Once again, several Berserkers (myself included) were invited by the ever-generous Mark Taylor to join in the annual Bordeaux tasting, this year’s feature being the 2006 vintage. Prior to this event I couldn’t recall drinking or tasting a single 2006 Bordeaux, truly, so it was definitely full blind for me, going in, though expectations of me knowing squat are always low, regardless. I had high hopes as Burgundy in 2006 is drinking quite well now, but unfortunately for this tasting, VERY few of the wines were in a drinking window of any sort, most were tannic monsters (we’ll get into detail below, me and others from the event), though the quality does seem to be there. These wines were all double decanted at 10am (finished decanting and poured back into the original (rinsed) bottles by 11am) and the tastings started at 4pm, so there was plenty of air on each.
(all wines served single blind, as always)
My useless notes below (though I do refer back to them when tasting a Bordeaux I know I’ve covered in these events), hoping for better notes from @RKatz and @dcornutt, but also @Eric_LeVine has posted his, and they are fantastic - link here
DAY 1
FLIGHT 1:
(Pavie, Pavie Macquin, Beychevelle, Duhart Milon, Pontet Canet, La Lagune)
Quick note on this flight - SUPER tannic, we were all a bit surprised by it. Most were rather disjointed/clunky, almost like a fresh release tasting at UGC for me, where the assault on your palate was often overwhelming
1 - dark aromatics, black olive, coffee, toasted, palate bright profile but dark fruit, dusty tannins, finish carries a touch of ripe/stewed fruit, bit sharp/graphite, earthy - I guessed Pontet Canet (because of the strong coffee note), was La Lagune. My 5th, group’s 6th
2 - similar style as 1, bit more ripe dark fruit forward, stony, modern, palate a bit glossy, nice structure, lots of wood, drinking well but could use time for fruit to integrate with tannins - I guessed Pavie Macquin, was correct. My 6th, group’s 2nd
3 - spring water, coffee nose, cedar/char, bit of horse poop on nose, structured, fruit very shy, some black cherry emerges a bit, mint (I guessed La Lagune, was Beychevelle) My 2nd, group’s 1st
4- hint of balsamic, brighter than others, floral, complex nose, maybe some oyster/seashell, silky, nice acid, nice fruit overall, dusty, good texture, least ‘ripe’ , very nice - I guessed Beychevelle, was Pontet Canet. My 1st (@Robert.A.Jr will be aghast), group’s 3rd
5 - essence seems a bit brighter, color a bit advanced, Merlot characteristics, violet/rose, lovely, polished, very grippy as well but some sweetness, dark fruit, long finish - I guessed Duhart Milon (had no experience with this wine previously, any vintage), it was Pavie My 4th, group’s 5th
6 - initial blast of milk chocolate, different from others, blueberry compote, very unique nose, complex, loads of graphite, silky, - I guessed Pavie based on the blueberry and chocolate, but it was Duhart Milon. My 3rd, Group’s 4th
FLIGHT 2:
Lafite, Mouton, La Mish, LLC, Cos, Ducru
1 - first whiff of this first wine you know it’s a different class than the other flight, classic qualities but delivered with perfect balance, olive oil, saddle leather, beautiful fruit profile, impactful but delivered with weight and grace, nice acid - I guessed Mouton, was Lafite. My 2nd, group’s 1st
*2 - more classic qualities on the nose, polished, higher grade, fascinates me how a nose can have balance like this one, nothing sticks out, but everything is there. If I had to pull something specific out of the balance of classic qualities it would be cinnamon, bit of mint, beautiful satiny mouthfeel with sweet red fruit, more acid than tannic structure, nice finish, very long, gorgeous elegant wine - I guessed Lafite, was Ducru (yay! I will buy this!) My 1st, group’s 5th (tie) (Note on this wine - we pour two bottles because of group size, our side had a good bottle, the other had a flawed bottle, so the scores are quite off, as we had plenty from our side rating it 10-3 and the other side heavily 5 and 6)
3 - Again, elegant, balanced nose, bit herbal, coffee, again beautiful fruits, more integrated, great acid, drying tannins on the finish carry some of the fruit - I guessed Cos, was Mouton. My 3rd, group’s 5th (tie) (ouch for Mouton)
4 - Bit fresher, very silky, mint. More drying, nice red/black fruited, not yet ready but massive potential - I guessed La Mish and was correct. My 5th, group’s 2nd
5 - A bit shy, more tannins, maybe SLIGHT hint of TCA, less polished again, blue fruited, shorter finish - I guessed LLC and was correct. My 6th, group’s 2nd
6- Different from others, graphite, brett, little fruit on nose, nice red fruit peeking through, components there, just not quite developed yet - I guessed Ducru, was Cos. My 4th, group’s 3rd.
DAY TWO
FLIGHT 1:
Pavie Decesse, Quinault LEnclos, Saint Pierre, Lynch Bages, Calon Segur, Troplong Mondot
I found this flight similar to flight 1 on day 1, tannic and chewy, lacking integration for the most part but still some enjoyment to be had…but I’d just wait on every one of these, at LEAST 5 more years.
1 - perfumed, meaty, dark fruited, black tea, floral and complex nose but perhaps a bit oxidized with some stewed fruit, soft palate, sharp graphite, soups bois, not much fruit but what I get is ripe/stewed - I guessed Pavie Decesse, was Troplong Mondot. My 6th, group’s 1st
2 - violets, olive oil, saddle leather, some nice sweet fruit integrated into the round, full tannins, red/black cherry, nice acid/texture, long finish which has a bit of florals to it - I guessed Calon Segur, was Quinault L’Enclos. My 3rd, group’s 5th
3 - shy but elegant, dark red fruit, cedar, fresh nose, almost an oily texture, slight grip but well structured overall, one that seems like it’s all there but not ready - I guessed Troplong Mondot, was Pavie Decesse. My 4th, group’s 4th
4 - graphite dominant, plum, stony nose, bright but unripe fruit, bit bitter to the finish - I guessed Quinault L’Enclos, was Lynch Bages. My 5th, group’s 3rd
5 - mint, violet, cassis nose, just feels higher grade than the others, big fruit and structure but balanced, a bold wine, very long finish - I guessed Lynch Bages, was Calon Segur. My 1st, group’s 2nd (by one point!)
6 - really shy, classic but faint nose, nice balanced fruit on the attack, starts red turns blue, good acid, dusty tannins, long finish that carries some of the fruit - I guessed Saint Pierre, was correct. My 2nd, group’s 6th
FLIGHT 2:
Latour, Margaux, HB, Leoville Barton, Montrose, Pichon Longueville Lalande
1- beautiful fruit profile on the nose, lovely weight, sharp graphite and cassis, bold wine - guessed Leoville Barton, was correct. My 4th, group’s 6th
2 - bright and fresh, complex nose, lifts your spirit, makes you smile, floral nose, just keep your nose in it and you keep getting rewarded, but it did close up a bit in the glass, gorgeous sweet red/black fruit profile immediately on the palate, structured, not yet integrated, gorgeously made, not yet ready and clearly built for the long haul - guessed Margaux, was Montrose. My 3rd, group’s 5th
3 - beautiful classic balanced nose, slightly modern style? satiny, bright fruited, tannic - I guessed Montrose, was Pichon Lalande. My 6th, group’s 4th
4 - touch of cinnamon, green, graphite, similar on palate, nice sweeter fruit profile very long finish - I guessed Haut Brion, was correct. My 5th, group’s 3rd.
5 - coffee, graphite, dark fruited, Brett, gorgeous fruit profile on the palate, explosive and rewarding, bright, acid rather than tannins, polished finish, wonderful - I guessed Latour, was Margaux. (whenever I have the opportunity to drink First Growths in these single-blind flights I always prefer Margaux, so next time I have to base my guess only on my ranking) My 1st, group’s 2nd
6 - clean/fresh, spring water, blue fruit, dark cherry nose, another big, rewarding wine, dark fruit, spice - I guessed Pichon Lalande, was Latour. My 2nd, group’s 1st
2006 Bordeaux seems destined for the long haul. Thank you, Mark, as always, for the opportunity to learn while enjoying wine with friends, as many of the regulars to these events have become for me.