APFW Bordeaux Tasting

A really good tasting organised by APFW. Quality wines almost throughout, with one or two very nice ones. I particularly favoured the Laville Haut-Brion blanc and, for the red, the La Mission and the Smith Haut Lafitte. As different as chalk and cheese in style, but both very good. The de Fieuzal was a real suprise, and very much enjoyed

• 2004 Château Laville Haut-Brion Blanc 93 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan

  I really liked this wine. Rather reductive at first, with lots of rubber-bandy smells, it opened up with some air to show a really idiosyncratic nose of honey, beeswax, a touch of straw, some earth and some savoury preserved orange peel. Perfect balance on the palate, with rather lifted ripe lemon flavours along with orange zest, more beeswax, some mushrooms and nice ripe, red apple tones. Lovely fruit here, and all held up with some perfectly integrated acidity. Good thing too, because the palate had some weight on it - all beeswaxy and oily textured. There was just that touch of dried herbs as the wine moved into a long, lingering finish with musky honey and smoke notes. Quite stunning length on this one. A lovely wine, just oozing with personality and character.

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• 1999 Château Pavie Macquin 90 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Saint-Émilion Grand Cru

  Lovely, opened nose, pretty evolved and mature for a 10 year old Bordeaux. I got little whiffs of cheese that took a little while to blow away at first. When it did, it showed wood spice, chocolate, dark cherries and plums and dry forest floor littered with truffly scents. Very nice. Palate was rather incongruously tight-fisted after all that expressiveness, but still pretty decent. There was a pretty high level of extract , with firmish tannins and a woody backbone being the first thing that hit me. There was quite a bit of plush cherry fruit riding on top of that though, along with a nice balance and good intensity. Finish was a little dry at first, with the wine thinning out after mid-palate, but it resolved nicely, fanning out into a juicy tail with plenty of fresh acidity and decent length. Unusually for a 1999 right-bank, this one still needs a bit of them. A pretty nice wine though.

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• 2004 Château Trotanoy 90 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol

  Not bad, but not fantastic. Nose was nice and deep, with lovely Pomerol notes of soy and slatey minerals along with high-toned minerals and spice all layered over warm, earthy tones with dark plum and cassis fruits lurking beneath. Some little touches of green pepper too. A little glycerol peeked out here and there though, but still very attractive overall. Palate was unfortunately a little let down after the lovely nose. Fattish on the attack, with lots of warm richness in its dark cassis tones along with more spice, but got a little thinned-out and mean towards the mid-palate and into the mid-lengthed finish. The wine tailed off rather dryish with a touch of slightly green and hardish tannins with a tinge of heat at the edges. Needs time, will improve, but not one I would buy.

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• 2004 Château L'Archange 89 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Saint-Émilion

  Decent. Pretty dark coloured. Strange nose - rather wild, a little green, with bits of cheese, wild twigs, menthol, yet with layers of depth in meaty notes along with a sweet underbelly full of cassis, maraschino cherry and vanilla. Not quite a lavish on the palate, but not half-bad still. Rather lowish acid for 2004 - I think they picked quite ripe, with the wine showing some richness in its dark fruit attack along with ripe, but rather mouth-coating, tight-grained acidity. Thins out a little at the mid-palate, before moving into a rather elegant, mid-lengthed finish that showed a dose of coffee powder. Not bad, needs some time still.

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• 2004 Château Cheval Blanc Le Petit Cheval 87 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Saint-Émilion Grand Cru

  Disappointing. Darkish colour. Nose was attractive enough. Lots of fruit sweetness - Sweet plums, macerated cherries, along with typical green pepper and spice and a toasty component. Palate was rather thin though, and pretty much lacking in complexity, with just sweet cherries and slight coffee notes held up with pretty good balance. Rather lacking in substance, especially towards the finish which more or less falls apart after a little show of tight-tannins. Not a bad wine, but one really expects more at this price point and from this house.

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• 2004 Château Cheval Blanc 91 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Saint-Émilion Grand Cru

  A good wine in its own right, but overall a disappointment for a pretty highly-rated Cheval Blanc. Nose was lovely. Deep and gorgeous, it showed stewed green peppers, cassis, dark berries and licorice, all integrated with deep earthy tones. The touches of green around the edges suggest that quite a bit more time is needed with this one. This showed on the palate as well. Elegant, plenty of stuffing, but a little lacking in something at the moment. Even saying that, while not a blockbuster, it had plenty of character, with mouthfilling cassis flavours on the attack, some richness there, coupled with clean berry flavours, some tobacco, herbs and gravel - all held up with good acdity and fine tannins. It just hollowed out some on the mid-palate unfortunately, and seemed to lack some power on the finish. Still though, it ended with a rather attractive tobacco linger. May be in a dumb phase at the moment - needs plenty of time in any event. 91-92

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• 2004 Château Lucia 88 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Saint-Émilion Grand Cru

  Lots of expressive macerated cherries, plums and flowers. Just threatening to shade over into confected territory. Some earthiness suggested Bordeaux, otherwise I would guess new world if served blind. Palate was okay, more sweet cherry fruit and flowers, along with some metallic mineral and spice on the mid-palate. A bit disjointed moving into the finish, but it picks itself up. Overall, a drinkable but quite anonymous wine.

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• 2006 Château Grand Mayne 89 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Saint-Émilion Grand Cru

  Not my favourite property, but this was actually rather good. Modern interpretation for sure - showing the Rolland touch. Nose was full of dark fruits, with sweet cherries augmented by a touch of earth. Much the same on the palate. Very primary still, with rich, chunky, chewy fruit and ripe tannins. It was well-balanced though, and had some nice cherry and menthol flavours. Finish was tightish, with the tannins being pretty firmly-coiled together. Decent length nonetheless, with more primary fruit and a nice dash of spice and tobacco. A very decent wine.

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• 2006 Haut-Carles 89 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Fronsac

  Some excellent value here. This did not look at all out of place next to the classed growths and garragistes wines. Rather modern on the nose, yet nice enough, with smoky, toasty oak along with dollops of cassis and a little bramble. This carried into a very decent palate. Some richness, nice balance, and again, nice flavours of cassis and a touch of tobacco smoke. Grippy tannins provided structure into a decent finish.

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• 2006 Château Croix de Labrie 90 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Saint-Émilion Grand Cru

  Michel Rolland wine. Rather favoured by Parker, with some 94 points, and I can see why - quality is certainly there. Unfortunately, just not quite my idea of good Bordeaux. Nose was hyper-expressive, almost over-eager, with rose and bandung flavours tumbling out of the glass, along with creamy, almost confected cherries, all very sappy and opulent, with a touch of earth and herbs and coffee-ish oak notes. Palate carried mush the same tone. Sweet and extracted, it showed creme-de-cassis and maraschino cherries moving into a raspberry creamish in the palate. Thank goodness the wine was really nicely-balanced and well-integrated - it might have been over-sweet and extracted otherwise. There was a nice little bit of herby thyme that pricked up after the mid-palate and into the finish that added a dash of complexity to the wine as well. Otherwise, I found it all just a little OTT. Good quality, nicely shaped, and will definitely get better with a little time in the bottle - but this was like a athlete pumped up on steroids, something was just not quite right about it. 90-91

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• 2006 Château La Fleur de Boüard 90 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Lalande de Pomerol

  Very modern, but pretty good. Cassis, earth and graphite notes were mixed with mocha and toast on the nose. Very deep though, and quite lovely. Palate was rich, with tons of cassis, along with more graphite, some herbs and a toss of earth, all nicely balanced. Finish was good as well. Decent length, nice flavours of cassis, green pepper and some smoky coffee ground. A nice wine. Somehow though, it just lacked something even though all the right boxes were ticked - it ended up just being a shade anonymous.

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• 2000 Château de Fieuzal 92 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan

  Surprising. This was very nice, and has the potential to get even better. Colour was still dark at the core, though starting to show some garnet at the rim. Very classic Graves nose, with coffee notes littered with pencil lead, dried leaves, some sous bois, leather, tobacco and nice plum and cassis notes. Very full and inviting. No let up on the palate either. The very nice balance was the first thing to hit me, then the fine, slightly powdery tannins, and the lovely, pure cassis notes. Some coffee mocha from the oak were still there, but this was perfectly integrated with the other flavours. Everything was framed very nicely with fresh, juicy acidity. Finish was nice and resolved too, with good length ending with a touch more tobacco and spice. Impressive - not very complex, but certainly a stylish wine. Should be lovely with food. 91-92

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• 2004 Château La Mission Haut-Brion 93 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan

  Lovely. My favourite red of the day. Still darkly coloured. Gorgeous nose. Deep and compact, with lots of richness, yet typically subtle and understated, with savoury notes of toasty earth along with a touch of tobacco and lurking dark fruit. Tons and tons of charm on the palate. Not the richest or densest, but absolutely delicious. Juicy acidity and plush, silky tannins formed a nice frame for super-clean cassis and graphite flavours. Superb-integration and focus throughout - this was Graves at its finest here. In keeping with the rest of the wine, the finish was gentle and charming. Medium-length, but beautifully resolved. A yummy and seductive wine. Very good indeed. 92-93.

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• 2004 Château Gruaud Larose 90 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Saint-Julien

  Confirmed my impressions when I tried it about a year-and-a-half back. Good wine, but not entirely memorable. Nose showed plenty of earth, some tobacco, some herbs and some toasty coffee notes layered over cassis fruit. Nice cleanness on the palate, along with a good amount of sweet cassis. Nice balance, well-integrated and with fine, firmish tannins. The touches of herb and tobacco reassert themselves at the finish. I will have no qualms drinking plenty of this.

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• 2004 Château Grand-Puy Ducasse 91 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

  Unexpectedly good. Nose was rather lovely, and very Pauillac, with cassis and green peppers flecked with earthy sous bois, leather and graphite. Palate was very primary, but very pleasant. Savoury meaty notes mingled with nice fruit in the form of cassis and dark cherry flavours. Tannins was firm but supple and there was a nice plushness as well. Just a little touch of wet, leafy rot at the back-palate distracted a little, but that was washed away in the rich, powerful finish. Not the most complex wine, but rather enjoyable.

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• 2006 Château Smith Haut Lafitte 92 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan

  This showed really well on the day. A bit too much oak overall, but it was well-integrated enough not to be too much of a distraction. Really gorgeous nose. Coffee and mocha scents were smothered, affogato-like, over smokey toast, earth, pencil lead and a lovely undercurrent of dark cassis notes hinting at a nice fruit purity. And boy did the palate deliver. Superb balance and integration, with clean fruit laced through with fresh acidity, it showed sweet, ripe and very pure dark cassis tones and sappy, chewy cherries. No confected sweetness here though - all very natural and effortless. Nice little hint of green pepper and a woody, brambly touch added a nice relief. Good tannin structure too - very sweet and ripe, slightly powdery, but with a nice firmness to it, especially moving into the long finish, where they just coated the mouth in a little lingering layer. Very modern interpretation, but a lovely wine nonetheless. 92-93

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• 2006 Château Marojallia 90 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux

  I was expecting a steroid-pumped wine, but this was actually rather classy and pretty good indeed, showing a good Margaux typicity. Nice deep nose, with cassis, graphite and charcoal along with perfumy highlights. Palate had clean, juicy acidity running though flavours of cassis and fresh flowers. Great balance, supple structure with fine tannins giving some firmness. Very decent finish too, with a little sprinkle of graphite and lead. 90-91

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