Robert - have you tried the 2010 BAMA? Thoughts on it?
Itās outstanding. Wish I had bought more. Am looking for more. Had a very lovely 1998 last night (second night open).
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I had an '09 Montrose last year that was outstanding. We went to a neighborās house this weekend and he always pulls some Bordeaux to pair with steaks so I grabbed an '09 Malescot. I really liked this on release, but after a few years it turned into an oak monster. Figured this was a good time to check-in. It was rich and plush, but the oak seemed to have integrated. My neighbor opened 2-750ās of '04 Las Cases, that were nice, would have been good match for chicken but the Malescot was fine with the steaks.
I noticed someone posted notes on CT recently for a Ducru vertical. The '10 was far and away the favorite. I will open one the next time we have steak.
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Some 09 Bordeaux were positively sexy on release ā and depending on the house style, this could be a good or bad thing ā but even some chateau whose style I like had some noticeable, concerning heat on the finish. Many others commented on the same issue circa 2012.
Has this heat resolved with bottle age?
I went to a Brane Cantenac tasting a month or two ago (Panos Kakaviatos set it up) and I really thought the 2009 blew every other vintage (2000, 2004, 2005, 2010, 2020) off the table. YMMV because it was noticeably 2009 in that it was plush and rich and velvety but I thought the texture and sensuality were just tremendous.
Had 09 and 10 Leoville Poyferre side by side in January. 09 with air is in a better spot but still too young. 10 was not in what I would call a favorable drinking window, tannins are still too chewy. It needs many more years sideways before it opens up.
Both vintages are very very good.
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Very encouraging. In general, I am a big fan of Brane Cantenac 2000-present (at least through the 2020 vintage, which Iāve tried twice), though Iāve not had the 09.
Itās strange to me that many choose to call 2010 ātraditional.ā Arenāt they extremely ripe and alcoholic (and yes, also very tannic and acidic)? Many if Iām not mistaken have higher ABVs than the '09s. Itās not clear to me they would necessarily age better.
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I feel the same about 2010. I wasnāt a big fan when I tried them at the UGC tasting wayyyyy back then and only purchased a limited amount. My concern back then was that they would end up like the 2009 Bordeaux which at the time I felt was an over ripe mess. 2009 for the most part has aged OK, but itās not my favorite style. Thus far my favorite 2009 has been Chateau du Tertre, which wasnāt over blown and has some more classical structure to balance the vintage ripeness.
Iāve had a handful of '09s lately, mostly recently Rauzan-Segla, and Iāve been surprised by how fresh and young they were.
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My view that night was that the 2005 and 2016 were the best wines by a good bit.
I understand that Brane somewhat toes the line between traditional and modern in most vintages. Is that pretty accurate?
Out of curiosity, which chateaus would you say have dialed it back to a more old-school approach (similar in winemaking to what was made in the '80s and early '90s)?
Iād put it in traditional but āupdatedā winemaking. Itās polished but not as sleek as Rauzan. It does not have the rusticity I would associated with a firmly traditional house. Iām a big fan of Brane
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Canāt question tastes and the styles of the wines were very different so oneās favorites will depend on the preferred style. For me the 2009 was easily the most pleasurable of the night ā I tend to go for wines that have a rich, sensual aspect without being over the top or unbalanced and the 2009 was that. But if you like a cool, crisp, elegant style then Iām not surprised if you much preferred the 2016, which excelled in that style. The 2005 just fell flat for me honestly.
My favorites of the night were the 2000, 2009, 2016, and 2020, showing a great range of styles (the 2000 was an old school well aged dark and complex Bordeaux).
The 2004 was an off vintage dark horse, very light bodied and charming.
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Our wine group is ādoingā the 09 Bordeaux through this year into 2025. Our first foray was the āsuper-secondsā of the Left Bank and Graves with the First Growths later this year followed by the Right Bank in 2025. The 9 reds considered at the first dinner in the series were generally excellent with only the Leovile Poyferre and particularly the Cos stepping into the overdone category. Even they seemed to express their terroir more clearly than when first tasted over 10 years ago. The LLC, Montrose, Pichon Baron and Ducru Beaucaillou were all tremendous wines of character and flavour. We had the Palmer last year in a 2005 through to 2018 vertical and it too was a top wine expressing both the year and vineyard perfectly.
Our impressions are that so far this a great vintage albeit more 1982 or 1990 than 2000 or 2005. We are confident that this will hold up for the First Growths that we will review in September but not so sure about the Right Bank particularly St Emilion given others observations. In other news we finished our dinner with the 09 Suduiraut which was simply a honey of a wine - delicious !
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Good shout, just picked up a case of 09 Lanessan, lots of good value back vintage Bordeaux out there right now.
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Drank the '10 Ducru with skirt steaks last night. Zero sediment, pours a purplish hue, lotās of cool and black fruits, graphite, blackberries, herbs, blueberries, cassis, a touch of alcohol, cool ocean breeze and blueberry compote on the nose. There is a lot of stuffing in here, but everything is held back so you only get a glimpse of these flavors. The balance of the acid and tannins is quite good. This seemed to be at its best when first opened. I slow-oxed for a few hours and then followed it for a few hours in the decanter. We left about a glass in the decanter and tasting it this morning the alcohol stood out more than the night before. I think this needs a lot more time, but it should be great eventually.
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I sense it happening on a broad scale- most notably in alcohol, new oak and extract levels coming back down a bit. Not always a reversion to the 80s and 90s as a whole, but just less extreme than what we started seeing in the mid 1990s as market demand took off and chateaux were seeking new paths to match the demands of a new generation of wine drinkers.
For a time I was nervous about Leoville Barton and Lynch-Bages, but I am once again buying every vintage. They never strayed too far from a good path, but for a time they were not the buy-every-year favorite they once were with me. And while I enjoy older Palmer vintages, I really like the level of detail and nuance showing even from a young age in the newer vintages. They never really went off the rails for me, but the wines are at a new level now IMHO. Cos has also improved- still not back to where I would like, but I can at least admire and appreciate the newer vintages where for a time I thought they were train wrecks. LāEvangile is another one. I adored that wine in the 80s and early 90s. The 1999 was beautiful at release but an oak-bomb within a couple of years. But lately, once again I find them reliably wonderful.
Those are just some examples of the positive trend I am seeing overall. Sometimes returning back to former glories, sometimes finding a good new path and sometimes less awful than they once were- but all IMHO as a caveat.
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