Raiding the in-laws cellar - Christmas in France 2008

We spent Christmas at the in-laws in France. They pulled out some good wines over the christmas period. They didnt need much arm-twisting.

Started off with a 1973 Domaine de Coy Sauterne which was not listed on CT. An excellent match for oysters - slightly acidic, older sweet wine. Old, elegant. Drink over the next 5 years.

• 1996 Château La Tour Figeac

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Saint-Émilion Grand Cru

  (12/24/2008)

  Appearance - fading, some bricking. Soft, elegant nose - good complexity. Light, dusty tannins. In the mouth this is soft - the fruit is slightly plummy. After an hour the fruit starts to fade and the tannins kick back in. Very good but if you have any then drink now.

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• 1991 Château Carbonnieux

  France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan

  (12/24/2008)

  A great surprise. Light, elegant, whispy, fading - almost Nebbiolo-like in appearance. No tannins just soft rolling fruit with a very delicate touch. If it was a landscape it would be a gently rolling meadow covered in soft grass. Very good. Drink now before time takes its toll and this wine fades away.

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• 1994 Château Léoville Poyferré

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Saint-Julien

  (12/24/2008)

  Still has a few years left in it, but hitting the downslope. Fine grained dusty tannins. damp earth, spices. Medium fruit - relaxed with some peppery notes. Reasonable length on the finish. Very good.

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• 2005 Warwick Estate Trilogy

  South Africa, Coastal Region, Stellenbosch, Simonsberg-Stellenbosch

  (12/24/2008)

  Oppulent, rich, sweet, dark, complex and beautiful wine. This wine has years ahead of it. Seriously complexity here which has no right existing in a wine of this price. Went down a storm against better known wines. Beautiful.

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• 1999 Moët & Chandon Champagne Cuvée Dom Pérignon

  France, Champagne

  (12/24/2008)

  Notes of butter and rich fruit. Smooth, fine mouse on the follow through. Elegant. But I am not a champagne man and it was probably wasted on me.

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Much excitement with the Latour and Pichon Baron opened.......

• 1994 Château Pichon-Longueville Baron

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

  (12/25/2008)

  A major disappointment on christmas day. This was shut down hard. No nose for about 3 hours, and then only just a little whiff of dark fruit.. In the mouth again hardly a thing - eventually some bitter chocolate-like tannins but little else. The fruit is hidden. Will no doubt be a great wine but this particular bottle was not playing today.

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• 1995 Château Latour Grand Vin

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

  (12/25/2008)

  Jeez - talk about a labour of love. Opened for christmas day lunch and there was NOTHING on the nose. After much swirling and pontificating we decanted the rest and left it for 8 hours. The result? A faint whiff of class, delicate whisps of cassis, earth, minerals. I would be doing my nut if I had spent £400 on a bottle like this. In the mouth this isn't giving up much at all. As someone said, we may as well be drinking water. A strange bottle, and this followed on from a bottle of 94 Pichon Baron with exactly the same problem. Not my first experience of a 95 Latour like this. After an experience like this you wonder why people bother paying stupid money for something that may or may not provide a couple of hours of frustration or gratification. Poor considering the price. Thanks for ruining my Christmas Chateau Latour.

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• 1994 Château Grand Mayne

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Saint-Émilion Grand Cru

  (12/25/2008)

  Good, deep colour. Notes of caramel - some heat on the mid-palate and some tannins. Reasonable fruit with soft plummy notes coming through. Good.

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• NV Ruinart Champagne Brut

  France, Champagne

  (12/25/2008)

  I'm not a bubbly man, but if I had to have a house champagne this would be it. A good richness and depth here. Slightly tart on the follow through. Overall very good.

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Two of the wines we drunk were not on CT. Moet & Chandon Cuvee Claude Moet, which is only released to people who purchase Dom Perignon via shares in the company. I dont believe you can buy this on general sale.. Thankfully the inlaws have the right to a few bottles each year. It was superb. Stunning in fact. Much better than a Dom Perigonon. Rich, complex, buttery champagne with a long long follow through. I am drining a glass now. Utterly superb. Like a mix of a rich white wine and champagne. I would score this at 93+. We also had a Sainte Marie Pomerol 2000 which was beautifully integrated - notes of caramel, chocolate, earth and soft fruit. Drink now.

Also had a Ladoix white Burgundy - can't remember name of producer but this was all minerals, flint and smoke. Excellent.

• 2005 Domaine Paul Autard Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée La Cote Ronde 93 Points

  France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape

  (12/26/2008)

  Believe the hype. This is a fantastic wine. An incredible concentration of dark black fruits baked by the sun but with a laser-like acidity, tannins and clarity that will allow this wine to age for years and years. Drinking very well now, this wine avoids the over-cooked stereo-type of the region and delivers great focussed fruit with concentrated focus. Notes of smoke, very dark fruit, meat - wow - there is so much here and at no point is it out of control. It is like an elegant Rottweiler in a hannibal-lecter restraining costume. This will be utterly amazing in about 10 years. Buy it if you have the chance. I was given 6 bottles of this for christmas by the mother-in-law and it is so good I could almost forgive her for being a mad old cow.

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• 1996 Château Rahoul

  France, Bordeaux, Graves

  (12/26/2008)

  From a magnum. Always dependable mid-range bordeaux. Aged, a bit plummy but with enough acidity, tannins and complexity to hold up well agains the traditional christmas onslaught of rich food. Good but drink now.

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• 2006 Clos de los Siete

  Argentina, Mendoza, Valle de Uco

  (12/26/2008)

  Big, fat chewy wine. A lot of heat and gloopy fruit. This is not a particularly good wine - all up front and one dimensional. I can't see this wine particularly improving with age - there is no finesse, no acidity to balance off against the fat fruit. Okay for a BBQ but little else. Not really my kind of thing. You can get better wines from Argentina for the same price. Overall average at best. No class.

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• 2005 Boulaouane Vin Gris

  Morocco

  (12/27/2008)

  This is very different. Salmon colour. A slight nose - very delicate. In the mouth a bit of a chemical / watery taste - but then you get used to it. Very very light taste - almost not like drinking wine. This would go very well with cous-cous. Overall not as bad as you would expect. Ideal for quaffing in a restaurant in Marseille with a big dish of Moroccan food. Cost 5 euros.

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• 2003 Château Cos d'Estournel Les Pagodes de Cos

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Saint-Estèphe

  (12/27/2008)

  Deep, dark colour. On the nose very compact and concentrated fruit with delicate aromas of coffee, earth, tobacco. In the mouth dark fruit, tight, powerful but restrained. Complex, smooth but with a good backbone of acidity and tannins. Really a superb wine that will improve with time but this is drinking very well right now. Excellent.

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• 2001 Château Gloria

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Saint-Julien

  (12/27/2008)

  Quite tight and reserved. Restrained classic St Julien notes - cedar, spices, dusty earth. Complex in the mouth - there is good quality here - low tannins and the acidity is perfectly balanced against the fruit. This will age well for another 10 years. Very good.

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• 2004 Château Citran

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Haut-Médoc

  (12/27/2008)

  Pretty decent stuff which is just coming round and ready to drink. Good body and structure, although with some green notes as you would expect for a 2004. This may improve a little bit with more time but not that much. Overall good.

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• 2004 Rustenberg John X Merriman

  South Africa, Coastal Region, Stellenbosch

  (12/27/2008)

  A bit of a dissapointment - this wine was not showing well today. Big ripe, fat flavours of dark fruit and oak. Not really enough balance to the wine - after a glass it was pretty hard work. a shame because this wine is usually excellent.

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• 2000 Château de Pommard Pommard

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Pommard

  (12/29/2008)

  Good combination of dark cherries and sweet fruit. Good, fine tannins and acidity leave this wine well balanced with good complexity. Probably at its best now, but will keep for a while longer. I had a 93 the other day and it was much more acidic and with less fruit. Overall very good. Probably better with food.

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• 1998 Château Citran

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Haut-Médoc

  (12/29/2008)

  Surprising body on this. Dark colour. No bricking at all. Notes of liquorice and smoke on the nose. In the mouth medium bodied - low tannins. Not overly complex but this is a 10 euro wine and it has held up well to 10 years of age. At its peak now but will keep for a few more years. A good quaffing wine.

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