Monbousquet Vertical (1994, '96, '97, '98, '99, 2001)

Tasted together with the Winekakis on a lazy public holiday afternoon with wines pulled together from different people. A big thanks to Sean for organising this.

• 2002 Morey-Blanc Auxey-Duresses Blanc 87 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Auxey-Duresses

  Thrown in by Sean to freshen our palates before the main event. This was served blind, and I was rather thrown off by the nose, which did a great imitation of a Stilton blule cheese with crackers along with a slight wet cardboard character more or less obscuring the fruit. It was more obviously Chardonnay and Burgundy on the palate, which was rather rich, showing lime and minerals lifted by bright acidity. All pretty decent. In spite of the acidity though, it seemed just a little flattened out. Quite a bit of premature oxidation obviously. The wine is still alive and able to give pleasure, but barely so. Pity, because it seems as though it would have been pretty alright otherwise.

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• 1994 Château Monbousquet 91 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Saint-Émilion Grand Cru

  This was the only bottle we popped and poured. Not surprisingly, the lightest coloured of the wines, this was almost brickish. Very expressive, attractive nose, with savoury soy, earth, cooked meat, plums, bramble, herbs, capsicum - all very inviting, with layers and layers of complexity. Unfortunately, the palate did not quite live up to that promise. The fruit had certainly faded, leaving a thin layer of cherry and blackcurrant, along with capsicum, a hint of herb and an attractive floral accent. There was a sense from the flavour spectrum and the dusty, chalky tannins that the wine had developed quite a bit from the green and tannic toughness that marked the 1994 vinatge. It finish rather a little woody and with a hint of bittersweet tannins that gave a sense of chewiness. Apart from that, this was quite the elegant, if rather mature lady now. I thought it was a good showing for a 1994 and thoroughly enjoyed the wine.

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• 1996 Château Monbousquet 90 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Saint-Émilion Grand Cru

  Not a bad wine by any means, but this was my least favourite of the tasting. Darkish core, with the rim starting to go garnet. Toasty brioche and mocha from the oak was the first thing to hit the nose, along with blackcurrant that held a hint of kirsch and a twist of capsicum and a little rivulet of glycerin. Noticeably denser and more extracted than the 1994 on the palate, this showed some sweet black cherry fruit, chewy, chalky tannins, savoury meat and a little heat. There was also more of the same capsicum and herb accent that I found in the other vintages we tasted. Nice satisfying finish that tailed off with sweet plums, herbs and a lingering kiss of leather. Somehow though, decent as it was, the palate did seem a little all over the place, rather simple and perhaps lacking a little focus. There was an appearance of depth and concentration at first, but at the end of the day, the wine seemed somehow a little lightweight. It is well worth a drink and I think that it will improve with a bit of time, but I am not sure how much it will come together and integrate.

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• 1997 Château Monbousquet 91 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Saint-Émilion Grand Cru

  Decanted for about an hour. Nicely elegant and classy wine. Not as intense and concentrated as the wines from 1998 onwards, I found this more akin to the 1994 in that it was more classically styled - quite a textbook St Emilion. On the colour, it was quite a bit darker than the 1994, lightening already, but it still retained a purple robe. Lots of animal, barnyard and earth on the nose at first, which may turn some people off. I liked it though. In any event, it faded with a few swirls and a little time to show leather and roasted meat notes with some capsicum floating around. I thought it also got a bit sweeter. The palate was nicely expressive on the attack, with Chinese herbs, blackberry and a slightly reticent floral character surpported by bright acidity (the brightest of the vintages tasted actually) and the remnants of fine tannins that had softened into a silky glide aross the mouth. Very nicely balanced and integrated. I enjoyed this very much, but it is about time to drink up if you have any left. While the attack on the palate gave a sense of concentration, it faded really quickly and showed a bit thin and watery towards the shortish finish. There was a nice juicy twist of acidity at the end which perked the wine up, otherwise, the best was over by the mid-palate.

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• 1998 Château Monbousquet 93 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Saint-Émilion Grand Cru

  Decanted for about an hour. I thought this wine was showing the best on the afternoon. Its nose was pleasant, though not quite as attractive as some of the other vintages. It was the first vintage to show obvious mocha and coffee tones, alongside some sweet dark cherry and floral tones along with a savoury cheddar cheese tang. It picked up some sweetness with time, with the cheesy scent subsiding and prunes and plums coming to the fore. Later on, the coffee subsided a little to show a more woody accent, along with five spice and anise floating around somewhere. The palate was the most complete of the wines we had. I found it very full flavoured, yet very focused, with velvety tannins showing some grip and clean acidity giving balance to a plush and luxurious mouthfull of dark fruit that held a twist of Chinese herbs and fragrant sandlewood, which moved rather seamlessly into a longish finish that had a mocha laden woodiness. In terms of style, I found this midway between the more classically proportioned 1994, 1996 and 1997 and the really modern 1999 and 2001. Very nice on the day indeed. This should continue to improve over the next 3-4 years and will be very interesting to try then. This was voted wine of the tasting by an overwhelming number.

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• 1999 Château Monbousquet 91 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Saint-Émilion Grand Cru

  Decanted for a couple of hours by the time I got to it. Rated 94 points by Robert Parker, but I was not similarly impressed. It is a wine that is right up the Robert Parker / Michel Rolland alley though. Dark core, with a reddish rim still showing some youth. Nose was the sweetest amongst all the vintages we tried - even more so than the already sweet 2001. This showed kirsch, super-ripe plums, caramelised dark soy sauce, a twist of asian spice and a layer of smoky tobacco. Attractive in its own right, but shockingly "new world" compared to the earlier vintages. After some time, familiar scents of roasted herbs started merging on the bouquet. As would be expected from the nose, the palate was soft and round, showing lots of extract and intense dark fruit. Unfortunately, for all the sense of intensity and concentration, the fruits were just a little indistinct, with the flavours somewhat hard to pry apart. It was certainly a good wine, but somehow seemed a bit clunky and pedestrian, almost as if it lacked a bit of elegance and character. Balance was okay, but I would have appreciated a bit more acidity on the frame to support the extracted feel. I must say that the finish was really nice - the longest of the lot we drank - with wood, leather, spice, Chinese herbs and a splash of coffee lingering in the mouth. This one needs some time to integrate, I have no doubt that it will get better over the next 5 years, but not my favourite of the tasting by any means.

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• 2001 Château Monbousquet 92 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Saint-Émilion Grand Cru

  This had been in the decanter a few hours before I came to it. Rated a masive 94 points by Robert Parker and I can see why. Like the similarly rated 1999, it is a very Parker-style right bank. Darkly coloured, with a nose full of mocha, coffee and vanilla notes, with sweet, super plush, super-ripe dark cherry fruit scents underneath. There was also a little touch of capsicum and some caramelised soy. Rather port like in fact. The palate showed lots of extract and was round and plsuh, with ripe cherries and blackcurrants being the dominating flavours. Again, there was this overiding sense of ripeness. Still, it was nicely balanced, with chakly, fine-grained tannins providing some grip. I also thought that this had more of a lift than the 1999, but that it could still have used just a little more freshness. The familiar Chinese herbs peeked out with time in the glass, along with a savoury roast meat flavour that was rather a throwback to vintages from the early nineties. There is plenty of stuffing in here - I would wait a good five years before broaching it again. Certainly well made, I preferred this to the similarly styled 1999. Like the 1999 though, this wine was very modern and, sadly, lacking a bit of soul.

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• 2007 Müller-Catoir Haardter Mandelring Scheurebe Spätlese 90 Points

  Germany, Pfalz

  Henry's kind donation to round the day off. Pale yellow gold, with a slight green inflection. 10% alcohol. Very ripe, very attractive nose, choked full of aromatic white musk and flowers, almost a sticky sweet, Auslese scent, along with ripe fuzzy peaches and other ripe stone fruits and a wafting petroleum note. As would be expected from the super lush nose, the palate was extremely expressive, with lots and lots of rich peach, apricot riding on a little bed of spritz from secondary frementation and a faint minerally streak. Lots of character here, and very seductive and hedonistic. The problem was that the wine was so rich and hugely flavoured that it was too sweet for the acid to handle. It finished fresh, with more musky flowers, but everything else was a bit too unctuous and sticky sweet for my liking. Unfortunate, because I really like the character of the wine. I would give it a good 6-7 years for the sweetness to come down before broaching it again. Even then, I would serve it really cold.

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The tasting was real fun and very educational. I thought quality was high throughout the vintages and rather consistent. The wines were marked by a similar capsicum and Chinese herb flavour thoughout along with very right bank sweetish black fruit. There was a big shift of style from 1998 onwards, especially noticeable in the 1999 and 2001 vintages, with the wines losing some elegance in return for greater extract, a higher intensity and concentration of fruit, higher alcohol, a rounder, plusher mouthfeel and much more noticeable oak treatment. No wonder that Robert Parker gave the 1998, 1999 and 2001 wines 94 points each. While the newer wines show better fruit and seem to be more well made, I am still partial to the older style, which I thought showed more elegance. However, it would be interesting to try the newer wines several years down the road when they have taken on some maturity.