2001 BORDEAUX - Lavandou (6/28/2010)
On Monday, 12 of us convened to check-in on 2001 Bordeaux. The setting was wonderfully classic and the company was amicable. While a difference in stylistic opinion arose from time to time, the qualitative assessment of the vintage remained relatively constant: highly performing wines without the glitz and heft of more seminal vintages, but with a freshness and focus that sometimes runs astray when ambition outweighs tradition. More on that in the body of the notes. I will add one caveat that I was drinking out of rather poor stems and when I had the chance to try the same wines out of proper stemware, the difference was quite stark. It was one of the most surreal cases exemplifying the need for proper stemware!
Kudos to Randy McFarlane for setting up the soiree. It was a pleasure to attend.
-
1996 Billecart-Salmon Champagne Brut Blanc de Blancs - France, Champagne
Wonderful stuff. Smells like a patessierie with wonderful aromas of bread dough and yeasty brioche with chalk and dusty . With swirling, a nice spine of acidic fruit emerges but it never is piercing or out of key. The wine dances on the palate with sweet peach and lilacs. Really showed up tonight. (94 pts.)
There was a second bubbly, a Vve Fourny Rose Brut (Premier Cru Vertus) which was crisp and quite lovely. Great summer rose.
-
2000 Domaine Michel Niellon Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Champs-Gain - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru
Nice supple mouthfeel, bordering between waxy and light, a nice spot for a Chassagne. It has some heft and permanence on the finish but could use more complexity and ease on its feet. Hopefully it will develop with more time. 92-93 (92 pts.) -
2008 Dönnhoff Norheimer Kirschheck Riesling Spätlese trocken - Germany, Nahe
Opens up very promising, with notes of lime, lychees, peach and petrol. The petrol begins to yield with some air and we get a bit more exotic verve. It doesn’t quite have the acidity one would desire, but if paired with the right cuisine, this would be great. A real crowd pleaser. (92 pts.) -
2002 Weingut Josef Leitz Rüdesheimer Berg Rottland Riesling Spätlese trocken - Germany, Rheingau
light on its feet with lovely floral aromas, but the disciplinarian might find it a touch too inviting with more RS than ideal, but hey, I prefer my Riesling on the drier side. Would make a beautiful compliment for S.E. Asian spicy cuisine. Hedonistic. (92 pts.)
-
2001 Château Brane-Cantenac - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux
classic Margaux tobacco, but a bit wetter than one would find in hot vintages like 00 where it is more bitter, in 03 where it is sweet and 05 where it seems to endulate between the two! Touches of sous bois as well on the nose, but a real nice clean mouthfeel. With more time and swirling, it shows some more heft. A lovely food wine and amongst the Brane Cantenac’s I’ve had, it seems more to be a classical iteration. Very good. 91-92 (91 pts.) -
2001 Château Dauzac - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux
This wine was not my favorite as it was a touch diffuse on the nose with even more wetness…I imagined plodding through a wet field; poor selection timing? Some hints of bramble and redberry/cherry. Not my cup of tea. (84 pts.)
-
2001 Château La Fleur de Boüard Le Plus - France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Lalande de Pomerol
Hard to jump into garagiste inspired right bank merlot when settling into a left bank mentality, but somebody’s got to do it! Clearly a more supple hedonistically crafted wine; this wine is all about craft and unfortunately leaves me wanting something a bit more inspiring. At first very tight but with more air and swirling, nice aromas of chocolate, plum and blackberry begin to emerge. Very soft on the mouthfeel with a hint of tannins but they are quite polished. I think it has upside but it is a stylistic choice I am trending away from. If opening now, I’d double decant for at least 2 hours. (92 pts.) -
2001 Château Les Grandes Murailles - France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru
I was quite keen on this wine. It was in a real nice drinking window and developed some nice tertiary aromas of truffle and spice to complement a smooth but not hugely endowed framework of black fruit. A claret drinker’s right banker. It opens nicely out of the gates but can benefit from some air. (92 pts.)
-
2001 Château Calon-Ségur - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe
Starts off tight but has some significant depth. With swirling, some lovely floral elements and waves of dark fruit and blueberry are present, but so reticent to open. Plenty of casis and blackberry upon opening, it becomes more inviting with every sip. Very nice but needs years of cellaring or a thorough decant 92+ (92 pts.) -
2001 Château Montrose - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe
The third time I’ve had this wine in about a year and it seems to be a bit more open for business than prior. Has a real nice subtle sense of pose, with some bright red fruit, earthiness, graphite/lead pencil and hints of saddle. With more time, the fruit begins to really emerge and the pitch of the red fruit begins to magnify. While it is indeed bright at this phase, I’d be willing to wager that in time, it will add heft and weight and will really round out into a beautiful wine. I’m a fan of the upside of this wine, as well as the Calon. 93+ (93 pts.)
-
2001 Château Pape Clément - France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan
The controversial specimen of the night. The nose retains classic Bordeaux elements of earthy tobacco, saddle and leather. It is delicate but well knit and fairly expressive. On the palate, there is a polished sense of roundness that some called international and modern Bordeaux. I think that it is a valid point, but one that should not be said disparagingly. I find the wine to be a stylistic preference. Those that have enjoyed Smith Haut Lafite and (perhaps less so) Lascombes of late will also enjoy this Pape Clement; it has that sense of craft to it while still retaining its left bank heritage. Others who prefer rustic wines that have a track-record of adding depth, complexity and pitch with significant bottle age may understandably approach this with skeptical caution. (93 pts.) -
2001 Château Langoa Barton - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien
I thought the wine was quite nice, a less ambitious claret than say the Pape or its brother Leoville. While not as dense or perfumed, what struck me about this wine was a mineral driven texture to it. Slight cigar box and cedar elements, but well balanced. (90 pts.)
-
2001 Château Latour Grand Vin - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
On first pour rather tight but with swirling and time, it began to emerge. The Latour is the less brooding of the two. It has a silky repose to it that was quite regal. Nice notes of boysenberry and cassis began to emerge with more time, very reticent notes of lead pencil. While there was tannic backbone on the finish, it never felt harsh or protruding, merely strong and reassuring. It is an inviting wine that seduced the drinker without being overly showy. While at first I thought it to be my favorite of the three, I think the Lafite eventually expressed a more dynamic nervosity to it. This wine is like a fine suit yet untailored. Give it time to flesh out and find its form. For current consumption, I’d recommend a 4 hour double decant if opening soon. (95 pts.) -
2001 Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
A beautiful feminine bouquet of lilacs and lavender. This wine benefited tremendously from double decanting (everything else was popped and poured iirc) as it opened somewhat burly and monolithic in masculine Pauillac form. It is quintessential Pichon Lalande; while inviting and pleasant, it still shows great breed and potential for the future. The mouthfeel is silky and elegant but the fruit is still hollow in pitch; having tasted older iterations, I feel confident that with time the palate will add density and richness. (94 pts.) -
2001 Château Lafite Rothschild - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
Unforgiving at first and quite restrained. With time it began to really expand in the glass. It developed a wonderful panoply of aromas; truffles, sweet cigars, saddle leather and hints of lead pencil. While the bouquet never soared out of the glass, there was a vibrancy and nervosity to the wine that was quite exciting and showed new shades of expression with each swirl. I would imagine in time that it will settle more and gain beautiful depth. While the Latour is like an untailored dinner jacket, this is more like a flowing and shimmering evening gown fresh off a design pad, that needs to settle into a wardrobe. The design and the elements are there, even if the pricetag is eyepopping. Hard to put this glass aside (until it was finished at least!). For current consumption, I would double decant for 2 hours and follow over the course of an evening. (95 pts.)
We also finished off with a 2000 Philippe Delesvaux Coteaux du Layon Sélection de Grains Nobles as well as a second sticky, but I didn’t really try them so no formal notes.
![[worship.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/9/99a8907a1d5b3c023582052741dc72dc9823c044.gif "worship"){kind=small}