At the respective châteaux, June 2006:
Chateau Mouton Rothschild - Another young bruiser, but even bigger, fuller and more rounded in the mouth, with creme de cacao artfully woven into the unabashed, ripe blackcurrant/black berry/vanilla/oak mix with licorice thrown in. Huge but smooth tannins. A very forward and enthusiastic wine. I’d think this will need at least 12 years. Though this is my least favored of the 1855 1st growths, I’ll keep my eye on this one.
Chateau Latour - Typical Latour with the graphite, pencil shavings, cedar easily detectible amidst all the primary dark fruit and mild leather. Not as big as the Siran or Mouton, but better balanced and smoother tannins. I’d start following this wine after 7-8 years and every year thereafter to see how it ages.
Chateau Margaux - Unquestionably the most elegant of all the '05s I tried. It is amazing to me how this can be so apparent in so young a wine. Heady violets, pure, well-focused black fruit and small red berries, hints of lavender. Incredible poise and balance. I think this will be gorgeous much earlier than the foregoing wines.
Chateau La Mondotte - Buckets of highly concentrated black fruit compote, black cherry liqueur, espresso and vanilla/oak. Luxuriously rich. I’ve only ever tried the '98 from this winery (around a year-and-a-half ago) and it was way too young. I’m very curious to see how these wines turn out at over 10 years of age.
Chateau Canon la Gaffeliere - I found this more my style than the La Mondotte. Not nearly as rich or luxurious, I find it more refined and better balanced, its primary fruit more focused, its espresso and vanilla/oak notes more discreet and finely woven in.
I have to mention as well the superb 2001 that Stefan von Neipperg let us try. I’ve never really thought much of 2001 Bordeaux, much less right-banks, so this was a real eye-opener. I commented that it smelled like a young Cheval Blanc and Stefan said, in this particular vintage, he used pretty much the same proportions of cabernet franc and merlot that Cheval uses. If one is looking for a good, reasonably-priced St. Emilion, this be it.
UGC Tasting, Vinexpo Asia Pacific, 28th/29th May 2008:
2005 Pessac-Léognan:
Ch. Carbonnieux - Dense, ripe, medium length, finish ends a bit abruptly, but fair over-all. Should be enjoyable in 4-5 years from now. I’d pay $35-40 per bottle for this.
Domaine de Chevalier - Not as ripe as Carbonnieux; more cherry in its profile, better length/finish, more refined. Will need more time than Carbonnieux, try again in, probably, 5-6 years from now. I’d pay, maybe $50-60 per.
Ch. de Fieuzal - Nice nose (perfumed with sweet camphor, slightly roasted herbs over the fruit, sweet ripe plum, asphalt. Nice mouthfeel, fullish body, good extraction, impressive length. Big tannins. Good stuff to drink in 7-8 years. Wines from this château are, thankfully, still very undervalued considering its quality.
Ch. Haut-Bailly - Similar nose to that of de Fieuzal, but not as sweetly perfumed with camphor, more typical of the appellation. More expansive. more elegant, with more minerals than the previously mentioned three wines, but not as extracted as de Fieuzal (they seemingly held back on the vintage’s typical ripeness - but in a good way). The wines of this château are also still undervalued considering quality.
Ch. Haut-Bergey - They had, by far, the prettiest lady pouring their wine, but, alas, to no avail. Totally uninteresting: weak body (the wine, not the one pouring), weak middle, and a bit shrill. Hints of mocha which I find strange in a wine from Pessac-Léognan. I wouldn’t buy this wine.
Ch. La Louvière (Rouge) - Medium-plus body, refined, discreet minerality, cherry/raspberry notes over dark fruit, bit of tobacco. Fruit not as ripe as one would expect from 2005 - but in a good way. Again, with some curious mocha notes. Not bad at all, but I wouldn’t pay more than $45 for this.
Ch. Larrivet-Haut-Brion - Interesting gamey/truffled notes under initial mildly toasty oak and alcohol. Medium-bodied, a bit short, relatively weak middle. The nose is definitely intriguing, though, but I would pay only up to $35 per for this.
Ch. Latour-Martillac - Atypical of 2005: not very ripe in the nose and on the palate, and more refined/graceful for it. Demure, mildly truffled cherry, cassis and cedar; nothing serious, but very good. I’d say I’d strike at under $35 per.
Ch. Pape-Clément (Rouge) - Super-ripe, somewhat “stewed” feel to sweet plums/prune/camphor/“tar”. Smells like a Pessac-Léognan on steroids - ripe cherry, sweet cedar with added kirsch/cassis/violets/roasted herbs. Forward, attractive, easily accessible, but comes off to me as quite contrived. Should be enjoyable relatively soon. Not my type, but I’m sure many will like this. I’ve seen it at over $170 per in the USA. No way I’ll pay that price for this youngster.
Ch. Malarctic-Lagravière - Lighter compared to all the foregoing, charming, acceptable, fair typicity, but not very interesting. I’d pay $35 or below for this (if at all).
Ch. Smith-Haut-Lafitte (Rouge) - I must mention that this is the only exhibitor from the appellation that took the pains to keep/serve their wine at the proper temperature.That said…an atypically demure SHL (which is good). Still designed to please, but in a more subtle manner than usual. Confident, plush middle and strong finish with toasty oak, tar, cassis, cherry. Generous extraction but not quite over-the-top. I’d say $50 per would be fair enough.
2005 St-Emilion and Pomerol:
Ch. Canon la Gaffelière - The brilliant Count Stephan von Neipperg himself was pouring his wine and entertaining questions. I recall he took us through his winery and vineyards in St-Emilion himself in 2006. He also poured for us himself, letting us sample all of his 2005s. Passionate about his wines and fiercely committed to quality, it is no wonder he is a tremendous success story in Bordeaux.
When I tasted this in Bordeaux in 2006, it struck me as the most elegant and balanced of Stephan’s 2005s, preferring it, at the time, to his top-end, hard to find and pricey 2005 La Mondotte. Two years later, “elegance” again defines this wine, not a mean feat due to the ultra-ripe general character of the vintage. My notes state: “Typically elegant, refined, sleek, clean, plummy, underlying cassis, mocha, espresso notes - good balance, not over-the-top at all. Showsproper restraint. Elegant wine.”
Ch. Figeac - Figeac’s wines usually drink well enough young, in my experience, and I normally enjoy them. Their 2006 showed beautifully during Vinexpo 2007 in Bordeaux (the right banks showed generally better than the lefts at the time). That is why I was very surprised that it seemed too dilute, tight, a bit weedy. It is probably closed, in an awkward stage of maturing. I reserve judgment on this.
Ch. Grand Mayne - Reticent, closed nose showing slight plum and camphor. Tannic, robust in the mouth, displaying a sweet cherry/kirsch finish. Probably good potential in this.
Ch. La Couspaude - Nose also reticent. On the palate, very primary (not surprising, of course), tannic, but one can detect designer/crowd-pleaser sweet plum/oak/espresso with a touch of milk chocolate. I wouldn’t say it will ever be profound or elegant, but it will most likely please dinner guests in around 4-5 more years.
Ch. La Gaffelière - Not to be confused with Canon la Gaffelière. Slightly gamey, minerally, herbaceous nose. Comparatively the one of the most forward of the St-Emilions at the tasting, with well-extracted, minerally dark raspberry and ripe dark cherry compote primaries, and dark chocolate notes towards the back. Showing well very early.
Ch. La Tour Figeac - Not to be confused with Figeac. Lots of minerality over the primary fruit (plum/cherry) and cedar, ripe, low-acid. Very expressive on the palate with more-than-decent over-all balance. Medium-bodied and light-footed, lithe, agile - plush, with potential silkiness. At its price range of US$42-50 in the US, this would be good value for the 2005 vintage.
Ch. Clinet - From Pomerol, the previous 6 mentioned are from St-Emilion. Clinet is one of the more famous and expensive Pomerols. That said, I have never been particularly impressed with their wines and have found several to be hard, mean and overly angular. That said, the nose suggested a lot of depth in the mouth, but the wine just didn’t deliver. Very closed, but one can just glimpse sweetly fine red berries and kirsch in a deep, dark hole. Where is the power of Pomerol? Clinets are reputedly very long-lived and take long to show well. However, I, personally, wouldn’t buy this wine just to find out. There are better, more reasonably priced bets out there.
Ch. Petit-Village - Also from Pomerol. Much more typicity and expressive of terroir and vintage ripeness than Clinet at this point, with Pomerol’s hallmark power and push. Excellent balance between power and refinement. Very good stuff indeed!
2005 Margaux:
Ch. du Tertre (5th Growth, 1855) - Strange performance: thin, hints of pine and plastic to the tightly closed sweetish red berries. Probably an off bottle or severely shut down, I’m not sure, but I tried it twice. Judgment reserved.
Ch. Siran (Cru Bourgeois Exceptionnel) - Manila & Bordeaux’s own Edouard Miailhe was doing the pouring of the wine from his family’s over-performing château. I had tasted this twice before: mid-2006 in Bordeaux and a month-and-a-half ago in Makati. The third time at the UGC in HK, my latest notes still apply, thus:
When the youthful alcohol finally subsided, it released a rich, spicy aroma that called to mind crushed, ripe blood-red wild berries over ripe plum, blackberry compote and minerals, with hints of camphor, Spanish cedar and iron.
In the mouth, the red-berries were pure and rich with a touch of sweetish ripeness, underpinned by cassis, dark plum, touches of dark spice, licorice, with espresso, mocha and pine needle nuances, subdued minerals and earthy whispers of iron and leather.
Evidently less burly than in July 2006, with the royal red berries coming through the black fruit elegantly. A lot of the chunkiness has gone, the wine has smoothed out immensely, though, of course, still youthfully tannic. Full-bodied, well-rounded, powerful with an incredibly long finish. I think the balance of power and grace is quite notable and believe this will be very long-lived. I’m talking many decades.
NB: The day after, I was supposed to meet Edouard for lunch back at the Exhibition Center from where we were to proceed to Pacific Place mall in Central for lunch and to check out the Watson’s Wine Cellar there.
I proceeded to the display center of L.D. Vins. Run by an old family friend of Edouard, Baron Frédéric de Luze of Château Paveil de Luze, L.D. Vins is a major negociant firm that supplies much Bordeaux wine to US retailers including one of my favorite wine shops, KL Wines in San Francisco. It was very good to see Frédéric again. Ever dapper and gracious, he never fails to invite me to his parties when I am in Bordeaux.
Ch. Kirwan (3rd Growth, 1855) - Toasty oak, vanilla are at the forefront of cherries, cassis and plummy undertones. Not very deep or distinctive, but there’s nothing wrong here. It is a pleasing wine which still has some weight to gain in bottle. This will likely become a dinner crowd drinker early (i.e., in 4-5 more years).
Ch. Marquis de Terme (4th Growth, 1855) - Notably well-knit even at this early stage and definite typicity - it speaks of its terroir. Nice, silky, smooth texture, good extraction with a healthy middle and good weight. Not screaming its favors, but subtle and understated. This is a style I appreciate.
Ch. Dufort Vivens (2nd Growth, 1855) - Young smoky cedar over sweetish/minerally plummy red fruit, raspberry and a touch of herbaceousness. Deftly executed, refined flavors. Notable balance and elegant finish. Good show indeed.
Ch. Dauzac (5th Growth, 1855) - A very charming and pleasantly typical Margaux, if not particularly distinguished. It has a carefree touch to its nicely rounded, medium body. No problems here. If found at US$40-45 per bottle, I’d strike.
2005 St-Julien:
Ch. Branaire (Duluc-Ducru) (4th Growth, 1855) - Still quite mute now and difficult to dissect. It does, however, have good breadth, if a bit muddled, but one can detect the hallmark chocolate notes of Branaire-Ducru. It has a lot of coming-together to do, but I predict it will grow up to be a pretty good wine.
2005 Sauternes/Barsac:
Ch. Coutet (1st Growth, 1855, Barsac) - Typical Barsac, i.e., lighter-framed, brighter flavors and lighter on its feet than its “cousins” from Sauternes. More viscous than usual (likely the vintage speaking), sugary syrup laced with peach, slightly candied apricot and lemon drop candy. I’d have appreciated a bit more acidity, but this is definitely a charming wine - one I wouldn’t mind having a few half-bottles of at home as good, casual dessert wine. Happily, it may be found at under $30 for a regular bottle in certain US wine shops.
Ch. de Rayne-Vigneau (1st Growth, 1855, Bommes/Sauternes) - Generous, yet refined spiced, tangy botrytis with a much more perfumed nose than the Coutet. Though fuller/heftier, it also has the necessary acidity that strikes a fine balance. I’ve seen half-bottles (375ml) for sale in California for under $25. It’s a definite no-brainer at that price. A definite buy.
Ch. Guiraud (1st Growth, 1855, Sauternes) - More definitive attack and better over-all definitiveness than the previous two wines. There is also healthier balancing acidity that suggests, to me better comparative age-worthiness as well. I’ve always been a fan of this château, though. For a reasonably-priced and consistently well-performing Sauternes, its difficult to beat.
Ch. Doisy Daëne (2nd Growth, 1855, Barsac) - At best, a pretty lively and pleasant wine with obvious toastiness to its wood and decent acidity (the phrase “damned by faint praise” comes to mind). As I’ve generally found with the wines I’ve tried from this château, though it is almost always pleasing and easy to like, it lacks material depth and complexity. I’d happily accept a glass if offered, but I’m not buying any.
2005 Reds From Less Famous Appellations of Bordeaux:
Ch. Coufran (Haut-Médoc Cru Bourgeois, St-Seurin-de-Cadourne) - Owned and run by Edouard’s cousin, Eric, this château, typical of other Miailhe family owned/run chateaux (e.g., Siran and, until recently, Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande), uses a higher percentage of merlot than many châteaux in their respective areas. This unassuming wine, though still needing at least 2-3 more years of bottle-age to come together, displays well its flavors of mildly earthy ripe dark fruit/cassis over plum on a medium body with hints of leather. Very accessible and user-friendly (yet maintaining its sense of terroir), at under $30 per bottle, it would be good for restaurants, larger parties and/or casual evening drinking.
Ch. Cantemerle (5th Growth, 1855, Macau, Southern Médoc) - Too closed and difficult to judge at this point. Judgment reserved.
Ch. Chasse-Spleen (Moulis en Médoc, Cru Bourgeois Exceptionnel) - A distinct, sweetish herbaceousness to the fruit (in both the nose and on the palate) makes this lithe, light-side-of-medium-framed wine definitely entertaining. The fans of this well-respected cru bourgeois will be happy that its 2005 vintage is available at under $30 per bottle.
Ch. Poujeaux (Moulis en Médoc, Cru Bourgeois Exceptionnel) - At this point, all I can say is that it is very charming medium-bodied wine with notable balance (not over-done or over-ripe). Still quite reticent, it is very difficult to judge now, knowing that this château usually has good depth and suppleness to its wines, as well as dependable ageing capability. Judgment reserved.
Ch. Fourcas-Dupré (Listrac-Médoc, Cru Bourgeois Supérieur) - Entertaining nose with truffle whispers over herbaceaous light cassis and a touch of jasmine tea to it, all of which is mirrored on the palate in a light-side-of-medium body. There is a lot of flavor in its lithe body. Quite charming.
NB II: UGC tasting in HK is a madhouse - too many people not really involved in the trade or seriously into wine go there to get free tastes of whatever and many are unruly. The UGC tastings held in Bdx Vinexpos are much more conducive for academic tasting.
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