I like the 99 quite a bit as well.
I mentioned this upthread, some years ago, but the 2010 Chantegrive rouge [Graves] is a good wine, with some Graves character, although it does not rise to 30 year old LMHB type charry / cigar notes. This garnet Bordeaux is husky, full bodied, chewy but delicious with some structure still left. The palate showed currants, menthol, and then tobacco. I remember tasting a bottle on release, and then buying a case immediately afterwards, which is unusual for me. I love the way it has blossomed in bottle, and even it has not turned out to be aromatically majestic/complex, it’s still very good and a delight to have without much thinking. B+ on my card.
Separately, not many mentions of it here, but if one is patient, red de Fieuzal can turn quite amazing with some decades sideways. There was a bad batch of 89 that came over at one point, which I think poisoned the well for many potential consumers of that property, but other vintages ended up classic Pessac’s.
I think the spoofing of Saint Emilion and the easing off has been talked about here ad nauseam, but the same thing has also been going on in Passaic Leognan, but less obviously thanks to the higher proportion of Cabernet. And like Saint Emilion, it seems that there too is some dialing back.
I have not tasted the latest vintages of Haut Brion and LMHB , but starting to in 2009, definitely not the gorgeous terroir driven wines I expected. Pape Clement and DDC also had ( for my taste) a lot of wilderness years, but I think both ‘19 and ‘20 are on the road back. Bouscaut and Malartic La Graviere never really stopped being terroir driven. Also Olivier, but I have tasted far fewer vintages.
Howard, if you seriously want to taste the old fashioned Graves, I think you have to buy older vintages. Despite the best intentions of winemakers, climate change means that the wines are still going to be less edgy and riper.
I have followed DDC, and am always looking for wines from 1990 and earlier. I was alerted to some older wines in Europe; they were absolutely pristine, mostly with fills into the neck, but they were not bargains costing between $120 and $200. To me that is still a value, as they are 35-50 years old, and are for my palate fantastic wines. That might be your best bet if you want to drink old traditional Graves.
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For those who want an old school Pessac, consider Brown with some bottle age, which may not be easy to find stateside but the 2000 Brown ‘rouge’ [Pessac Leognan] continues to delight as it nears the quarter century mark. This is my last battle from a trio purchased EP, and all have been fine standard bearers for a charry, tobacco, pipe smoke, leather flavor profile, along with restrained red fruit. 12.5% abv, with lots of depth and interest. Tannins have softened, acid is mild, and the finish is 30+ seconds. I’d give this an A-.
PS: If it’s not clear from the description, this is much more ‘Gravesy’ that the Chantegrive from a few days ago, although I love both, just in different ways.
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With respect to Haut Brion and LMHB, how much of this are the estates and how much is vintages like 2009, 2010 and 2015?
I have not tasted the 2015, but both 2009 and 2010 were dialed up even allowing for the type of vintage. As a fan of both properties, I was quite disappointed.
Thanks. Have you found the wines to be dialed up in vintages like 2014 and 2016 or have you not tasted those?
Tasted the 2014; again dialed up but saved by the vintage. LMHB much better than Haut Brion. Nothing after that.
All this came at a time of change at the properties. Prince Robert took over and Jean Bernard Delmas retired.
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Sounds right up my alley! I have bought this wine in the past, but a very long time ago, I do not normally see it around here. Just out of curiosity, what is the plate of citrus fruit for? While I love citrus notes in my red wines, I can’t say that I have eaten citrus while drinking red wine before.
Our teens hardly eat anything natural/healthy unless its sliced/peeled/trimmed for them, so I try to always have something out on the counter that will bait them before they go hunting for processed foods. Unfortunately our four legged counter surfer also helps himself to anything there too.
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