2002 Bordeaux
Garagiste, Seattle, WA
Tasted July 16, 2005 by DFC with 1,458 views
Introduction
I've been eagerly anticipating this opportunity to taste some of the top 2002 Bordeauxs, and this tasting at Garagiste was really a fantastic chance to try all the "big boys" in their youth, something I have never done before. Frankly, I was very curious to see how they would show, especially this young.
The wines were tasted semi-blind...the bottles were wrapped, but we were given a list of 21 "potentials" that corresponded to the 16 wines. The wines were all decanted for 2 hours. The tasting took place over approximately 2 hours, so my notes are somewhat brief by necessity.
Flight 1 (16 notes)
Red
2002 Château Pape Clément
France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan
Beautiful earthy, funky nose layered in toasty oak. On the palate, delicious black fruits. Fantastic structure and balance...ending with a very long finish. My co-WOTN, and a great QPR!
Red
2002 Château Palmer
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux
Awesome floral, peaty nose...very nice! On the palate, mouth-filling cherries and deep red fruits. Excellent structure and balance, and a long, lovely finish. My co-WOTN and (like the Pape Clement) a fantastic QPR!
Red
2002 Château Cheval Blanc
France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru
Dark garnet/purple in color and with nice body. Earthy dark fruits on the nose. On the palate, black fruits and a touch of cedar. Very well balanced with a long, delicious finish.
Red
2002 Château Lafite Rothschild
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
Inky garnet in color. Classic earthy, musty Bordeaux nose. On the palate, boatloads of silky cassis. Incredibly balanced with a very long finish...very nice!
Red
2002 Château Margaux
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux
Earthy, tobacco-scented nose. On the palate, loads of black fruit...cassis, plums, and cedar. Very good structure and balance, and a long finish.
Red
2002 Château Léoville Las Cases
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien
Very reticent dark fruits on the nose. On the palate, the dark fruits are much better, even a bit sumptuous. Nicely structured, and a very good finish. Definitely needs time to show better.
Red
2002 Osoyoos Larose Le Grand Vin
Canada, British Columbia, Okanagan Valley, Okanagan Valley VQA
Odd candied oak nose...not all bad, but definitely different. On the palate, cherries and more wood. Soft, but grippy tannins, ending with a good finish. The nose definitely set this one apart from the others in this tasting.
Red
2002 Château Latour Grand Vin
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
Very dark garnet/purple in color. The nose was very subdued on this wine...perhaps because it was the first wine I tasted out of 16 2002's. On the palate, classic cassis and black fruits. Very good structure and balance, but the finish is a little light.
Red
2002 Château Lynch-Bages
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
Very expressive earthy, barnyardy nose. On the palate, classic cassis, but ends a little sour. The structure and balance are decent to good, but the finish is a bit light.
Red
2002 Château Cos d'Estournel
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe
Subdued but pleasant red fruits on the nose. On the palate, a medley of dark red fruits. Decent structure, but the finish is a little light and a bit tart.
Red
2002 Château Léoville Barton
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien
Earthy dark fruits and some menthol on the nose. On the palate, dark fruits that frankly are overpowered by the powerful tannins. Finish could be better. If the fruit manages to survive the tannins, this wine could end up better than scored.
Red
2002 Château Haut-Brion
France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan
Medium dark garnet in color, and medium in body. Quiet dark fruits and oak on the nose. On the palate, black fruits with a tart finish. The structure of this wine could be better, and the finish is light.
Red
2002 Château Mouton Rothschild
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
Subdued earth and medium-dark fruits on the nose. On the palate, lightly tart cassis and dark fruits. This wine is quite tannic. The mid-palate and finish are somewhat light.
Red
2002 Château Montrose
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe
Color is dark ruby, and the body is medium in weight. Dark fruits and forest floor on the nose. On the palate, tart plums and cassis. The wine is pretty tannic right now. Sadly, the finish is awfully light. I tasted this one early, so perhaps it opened up later on.
Red
2002 Vieux Château Certan
France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol
Earth and dark fruits on the nose. Nice silky body. Unfortunately, on the palate, this wine showed watery plums that seemed to disappear halfway down the gullet. What happened after such a promising introduction?
Closing
Overall, I think some of my scores would likely bump up a bit if I had more time with the wines and if they had more time in the decanter. While this tasting was fun and informative, you can only do so much in small tastes over a compressed time period. Obviously, the QPR stars today for me were Pape Clement and Palmer! These wines really drank beautifully right now, and both should continue to improve.
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