Monday Night Bordeaux

Hawksmoor, Guildhall
Tasted Monday, March 20, 2023 by oenanthe with 161 views

Introduction

Monday is the new Thursday.... Despite the sub-optimal day (but....£5 corkage) 10 hardy members of The Wine Society "North London" group turned up clutching some real gems from Bordeaux, squirrelled away for years and now generously shared. Wines from 1973 to 2015!

Flight 1 - Blanc (1 Note)

  • 2010 Château Lynch-Bages Blanc de Lynch-Bages 92 Points

    France, Bordeaux

    A bit of wool, lanolin, pineapple broom and orange peel made for a tasty glass. Don't drink enough grand sec though I have bought more in recent years. The general concensus around the table was that this was excellent, high interest and very well made, but that the price was likely to be highly off-putting despite the quality on offer!

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Flight 2 - The Youngster (1 Note)

  • 2015 Château Le Prieuré St. Émilion Grand Cru 87 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru

    Quite olively in nature, alongside classic black fruits with their sweetness lingering on the edge of the tongue, but overall I did not feel that this was in an especially good spot - too chewy at this stage and with a noticeable hot touch, not a surprise to see this coming in at 14.5%. I would leave this for a few more years.

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Flight 3 - The Pensioner (1 Note)

  • 1973 Château Fonbadet 88 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

    Quite cool and herbal, with the fruit coming in somewhat as an afterthought. A smoky meatiness that immediately put me in mind of a Cote-Rotie, and with the sweetness of age. I found the nose a little strange (think dettol), but the palate was better and overall I think I liked this more than some of the others at the table. 50 years old and in fine shape overall.

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Flight 4 - 2001 (2 Notes)

  • 2001 Château Léoville Barton 93 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien

    What a lovely wine this was, the accent on cool blue fruit. Linear and strict at first, it gradually opened up but still came across as gloriously restrained in all facets. A sweetness emerges with time that I found wonderful. A youthful 2001 you would have to say, highly sophisticated and yet to fully let go. Just love this producer, does not put a foot wrong, and it remains decent value - just bear in mind you will have to pay a lot of storage. And live a long time/produce wine-loving offspring.

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  • 2001 Château Rauzan-Ségla 94 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux

    Very different to the L-B served alongside, immediately more attractive and open (though the other did catch up in time), with a lovely nose of cassis and black cherry. Round and appealing, a sweetness emerged that was very pleasant and kept me coming back for more. It felt light and elegant, as Margaux ought to be. Kept getting better, will keep for a long time, and my wine of the night.

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Flight 5 - 2005 (2 Notes)

  • 2005 Château Léoville Barton 92 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien

    Interestingly more immediately open for business than the 2001. I had expected this to be a lot harder work, but there was some instant gratification to be had although ultimately I did prefer the older wine. The fruit seemed to be more in evidence here, cool and blue as usual, but less refined. I'd still drink it all day long if I could.

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  • 2005 Château Langoa Barton 91 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien

    Quite a forward claret, a bit in your face - but gracefully so. Immediate fruit hit, perhaps more red than cassis actually, and an easy drinker that proves that left bank 2005s can be good to go even at the tender young age of just 18. Very enjoyable even if it couldn't match the Barton.

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Flight 6 - Cos d'Estournel (2 Notes)

  • 1988 Château Cos d'Estournel 92 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe

    Wonderful, all olive tapenade, green peppers and sweet red and black fruit, soft and delicious. Great wine that has aged perfectly, fully into the final stages and in a great spot. Despite the age difference I found it surprisingly difficult to separate from the 2001, maybe it was the stage of the evening where I mixed my glasses up....

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  • 2001 Château Cos d'Estournel 93 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe

    Great freshness still, sweet tannins, vanilla and creme de cassis. Feels younger than it is and will likely go on for a good while (I have 2 left). I really enjoyed this, have not had Cos for what seems like an age, and it is now rather unaffordable.

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Flight 7 - Left field (1 Note)

  • 1997 Château Poujeaux 91 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Moulis en Médoc

    Proof that even modest Bordeaux can age with the best of them and end up very attractive for it. This was really good, easily keeping pace with the big boys. Sweet fruit, fully resolved tannins, quite charming and an excellent wine with which to finish the reds. If you see some, snap it up, this punched well above its weight.

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Flight 8 - Sweet surprise (1 Note)

I was genuinely surprised, despite being the organiser it had completely passed me by that this was coming!

  • 2006 Château Coutet Barsac 91 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Barsac

    Baked apple strudel to my palate, and still pretty fresh despite the underlying sweetness and rich flavours. Wish I had had food with it, but it also worked in its own right.

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Closing

No misgivings needed on the fixed/shared menu front for large groups even though it seems a bit off-putting. Plenty of good food, lots of extra glasses, loads of decanters, we were very well looked after. Leoville Barton shone as you might expect, but some surprises in there too. Great wines that I was fortunate to be part of.

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