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Commanderie de Bordeaux: 2003 Left Bank Dinner
Pastis - Vancouver, BC
Tasted January 21, 2013 by MattTM with 1,104 views
Introduction
The Vancouver chapter of the Commanderie de Bordeaux assembled at Pastis for their annual horizontal to take a look at the 2003 vintage. This was my first foray into one of these 10 year post-vintage dinners. On this evening we tasted only wines from the left bank, which in general was much more consistent than the Merlot dominated wines from the right bank. While there were definitely a few misses on the night, in general the wines showed quite well and avoided the overripe and pruny characteristics that have been thrown around in regards to this vintage.
Flight 1 - Smoked Rabbit, Bacon, Creamy Cabbage, Buckwheat Garganelli (3 notes)
Red
2003 Château Malescot St. Exupéry
Quite expressive on the nose offering a lot of rich blackberry jam and black pepper spice upfront, along with some violet floral aromas, fresh mint, herbs, and a touch of blueberry. Plenty of ripe black cherry comes through on the palate, as well as more black pepper and sweet blackberry, oak, asphalt, and a bit of green pepper. Lots of underlying acidity and gripping tannins. A long length finish ending on notes of rich black cherry and black pepper. There's a bit of heat on the palate but it's not overly distracting. This was on the edge of being too ripe for me, but some time should help this soften and balance out a bit more. Very good -
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Red
2003 Château Latour-Martillac
This is pretty green on the nose, showing aromas of black cherry, black pepper, dark plum, mint, kirsch, and some floral notes. Lots of green bean on the palate, along with black cherry, spearmint, black plum, black pepper, and some prune. Moderate acidity with light sandy tannins. Medium length finish ending on notes of kirsch and black pepper. Quite dilute and watery on the palate. My least favorite of the flight, showing overly green and weedy characteristics. Good
Red
2003 Château Haut-Bailly
Quite restrained on the nose, giving off aromas of black cherry, asphalt, earth, black plum, and menthol. This moves more to the red side of the fruit spectrum on the palate, showing red cherry, black plum, tar, menthol, and black pepper. Moderate acidity with soft round tannins. Medium finish ending on notes of black cherry and black pepper. Less ripe and much more elegant than many of the others tasted on the evening. Nice balance, but overall lacks any real interest. My favorite of the flight. Very good
Flight 2 - Pan Seared Veal Sweetbread, Brasied Veal Short Rib, Pea Puree, Chantrelle Mushrooms (3 notes)
Red
2003 Château Langoa Barton
Great nose offering some nice funk, earth, black cherry, red plum, raspberry, and lots of spicy black pepper. The earthiness follows through to the palate showing rich dark fruits, funk, tar, menthol, black pepper, and a hint of blueberry. Light acid with soft tannins. Medium length finish ending on notes of funk and kirsch. This was quite similar on the nose to the Leoville Barton, yet lighter and less complex on the palate. Overall a nice effort. Very good
Red
2003 Château Léoville Barton
Great nose offering tons of funk and earth, along with aromas of black cherry, graphite, cedar, anise, spicy black pepper, and some light floral notes. Still funky on the palate, along with notes of rich black cherry, barnyard, anise, leather, and lead pencil shavings. Moderate+ acidity with gritty tannins. A long length finish ending on notes of funky kirsch and spicy black pepper. This had improved considerably since I last tasted this in 2011, and has built some nice character as well. While rich and ripe, it's not over the top, possessing nice balance and plenty of structure. I will let my bottles rest for another 5 years at least. My favorite of the flight. Fantastic
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Red
2003 Château Haut-Marbuzet
Very clean and light on the nose, showing aromas of red cherry, kirsch, mint, black pepper, tart cranberry, and a hint of blueberry. More red cherry comes through on the palate, along with red currants, mint, some light spice, and a touch of blueberry. Moderate acidity and soft tannins. Medium- length finish ending on notes of black cherry and black pepper. Very clean in character with no real interest on the nose nor the palate. Simple and uninspiring, and my least favorite of the flight. Don't get me wrong, there was nothing wrong here, but sometimes that's not enough. Good
Flight 3 - Mystery Wine (1 note)
Red
2003 Château Lagrange (St. Julien)
Quite ripe on the nose, showing rich black cherry, cola, spearmint, and plenty of spicy black pepper. The richness carries through to the palate, offering ripe black cherry, red licorice, candied red cherry, earth, and menthol. High acidity with drying tannins. Medium+ length finish ending on notes of red licorice and candied red cherry. Lots of ripe red fruit on this but quite austere and a drying mouth feel. This was served blind, and while enjoyable didn't show the typical characteristics I look for from St Julien. Very good
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Flight 4 - Roasted Rack of Lamb, Lamb Tongue Ragout, Root Vegetables, Roquefort Sauce (3 notes)
Red
2003 Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande
This was a weird showing for this wine. Tons of candied red cherry on the nose, along with boysenberry, red plum, green bean, and violet floral aromas. More candied red cherry follows through to the palate, as well as asphalt, kirsch, black pepper, and some green notes. Moderate+ acidity with mouth numbing tannins. Medium+ length finish ending on notes of red cherry and kirsch. This was far from exciting, resembling more of a simple, cheap Merlot-dominated right bank Bordeaux. Having tasted this previously I can't rate this showing as I don't think this was a fair representation of what this wine has to offer. Not rated
Red
2003 Château Pontet-Canet
Quite restrained at this time on the nose, showing lead pencil shavings, cedar, rich black cherry, black plum, earth, fresh mint, and spicy black pepper. Lots or red cherry on the palate, along with graphite, cedar, black plum, and leather. High acidity with dusty drying tannins. Medium length finish ending on notes of tart red cherry and lead pencil. This was quite closed and tightly wound, but opened slightly and hinted at it's future after some time in the glass. The palate was more accessible than the nose, showing great balance with plenty of stuffing. At present day the Clerc Milon was the star of the flight, but there's no doubt that this will be the winner with some bottle time. Let these rest another 5 years at least. Fantastic
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Red
2003 Château Clerc Milon
Fantastic nose showing plenty of lead pencil, rich black cherry, shoe leather, spicy black pepper, and a hint of funk. More graphite and cedar carries through to the palate, along with black cherry, cigar leaf, anise, and black pepper spice. Moderate+ acidity with drying tannins. A long length finish ending on notes of red cherry and lead pencil. This is in a great spot right now, and showed best of the night for present day consumption. Nice velvety texture and quite round on the palate. Rich, but not overly ripe. A great effort for the vintage. Very good+
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Flight 5 - Pineapple Financier, Honey Yogurt Mousse (1 note)
White - Sweet/Dessert
2003 Château Doisy-Daëne
Incredibly ripe and sweet on the nose showing aromas of pear, icing sugar, apricot, baked red apples, and honey. Tons of gingerbread spice on the palate, along with more icing sugar, baked red apples, and a note of burnt caramel. Low acidity, with a medium length finish ending on notes of oxidized red apple and burnt caramel. This was overly sweet and soft on the palate and was in dire need of some acidity to help bring this into balance. While not bad, this wasn't exciting in the least and lacked the complexity that this usually offers in cooler vintages. Good