UGC 2007 Bordeaux

Always nice to get a good sense of the vintage at this annual tasting. Fair amount of skepticism/dislike in the room and many may find my scores a bit high for the reds, but I found the wines to be well made and drinkable overall. In the 80s or early 90s this vintage would have been a disaster in the reds, so really it's a testament to modern winemaking that they are mostly decent with a few really nice wines.

Of course the Sauternes are another story and I was surprised to like the Bordeaux blanc as much as I did. The 07 vintage really seemed to favor the Sauvignon Blanc character over the Semillon which for me is a plus. Many of these wines seemed like bigger more powerful Sancerre.

• 2007 Château Carbonnieux Blanc 92 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan

  Big ripe sauv blanc nose. Bracing acidity with citrus and a slight grassynote. Very sauvignon in character but surprisingly nice.

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• 2007 Domaine de Chevalier Blanc 91 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan

  Softer perfumed nose. Tight (almost tannic?) white fruit on the palate - dense and prickly. Needs time, but likely upside.

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• 2007 Château La Louvière Blanc 90 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan

  Nice round ripe nose of spicy gooseberry. Dense white yellow fruit on the palate. Not bad.

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• 2007 Château Larrivet-Haut-Brion Blanc 91 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan

  Pale nose of grassy white fruit. Nice tighter acidic white fruit on the palate. Approachable but will improve.

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• 2007 Château Latour-Martillac Blanc 88 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan

  Pale nose with a dense palate but a significant green streak. Just OK.

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• 2007 Château Malartic-Lagravière Blanc 92 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan

  Medium nose of citrus and sweet tart. Nice spicey white fruit palate. One of the better whites.

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• 2007 Château Olivier Blanc 91 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan

  Medium nose of sour lemon. Nice refreshing sauvignon notes with good acidity and balance.

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• 2007 Château Pape Clément Blanc 93 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan

  Dense nose of white fruit and briar with a hint of banana peel. Dense dry extract and gooseberry fruit on the palate. Good stuffing here, clearly one of the top Graves. Like a good Sancerre on steroids. That said, no way this is a 96-100 point wine or worth anywhere near the ridiculous price point!

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• 2007 Château Smith Haut Lafitte Blanc 92 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan

  Full nose of yellow fruit. Nice full round yellow fruit on the palate. Richer rounder and yellower than most, with more semillon character.

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• 2007 Château Smith Haut Lafitte

  France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan

  Nice spicy coffee red fruit with cherry notes.

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• 2007 Château Angélus 92 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru

  Big forward spicy nose of black fruit. More red fruit on the paltae with spenty of structure and a long tannic finish. Tight, but enough fruit here to be pretty good with time.

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• 2007 Château Canon 89 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru

  Forward red fruit nose with a very slight canned note. Big and tannic on the palate with not much complexity.

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• 2007 Château Canon-la-Gaffelière 91 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru

  Medium forward nose of black fruit and spice. Spicy dry black fruit on the palate with a long coffee finish. Enough stuffing here to be some good upside. 91-92+? pts.

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• 2007 Château Dassault 86 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru

  MEdium full red color. Medium nose of cherry cough drop. Thinner on the friut, but lots of tannin - drinkable, but never likely to be very good.

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• 2007 Château Figeac 93 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru

  Medium red color. Bright red fruit nose. Tight red friut but some spice and complexity.

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• 2007 Clos Fourtet 93 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru

  Full nose of smoky cherry cough drop. Rounder ripe with good structure, balance and spice. One of my top 2-3 reds of the vintage. 93-94 pts.

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• 2007 Château Grand Mayne 87 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru

  Medium full nose of dusty vanilla red fruit. Somewhat monothic black fruit palate with plenty of tannin.

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• 2007 Château La Gaffelière 87 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru

  Medium nose of spicy briar black fruit. LIghter fruit on the palate with lots of tannin...

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• 2007 Château Troplong Mondot 91 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru

  Smoky toasty black fruit nose. Decent black fruit but with lots of tannin.

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• 2007 Château Clinet 94 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol

  Great nose of black pepper, spice, and black fruit (almost Rhone-like). Mmmmn, nice round full black fruit and spice on a firm but round frame. My favorite red of the day.

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• 2007 Château Gazin Pomerol 91 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol

  Medium bright red nose. Medium palate and decent fruit with a firm tannic frame.

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• 2007 Château La Conseillante 91 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol

  Big nose of bell pepper and black fruit. Medium sweet red fruit with searing acidity. Will it come together? 91-92? pts.

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• 2007 Château Cantemerle 92 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Haut-Médoc

  Medium red color. MEdiumd nose of spicy red fruit with a hint of briar. Nice red fruit with less structure - more round. Surprisingly drinkable, especially for what it is.

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• 2007 Château d'Angludet 92 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux

  Full red color. Pale nose of red fruit. Nice medium spicy red fruit with coffe notes on the finish. A nice balanced drinkable effort here.

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• 2007 Château Giscours 93 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux

  Full nose of tobacco and black fruit. Full palate of red fruit with tobacco notes carrying through. Open with decent complexity here. One of the best of Margaux in 07.

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• 2007 Château Kirwan 92 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux

  Nice clean black fruit nose. Decent round red fruit on the palate. Another decent Margaux...

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• 2007 Château Lascombes 93 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux

  Full red color. Nice full nose of ripe red and black fruit - bright. Nice spicy red fruit with good acidity and a lingering, almost haunting finish. My favorite of the Margaux, and one of the better wines of the day. 93+ pts.

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• 2007 Château Branaire-Ducru 92 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien

  Medium black frjuit nose iwht a hitn of prune. Nice ripe round back fruit palate with the prune carrying through.

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• 2007 Château Gruaud Larose 92 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien

  Full bright black fruit nose. Nice red fruit on the palate with sour spice and good acidity. A good showing for the Gruaud I thought. 92-93 pts.

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• 2007 Château Lagrange (St. Julien) 91 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien

  Medium nose of black fruit with a hint of licorice. Big slightly sweet black fruit palate with a firm finish.

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• 2007 Château Léoville Poyferré 92 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien

  Nice balakced bright nose of spicy red fruit. good red fruit with oozing acidity on the palate. Nice. 92-93 pts.

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• 2007 Château Lynch-Bages 89 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

  Medium red color. Medium red nose with green notes. Full coffee red fruit on the palate. OK, but not great.

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• 2007 Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande 92 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

  Medium red color (lighter than most). Full bright spicy red fruit with no hint of the telltale PLL green note. Good firm spicy red friut on the palate with a firm frame.

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• 2007 Château Pontet-Canet 91 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

  Slightly canned red fruit nose. Nice spicy red fruit on the plalate. Nice, but not a standout.

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• 2007 Château Climens 94 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Barsac

  Full rich sweet yellow fruit nose. Oozing honey on the palate with a full untuous glyercin mouthfeel and plenty of sweet pineapple. Made from 100% Semillon, this shows richer and rounder than most others, but I don't see the balancing acidity to make it really great.

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• 2007 Château Coutet Barsac 93 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Barsac

  Nice spicy white/yellow sweet fruit nose. Nice balanced complex spicy pineapple palate with good stuffing and balance. Perhaps a half step behind on concentration, but I think a great value here. 93-94 pts.

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• 2007 Château de Rayne-Vigneau 91 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes

  Nice enought but soft round and simple relative to the others.

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• 2007 Château Doisy-Daëne 93 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Barsac

  Medium nose of sweet pineapple with a hint of spice. Medium spicy sweet pumpkin on the palate with a hint of cinnamon.

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• 2007 Château Guiraud 93 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes

  Dry extract and spice notes on the nose. Nice palate - focused, spicy, and concentrated. Should improve.

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• 2007 Château Lafaurie-Peyraguey 94 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes

  Medium yellow color. Full spicy sweet yellow fruit nose. Full sweet complex peach and pineapple on the palate. Probably my favorite 07 sauternes of the day. 94+ pts.

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• 2007 Château Sigalas Rabaud 91 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes

  Full deep yellow color. Interesting nose of spice but more angular on the palate with dry extract. OK, but not great.

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