Eldon Dumps His Bordeaux
Wine Cellar Club, Irvine, CA
Tasted March 22, 2010 by WetRock with 733 views
Introduction
Eldon Gath has come to realize he does not like French or Old world styled wines("frog wines") and has come to prefer wines with more forward and obvious fruit characters. So be it but he has purchased wines over the years on recommendation or from specials that don't fit his new focus. He generously opened many of his Bordeaux for us in order to free his cellar of these beasts. I was thankful to be included in the pour off of these 'frog wines' as I enjoyed many of them and really enjoyed the tasting for the variety it showed. There was one or two I would have suggested Eldon keep though such as the Pavie Macquin.
Thanks again to Eldon. My favs would be the 98 Simard, 96 LaGrange and the 00 Pavillon Rouge
Flight 1 (1 note)
Flight 2 (4 notes)
Red
1998 Château Simard
France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion
Showing some age the nose gives some smoke with a touch of brett. Nicely balanced with strong clean acidity and fully mature fruit. Not for fans of modern wines but would make a great dinner companion.
Red
2000 Château Pavie Macquin
France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru
Woody nose with some notes of char and red cherry. Rich and broad palate with very woody tannin. This was put into a decanter which only seem to bring out some excessive ripeness and weaken the palate. Wines by IKEA.
Red
2000 Château Fombrauge
France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru
Bretty nose. Rich and very thick. Thick strong tannins and a bit tight. Showing a lot of extraction but not oak or ripeness. But then again it didn't show much of anything. This may have needed more air and more time.
Red
2003 Château La Couspaude
France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru
The nose shows notes of caramel with some wood and heat. Bright and juicy but it seems to fall off before the tannins arrive. Casualty of the vintage?
Flight 3 (8 notes)
Red
1988 Château Gruaud Larose
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien
Nose of cedar and pencil lead with a bit of heat. Big and surprisingly juicy with very strong tannins. Bit round and showing more cedary redwood notes. This evened out some later on and became very nice classic aged Cabernet.
Red
1996 Château Lagrange (St. Julien)
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien
Expressive dense nose of lava rocks of red wood. Very stand up acids behind a juicy balanced palate that makes your brain stop and say 'nice' This was terrific
Red
1997 Château Clerc Milon
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
The nose is vegetal with notes of pencil lead and a bit of heat. The palate is also vegetal in flavor but has good balance showing plenty of acid and tannin. More heat though. The fruit doesn't match the structure here.
Red
1999 Clos du Marquis
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien
Big soft nose showing a note of peach pit. Juicy and soft with late tannin with a freshly cut fruit quality. Clearly a more forward in styled.
Red
2000 Château Branaire (Duluc-Ducru)
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien
Young somewhat tight nose showing violets, beef blood and chocolate. Tight with young fruit and feeling a bit disjointed. Thick tannins. Really in need of time and air. Hard to read today.
Red
2000 Pavillon Rouge du Château Margaux
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux
Classic Cab nose showing pencil lead, cedar and fresh wood. Big fruited and thickly tannic this baby needs time. I like where it could go.
Red
2000 Château La Louvière
France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan
Nose of roasted meats and wood. This showed great balanced with an expressive interplay of fruit and acids. The fruit shows very young so this can go a while but probably not a real long term wine.
Flight 4 (1 note)
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