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Bordeaux Vinexpo 2013 (Saint Estephe/Sauternes/Pomerol)
Bordeaux (F)
Tasted June 18, 2013 by quaglia with 954 views
Introduction
First experience to #1 france wine expo and first massive tasting of french wine. Ratings might be quite different to CT's average, but I will make my palate to the french way to excellence! All TN strictly refers to the tasted bottle. Tasting condition were everything but ideal.
Flight 1 - Saint-Estèphe (8 notes)
Tasting was mainly for just-bottled 2010 vintage, but fortunately all chateaux had an old vintage to taste (2008 - 2009).
Common characteristics of tasted Saint Estephe were nice colours, peppery and liquorice notes joining the red fruits; firm and robust, with fierce tannins, still to be tamed expecially for younger vintages.
Red
2006 Château Cos d'Estournel
90 points
Brick red, with pinkish rim. Dried flowers hints at nose, then liquorice and ripe red fruits. Powerful when entering mouth, but more alcohol than fruit. Great texture, tannic, almost peppery. Long finish, but not great acidity.
Red
2008 Château Montrose
87 points
Intense ruby red. More vegetal at nose, with red fruit on the background. Less powerful at taste than Others, but very long finish. Young, still too tannic and high acidity.
Red
2008 Château Lafon-Rochet
88 points
Intense ruby red, with pink rim. Straight notes of liquorice at nose, over red fruit. Nice. Full and rich mouth, a bit too tannic and slightly short. Young.
Red
2009 Château Cos Labory
91 points
Intense Young purple red. Not very intense at nose, but very nice hints of red fruits. Very nice entry at taste. Full, luscious mouth. Still tannic and almost peppery. Very long finish
Red
2008 Château Haut-Marbuzet
86 points
Typical at nose, with liquorice, tobacco, and vegetal hints. Red fruits on the background. A bit "squared" and disjointed at taste.
Red
2009 Château Ormes de Pez
84 points
Ruby red. More vegetal at nose. Tannic and a bit disjointed. Weak when compared to other, lacking personality.
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Red
2008 Château Tour de Pez
89 points
Nice ruby red, with pinkish rim. Rich and nice nose: Tobacco and liquorice over red fruits. Still a bit tannic, maybe a bit weak fruit, but great structure and long finish. One of the best.
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Red
2009 Château Tronquoy-Lalande
88 points
Ruby red. Rich nose, peppery over red fruits. Coherent at taste, but a bit flat on spicy notes.
Flight 2 - Sauternes and Barsac 2010 (14 notes)
I think 2010 will be a nice vintage. Maybe sugars is not very high, and the structure not at its best, but all the wines were very correct, neat and typical. Difference made by the skillness to balance a strong minerality and harshness.
White - Sweet/Dessert
2010 Château de Fargues
89 points
Very light straw Yellow, with Golden tones. Intense nose: mainly dattes and mildew. dried apricots. Very well balanced at taste. Very long minerality and good acidity. Velvety and gliceric. Maybe a bit weak body behind minerals and alcohol.
White - Sweet/Dessert
2010 Château Ketty
83 points
Less intense notes of dried fruits at nose. Not very elegant at taste, with minerality and sweetness arriving separately. Long mineral ending.
White - Sweet/Dessert
2010 Château Rabaud-Promis
86 points
Evident floreal and herbal notes, above dried fruit. Singular at tasting, less intense and powerful, but very elegant.
White - Sweet/Dessert
2010 Château Guiraud
91 points
Very elegant, both at nose and taste. Flowery, tropical and dried fruits, agrumes zest, with mint hints. Perfectly balanced, gliceric and full mouth. Maybe more alcohol than fruit.
White - Sweet/Dessert
2010 Château La Tour Blanche Sauternes
91 points
Intense at nose, dattes, pineapple and dried fruit above all. Very well balanced in mouth, with a long mineral finish.
White - Sweet/Dessert
2010 Château Clos Haut-Peyraguey
88 points
Typical nose, with an add of tropical fruits (pineapple). A bit unbalanced for high minerality and harshness.
White - Sweet/Dessert
2009 Château Filhot
88 points
More fruity, both at nose and taste, with a distinct pineapple note. Very particular, long mineral finish, following a good fruity mouth.
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White - Sweet/Dessert
2010 Château Lamothe Guignard
85 points
Intense at nose, with flowery notes and a clear mint!. Less powerful at taste, but anyway nice!
White - Sweet/Dessert
2010 Château de Myrat
89 points
Very straight and neat at nose: dried fruit (apricots), agrumes and mint. Well balanced at taste with long mineral ending.
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White - Sweet/Dessert
2010 Château Caillou
86 points
Same characteristics as the other, but lacking some personality and structure. Long finish.
White - Sweet/Dessert
2010 Château d'Arche Sauternes
85 points
Also this one has all the typics of the denomination, but with minerality overwhelming fruit.
White - Sweet/Dessert
2010 Château Guiraud Petit Guiraud
84 points
Nice, but very weak, when compared to the other champs.
White - Sweet/Dessert
2010 Château Prost
82 points
In the average at nose. At taste arriving disjointed and without finess. More strenght than velvet.
Flight 3 - Pomerol 2009 - 2010 (11 notes)
Thanks to excellento climatic conditions, vintage 2009 is a big promise. Also 2010 is supposed to become great, but probably is too young for a real tasting. Actually the 2 best rates were 2009...
Compared to Saint Estephe, Pomerol wines seem more fruit driven, with easier tannins, more ready to drink. Particular fumè notes in some tasting (terroir or toasting?)
Red
2009 Château Le Caillou
84 points
Full ruby/blood red, with pink rim.
Complex nose, with vegetal and red fruits notes. A bit "angular" and tannic, but good fruit. Nice but young, lacking some structures.
Complex nose, with vegetal and red fruits notes. A bit "angular" and tannic, but good fruit. Nice but young, lacking some structures.
Red
2010 Château La Rose Figeac
85 points
Intense ruby red, tobacco and red fruits the most evident hints at nose. Well balanced, but this one too is lacking some structure.
Red
2010 Château Mazeyres
86 points
Intense ruby red, complex and fine at nose: Red fruits and spices: coffee and clover among others. Nice, but, again, not a long ending and structure.
Red
2011 Château Tour Maillet
84 points
Ruby red. Fruity at nose, and floreal, with a smokey hint.
Very nice entry in mouth, but a bit short. Tannic end.
Very nice entry in mouth, but a bit short. Tannic end.
Red
2009 Château La Conseillante
89 points
Full ruby red. At nose dominat notes of red fruit and toasted hints.
Coherent at taste, still with toasty notes. Well balanced with a nice subtle tannin.
Coherent at taste, still with toasty notes. Well balanced with a nice subtle tannin.
Red
2010 Domaine du Rempart
84 points
Not very intense at nose, but typical with red fruits and toasty notes. Correct at taste, with a nice fruit, but a bit short.
Red
2010 Clos de la Vieille Église Pomerol
87 points
Full ruby red. Nice clean red fruits at nose. Coherent at taste, with tannins not covering the fruit.
Red
2009 Château de Sales
90 points
Ruby red. Very complex and fine at nose, with toasted coffee notes joining the red fruit. Well balanced at taste, with an evident clean fruit. Long ending.
Red
2009 Château Beauregard
84 points
Nice, with typic hints, both at nose and taste, but a bit without grace in the ending, with some harsh tannins.
Red
2008 Château Bellegrave (Pomerol)
83 points
Ruby red. The tyoical fruity notes at nose are joined to some vegetal and barnyard hints. Also some fumè notes, both at nose and taste. In the average.
Red
2005 Château Guillot Clauzel
80 points
Nice fruity/ vegetal nose. but astringent at taste. Fruit not evident. Not an easy drink.
Flight 4 - Pinot Noir from Germany (3 notes)
This was a very fast tasting..and these are supposed to be just flying personal notes
Red
2009 Deutzerhof Spätburgunder Grand Duc
86 points
Very complex at nose, with prevailing notes of dried flowers, tamarind. Cocoa. Dry and alcoholic, a bit unbalanced due to too young tannins.
Red
2008 Philipp Kuhn Laumersheimer Steinbuckel Pinot Noir Großes Gewächs
83 points
Here underwood and humus hints are more evident than flowers and spices. Less young, but also less finess; strenght and structure prevailing.
Red
2009 Jechtingen Spätburgunder Spätlese
89 points
Ruby red. Dried flowers, cocoa. Alcoholic and rounded at taste, Full mouth for a great structure. Well balanced.