TN: 2003 Bordeaux Dinner

This past Thursday, 11 of us participated in a wine dinner at City Winery Nashville featuring a lineup of seven 2003 Bordeaux. The dinner was an auction lot as part of this summer’s Nashville Wine Auction. The chef put together a special menu that was amazing. Definitely a lineup for the AFWE and a fun change of pace for me.

Course 1…South Eastern Family Farms Rabbit and Hudson Valley Foie Gras Terrine, Blackberry, Picked Pear, Mustard Cream, Crispy Brioche

2003 Chateau Pipeau…Medium red in color with some black fruit on the nose…graphite/earthiness…nice finish.

Course 2…Warm Pear and Kenny’s Farmhouse Norwood Tart, Duck Confit, Arugula Salad, Smoked Sorghum Vin, Pecan Dust

2003 Chateau Calon-Segur…Dark red in color with blue and black fruit on the nose…more open than the Montrose…spice box and a long finish…co-WOTN.
2003 Chateau Montrose…Blue and black fruit…nice mouthfeel and very smooth with a long finish…shut down after about an hour.

Course 3…Smoked Wagyu Beef Tartare, Horseradish Cream, Baby Radish, Cured Egg Yolk Shavings, Lavash Cracker

2003 Chateau Leoville-Poyferre…Dark red with a smokey nose…rich, bold mouthfeel that kept on going…jammy…very nice…co-WOTN.
2003 Chateau Leoville-Barton…Similar to the LP in color and on the nose, but not as open in the mouth…you can wait (and then wait some more) on this one.

Course 4…Peppercorn Crusted Venison Loin, Truffled Sunchoke Puree, Roasted Heirloom Beets, Crispy Brussels, Porcini Demi Glace

2003 Chateau Clerc Milon…Lighter in style…some tea and chocolate notes…nice, but short finish.
2003 Chateau Pontet-Canet…Dark red and very “earthy”…not much fruit, but full in the mouth with a short finish.

Course 5…Fromage Blanc Mousse, Lavendar Honey, Marcona Almond, Poached Asian Pear, Lava Salt

2004 Chateau Tirecul La Graviere Monbazillac…Apricot, peach and maple…a solid QPR.

Thanks for the notes; you’ve convinced me to open one of my 2003 Leo Poys.

I recall really liking the 2003 Pipeau. The 2005 was delicious too; too bad I’ve finished mine off (one of the few 2005s I’ve even opened)

Looks like a fun line-up. The courses sounded great, thanks for sharing.

Will be interested to see Neal’s take on the LP.

Disappointing to hear how the Pontet-Canet showed.

I’ve had a much much better showing with the '03 Pontet Canet this year, and recently, a much much worse showing with the Leoville Poyferre.

+1 for the 2003 Pontet Canet being disappointing. I had high hopes for this wine.

We had a great 03 P-C earlier this year.

The spectrum of 03’s for that dinner appear to be some of the best ones.

Nice pictures as well. Thanks for sharing.

I’ve had four or five bottles of 03 Pontet Canet spread over the last 6+ years, all great. Not sure if it’s changing somehow now, bottle variation, or just difference in what I like versus what others like.

But I have liked 2003 left bankers in general a lot more than many WBers seem to. I’ve bought a number on CC off of others who don’t care for the vintage, which makes a lot of sense for both sides.

I was . . . less enthralled. By the last glass, the wine’s pedigree was starting to shine, I suppose, but there are still a lot of tannins, and not the velvety tannins one would hope to find, but more wood and alcohol than ideal. I suspect that five more years will be a positive for this wine,but I am not sure I will ever be as excited as the critical acclaim for the wine might have predicted

Thanks for the notes. Interesting - I had 2003 Pontet Canet last night. And it was very forward and modern. Not a hint of the earthiness you described and the finish was normal. Over the course of the 3-4 hours - it continued to open up and became more and more fruit forward - almost to the extreme- with the red fruits taking over any blue fruits. It was very good and you could tell it was bordeaux due to the distinct finish and mouth feel. But honestly a bit underwhelming due to the upfront characteristics of the wine and my high expectations.

I opened a Pontet-Canet recently and it showed beautifully. Surprised to hear this one showed poorly.

Good to hear the Calon show well in a nice looking line-up. That Montrose is smashing when on.

A few questions if I may, to compare the reputation of the vintage and what you actually tasted.

Did you get an overall impression of overripeness?
How were the acidity levels generally?
Did the acid stay throughout with the wine or come with a burst at the end.
How rich and fat were the wines ?
You mentioned a couple of times that the wines finished abruptly. Did any of them have a good finish?