannic.

  • 2013 Château Lynch-Bages 84 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

    Thin, slightly pyrazinic, with underripe fruit. But identifiably Bordeaux Left Bank. On the palate, more tart than tannic.

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  • 2013 Château Lynch-Moussas 84 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

    Burnt with a little popcorn (reductive? diacetyl? I noticed this two years ago as well.). Tart and tannic palate with a hint of dark fruit and dark green pepper pyrazines (a hint of coffee grounds as well). Austere.

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  • 2013 Château Pedesclaux 84 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

    Underripe fruit on the nose - like a bad Malbec. Riper palate than I expected, with some cassis and lots of ripe bell pepper. Tannic.

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  • 2013 Château Pichon-Longueville Baron 88 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

    Pyrazinic but with coffee and some black fruit concentration. Well-done Brett and slight new oak. Balanced palate with good structure. The best of the Pauillacs.

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  • 2013 Château Pontet-Canet 70 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

    This is terrible - I tasted both bottles to confirm it wasn't flawed. On the nose, pronounced rotten bell pepper with some plasticky notes (possibly VA). Thin, tart, green palate. The particular form the pyrazines have taken at this stage is uniquely off-putting. Undrinkable.

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Flight 6 - St. Julien (7 Notes)

Green, softer tannins than the Pauillacs.

  • 2013 Château Beychevelle 83 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien

    Bretty and pyrazinic with some dark fruit that seems dirty or unevenly ripe. Coarse tannin texture on the finish. Austere.

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  • 2013 Château Branaire-Ducru 86 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien

    Muted nose - not very aromatic. The BDX trifecta - slight Brett, slight new oak, slight pyrazines. More balanced than I expected on the palate. Medium bodied with elevated acid and elevated tannins. Bright red cherry note mid-palate.

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  • 2013 Château Lagrange (St. Julien) 85 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien

    Muted nose. Floral with some pyrazines and some Brett. Tart and lively with red cherry. Medium plus tannins - smoother texture than the Pauillacs.

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  • 2013 Château Léoville Barton 87 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien

    Tastes like a proper Left Bank, which is no mean feat in this difficult vintage. A little tart but the trifecta is all there: Brett. Pyrazines. Slight cedar from new oak. There's clear (if not pronounced) black currant -
    it gives you some love on the midpalate. Barton is so reliable.

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  • 2013 Château Léoville Las Cases 83 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien

    Very green raw bell pepper pyrazines on the nose. On the palate, good depth and flavor concentration with some black fruit but the acid is just too high.

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  • 2013 Château Léoville Poyferré 82 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien

    Austere. Oak sticks out on the nose - vanilla and freshly-sanded wood. Tart and thin on the palate.

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  • 2013 Château Talbot 83 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien

    Pyrazinic nose. Underripe and tart on the palate. Juice-like and thin with weedy fruit (like a low-end Malbec).

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Flight 7 - Margaux (7 Notes)

Sour. Really sour. Least tannic of the Left Banks.

  • 2013 Château Brane-Cantenac 82 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux

    Aromatic green bell pepper and cherry. Tart as hell. So tart. Lean and austere on the palate. Medium tannins.

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  • 2013 Château Boyd-Cantenac 85 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux

    Burnt nose (over-toasted oak? reduction?). Good concentration on the palate. Vibrant acid and elevated tannins with some black cherry and earthy blackberry fruit. Slight Brett.

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  • 2013 Château Cantenac Brown 82 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux

    Oaky vanilla nose with no fruit to support it. Austere and tart on the palate.

    2 years ago, it seems I liked the oak note - it smelled like sandalwood. With a little more development, however, it just seems over-oaked and thin.

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  • 2013 Château Lascombes 82 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux

    Burnt (over-toasted oak? reduction? - I noticed this two years ago as well). Tart cherry. Austere, sour palate.

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  • 2013 Château Marquis de Terme 82 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux

    On the nose, slightly fishy (isinglass? pyrazines?), slightly burnt (reduction? heavy-toasted oak?). Stewed peppers. Lean finish. Very sour.

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  • 2013 Château Rauzan-Gassies 82 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux

    Pyrazinic and slightly fishy. Stewed and fresh bell peppers (pyrazines). Austere but not as tart as the other Margaux.

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  • 2013 Château Rauzan-Ségla 81 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux

    Muted nose. Slight brett and slight underripe blackberry on the palate. Tart and austere. Only medium tannins but the palate is still so lean.

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Flight 8 - Graves (3 Notes)

Green and austere.

Flight 9 - Sauternes (5 Notes)

Seemed about typical in style - mostly too low acid for my taste. The d'Yquem was incredible.

  • 2013 Château Coutet Barsac 86 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Barsac

    Great nose - toasted rice and saffron (botrytis) with some orange peel. Medium acid - needs more.

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  • 2013 Château Doisy-Daëne 87 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Barsac

    Slight saffron. Toasted rice and wax with some VA (like a hot glue gun). Thin palate with medium plus acid and a much-appreciated bitterness. A successful lighter/fresher style of Sauternes.

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  • 2013 Château d'Yquem 95 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes

    Luminescent gold color. Holy sh** this smells good. Compared to the other Sauternes' at the tasting, the aroma explodes out of the glass with clear and complex flavors of genmaicha (toasted rice and green tea), seaweed (Nori), raw almonds and marzipan, saffron, honey, wax, perfumed orange peel, peach cream, mango sorbet. Wow.

    In the mouth, it's sweet even for a Sauternes - maybe 130-140g?, with a finish that goes on for minutes, and strong bright acidity. On the finish there's a crazy shifting landscape of candied orange, toasted rice, saffron, guava, and peach. Stunning.

    You can dissect this and it rewards scrutiny with more and more complexity. Or you can just sip it and the world becomes sunnier and brighter. Even though it's a large tasting, it's really, really hard to spit this out.

    On a more technical note, this was Semillon-dominant, but it seems there was good tropical fruit and pyrazines from the Sauvignon Blanc. All the classic elements of Sauternes are there, and then some: Pyrazines (green tea, seaweed), thiolic fruit (guava, mango), botrytis (toasted rice, honey, wax, saffron), VA (wax), and new oak (peach cream, toasted rice).

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  • 2013 Château Suduiraut 83 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes

    Nice toasted rice and VA aromatics (moderate botrytis influence with a hint of new oak). Sweet and sluggish palate - only medium acid. Not particularly heavy, but the lower acid makes it seem plodding. This is nowhere in the same league as the d'Yquem.

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  • 2013 Château Filhot 83 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes

    Decent waxy saffron botrytis - a one-dimensional nose without much to hold interest. Sweet and flat on the palate - only medium acid.

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