HDH annual Bordeaux tasting: Domaines Barons de Rothschild

All wines ex-Chateau and double-decanted 4-5 hours before tasting.

• 2015 Château Duhart-Milon 90 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

  Very young, so obviously difficult to truly evaluate, but there's a really nice red fruit complexion to this wine. It's relatively light for the ripe vintage, and there's a little bitterness here that when combined with the red fruit gives this some red currant flavours. Fairly firm tannins with very judicious oak use. I would expect good things from this wine in the future.

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• 2014 Château Duhart-Milon 88 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

  Fairly representative of the lighter vintage, this shows a fair amount of red fruit here. A pronounced herbal note on the nose as well. On the palate, this shows a nice bit of acidity and lighter weight. Surprisingly grippy tannins on the back end, especially for a wine that shows such a degree of lightness, but fairly drinkable, bistro-style Bordeaux (that's not pejorative, to be clear).

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• 2011 Château Duhart-Milon 88 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

  For me, the weakest wine of the Duhart flight, showing lots of leafy green herbaceous elements on the nose. Tons of pyrazine here and not enough body to fill up this wine. Thin on the palate, and just slightly weedy. As well, there seems to be a bit of brett here. Just not quite my style of Bordeaux -- seems to be more akin to Loire.

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• 2009 Château Duhart-Milon 90 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

  Delicious stuff. It's young to be sure (even at ten years, this is nowhere near maturity), but this has really good weight and depth, balanced by some acidity, a nice leathery quality on the midpalate, and some fine tannins on the finish. Very ripe, but never jammy or overdone, and most importantly, the oak use here is really controlled. I definitely see this getting better with time.

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• 2011 Carruades de Lafite 90 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

  Probably the best of the 2011s that we tasted today (better than the actual grand vin because this is just drinking better right now). To be sure, given the price, expectations here are very high, and I'm not really convinced at the end of the day about the value. In any case, this is a lighter, but fairly expressive edition, showing nice red fruit and some softer tannins. The palate is a little more linear, with the acidity fairly prominent and driving this wine to the finish. It's not a very complex wine, and I have doubts as to whether it ever will be, but it's enjoyable enough.

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• 2009 Carruades de Lafite 93 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

  My favourite of the Carruades flight. It's a massive, brash wine, with a lovely mix of red and black fruit and some nascent graphite and pencil shaving notes. Despite poor reputation of the vintage, this is surprisingly well-handled, and the ripeness never feels overdone at all; in fact there's some restraint here. Quite drinkable now, but with stuffing that will certainly last for a long time.

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• 2006 Carruades de Lafite 90 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

  Fairly classic Bordeaux in style, with hints of brett, graphite, and pencil shavings. Mostly resolved; this shows a little more red fruit than black, and acids that are still pretty bright. Nascent secondary characteristics developing, but there's still enough primary fruit to give this a youthful verve. However, I preferred the larger-scaled and broader 2009 to this vintage.

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• 2015 Château Lafite Rothschild 95 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

  A big vintage, but a wine that isn't inky black and a tannic monster. This is still so young it shows some of the juiciness of youth, and this actually reminds me a bit of tasting cask or barrel samples still. There's a really lovely currant note here in combination with a complex array of fruit and a slight bit of oaky spice. On the palate, the lactones are a little more prominent but they don't finish bitter. Very well done, this is a very impressive wine that I have no doubt will age into one of the greats (I'm looking at you, 1990).

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• 2011 Château Lafite Rothschild 88 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

  Very underwhelming, even for the vintage. For starters, I think the Carruades carries this poor, light vintage much better. Here, the wine shows some pleasant red fruit on the nose, but it feels pretty one-dimensional; there's not an array of different fruits, but just a bit of a generic tart red fruit note. The palate is a bit structureless and texture-wise, this is a little watery and thin.

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• 2010 Château Lafite Rothschild 95 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

  Obviously young and maybe just a little difficult to evaluate, but the quality here is pretty stark. This is massively scaled like the 2015, but with less of the juiciness. A balance of red and black fruit, with nascent hints of pencil shavings and leather. Lusciously rich on the palate, this feels like the luxurious wine it ought to be. Like the 2015, I think this is a wine destined to become a legend in a few decades, and I hope to be able to cross paths with it again then (and maybe a few times more inbetween).

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• 2006 Château Lafite Rothschild 90 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

  This shows some serious dark fruit on the nose and palate; it's one of the Lafites in this tasting that is firmly on the black side of the red-black spectrum. There's a very mild barnyard touch on the nose, but it doesn't render the wine dirty. On the palate, this doesn't live up to the promise of the nose; it shows a little light and simple, and while it's certainly a pleasant wine, it lacks the complexity to become great.

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• 2004 Château Lafite Rothschild 93 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

  Sometimes the lesser years yield great wines, and 2004 in Bordeaux is one of those. This is very much in line with my conception of the "classic" vintage, showing a beautiful leafy green coolness on the nose, but with a bit of sweet red fruit too. The palate is light but not hollow; it's just more driven by acidity and minerality(!) than other vintages. This is one of the younger wines that embodies the elegance of Bordeaux. I don't think this has the stuffing to ever become one of the legendary wines, but the drinkability factor here is very high right now.

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• 2003 Château Lafite Rothschild 90 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

  I think in isolation, this may well be a very fine wine, but in context with some greater vintages, the quality difference is pretty stark. This shows much more anonymous than the other wines; it's a brash, ripe wine, with a very sweet black fruit element on the nose. Almost like port, sans all the extra alcohol. On the palate, this lacks the acidity that gives these wines elegance and trades that necessary acidity for tannins that are coarse and grainy. To be fair, I'm not picking up roasted/heat elements on this wine, but I think the hard tannins detract quite a bit here. Nowhere as good as the mainstream wine media make this wine out to be.

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• 2000 Château Lafite Rothschild 95 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

  I think this is a little more resolved and showing better than a bottle a few years ago at a similar Bordeaux tasting. Like the 2010, this is a massively-scaled wine with plenty of graphite aromas on the nose. The palate is slightly soft but well on its way to resolution. Very complex and layered, with fruit, minerality, acidity, and secondary notes of Bordeaux leather and pencil shavings all in excellent interplay. Among my favourites tonight -- I love how the 2000 vintage has evolved and is drinking, and this bottle is another case in point.

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• 1999 Château Lafite Rothschild 93 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

  For me, this bottle was all about the nose. What an exuberant fruit-bomb of a nose, with a distinct hint of creme de cassis, coupled with some figs and other dark, sweet fruits. The palate, unfortunately is a little less explosive, showing a little more restraint and less stuff altogether. It's perhaps a little more leathery, and there's some serious power here. Given the amount of ripe fruit here though, I think this may well be one of the sleeper wines that will last longer than the vintage charts will tell you.

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• 1995 Château Lafite Rothschild 93 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

  In comparison to the explosive 1999, this has a more classic disposition. The nose shows a restrained amount of fruit, counterweighted by the expected graphite flavours. There are some slight hints of pyrazine here, as well as a really nice spiciness. It's not as ornery as some of the other 1995s I've had recently, and in fact there's a lightness here thanks to the acidity that brightens the wine. Nonetheless, I'm not very optimistic about this wine, as I think it's one of those where the structure will long outlast the fruit. Now though, it's tasty enough.

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• 1990 Château Lafite Rothschild 98 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

  This is truly glorious Bordeaux. The matured ripeness here manifests as this intense dried fruit perfume, and coupled with that slight hint of brett, the pencil shavings and leather, make for a nose that stops you dead in your tracks. Then you get to the palate, and it delivers all the glory that the nose promises. Simultaneously showing resolved secondary characteristics and youthful fruit, this is an example of what Bordeaux truly is about. One for the ages, and easily one of the best bottles of Bordeaux I've tasted this year (in a year that has been full of legends).

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• 1988 Château Lafite Rothschild 90 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

  This speaks pretty honestly of the vintage with its red fruit, high acid, and lighter complexion. The nose shows some green but it's more menthol than pyrazine. A little more barnyardy than I care for on the nose, but there's enough good material here I can get over that. On the palate, this is indeed relatively thinner, showing a dried red cherry note, as well as a pretty strong vein of acid.

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• 1986 Château Lafite Rothschild 90 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

  The 1986 vintage on the left bank has always struck me as a charmless one, yielding wines that are primarily structural and lacking any fruit-driven characteristics. This wine is no exception. It's more of a shock and awe kind of thing with how much structure this is, but I'm more inclined to think of Ozymandias. This shows darker, with more leather, earth, and wood than any clearly definable black fruit. On the palate is a dearth of sweetness thanks to the fruit having gone on vacation, but there is certainly impressive length and power here. Wholly unconvincing, like most other 1986s.

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• 1982 Château Lafite Rothschild 93 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

  Expectations were very high for this fabled wine; sadly this bottle didn't live up to them. It's a lovely wine, to be sure, but does it reach the levels of greatness that I expected given how much it's written about? Nope. (Save your money and buy the glorious 1990 instead, I say.) To be fair, this is still a very nice wine, and the only bottle of Lafite here to show any true semblance of resolving. Some dried fruit and leaves, pencil shavings, and a light earthiness on the nose. The palate is surprisingly light and acid-driven for a supposedly ripe year. Not as full and broad on the palate as I expected this to be. Certainly this isn't the best venue for appreciation, but I did leave this wine fairly underwhelmed.

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• 2015 Château L'Evangile 70 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol

  A disastrous, modernist, spoofulated mess. I really don't know what happened here, as both Duhart Milon and Lafite managed to make a great 2015. I had been very excited to try this wine, but it is an absolute let down. All the hallmarks of the modernist style -- sharpie marker on the nose and oak-driven flavours and tannins. Tons of coconut and other lactones on the finish too. Alcoholic oak beverage? I love older Evangile; this is not that, and not going to become that, either.

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• 2012 Château L'Evangile 85 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol

  I don't think that the lighter vintage here helps to carry the oak very well. The nose and palate here are relatively thin, and while there are some slight plum notes, there just overall isn't enough fruit to fill out the skeleton here. The oak pokes out both on the nose and palate; on the palate, it's less the coconut thing and more the bitter astringency on the back end.

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• 2011 Château L'Evangile 90 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol

  This has more of a tart fruit thing on the nose than the riper plums you might expect from Pomerol. But then again, it's a cooler vintage, so that's probably in line with expectations. Again, like the 2012, this doesn't really have the flesh to fill out the bones; kind of like a kid in a suit that's a few sizes too big. On the other hand, the oak use here is a little more moderate and there aren't as many sharp oak edges as in the younger wines. It's not going to be a long-lived, powerful wine, but this is already reasonably drinkable now.

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• 2009 Château L'Evangile 90 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol

  I really wanted this wine to have more character. As it stands right now, it's just a massive beast with a copious amount of sweet fruit. It's not overdone, and more importantly, the oak here doesn't obliterate all the good things (I'm thinking of the disastrous 2015). This shows some plummy fruit, but beyond that, there's not much else of interest. Perhaps with time this will gain complexity, but for now, there's not much interesting going on here.

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• 2007 Château L'Evangile 93 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol

  Along with the 2002, probably my favourite of the Evangile flight. There's a slight herbal note on the nose, lending itself to a little more savouriness as well. In addition, there's some fruit flavours here, but they're restrained and balanced in the context of the rest of the wine. On the palate, this shows a little spicy but with plenty of fruit, but again the fruit here is balanced in context. Given the prickly tannins, not quite ready for the spotlight, but I think this is getting there.

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• 2002 Château L'Evangile 93 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol

  Along with the 2007, my favourites of the Evangile lineup. This is pretty classic Pomerol with a prominent plummy quality on the nose and palate. Ripe, but not over the top, and the relatively coolness of this wine allows some soil tones to come through as well. A really compelling mix of red and black fruit, with a nice earthiness and some fine tannins on the back end. Ready to drink now, at least, for my palate.

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• 2000 Château L'Evangile 88 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol

  This was highly anticipated but another big let down unfortunately. I managed to snag a peek at two separate bottles of this and they were consistent (though someone I trust says that he had had much better bottles of this in the past). These bottles were just muddied. A little stewed without the purity of fruit that I would expect from a great vintage of this wine. Not to mention the palate was tired and the finish worryingly short. I don't know what's going on here, but I might have to pick up a bottle of this at some point to reinvestigate.

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• 1996 Château L'Evangile 93 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol

  This certainly outperformed the off vintage. Mature and resolved, this is drinking very nicely. The plummy notes are still here on the nose, but they show a little age (without getting muddied). There's a prominent earthiness and some interesting leathery qualities (that seem like they belong more on the other side of the river), but all of that put together makes for a pretty interesting, if slightly atypical Pomerol.

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• 2011 Château Rieussec 93 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes

  A really nice nose here, with some lychees, almonds, and green herbs. The palate is pretty sweet (though this is the least syrupy of the three vintages tonight), but balanced nicely with a slight vein of acidity. Less of the marmalade and botrytis flavours, and more of the racy elements here. A slight bitterness on the finish helps cut the sweetness too. The nose is slightly marred by some volatility, but it's not overwhelmingly distracting.

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• 2007 Château Rieussec 88 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes

  A pronounced almond note on the nose and palate here. There's also something that feels a little nutty (like oxidation) but to be clear it's not due to premox or somesuch. The palate doesn't have the acid vein that the 2011 has, and in fact, this feels just a little clumsy because of it.

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• 2003 Château Rieussec 85 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes

  Significantly darker than the 2007 (and obviously the 2011), this is clearly a wine that is a product of the ripe vintage. Although I'm sure the winemaking style didn't really change all that much, this wine just feels really heavy-handed. It's really syrupy and thick, and it sort of weighs down on the palate with its almost goopy thickness. Lots of botrytis and raisin flavours here, with a moderate bitterness on the finish and a significant alcoholic burn. Tiring.

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