2008 Bordeaux
Tasted May 25, 2011 by Loren Sonkin with 893 views
Introduction
Last night my tasting group met to try some 2008 Bordeaux. While there are still many 08's not yet in the stores, our host Jeff P. was able to find enough of them to give us a nice head start on deciding if we want to purchase any. Assuming that first and super second growths are out of our price comfort level, this presented a nice mix of wines. Lascombes and Brane-Cantenac being the only 2nd growths we tried IIRC. Add Lagrange (3rd), Lafon Rochet and Brainare Ducru (4th) and Grand Puy Ducasse and Lynch Bages (5th) and this was a well organized view of the vintage for our purposes (deciding if we actually want to buy some of these wines).
The wines were decanted for two hours before we tried them blind. Each wine had it owns glass as we enjoyed them for another two hours. Breads and cheese were served. All the wines were purple tinged with ruby so I left that out of my notes. They all fell into a very tight band without drastic differences between them. In general, I would say the vintage is very good if not great based on this very limited sampling. Pricing will be the key to future purchases (I did buy a few perennial favorites) for me. We all know the market is flooded with 06 and 07's and 09 and 10's are going to be coming with their great ratings. If anyone wants me to buy more of these, its going to take aggressive pricing. 08 might make a good restaurant wine in terms of pricing, but will still take some cellar time to justify present pricing. I will be watching for deals (again I don't buy firsts or super seconds) and if say I see Lynch Bages near $50 or Lagrange near $30, I will be buying. If much higher, I won't give it a second thought.
Flight 1 (1 note)
White
2007 Domaine de Chantemerle Chablis
France, Burgundy, Chablis
Light golden in color. The nose is tight but with air shows some apple and lemon curd. Tart on the palate. Some grapefruit, especially on the finish. There is a nice level of complexity. Its very soft, which is pleasant. Nice finish.
Flight 2 (10 notes)
Red
2008 Château Lafon-Rochet
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe
This took some time to get itself together. The nose showed some tobacco and cassis. Slightly bitter at first, with air, more black raspberry notes emerged. Became more tannic with air. There is a refreshing streak of acidity. Ultimately a nice wine.
Red
2008 Château Lagrange (St. Julien)
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien
A very nice showing for this wine and the groups #2. Tight at first, but with some air, it has nice cassis fruit with a bit of graphite on the nose. The fruit continues on to the palate. Also some leather. Medium tannins at first but with air they increase. One of the more approachable of the wines, but very nice and show some interest as well.
Red
2008 Château Ormes de Pez
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe
Very fresh on the nose with mostly black cherries. The palate its more like black raspberry pie filling. Juicy and tannic but seems to lack the complexity to take it to the higher echelon. Still very delicious now.
Red
2008 Château Branaire-Ducru
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien
i liked this much more than the group which had this in last place. The nose was a bit more open and already showing a bit of funk, which I like. Also some cassis. I thought it had a nice, juicy texture. A bit tannic and the acidity made the fruit seem more like boysenberries. Slightly clipped on the finish. As I said, I liked this and think there is plenty there to suggest more development.
Red
2008 Château Lynch-Bages
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
I was very impressed with this wine right from the start. The nose is more black raspberries with plenty of fruit. Just a bit of graphite. Nice juicy texture and plenty of tannins. Black raspberry fruit. A nice streak of acidity. There is a lot lurking here. This is the first LB I have had in a while that i really liked. Probably am not a buyer at $80+ though.
Red
2008 Château Grand-Puy Ducasse
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
The group liked this more than I. The nose is dusty with some cassis and a fair amount of oak. Slightly think on the palate with black raspberries and also some heat. Mild tannins. Its a nice wine, but I thought somewhat generic.
Red
2008 Château Brane-Cantenac
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux
The nose has a nice funk starting, also some cassis. Silky texture with mostly black cherry fruit. Fades a bit on the finish. Probably earns an outstanding rating with some cellar time. Not really showing that depth right now.
Red
2008 Château d'Issan
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux
This seemed to be controversial, but I liked it. I found it to improve all night where others found it to get weird. The nose has funk, dust, cedar and cassis. Soft texture which makes it seem accessible. Plenty of black raspberry fruit. Long finish.
Red
2008 Château Lascombes
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux
The nose has cassis, some oak but less than i might have expected from this house, and is very nice. Silky texture with medium tannins. Nice black raspberry fruit. Long finish with good balance. More forward now than most, but should develop. New label and bottle shape that I don't remember being used before.
Red
2008 Château Grand Mayne
France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru
The only right bank wine and the groups WOTN. My friend Jeff K always says outliers/ringers are either first or last and perhaps this explains something here. It was not that accessible though given its mostly Merlot makeup. The nose had some funk with dust and black raspberry. Soft texture. Nice acidity. Seems like it will be better.
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