NobleRottersSydney - Bordeaux night
Darling Mills, Glebe
Tasted Monday, November 6, 2000 by graemeg with 652 views
Introduction
Nothing more specific than 'Bordeaux'. Eleven of us gathered, amidst some mutterings about the wisdom of paying as much for one decent bottle as for a whole case of respectable Oz wine - or indeed, a bottle of Grange. Those with cellars full of Bordeaux on the other hand, merely brought something that had been resting for years and lamented the fact that they weren't replacing their stocks of top-class Bordeaux anymore due to pricing absurdities. It rather suggests that this theme for us will be rather rare in future. We drank from youngest to oldest, more-or-less. The white Margaux arrived at the end, hence its unusual placement...
1996 Château d'Armailhac
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
Deep purple/red. A spicy cherry & berry nose with a hint of stalk. A little raw, perhaps, on the palate, with something of a doughnut shape. Plenty of sweet fruit onth e front palate, but not really integrated yet. Finishes rather warm on the palate, then softens in a fleshy, rather tasty sort of way. A bit disjointed, but pleasant. Likely a short term drinker.
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1996 Château Cantemerle
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Haut-Médoc
Deep crimson red. Some menthol & spearmint on the nose amid some dusty notes. Evidence of a less successful year in the Southern Medoc? Very fleshy on the palate, with jam & black cherry flavours. Tanins are soft and very even across the palate – there are no hard edges to this wone at all. A soft, long balanced finish. Not particularly complex in structure, but tasty and satisfying anyway.
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1994 Château Curé-Bon
France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Saint-Émilion Grand Cru
Bit of an unknown this, Diving to parker’s book, we find only a general comment on the estate, and no wine notes. Mid red with a little bricking. A stalky, herbaceous nose with smoky overtones. Quite oaky on the palate as well, and although the oak dominates the fruit, by Oz standards, the tannins are quite soft. A little strawberry fruit flavour disappears quickly in the background. Drinkable, but nothing special.
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1994 Château La Lagune
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Haut-Médoc
Mid red with some brick-coloured tinge. A sweaty, almost Hunter Valley-like nose. Some spicy fruits on the palate, sitting right in the middle of the tongue, yet the finish is quite short. Quintessential mediocre-year wine? Drink soon.
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1993 Château Montrose
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Saint-Estèphe
Very deep red. Quite a pongy nose, showing some vegetal characters. Surprisingly light on the palate, considering the estate reputation, but vintage trumps vineyard, I guess. Very nicely balanced none-the-less. I first wrote tannins were ‘soft’ but ‘fine’ is a better word. Opened up a little in the glass. Medium length finish. Not a bad save overall, I guess.
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1989 Château Meyney
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Saint-Estèphe
Solid red with a hint of brick. Lusciously rich nose – hard to pick specific fruit descriptors. Spices, cloves, plums; we were mostly pretty impressed, especially after the 93/94 wines! Perhaps inevitably, the palate didn’t quite live up to the richness of the nose, and it does finish up a bit simple. Just lacks the magical complexity the nose promised, although hard to pinpoint any one factor that causes it. Not showing any signs of fading, and objectively a pretty good wine, especially considering pricing generally.
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1983 Château Gruaud Larose
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Saint-Julien
Brick red, with orangey/brown hue at the rim. Pungent charcoal-like nose with smoky characters and cedary notes. Very much an aged bouquet. On the palate a bit resiny, but with a long even balanced finish. Just medium bodied.
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1983 Château Léoville Las Cases
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Saint-Julien
Deep red with just a little garnet/bricking. Beautifully elegant nose of blackcurrant, leather and cigar-boxes just brings a tear to the eye. A soft, yet firm palate lingers before fading to a haunting finish with wisps of gentle fruit memories. A fabulous wine, Really.
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1978 Château La Lagune
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Haut-Médoc
Medium brick red/orange. Very aged nose; gently sweetish, but with liquorice and warm bitumen. Most of the texture is soft and integrated, but astringent tannins stick out on the finish. Still, the palate trumps the expectations that the bouquet raises, so that's something of a surprise. But drink soon, this is nearly gone.
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1970 Château Mouton Rothschild
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
Bricklike colour, heading towards orange, with a suggestion of cloudiness? A nose of meaty beefiness, with liquorice and leather overtones. A soft, leathery old-wine palate, and an enchanting blend of still present acid, some soft tannins and mature old small-berry fruits, barely detectable. It seems unfair to try to pick out the components, as they blend to a beautifully smooth finish. The wine seems to somehow grow sweeter, just sitting in the glass, smelling different each time I go back to it. And although I’m no expert, surely it has nowhere further to go. Equally, it’s not just clinging on either, it’ll hold for a few years yet, I expect.
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1980 Château Margaux Pavillon Blanc
France, Bordeaux
Mid-straw/yellow only. Age 20?! Incredible nose of passionfruit and fruit-salad with a touch of grassiness. No pissing cats here. Ultra-dry on the palate, with distinctly herbaceous flavours. Austere, despite the nose, acidic even – it almost makes you thirsty. At 20, you’d have to say it will age forever. Extraordinary.
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1981 Château Rieussec
France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes
Mid gold. A nose of supressed apricot & marmalade. Initial sweetness is quite enchanting, with lovely acidity still. A beautiful long dry (or clean) finish, with no sign of cloying, drying out or falling apart. An expensive half-bottle, but a lovely wine.
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1996 Brown Brothers Riesling Noble Riesling
Australia, Victoria
An interloper tonight, this is deep gold, has an over-the-top rich honeyed nose, a blast of zingy acid to kick-start the palate with sweet orange & apricot fruits, and then…*poof* …nothing. Gone. Oh.
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