Mini Verticals Grand Puy Lacoste Smith Haut Lafitte and Branaire Ducru

As is customary before the UGC Grand Cru tasting, Wine Media Guild puts together a lunch, and invites three chateaux to join us. They bring young vintages for the pretasting, and some older ones for the lunch, and these are supplemented by some older bottles from the members. Interestingly enough, three different people brought 1982 Branaire.

Pretasting

Branaire Ducru really showed well, and the 2005 may have been the best wine of the pretasting. Beautifully balanced, plenty of aromatics and a very long finish. A slightly better and more complete wine wine than the 2010. The sleeper is the 2011, having the same easy balance as the 2005, although a lot less concentration but for a lot less money. 2008 was in its shell, but the other times I have had it, I liked it enough to actually buy it.

Grand Puy Lacoste
2009 was the pick of their wines, soft aromatics hiding a seriously well structured wine. The 2005 on the day did not show that well, as it was dominated by the oak. I think a bad day for it, since all previous notes have been glowing. Another sleeper is the 2006, and it showed lovely crisp fruit, licorice and a pretty floral note. Finished well. I am beginning to like the 2003s from Pauillac and this one also showed splendidly. Just a little riper than the other wines, but still fresh, very full bodied with plenty of concentration, and enough acid to carry it through. It may be drinking well now, but this is clearly a wine that can go for thirty plus years.

Smith Haut Lafitte I racked my brains and could not think of a wine pre Cathiard (they bought the chateau in 1990) that I liked. Fabian , the winemaker, suggested the 1961. These wines were as one would have expected made to a more modern style, and yet still showed a brightness which made them immensely appealing. My favorite though was the 2012 blanc, which was luscious yet very precise. The red wines lost a lot of its pretty puppy fat with age, and although the young wines are rich and fine, my favorite was the more mature and complex 2000 and a really interesting 1998.

At the lunch, there were some interesting older wines. The Branaire Ducru 1982 was as expected superb. Always an insider wine, our bottle had come from a cool English cellar, and showed quite young. With air, it had an elegance and a serious core of fruit with earth and leather aromatics. A 1975 was more of a surprise, in great shape, but with a little of the hardness that so defined the vintage. My favorite of the older Grand Puys was the 1978. Archetypal 1978, barely ripe, with a fairly interesting mint component, plenty of fruit and cedar. Only showing the slightest signs of tertiary character. The 1989 seemed a little dull, and the 1985 which I expected much of was solid rather than brilliant.

Thanks for the very fine report–particularly nice to read the favorable assessment of the '82 Branaire Ducru, as my ever-diminishing horde of '82s includes a couple bottles from this Chateau.

Mark, thanks for sharing your perspectives.
It was so great to see you in NYC and other friends based in the Big Apple!
I agree with most of your notes, although I recall liking the GPL 89 a bit more than you even if I have had better examples.
What proved to me a really lovely entry was the La Lagune 89, with greater energy indeed than the GPL, and that was thanks to Marie Keep of Skinner, also at our table. I am not sure you had any of it? Did you?
Loved the SHL wines, including the white 2012, but especially the red 2000, which has shaped up so well, since I first tasted it from bottle when Robert Parker hosted the Heart’s Delight Auction tasting of 2000 Bordeaux that was just available from bottle back in 2003 in Washington D.C.
As for Branaire, yes that 2005 shined very well, and proved more elegant and graceful than the GPL 2005, which - I hope - is just in an awkward phase. I also liked the Branaire 2008; yet more proof that 2008 is somewhat underrated.
That lunch was great, and I recall the better-than-expected 1978 GPL as much as the lovely 1982 Branaire.
What a great time!
Then on to the rather fresh and lovely Bordeaux 14s …

I did have the La lagune, and agree it was good. This is such an underrated estate, and although it has improved markedly under the new ownership, I have found some interesting older bottles. The 1982 is a seriously good wine. Pity they don’t come with the UGC, otherwise a candidate for next year.

The 1989 GPL wasn’t a bad bottle, but just didn’t seem to have much life to it, a far cry from a bottle we had 6 months ago at a 1989 tasting, when it was 5 points better and ran away with wine of the night honors.

I didn’t mention how good the 2000 Branaire was. The 2000s in general are showing beautifully. I was a little concerned as it was the height of the new oak craze, but the wines are good enough to have absorbed most of the oak, and I have yet to have a subpar bottle. Not trying hard enough I suspect.

The 2014 Smith Haut Lafitte red was quite nice, at the UGC tasting.

I agree. I like the cooler fruit characteristics in general of the vintage, when matched with producers like SHL who seek maximum ripeness. It worked out very well in 2014.