Terroir-istes International - France, Bordeaux 1996 Vintage
Rodwell House
Tasted Monday, February 2, 2009 by rikipedia with 119 views
Introduction
A look at the Left Bank 1996 vintages against a few South African examples with an older wild card thrown in!
Flight 2 - 1996 St. Estephe (3 Notes)
Flight 3 - Pauillac & 2 S. African wines (1 Note)
Only the Lynch Bages was tasted against a Stellenbosch 1996 and a wild card from 1974 also South African
1996 Château Cantemerle 86 Points
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Haut-Médoc
Medium Garnet to orange rim.
A soft nose with warm, ripe boysenberries, cigar box, marmite and brown spices
More intense on entry with a supple, open-knit, rather pleasant style - I picked up very little acidity yet the wine isn't flabby. There is some tertiary evolution with more marmite and meat stock noted, but the texture is soft with pencil shavings and blackcurrant notes. The tannins have some width yet feel supple and accessible. With a long finish, there is a warm richness on the aftertaste.
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1996 Château Lagrange (St. Julien) 89 Points
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien
Mid garnet to a thin orange rim. Intense nose filled with tinned fruit, spice, pot pourri and black fruits. Similar to the previous wine, there is an openness to the palate with soft fruit cake, black currant yoghurt and cassis. A dry, and still full-bodied style, the wine is balanced by a high green acidic kick making the wine slightly off-balance. Despite this, there is plenty of flesh to cover the more austere tannin structure, a clarity almost cool mint to the mid-palate and great complexity. The finish is long with some aged beef, black fruits and good depth of flavour.
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1996 Château Léoville Barton 88 Points
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien
Medium garnet to an orange rim.
The nose accentuates more mint and sandalwood than cedar or cigar and bears some black fruits.
Medium-bodied, the entry is subtle and slightly closed with notes of marmite, wafer biscuit and cigar box. The texture is soft and approachable (even slightly sweet perhaps), round in the mid-palate but lacks some depth. Balanced by a lively integrated acidity, more cucumber acid than lemon. Despite its lighter weight, the Merlot adds a little more richness to make this 1996 very accessible.
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1996 Château Léoville Poyferré 87 Points
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien
A bouquet of saddle leather, liquorice with black fruit yet possible Brett issues as well. Some smoke, meat and wildness confirm.
On the entry, the fruit appears quite subdued, leaning more to marmite, meat and some chalky tannins. Overall, the palate lacks balance with a lively acidity that lifts, little fruit to balance and then a dry bitterness on the back palate. Didn't really improve in the glass either. Slightly bacterial?
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1996 Château Gruaud Larose 87 Points
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien
A deep to almost opaque ruby colour that graduates to a wider orange rim - contrasting!. Plenty of tertiary notes make up the bouquet including truffle, forest floor, mushrooms, game and meat stock.
A lively acidity that turns soft and supple in the mid-palate, showing flavours of dry biscuits, mushroom and cigar box. a touch of black fruit peeks out. Rather open-knit texture showing a Merlot richness, the wine is more light to medium bodied than with gentle supple tugging tannins and a medium finish. Enjoyable without wowing.
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