Community Tasting Note

• LiteItOnFire Likes this wine: 92 points

  September 7, 2019 - Tasting among Napa giants consisting of 58 wines. No notes as spitting was frowned upon with my group... even punishable. Top wines 2018 Keplinger Oakville and Vine Hill Ranch Cabernet, Tusk, 2016 Colgin Tychson Hill, 2016 Vine Hill Ranch, Maxem Pinot and Chardonnay (tied for top QPR with La Pelle), La Pelle SB & Cabernet, 2012 Del Dotto Beast. Runner ups 2018 Memento Mori SVDs, 2018 Vice Versa, 2018 Keplinger Sumo and Lithic, 2016 Dana Hershey, 2016 Colgin Cariad and IX Estate.
  
  Was super excited for the vertical tasting and dinner with Alfred Tesseron, owner of Château Pontet-Canet tasted with us on the following vintages: 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2016. Unfortunately for my palate, the 2015 I tried earlier this year and the 2016 were more towards my palate preference than the older vintages. Worth the freight but no need to purchase back vintages. Great experience! 92++

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17 Comments

• Mark1npt commented:

  9/17/19, 7:11 AM - Seems as though you certainly prefer the big Cali fruit! I'm trying to get my wine buddy here to try more BDX but it's not working! Hard to drink them on their own, they really need food paired to shine. The big Cali reds you can just sit and drink all by themselves whenever you want.

• LiteItOnFire commented:

  9/17/19, 9:22 AM - It was a great tasting with Quality wine of 4 vintages: 2005, 2009, 2010 and 2016. While the earlier vintages of these great vintages were high, the palate profile simply were not for me. Half were paired with food, the other half on their own. Had the 2015 in a split earlier this year and loved that one as well. This one simply needs more time- one example would be for the acid to come down a bit and better integrate into the wine vs standout as it does today. Since it is a 2016, it is expected and can be drank now with food to balance it out or held for a bit. Either way 2015 & 2016 simply seem to be more my style with this producer whereas other producers I enjoy different vintages (‘09’, ‘10, 11’, ‘12, ‘14). Also it could be because I just came back from an insane Napa bender which 100% be the cause for the 2009 & 2010 disappoint (I actually planned the Napa Trip around this tasting actually).
  
  I prefer Napa but love Bordeaux in ‘my style’ (whatever the hell that means) which are usually the ‘better’ less classic years’; a lean towards modern (not Napa modern but its the 2000s, clean the place up, use better selection and wine making smarts to deliver the best the property can deliver Chateaus whether inexpensive to super expensive. Vieux Chateau Certan is my #1 and is a mid-cost yet expensive Bordeaux vs my other favorites like Cheval/Mouton (super expensive) or Smith Haut Lafitte (less expensive).

• Mark1npt commented:

  9/17/19, 9:33 AM - PCanet has made a concerted effort to up the profile to more Cali like the last 3-4 vintages. '14 they screwed up. The '09 and '10 they were following the herd but yet trying to move more toward the Cali style. I think they got hung up in between somewhere! I've enjoyed my time at that Chateau when in BDX along with SmithHL....the Cathiards are great people and what they have done to resurrect that old Chateau is just wonderful. Very few places am I a big fan of both the red and their white offerings but you can count me in for both at SmithHL and Pape Clement.
  
  Heading off to Napa in 2 weeks. Have a big tasting scheduled at Realm. Not expecting much with their '17s. Cheers!

• LiteItOnFire commented:

  9/17/19, 10:07 AM - Thanks Mark for the info, very helpful.
  
  I am jealous re: Realm tasting. Didn’t get a chance to visit this trip and it was high on my list as I am struggling to understand where they are going with their wines. Look forward to reading the updates!

• Mark1npt commented:

  9/17/19, 12:02 PM - Re: Realm......I'm not on their list but a friend is and he buys a lot from them so we will be treated well. I still doubt the '17s will be worth the price of admission, though. Waiting for the '18s out of Napa...should be killer! I think I'll have to put off my retirement for another year simply because I'm going to go crazy on the purchasing.......!

• LiteItOnFire commented:

  9/17/19, 12:19 PM - Ha! My thoughts exactly!!! I am hearing ‘17s are like a great Bordeaux vintage with tannins and acid that require time in bottle to resolve and integrate. Time will tell... won’t refuse any of my favorites if offered to taste with years in bottle.

• Mark1npt commented:

  9/17/19, 2:40 PM - My friend, methinks you are being lied to about the '17s. There may be a few decent wines, but good luck finding them......
  
  Record flooding that winter and spring, record number of days over 100 degrees in the valley, shutting down the vines repeatedly, then the fires in early/mid October which caused people to pick early or not pick at all. Crop loss was substantial. 50% in To Kalon alone due to smoke taint. Some wineries didn't get to make some of their wines at all in '17. Everyone across the board with rare exception is scoring anywhere from 3 to 8 points lower on their '17s, Hobbs, Schrader, not exempt either, very low scores for them, there are few exceptions. Think wines from that dreaded 2011 Napa vintage in flavor and scores. Only Jeb Dunnick is throwing good scores up and I don't really think he counts. I am buying the bare minimum in '17s just to stay on some mailing lists and looking to sell some stuff out of the IRA to fund the '18 buying spree!

• LiteItOnFire commented:

  9/17/19, 2:47 PM - You crack me up. No disagreement my point is to be selective and those that are in unique properties that were spared are supposed to be surprisingly good. I am not buying any wine just to stay on a list as at Napa prices that’s too much to lite on fire :)
  
  I will buy those I taste or from others I trust- and will still be very little. Let them hit the market and pick up with age or reasonable prices or not at all. This will help keep the gunpowder dry for 2018s and allow me to make a dent in cellar space.

• Mark1npt commented:

  9/19/19, 5:32 AM - Dude, you need to check out the '15 Pape Clement (red) right now if you haven't already. Posted my review last night. Affordable pricing for a decent BDX, too.

• LiteItOnFire commented:

  9/19/19, 6:44 AM - Thank you Sir! Look forward to firing one of my splits up and diving in.

• Mark1npt commented:

  9/19/19, 7:08 AM - Give it 2 hours of air for sure!

• csimm commented:

  11/21/19, 5:56 AM - Hey gents... just had the 2014 Pontet Canet. Rough go. Super boring and flat affect kind of wine. To Mark’s point, “they screwed up in ‘14.” No doubt. Hope ‘15 and ‘16 are worlds better, otherwise I may be scratching this producer off my list. Eeeesh. Nevertheless, thanks for the great dialogue fellas. Cheers.

• Mark1npt commented:

  11/21/19, 6:59 AM - Csimm....Pontet Canet is a beautiful property and a beautiful wine, if you like that 'kind' of wine. I am fortunate there. Love Cali, but also love certain BDX. Not a fan of most Spanish or Italian. Limited palate there for me. We all have our quirks!
  
  Having said that, the '03, '05 are beautiful if given 4-5 hours of air right now. The '09, '10 are drinking pretty well but those true BDX lovers out there will crucify anyone who drinks these wines before they are 20+ years old. I prefer my BDX in their secondary phase, occasionally one will float my boat when it's in its tertiary phase. There really aren't many from BDX that will give a Cali fruit bomb lover the same excitement. (Although the '16 is quite powerful) BDX is now scaling back their alc levels after flirting with higher alcohol levels the last 10-12 years. They tried to copy the Napa formula but they can't. Temp and terrior just isn't the same over there. Where we can sit and enjoy a big Cali cab and all its sweet fruit/tannins on its own, these BDX wines tend to feel and drink 'drier' and really need food, preferably something juicy or fatty, (like ribeye, foie gras, cheeses, cream sauces, etc) and time to shine, IMO.

• LiteItOnFire commented:

  11/21/19, 7:18 AM - When I did the vertical tasting a couple months ago, I was highly disappointed for my palate vs the other Bordeauxs I have really really enjoyed. I preferred the ‘15 over the others.

• Mark1npt commented:

  11/21/19, 9:25 AM - Lite...have not had the '15 but do have a couple of '16s and a few '17s coming next year. Those are probably my final BDX cuz if I let them sit for 20 more years and age, I'll be 82 yo. I think from there on out I'll just buy wine as I go and as the mood hits me!

• LiteItOnFire commented:

  11/21/19, 9:36 AM - I am 100% with you. I loaded up for that same reason on ‘15, ‘16, and ‘18... the question is how long will I hold out from buying 2019 futures. Low will power.

• Mark1npt commented:

  11/21/19, 9:57 AM - Yeah, I have negative willpower points.......but trying to be realistic. I have so many great wines to drink, they will last me the next 30 years. The '19 futures? Ugh, I only wish I could live that long and still taste my wines! I'm starting to see a few drinking windows on my wines go to 2075-80.I'd be 118 yo! I wish........

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