Acidity pretty prominent. Medium bodied (much lighter bodied than the ‘04 Montrose tasted alongside). Still a ways off ‘full’ maturity on the palate, but it doesn’t feel like it has much stuffing left in the tank in terms of structure; what tannins are present dissipate pretty quickly. This is good, albeit I had higher hopes! Just not hitting the heights I had hoped for.
Cool nose, bit green, pretty elevated. A spectre of some (minor) TCA? Palate follows suite. Very drinkable. In a good place in terms of weight and development; good concentration still. Tiny bit short on the finish and the aforementioned greenness would be the only criticism I could level.
Pretty dark in the glass! Really expressive and classic cassis nose. Delicious and in a lovely place; vibrant core of sweet black fruit, all developing into some lovely tertiary notes (albeit more in the mushroom/forest floor/umami territory than classic pauillac pencil shavings/leather - best guess would be due to relatively low levels of (perceived) acidity. Lovely.
In a very good place; more developed than the ‘04 Leoville Barton drunk alongside - plenty of leather and forest floor; quite funky. All kept very strictly on the straight and narrow by some relatively prominent tannins and acidity that are quite prominent. Really vivacious; no hurry to drink up!
Heady, pure blackberry/bramble nose. Palate has some dark oak spice, and those same brambley notes from the nose repeat themselves. Tannins almost overbearing! This is the only wine of the night that I’d put in the ‘not yet ready’ camp - its in the ‘neither here nor there’ stage, for me. Full of potential and very concentrated, which bodes well for the future. 91++
Lovely, hedonistic nose. Surprisingly cool palate; tannins are relatively withdrawn but still present, especially towards the finish. Very fruit forward. Super cohesive and knotted together; concentrated without being tight or in any way withdrawn. Lovely tertiary notes starting to come through. This is great.
2004 Château Calon-Ségur 92 Points
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Saint-Estèphe
Acidity pretty prominent. Medium bodied (much lighter bodied than the ‘04 Montrose tasted alongside). Still a ways off ‘full’ maturity on the palate, but it doesn’t feel like it has much stuffing left in the tank in terms of structure; what tannins are present dissipate pretty quickly. This is good, albeit I had higher hopes! Just not hitting the heights I had hoped for.
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2004 Château Montrose 92 Points
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Saint-Estèphe
Cool nose, bit green, pretty elevated. A spectre of some (minor) TCA? Palate follows suite. Very drinkable. In a good place in terms of weight and development; good concentration still. Tiny bit short on the finish and the aforementioned greenness would be the only criticism I could level.
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2004 Château Léoville Barton 94 Points
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Saint-Julien
Pretty dark in the glass! Really expressive and classic cassis nose. Delicious and in a lovely place; vibrant core of sweet black fruit, all developing into some lovely tertiary notes (albeit more in the mushroom/forest floor/umami territory than classic pauillac pencil shavings/leather - best guess would be due to relatively low levels of (perceived) acidity. Lovely.
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2004 Château Léoville Poyferré 93 Points
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Saint-Julien
In a very good place; more developed than the ‘04 Leoville Barton drunk alongside - plenty of leather and forest floor; quite funky. All kept very strictly on the straight and narrow by some relatively prominent tannins and acidity that are quite prominent. Really vivacious; no hurry to drink up!
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2004 Château Grand-Puy-Lacoste 93 Points
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
Quite dark in the glass. Pretty glossy and the fruit is at a lovely stage of development. Tannins pretty slack at this point. Very friendly wine.
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2004 Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande 91 Points
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
Heady, pure blackberry/bramble nose. Palate has some dark oak spice, and those same brambley notes from the nose repeat themselves. Tannins almost overbearing! This is the only wine of the night that I’d put in the ‘not yet ready’ camp - its in the ‘neither here nor there’ stage, for me. Full of potential and very concentrated, which bodes well for the future. 91++
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2004 Vieux Château Certan 94 Points
France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol
Lovely, hedonistic nose. Surprisingly cool palate; tannins are relatively withdrawn but still present, especially towards the finish. Very fruit forward. Super cohesive and knotted together; concentrated without being tight or in any way withdrawn. Lovely tertiary notes starting to come through. This is great.
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2009 Château Rieussec 94 Points
France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes
End of the evening; no proper notes. Incredibly rich. Still super youthful; nothing really remotely tertiary yet and this has miles to go.
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