Mark,
while my sample range is certainly not close to yours (I suppose) I was very impressed with Pontet-Canet, Ch.Margaux, Lafite-R, Haut-Brion, Lafleur-Petrus, LEglise-Clinet and Troplong-Mondot,
while classics like Leoville Barton and Las Cases, Viex ChCertan, Pichon-Lalande and Smith-Ht_Laffite were less impressive.
Ducru-Beaucaillou was corked unfortunately , and I didn´t taste Latour.
I do not see the “greatness” in 2008 close to 100 points, rather around 95 points - and most did not show a great lot of charme then.
Recently I had Poujeaux 2008, and it is a very good but not really outstanding wine, but in need of some more years.
2008 has a definite tension running thru the spine of them right now, that will only help aging, but count me as a huge fan of Pontet Canet, Pichon Baron, PLL and VCC which all sleep in my cellar. I’d like to find some Lynch Bages, Saint Pierre and Conseillante.
I am not too far away from that; Latour was probably a 96, and the other FGs maxed out at 94.
I have had better luck with some of the others than you did. Apart from the Haut Bailly, Ducru and VCC were FG in quality. Pichon Lalande was green, but that has been known to settle down. SHL I consider modern, and I have not tasted either Leoville recently.
Based on my limited first hand experience with the two vintages, they are miles apart stylistically. I don’t know that I can understand calling 2010 a “big modern styled” vintage, esp on the left bank.
I am late to this party and I like the vintage 08. But claiming its superior to 2009 and 2010 more or less in general is beyond me. There are 2009 and 2010 I do not like. Especially on the Right Bank. But I think the vintages 09/10 will be legends in the future. I am in line with Kevin. A superior vintage is when even the so called lesser wines as the Crus Bourgeoise hit the sweet spot. And exactly this is the case with 09/10. I tasted many of this category lately and many are superb. But again I am talking about the Left Bank. And btw.: The wines shed their baby fat and are way more balanced as they were when babies. That is the general rule with wines from ripe vintages. It was the case with 82, 90 and 2009 Bordeaux i.e.
Another data point. Picked this up a few months ago at Wine Exchange. Web site says that they still have some, if you have a hankering for some affordable, traditional left bank.
2008 Château La Tour de Mons- France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux (1/4/2020)
13.0% abv.
Traditional left bank from a classic vintage. Still some prominent tannin accompanied by currant and plum with a good spine of acidity. Some smoky wood notes as well. Good focus throughout. Very good now, but more about the structure than the fruit at this point - probably give another 3-5 years to reach peak. Likely does not have the depth and concentration to be a 25-year wine, but should drink very nicely until then. Very good recent purchase for 25$ at Wine Exchange. (89 pts.)
I had the pleasure of sitting next to John Gilman at a recent dinner, which makes this an appropos thread to append a quick comment for the 2008 La Croix de Gay [Pomerol]. Over two nights, no decanting, 13.5% abv, medium bodied, plummy/hazelnut palate, resolved tannin, low acid. The edges are starting to lighten, but that is not clear from the picture, which shows a still quite dark teenager. I bought scant 2008 as a vintage – just a small handful of Pomerols – and this bottle was due to seeing it randomly; CdG is not readily seen in my region but I had a slot open in a box I was shipping back in 2015, so randomly threw this in there. 2008 feels bigger, fuller than examples I can recall from a prior era (once was at a small dinner where the 1990 swept the table with its balance, elegance) but maybe that’s a function of overall temperature/degree days. Not the easiest property to find despite the 3000 case production, which is healthy output for Pomerol AOC; this example came over via Jeffrey Davies, who tends to work with estates willing to sell outside the La Place system^. As I really savor/swish/swill this, I get some framboise character that comes through the lovely texture.
Overall I’d give this a B+ on my card and it’s eminently satisfying, even if it might not meet the ‘profound’ level of the better 2008’s John prefers. And this is a thread, and vintage, worth reflecting upon again.
^ That’s weird to me, as I thought Davies tended to infuse a whole wine making gestalt into his clients, beyond mere distribution, and I didn’t think a glamour region would be receptive to his differentiated style. I’ll buy almost anything that I know he brings over, btw.
Over the last few years, I’ve had a chance to taste quite a few 2008s, and I’ve find myself agreeing with John this is indeed a fine vintage. The wines are balanced complex and while lacking the heft of riper years, lmore than make up for it with elegance and finish.
The comparison to 1979 seems to be ever more apt as the wines have matured, And like 1979, they are indeed delicious and easy to match with food. There are however, no truly great wines made in 2008. The best seem to be A minus to A, the A being Cheval
Blanc.
The comparison to 2009 and 2010 is difficult as the styles are so different, Of the three vintages, the strongest is Left Bank 2010, and the weakest is 2010 Right Bank. The one vintage I have not really retasted is ‘09, and the few I have had were very good, but seemed to be evolving quickly.
I liked 2008 from the start, and most of my recent TNs are bearing that out or showing upside.
Palmer, Mouton, Latour-a-Pomerol and Lafleur are good representatives of the vintage at its best- surprisingly robust and needing a few more years, but still showing signs of being very terroir expressive and alluring when they hit peak. All solid 4 star wines on my 5 star scale.
In the super-star category you have an incredible Magdelaine, and not long ago I had a Leoville Las Cases 2008 which is about as good a vintage of that wine as I have ever had. It is magnificent and just starting to unfurl.
That Magdelaine is exceptional, I just grabbed three more bottles recently. I have not had the 2008 LLC, but given your recommendation I’m now looking for it!
