Notes from a huge mature Bordeaux tasting Saturday 4/2 in DC

WINE TALK
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Here’s the lineup we had last Saturday night at Charlie Palmer steakhouse in DC. This dinner was a BYOB conclusion to Bordeaux Wine Enthusiasts annual convention attended by 23-24 folks (no shortage of wine as you will see below). I think everything opened that night is listed below except maybe a wine or two, but I didn’t get to everything.

My notes and impressions added, concentrated on the wines at my table. Clearly, almost everything showed well and I was continually impressed how much I really enjoyed most everything. My 95 pt rated wines below are really more like 95+ wines, where only a handful of the world’s greatest wines could hope to surpass them (wines like the 82 Margaux and the 86 Mouton, a wine that “goes to 11”, notes Tom).

Incredible night and line-up! I’d add that Charlie Palmer did a great job, very classy private room with a nice ambiance and plenty of space, the appetizers and tenderloin were terrific, and the service was excellent.

1962 Moet Chandon White Star- Still kicking in an oxidative, sherried style.
1979 Ruinart BdB- Really yummy, disappeared quickly.
2002 Egly-Ouriet Brut (magnum)- A bit of a let down, didn’t show much.
2002 Pol Roger Brut- Classy and balance, but lacked some fireworks. Seemed wide open, but perhaps not quite at peak.

2002 Comtes Lafon Meursault Genevrières- Glorious white burg here. Young, dense yet seamless and regal, with strong notes of vanilla and quince. Close to a perfect chardonnay bouquet for my mileage, fruity without heaviness, great acidic spine, long and delicious. 93-94 pts.
2004 Marcassin Chardonnay- My first Marcassin. Clean and not oaky, this was all about huge fruit. Somehow is was still very drinkable, but all one note. I enjoyed but not my style.

1937 Ausone- didn’t try.
1950 Cos d’Estournel- didn’t try.
1950 Gazin- didn’t try.
1982 Cantemerle- Just terrific, not a lightweight at all, held its own against the 86 Medocs and the 89 Cantemerle. Fully mature, round and generous with a classic claret profile. A bargain still at auction.
1982 Leoville Barton- corked.
1983 Cos d’Estournel- Delicate scents of cinnamon, cherries, earth, lemon zest. Fully mature with that silky smooth texture only time brings. Nice depth on the palate, chewy with cherry compote. Just lovely, complex and charming, fantastic showing. Another great '83. 93-94pts.
1983 Gruaud Larose- I did’t try this until the after-party in my room, and then I was very impressed indeed. Again, this was not a lighter bodied wine next to more famous years; if anything, it had more fruit than the ‘86 G-L if not quite the depth. Funky and round, with a great earthy core of old school fruit, I thought this terrific. Maybe a little chunky around the middle, but I am not bitchin’. 100% mature and ready to go. 93 pts.
1986 Cos d’Estournel- Big and bruising, still tart and a little hard, tighter than the other '86s. Has terrific depth and grip, showing so zesty and bright, it still coats the mouth with fleshy tannins and powerful fruit even at age 30. Dry and stern, this needs time but I am still a firm believer this is a great Cos and that it will be magnificent in another 10-15 years. 93 pts.
1986 Ducru Beaucaillou- corked.
1986 Gruaud Larose (2 bottles)- A beauty, this is showing softer these days than some other Left Bank '86s. Extremely engaging nose of smoke, cinder, campfire with fleshy, rounded palate and nice resolved length. Remember when this wine was all ferrous and iron and hard as nails? 93 pts.
1986 Rausan Segla- Exotic nose, showing leafy cabernet, roses, mulling spices, sour orange, filled with Margauxberries. At peak with a smooth attack underpinned by a firm, almost hard ‘86 spine. Still has some classic fruit flavors but which are just starting to turn into cigarbox and black tea. Luxurious fruit married to rustic structure, a viniferous miracle. Terrific length with a long, long finish. Up there for WOTN. 95 pts.
1986 Talbot- Leapin’ lizards, Winona Chief! Glorious showing, incredibly complex bouquet, fabulous balance and length, wonderfully smooth, this had it all. I didn’t take a formal note on this, but this went to 95 pts.
1988 Lagune- didn’t try.
1989 Cantemerle- Love this wine, show a lot like the 82 in profile but with more grip, less overt fruitiness and more earthy, savory notes, drinking at point but will go for another 10-15 year easily. Some smooth and effortless, a great vintage. 93-94 pts.
1989 Lagune- didn’t try.
1990 Grand Puy Lacoste- Found this orphaned toward the end of the night, and this quickly made it into my top 5 wines. Layed, long, concentrated, with waves of '90 fruit, but this is an old school Pauillac through and through with classic lead pencil, cassis and green tobacco. Only in early maturity, this seamless and engaging. 94-95 pts.
1995 Pichon Lalande- An awkward showing, lots of fruit, but stolid and a bit chunky. It needed more air to show well, but this frog could still metamorphose into a prince some day.
1995 Smith Haut Lafitte- Very impressed by this. Normally this is too creamy and oaky for my tastes, but this old vintage is a classic showing more like a traditional Right Banker next to all these classified growths from Pauillac, St Estephe and St Julien. Rounded, open, resolved, generous with good depth. Lacked some complexity in this lineup, but the aromatics could use some more time to develop though. 92-93 pts.
1996 Cantemerle- didn’t try.
1996 Haut Brion- A baby, but drinking well, so smooth, pure and effortless. A monument to balance and elegance, but with depth to spare, I love this. Showed better than the LMHB 96 next to it. 95 pts.
1996 Lynch Bages- Got a small taste during dinner, and I didn’t like it as the nose was overripe and sickly. Tried again a few hours later at the after-party and wow, baby! this had come on strong. Deep, ripe, long, perfectly balance with just enough ripeness. Showing classic Pauillac minerals and graphite, this puppy is just beginning to shine and will be a great Lynch in another 10+ years. 94 pts.
1996 La Mission Haut Brion- Got a small pour, while very, very nice, it didn’t sign to me. Seemed a bit restrained, needs more time for sure, but still 93 pts.
1996 Pichon Baron- Only got a small pour late in the night, wasn’t very impressed, showed quite tart and one-dimensional. I usually really like this vintage of Baron.
1996 Pichon Lalande- Killer, killer young Bordeaux. Most folks didn’t seem focused on this youngster, but I was enthralled and it just got better and better over the evening. 95 pts.
1996 Sociando (magnum)- This classic acquitted itself commendably. One of the few understudy wines that seemed ever so slightly less endowed in the middle than its more famous and pricey brethren. But it had great grip, lovely leafy aromatics, and excellent brightness, and of course, it will continue to improve for some time. Showed dark and minerally, like grapes grown on basalt. 92 pts.
2000 Canon la Gaffliere- didn’t try.
2002 Leoville Barton- didn’t try.
2002 Palmer- only got a small sip at the end of the night, showed very weird, but judgment reserved.
2003 Leoville Barton- I really wasn’t interested in trying this with so many mature classics occupying my attention, but when it came around to my table, I took a small pour. This was awesome! Lots of fruit of course, but button-downed and not garish in any way. Great acid and balance, drinking really well already. Might look for some if the price isn’t silly. 93-94 pts.
2010 Cantemerle- Jim and I were on the same page all weekend, it seemed like all of the same wines were speaking to both of us, but this is the one wine where I didn’t quite share his ful enthusiasm… Dark fruited maybe even a bit roasted, wonderfully juicy, opened for such a young wine, clearly a big vintage but nothing overdone, classy and stylish like we expect Cantemerle, but this is just too young for me to fully grok at this time. I liked, didn’t love this, but it has a strong future I think. 90 pts.

1988 Climens- Normally one of my favorite Sauternes, but this wasn’t showing especially expressive, so I moved on and focused on the Tete.
1990 Filhot Creme de Tete- Color going cooper. Deep glorious flavors of caramel and burnt orange, terrific acidity and length. A rich, heady sticky but with a steely spine and zero heaviness. A great Sauternes. 94 pts.
2001 La Tour Blanche (half bottle)- didn’t try.

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Wow, great list of wines. Thanks for the impression. I love the 03 LB and LP, great wine to buy at the moment as they drink so well yet will age for another couple of decades.

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Awesome night, Pat, thanks for sharing the notes. Love your choices. I’ve had 6 of those wines in the past 6 mos. I think you’ve seen my similar notes on the Sociandos and Cantemerles. Such awesome values. I wish we could go back and re-stock on the Cordier stable from 1986. Epic wines for my palate. The '82s aren’t shabby, either.

I need to go seek out the 2003 Leoville Barton. Am not a fan of the Poyfere.

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I’ve not tried the 03 L. Poyferre, but I bet you’d like the Barton, Robert. It was really cool how well the 82 and 89 Cantemerle showed against bigger names.

Kevin, how similar are the Poyferre and Barton in 03 in your experience?

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Pity to miss the '50 Gazin! That could have been a bomb from a good bottle. '50 Pomerols definitely on my ‘jump at the chance’ list whenever I see them.

The 03 Barton and the 03 Poyferre probably intersect more closely than those estates have since around 1985/6…

Agreed on the magic of the Cordier '82s and '86s.

Sociando & Cantermerle very good from the '90s, but it is the '80s vintages that are really drinking, and not much more expensive—sometimes less. Seek out the '85 Sociando for example! Still has several decades in the tank, but really expressive with a nice decant. Looks like it will be up there with the first and second growths in terms of longevity in 85 when all is said and done.

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I agree with Kelley.

It has completely settled. There is an uncanny resemblance to the 03 Gruaud Larose consumed a few days earlier in that both showed dark roasted fruits, slight hint of oak and very slight green with silky palate and fully integrated tannins which for me was surprising.

The nose is a bit shy, black fruit, some metal, lead pencil, slight hint of oak and quite interestingly just slight hint of green which I find in a traditional Bordeaux, perhaps it has not completely reach the phenolic ripeness but just like the 03 GL, it was not noticeable on the second night, perhaps the other components of the nose got more expressive and the greenness became a part of the overall expression. The palate is very silky and tannin surprisingly resolved, almost none showing even as the end note.

The second night both nose and palate show significant improvements. Licorice, caramel, black fruit, cedar, pine needle, ground espresso beans, sweet spices and quite floral almost a Margaux like in this aspect. What I find interesting is the sweet caramel note is very similar to the best of the 76s which I had recently as well as some of the 82s but more vibrant fruit and concentration than the 76s. The palate is more generous than the first night and it gets chewier as warms up, very silky, almost milky texture. The interplay of sweet dark fruit, cedar, earth and flower is very interesting and intoxicating. If you prefer your Bordeauxs relatively young yet with some tertiary flavor, this wine is ready. If you are looking for more cedar aspects and rounder/sweeter fruit, it will take at least five more years. At least three to four hours of decanting will be required for the nose to open but the palate is ready from the get go. 95 pts with 97 pts potential. (95 pts.)

Posted from CellarTracker

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A little counter-point from a recent comparative tasting (very abbreviated notes):

2000 Chateau d’Armailhac
Decanted for 30 minutes. Musky, perfumed. Silky smooth. Pencil, graphite. Rich cassis. Perfect balance of red and black fruits. Tannins resolved. Slightly crimped finished. Classic in style, happy to have in my cellar, an incredible QPR. In prime drinking window. My WOTN.

2000 Chateau Leoville Barton
Decanted 5 hours. Excellent, showing the structure one expects from Barton, perfumy nose of Bordeaux musk. Nice range of red and dark, high acidity. Not as evolved as the d’Armailhac, perhaps will exceed it in 5+ years. Today, quite lovely but not at full potential. Needs time.

2003 Chateau Leoville Poyferre
Decanted 3 hours. Total disappointment. A Bordeaux trying to be Napa and failing at that. Heady oak, ripe fruits, astringent finish. Placed last or second to last by most of the group. Second poor showing for me.

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Robert,
Although almost all of the 03 Bordeauxs display a hint of roasted fruits due to the weather, I doubt that I will be confused wit Napa is tasted blind.

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Perhaps not, but I’m not saying that. Comparing this side by side with more classically-structured Bordeaux, and the modern leaning of this winery is palpable.

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I am not sure LP is really that modern, though a few critics try to portray that way. The 03 LP is just what the nature provided, ie natural wine. The 03s from France and Italy demonstrate the power of nature.

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I am a serious oakphobe, at least in the aromatics, and the 2003 L. Barton was mercifully free of overt new oak. Again, I can’t speak to the 03 L. Poyferre.

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Based on my experience, the oak component in Bordeaux will eventually fully integrated if the terroir is there.

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My experience is the same, though I wonder about the wines made in the last decade +.

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I have some of the 03 Poyferre. Maybe I should open one. You know, so I can correct Alfert if he is wrong.

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Not surprisingly, I do not agree. THe statement is far too absolute and should instead be expressed as an opinion rather than a “will”.

Pat’s concern over wines made in the past decade mirrors mine. I have recently clearanced out a large portion of my 10-15 year old St Ems that are lavishly over-oaked and over-ripe. As the fruit begins to mature and ancillary characteristics try to come to the fore, the presence of oak and alcohol become more pronounced, and masks everything that is wonderful in a maturing Bordeaux, in my opinion. I also clearanced some highly-modernized left banks like Lascombes, Branon, Smith Haut Lafite,

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Which St Emilion? Have you done a decent size of blind tasting where you were able to tell them apart?

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[deleted, thread drift]

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I just realized we may have drifted badly. Sorry Pat! I owe you a Sociando!

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Yeah, WTF?!? This is my thread. We just need to all meet in a neutral location and taste some blind wines.

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I will back up Robert’s notes. At least on that night, the 2003 LP showed quite poorly. And unlike Robert, I have a broader palate and I enjoy right bank and Napa. Heck, we had Harlan that night and I thought it was wonderful. The 2000 LB was a revelation for me. I had never had LB before and it is now one of my favorites. But the 2003 LP was disjointed and just was not a pleasant wine.