A bunch of us gathered at Piccolinos in London, for those who know it, just behind Liverpool Street Station, to taste some 2003 Bordeaux continuing our vintage theme series.
Flight one:
2003 Château D’Aiguilhe - France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Castillon Côtes de Bordeaux
Had a pungent nose…not in a good way…and an oxidative note, which became more pronounced. Has a slutty attack, but the palate is a mess. It falls off and is harsh and astringent. (77 points)
2003 Clos Fourtet - France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru
Ripe, lush and fat, with lowish acidity, tannins receding, this holds together nicely on the palate with little sign of astringency and possibly the best balanced wine of the night. Quite classy. Commendable. I would happily drink this but I wouldn’t buy it even at half the £120 asking price. (90 points)
2003 Château Pavie - France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru
Lush entry with a bit of bush viney heat on the entry. The palate is seamless, smooth and plush. Modern Pavie and 2003 on the right bank? I expected to hate it; but it grew on me. It has attractive red fruits and the superior terroir starts to shine through all the gloss and make up. Revisiting at the end of the evening it had evolved into an attractive wine with alluring soy and Asian spicey notes. (92 points)
Flight two:
2003 Château Meyney - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe
Corked unfortunately. Unfortunately because there was half a chance this could have been half decent e.g., corked ok, but not cooked? (Not rated)
2003 Château Lafon-Rochet - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe
Classical nose, nice ripeness, not obviously over-ripe, but it remains quite tannic and the finish is harsh and falls off abruptly. (85 points)
2003 Château Rauzan-Ségla - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux
I have tasted some wonderful vintages of Rauzan-Segla over the last year or so: 1983, 1985, 1995, 2001, 2010, 2015 and 2016. In comparison the 2003 is a car crash. The nose is uncharacteristically roasted and unpleasant. On the palate it is a bit better but it is still hot, harsh and unbalanced. Over-baked and lacking in freshness. Traumatic by the standards of this outstanding estate. (82 points)
Flight three:
2003 Château Calon-Ségur - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe
Ripe rich, on the edge of the spectrum but holds together well on the palate. It is a tad gloopy and lacks freshness, but it finishes well and is a good wine in the context of a very problematic vintage. Like the Lafon it is recognisable as claret, and one of the better wines on the night. (88 points)
2003 Château Cos d’Estournel - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe
Comes across as exotic and classy. Go in there and it has an alluring kinkiness, but it does flatter to deceive somewhat. It is not recognisably claret and does not have the equilibrium which marks out great Bordeaux and the more you study it the more it’s flaws come out, like its drying finish; but in this company it really stands tall. (91 points)
2003 Château Montrose - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe
A familiar wine which is ripe, quite ready, and is a bumptious and chewy mouthful of delicious claret. My wotn. (93 points)
Flight four:
2003 Château Batailley - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
Recognisably Pauillac berry attack, like many of the other wines it is a bit hot and unbalanced and tails off. (85 points)
2003 Château Grand-Puy-Lacoste - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
A horror show. Tastes like a case of the fruit being cooked before it properly ripened. Tinned fruit. Hot, out of balance with a short finish. As bad as the last bottle I encountered. The anthesis of what good Bordeaux is all about. (80 points)
2003 Château Rieussec - France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes
A have a case of halves on the go, my house Sauternes. Usual high standard. (93 points)
I have always been down on the 2003 vintage. Partly for that reason I was really looking forward to this tasting with an open mind. But these wines came in well below my modest expectations. It is clear, in my opinion, that this is a difficult vintage and the Bordelaise really struggled to cope with the extreme heat.
One of the qualities that makes Bordeaux great is wines with impeccable balance and equilibrium. Freshness, restraint and typicity. Which the 2003s conspicuously lack. In some cases it is easy to be flattered by the 2003s. Lafite and Latour fashioned delicious wines that were fully ready to drink before they reached their tenth birthday.
That should set off alarm bells, because on average Lafite and Latour take 30 years to reach their drinking window. LLC and the Pichons also managed to cope admirably. But Margaux is a disaster area in 2003, possibly even worse than the right bank.
These wines command very high prices. I have sold off pretty much everything bar a case of Pontet Canet, in respectful deference to Our Dear Leader, JimHow Supreme Commander of BWE. If he says it’s is Great it must be. I very much doubt that that 2003 will replicate 1947. Many of the wines are prematurely aged, and most will probably just go down hill from here as their flaws are attenuated by age. They won’t hit the wall like some NW wines do, but they won’t improve.
If there is a vintage to short, this is it.