Day 1:
Off we go then, starting with Pauillac. The grins on the faces of the CT members on this trip were a sight to behold. Each Chateau offered a very different experience despite being just a few kilometers from each other, from the horse-drawn, cosmos-respecting Pontet-Canet, to the money-fueled technology and architecture marvel that is Pichon-Baron, and then to the two Rothschild aristocrats, this was such a varied and wonderfully fulfilling day.
PONTET-CANET
2010 Château Pontet-Canet - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
Barrel sample. This was really good. Lovely nose, full of fresh plums and cassis, wild blackberries, violets and other dark flowers, a touch of sweet Chinese herbs and a layer of sweet oak. Really expressive for a wine this young. The palate was framed by fine powdery tannins and just lovely freshness. Lovely focus and precision on this one, and I really liked the beautiful purity in its wild dark berry fruit tones, which were sprinkled with bits of earth, sweet spices and a little layer of mocha oak as the wine moved into a lingering finish where there was just a little bite of tannins. A lot going on here, and it promises much for the future. Very good indeed. 93-94 (93 pts.)
2005 Château Pontet-Canet - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
Brilliant - this tasting confirmed my impression of the wine at UGC two years ago. What an incredible nose. Earth, loam, truffly mushrooms, plums, cassis, flowers, a little layer of oak, sweet spices - deep reservoirs of wonderful aromas, so much going on. The palate was absolutely beautiful too. There was pure, pure fruit - tons of fresh wild berries, dark cherries, cassis, with a bit of bramble, some truffle hints. Lovely stuff. There was lots of power here, but it was always the amazing elegance and integration on the wine that stood out. There was lots of finesse from the attack to the long, satiny finish, where fine tannins coated the mouth slightly. Still a very young wine, but this is bursting with potential. Really top-notch. (94 pts.)
LYNCH-BAGES
2004 Château Lynch-Bages - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
Not bad, but not great. 80% Cab, 9% Merlot, 5% Cab Franc and 2% Petit Verdot. This had a very pretty nose. Very flowery, with violets wed to pats of earth, some rich cassis scents, a bit of leather, quite a bit of oak still, but all coming together to form an attractive bouquet. There was lots of fresh acidity on the palate, which lent its quality to some clean, pure cassis and dark cherry notes, along with just that bit of green peppers and then little secondary notes of earth, tobacco and some savoury dried meat and leather touches in the background. I liked the flavour profile, but there was not the greatest depth and breadth of expression, and this had a distinctly short to mid-length finish with some bittersweet bramble notes. However, that said, it was showing quite nicely resolved tannins and a nice freshness at this stage, and should be very pleasant drinking in a few years’ time. Overall, a decent Pauillac, but nothing to shout about. (89 pts.)
2010 Château Lynch-Bages - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
Barrel sample - this was quite impressive. 79% Cab Sauvignon, an usually large amount, some 12%, of Cab Franc, 9% Merlot and 1% Petit Verdit. It had a lovely nose of soap-suddy florals, almost lavender essence-like, nice sweet cassis, blackberries, a little layer of oak - very perfumy. A bit like the 2004, but even more aromatically expressive and rather higher tones. Nice stuff. The palate was still rather woody, with plenty of wood spice notes sprinkled amongst bright cassis flavours with a bit of green bell peppers. Some pretty well-shaped if not exactly fine tannins added a sense of muscular structure, while tehre was a nice freshness towards the brightly fruited finish, where a little ring of smoke curled around the fruit. Decent length, nice freshness and focus - this should make a pretty nice wine when its time comes. 90-92 (91 pts.)
LUNCH AT SALAMANDER CAFE
1986 Château de la Rivière - France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Fronsac
From an ex-Chateau double-magnum - a kind gift from H to commemorate two couples celebrating their 25 anniversaries. This was still going strong, and while it was not the greatest Bordeaux, it certainly gave a lot of pleasure on the day. Very funky on the nose, very earthy, with some tobacco, spice and a bit of metally mineral scents riding alongside hints of dark fruit and sweet roasted green peppers. After that, the palate had a surprisingly nice attack with a ring a matured sweetness - I got haw flakes, dried strawberries and plums, some fruit tea across the mouth. The finish was slightly short, but it did have a nice linger of tobacco and spice. I think this wine may have seen better days, but it was nevertheless certainly still alive, and really pleasant to drink. (89 pts.)
MOUTON
2010 Château Mouton Rothschild - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
Barrel sample at the Chateau, a whopping 96% Cab Sauv (the most in the Chateau’s long history), the rest Merlot, this was incredibly impressive. What a nose it had. Pure cassis, licorice root, violets, some fresh herbs, thyme I think, a little bit of earth, all in an incredible melange - I could really sniff this all day. There was some oak there, but such was the fruit that you barely noticed it on the bouquet. On to the palate then, and boy, this was beautiful. It had just pitch perfect balance with oodles of acidity and the finest tannins, almost a rustling of silk here, framing just amazingly pure, yet tremendously powerful flavours of cassis, dark cherries and dark chocolate laced with a hint of mineral. This had stunning fruit, so dense, intense, yet so pure - like the essence of perfectly ripe cherries, berries and cassis. Very primary, yet somehow, for something so young, it managed to come across as perfectly integrated from attack all the way into an amazingly long, fresh, open finish full of that succulent fruit now sprinkled with a touch of coffee grounds. 14 percent alcohol here, but we did not feel it at all. Absolutely brilliant wine - I would love to try this in 25 years’ time. 95-98 (95 pts.)
LAFITE
1995 Château Lafite Rothschild - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
A fantastic wine. It was a real privilege to be drinking this along with other CT members in Lafite’s awe-inspiring cellars. This had been decanted for 2 hours pending our arrival, and while not exactly at going at full tilt, it was nonetheless easily the wine of the day for me. The nose was certainly still tight, but it was quite lovely, with a spectrum of elegantly attractive scents - from a gentle, loamy earthiness with truffles and soil - all very forest floor, and then tobacco, cigar, spice box scents, some nice cassis and blackberry accents, a hint of licorice - all this integrated into a wonderful, gentle, mellow bouquet. Very nice, but it was rather the palate that absolutely floored me. The wine put a major smile on many faces on first sip. It was just wonderful, showing an incredible elegance with satin tannins wed to gently mouthwatering acidity and a lovely, gentle, mouthfilling perfume of cassis and blackberries, with some flavours of melted dark chocolate, hints of tobacco, and then spice box accents, with nutmeg and cinamon flavours on the midpalate, all framed with just the right amount of freshness. Like the nose, the palate too was perfectly integrated, so that the wine came across as a complete whole as it pulled away with a long, long finish of dark fruit, dark spicy notes and a little touch of forest floor, all wafting away with a gentle, complex, almost undulating length. Such a contrast with the Mouton we had just before - while that was all shock and awe with the sheer depth and clarity of its fruit, this came across as an aristocratic wine. It did not shout, it was not show-offish, yet there was so much going on and it was sheer pleasure to drink it - someone described the wine as having a restrained opulence. To me, it was just pure class. I loved this. (96 pts.)
PICHON-BARON
2010 Château Pichon-Longueville Baron - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
This was definitely one of the better barrel samples that we tasted on the day, and it should make an absolutely smashing wine when bottled. It had a really great nose - all plums and cassis nestling amongst some earth, some spice and a little layer of oak. Very nice. The palate was full of rich fruit - dark cherries and blackberries, cassis, just layers and layers of beautiful dark fruit laced with some tremendous acidity. The finish was long, powerful, with some oak, lots of spice, a bit of tobacco, all framed by firm but well-shaped tannins. Tons of depth, tons of powers, muscular, very Pauillac, yet with a sense of nobility and finesse. This was tremendous. 93-95 (94 pts.)
2009 Château Pichon-Longueville Baron - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
Wow - I really enjoyed this. The nose was still a bit tight, some coffee oak scents, some dark plum and cassis fruit, wood spice, some dried earth. The palate was a whole different matter though - surprisingly plush, smooth, almost velvety, it was certainly opened for business, attacking with a mouthfull of clean dark fruit that strode energetically across the mid-palate into a friendly finish that showed some lovely black fruit, some tobacco flavours and a little touch of oak. Very yummy, almost hedonistically so, and surprisingly open fruity, open and generous. While the 2010 barrel sample came across as noble and serious, this is all about the succulent, immediately seductive quality of the 2009 fruit. Thankfully, however, the Pichon-Baron managed to wed this to an impressive sense of balance and some structure. Really impressive - delicious now, but this should make a really great mid-term wine. (94 pts.)
2008 Château Pichon-Longueville Baron - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
This was the most classic of the 4 vintages that we had side-by-side, and I really liked it. It had a beautiful, beautiful nose, full of earthy, mushroomy scents, heady fruit scents of blackberries and ripe cherries, some pork ham, a bit of wood spice, all really nice. While the palate did not quite have the richness or concentration of either the 2009 or 2010, it had a nice ring of clarity and freshness to its dark cherry and berry flavours along with a lovely sense of focus and precision. The finish was fresh, clean, with great energy and unexpected length as it pulled away with a whiff of smoke and a grip of fine teeth-coating tannins. Really nice, a classic Baron that should age really well. (93 pts.)
2003 Château Pichon-Longueville Baron - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
Not my favourite Baron, but this was actually quite good. Served blind, I could not pick it out as a 2003. Indeed, it had a lovely nose, with mushrooms, toast, coffee and sweet black fruit scents, all quite nicely integrated now. The palate had lots of sweet black fruit, cassis and blackberries I thought. It was rich, ripe but not overblown, and actually pretty nicely balanced a for 2003, with good acidity wed to good tannin shape. There was some length in a meaty, earthy back-palate, but it got just a bit tight and austere on the very tail of the wine, where some drying vine stemmy accents showed. That aside, this was actually an impressive wine for its vintage, just not one I would rush out to buy. (92 pts.)
PRE-DINNER DRINKS
2000 Harlan Estate - USA, California, Napa Valley
My first Harlan - very kindly popped by Tacman and poured straightaway. A bit of a pity I thought - this looked liked it needed a longish aeration. Nevertheless, a good wine which I enjoyed drinking. It had a very Big nose, with a huge amount of ripe cassis, some bramble and earth, a bit of spice and a little whoosh of glycerol. Attractive, but the alcohol was a tad distracting. The palate was excellent though. It had an incredible amount of depth and breadth, with deep dark cassis and plums, lots and lots of spice, some brambly notes, all with a touch of powdery tannins that gave a firm sense of structure and lots of lovely fresh acidity. The superbly long finish had lots of coiled up power, with warm earthy notes and black fruits peppered with a bit spice zooming away into the distance. Still really, really young, very primary, but lots of quality. This may not be one for classic Claret drinkers, but is was a very good Cali cab that should continue to age effortlessly over the decade or more. (93 pts.)
1986 Beaulieu Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon Georges de Latour Private Reserve - USA, California, Napa Valley
The first of two 1986s popped by LST. This had a really matured nose, with some balsamic notes, soy, earth, dark fruits and black tea. I was wondering whether it was over the hill with all those soy and balsamic tones. The palate was still just about hanging in there though. Really quite pleasant actually, with a gentle sweetness to its dried cherries, strawberries and haw flakes flavours. The finish was still there, pretty alive too, with some orange peel and a little dried flower note at the end. Pretty nice, but this has seen better years - time to drink up. (88 pts.)
1986 Monticello Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Corley Reserve - USA, California, Napa Valley
Second of two 1986 Napas. This had another very mature nose. Slight balsamic notes, some mushroomy earth, still some sweet oak and a bit of dried cassis notes. The palate was just about keeping together, showing sweet red fruit, some cassis, more dried than fresh fruit here. It was nicely resolved, still some woody tannins, not that much energy left, but it had a nice fullness on the midpalate and surprising length with some fruit tea notes lingering in the mouth. Nice, while maybe a bit more tired than the BV, I liked this wine a bit more. An enjoyable experience. (89 pts.)
DINNER AT LA TUPINA
2000 Château Kirwan - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux
At La Tupina in Bordeaux - a magnum shared with the CT crowd. I enjoyed this wine. It had a lovely nose with lots of flowers, smoky ash, cassis, some earth. Very perfumy stuff, very Margaux. The palate was very nice too. A bit rustic in terms of its structure, but otherwise it was a really nice wine with plenty of depth to its nice cassis flavours with a red cherry overtone, some earth with a nice smoky tinge and a really nice sense of integration. Soild stuff, and went very well with superb roast chicken we had. While drinking well now, I would give this about 3-4 years more before it hits prime time. (91 pts.)