Terroir-istes International - France, Bordeaux, St. Estephe

A look at St. Estephe producers from the 2002, 2003 and 2004 vintages.

• 2004 Château Lafon-Rochet 84 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe

  A thick black to blood red colour. Fairly reticent on the nose with some black fruit, leather, vanilla and spice.
  Still youthful, the entry is fresh with a lively acidity, ripe black fruits and firm tannins. There is a savoury element of marmite, cedar and cold clay along with blackcurrant even a shade of blackcurrant leaf, herb or stalks. It feels firmer than expected lacking some flesh to soften the mid-palate and overall, the wine feels chunky. Medium length. It got chewier.

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• 2002 Château Cos d'Estournel 90 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe

  Deep, black-red colour; aromas of spice, toasty oak and chocolate. Feels open and approachable.
  Full-bodied, the entry is rich and opulent, balanced by a medium+ acidity and secondary flavours of chocolate, coffee and mocha, whilst the fruits are more dried like Xmas cake, fig and even raisin.
  A fairly powerful wine but not massive, the mid-palate has a solidity and grip through to the ripe fruit tannins. Medium to long finish, I thought it might be 02 or 04.
  Some good depth and layers of complexity, yet slightly extracted on the finish with a slight heat. Long winding finish.

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• 2003 Château Le Crock 87 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe

  Intense bouquet of black fruits, spice, vanilla and toasty oak along with plenty of liquorice and a minty edge.
  A sweeter entry than expected (riper year?), very thickly coated texture of melted dark (95%) chocolate; it feels chunky. The mid-palate continues with blackcurrant, liquorice and a touch of black cherry syrup (almost Nanny McPhee's medicine!); there isn't a whole heap of acid here (possibly 2003 vintage). There is the power to the wine, and good depth, and although the wine is super ripe there is a solid yet grippyness to the tannins. Long-ish finish.

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• 2003 Château Calon-Ségur 92 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe

  Deep, black-red colour; the nose abounds with spice, coriander, liquorice, toasty oak and some funky notes.
  Full-bodied, the wine is powerful, opulent and open-knit with a slightly gravelly warm texture but ascending to a dry, grippy tannins with some fleshy dark currants and berries inside. The oak is still present but there is a nice cassis, blackcurrant feel alongside dark chocolate to the wine. A warmer vintage perhaps? Long finish. Very appealling

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• 2003 Château Ormes de Pez 82 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe

  Mid to deep garnet tapering to an orange rim.
  More tertiary bouquet with a metallic note, slight volatility and little fruit.
  Despite this, the entry is fresh with a slight mineral and herb note but feels somewhat lacking and light to medium-bodied, verging on dilute. Not much knit, and the fruit has left the party, a touch of heat on the back palate, the wine seems somewhat unbalanced and awkward; the tannins angular and fading fast. Poor.

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• 2004 Château Calon-Ségur 87 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe

  Deep black-red, the nose shows dried herbs, some pyroxene notes, and ripe black fruits. Quite earthy and perhaps classic old-school claret.
  The entry, though, is richer and fatter with more opulence and lively lemon-edged acidity but flatlines across the palate, offering little depth of flavour nor concentration.
  Medium to full-bodied, the tannins are chewy going to stringy - not a heap of tannins, to be fair. A bit of granular texture goes with the sweeter fruit, yet the wine is bone dry. On the one hand there is some fruit in the core, mostly blackcurrants and berries, yet on the other it seems to lack a little substance. Tricky!

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• 2002 Château Montrose 91 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe

  Deep black-red in colour, the nose displays dried herbs, tapenade, blackcurrant and black cherries, and a pyroxene element.
  The entry suggests otherwise with richer, sweeter fruit and opulent texture, although this is balanced with crisp lemon-edged acidity and firm, almost austere/solid tannins giving a superb structure and frame to the wine. Full-bodied, the wine has power yet poise, solidity and depth of flavour. There is a creaminess to the mid-palate with pepper, chocolate, black cherry/currant and some crushed stone. Cocoa powder, minerals and spice add intrigue to the long, tenacious and slightly chewy finish that does become puckering. Wonderfully complex, this wine is showing very nicely, perhaps intellectually but more challenging to drink.

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• 2003 Château Montrose 96 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe

  [Tasted Blind] Deep ruby with a wide orange rim.
  The aromas have an initial volatile flicker but display toasty oak, coffee beans, intense ripe black fruits and dark chocolate (80%).
  The entry is big, gutsy and richly textured with a core of blackcurrants, dark chocolate and blackberries alongside some fresh spices of oak infusion.
  Super complex, and full-bodied, the tannins have a furry texture but a density to them that shows a well-structured wine; a soft to lively acidity. Clearly a warmer vintage, the wine shows extract and, to an extent, builds the tannins to feel a little brutish at times. A superlative wine this shows multi-layers of a top growth (super second?). Fantastic, persistent length.

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• 2004 Château Montrose 86 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe

  [tasted blind] mid-deep black-red, the nose shows more evolved tertiary notes with undergrowth and woodsmoke. Slightly rustic the wine is earthy with a more classic coolness to it, dotted with some fruits. The tannins feel wider yet firm suggesting a lesser year supported by its crispy/crunchy acidity. Medium-bodied, the wine reflects that earthy almost cigar box St Julien character, but lacks overall intensity. Medium length. 2004 or perhaps 2002? some rot?

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