EUROPEAN TASTINGS NO.3- Bordeaux 1996

[Attila]

This final tasting event this year was held in Hungary with the Pincemester Wine Club. The seminar and tasting were aimed at understanding the different wine characteristics of the various Bordeaux communes at about the same 4-5th Growth level within the same vintage of 1996. A good year for Cabernet Sauvignon but the Merlot suffered. All wines had good colour and structure. I was hoping to taste with people who had much experience but it turned out that other than two people, everyone else was relatively new to Bordeaux. A very busy CEO, (a wine expert and connoisseur) of a large company sent his (secretary?) in the last minute to sit in on his behalf. She, I believe, never drunk Bordeaux before. I had to start from scratch.
The event took place on August 27,2003.

1.Chateau MARQUIS DE TERME 1996 (MARGAUX 4th Growth)

Beautiful nose, gamey smells, mushroom and cigarbox with smoky oak. A satisfying and fruity taste, medium bodied. Very supple and soft, in fact too soft. A wine that appeared fully mature and ready. Lacking concentration and lenght, it finished short. A good drink, definitely representing Margaux in the Médoc but not great. Certainly not a bargain at AU $70+ this 4th Growth struggled with the quality. Parker thinks this vineyard should be downgraded to a 5th Growth. The wine spent 18 months in a mix of old and new Merrain barriques. Assumed blend composition: 55% cab/sav, 35% merlot, 7% petit verdot and 3% cab/franc. About 180 thousand bottles produced from the 38 hectares. Jean Pierre Hugon produced a basic run of the mill wine. Comments:
"What's so great about this Bordeaux wine?"
"The nose promised a lot, then it didn't follow up on the palate"
"I liked it's easy drinking style but not at the price"

2.Chateau CANTEMERLE 1996 (HAUT-MÉDOC 5th Growth)

Plenty of oak on the nose mixed with spices, cigarbox and black berries. Concentrated and tight palate with excellent fruit concentration. Very delicious. Rich, multi layered. Excellent drinking but had the structure to age for an other 10 years. Very good balance and length. Classy oak supported the wine throughout. Well worth the AU $90+ this wine from the 'High-Médoc' is very impressive. The wine spent 14 months in oak, 30% of the barriques new. Assumed blend composition: 50% cab/sav, 40% merlot, 5% petit verdot and 5% cab/franc. About 300 thousand bottles produced from the 87 hectares. Pascal Berteau produced an excellent wine, worthy of a higher class. Comments:
"Ah, this is so much better than that 'Terme' wine"
"Where the hell is the 'Haut-Médoc?"
"This sort of balance is what's missing from many Bordeaux styled new world wines"

3.Chateau BOURGNEUF-VAYRON 1996 (POMEROL)

Pomerol wines never been classified, not even the great Pétrus, however I believe the Bourgneuf is at an easy 5th growth level.
As a merlot based 'right bank' wine, it smelled of ripe plums, red berries and cherry with little gamey undertones. The palate was surprisingly full , very rich fruit mixed with the toned down, well handled oak. It surprised me with it's quality as given the vintage for merlot, I was expecting worse. A charming and tasty red that was a very satisfying drink. The wine is 8 years away from full maturity. It cost AU $80+ and is hard to find. This Pomerol spent 12 months in oak, 1/5 th of the barriques new. Assumed blend composition: 90% merlot and 10% cab/franc. About 60 thousand bottles produced from the 9 hectares. Xavier Vayron made a very good wine that did not disappoint. Comments:
"This appeals to me so much, easy to love the merlot"
"Markedly different from the cabernet based 'left bank', pretty easy to pick as a Pomerol"
"That rich plum and red berry taste is beautiful"

4.Chateau BEYCHEVELLE 1996 (ST.JULIEN 4th Growth)

One of my favourite wines. I've drunk this last year at home and with the Sydney club members. It changed a little since, the wild cabernet flavours are starting to retreat, still very impressive.
Smelling of capsicum, great cigarbox nose with spices and truffle and gamey tones. The palate is smooth and silky, medium bodied, a lovely claret of great class. I can't help it, I just love this wine. Perfect balance, well handled oak and a beautiful long finish. Will age for 10 more years gracefully. Cost AU $80+ (anywhere, anytime!). It spent 18 months in oak, half of the barriques new. Assumed blend composition: 60% cab/sav, 28% merlot, 8% cab/franc and 4% petit verdot. About 300 thousand bottles produced from the 90 hectares. Lucien Soussotte produced a classic. Comments:
" The purest cabernet scents I ever experienced"
"Masculine and feminine at the same time"
"Very smooth palate, high class winemaking"

5.Chateau HAUT-BATAILLEY 1996 (PAUILLAC 5th Growth)

I love it when Parker is right. His tasting notes were on par with our experience. Lots of toasty oak on the nose, cigarbox and capsicum with dark berries, a little plum and cassis. Powerful palate, good fruit concentration with grainy oak. Definitely a 'grumpy' and powerful Pauillac, we've enjoyed this wine a lot. The experience worth the AU $90+ , very good and ageworthy. Will be at it's peak in 8-10 years. It spent 20 months in oak, 40% of the barriques new. Assumed blend composition: 65% cab/sav, 25% merlot and 10% cab/franc. About 100 thousand bottles produced from the 22 hectares. René Lusseau created one of the best Haut-Batailley's of the 90's. Comments:
"Tougher than the others, less polish, is it a Pauillac?"
"This is the style, new world producers trying to copy and create"
"Not a charming wine but strong and structured. Needs time"

6.Chateau SOUTARD 1996 (ST.ÉMILION Grand Cru 'C')

The winemaker blends it's vintages late, so the wine is not ready in March when Parker and others visit to evaluate the new vintage. A 'C' category Grand Cru, judging by this wine, just below the 5th growth level of the Médoc classification. Smoky oak on the nose, some blackberry, very reserved. The palate has good fruit concentration and lot's of grainy oak, the wine finishes with high acid. Not perfectly balanced...will it come together in time? I'm not willing to find out at AU $70+ ,the wine needs time but the problems with the merlot harvest shows. A 'right bank' wine that had to struggle in 1996. The wine spent 12 months in barrels of various size and age. Assumed blend composition: 70% merlot and 30% cab/franc. About 120 thousand bottles produced from the 22 hectares. Francois Ligneris created an acceptable red in a difficult merlot vintage. Comments:
"Just when you thought Marquis de Terme was the worst wine this evening, along came the Soutard"
"I don't think I'll ever be a fan of St.Émilion wines"
"I like that, Parker get pissed off each year that he can't taste the new blend because it's not ready"

7.Chateau CALON-SÉGUR 1996 (ST.ESTEPHE 3rd Growth)

We've been elevated immediately to a much higher class. Complex nose of spices, toasty oak, pronounced gamey tones, cigar box, blackberries, red berries and cassis. A scented wine of great distinction and breed. The palate explode with flavors, chocolate, toasty oak, black berries and plum, this is a very rich and great Calon Ségur. Suddenly we are all aware that we are in the presence of a fantastic Bordeaux. Excellent structure with ripe tannins and great length. The wine is starting to open up now, almost ready to be drunk with great pleasure and will mature for at least 20 years. This wine cost AU $140+ but do buy a bottle even at $200, you won't be disappointed. The wine spent 20 months in barriques, 30% new. According to Parker, the blend composition is 60% cab/sav and 40% merlot with very low yields. About 240 thousand bottles produced from the 74 hectares. Michel Ellissalde created a legend. Comments:
"Okay...this is fantastic, I can see that this is a great wine."
" I tasted my second great bottle of Médoc wine in my life, the first one being Chateau Palmer 1999"
"Precisely the stuff you can't imitate, wines like this make Bordeaux unique"

8.DOMAINE DE CHEVALIER 1996 (PESSAC-LÉOGNAN Grand Cru)

Almost everyone got confused by this modern style red. Very reserved nose of vanilla oak and red berries. Not much aroma or scents. The palate is controlled, fantastic balance, tight savoury fruit and more high quality smooth oak. Powerful and fairly tannic, this wine was not ready to be drunk or to be tasted, at all. Very high quality winemaking, at least on 3rd Growth Médoc level. Finished with good acid and amazing length. No doubt, it will be a great Graves district red in 20 years but my AU $150 would go towards an other bottle of Ségur for now. I would have picked this wine to be a Californian cabernet in a blind tasting, at this stage there weren't any indicators towards a top class Graves at all. The wine spent 21 months in oak, 50% of the barriques were new. Assumed blend composition: 65% cab/sav, 30% merlot and 5% cab/franc. About 192 thousand bottles produced from the 33 hectares of red varieties. One of the greatest white wines I've ever drunk had been a white Bordeaux made by the Domaine. (Yes David, you too were there at that Club Dinner, the 'Gnome' brought the bottle.) Laurence Ters created a great wine that need to be re-tasted in 30 years time.
"It's pretty good but I'd never pick it as a Bordeaux'
"Wines like these will fail you at the MW exam...there is no way to pick this"
"For me...this tasting ended with the Calon-Ségur...look, it's already 11 pm, my wife will kill me but it was worth it...It was so great to have this experience with these wines!"

So, our tasting came to an end. A very good Bordeaux experience of the vintage 1996.

[Mark S]

not normally a Francophile, but your description of the Calon Segur has inspired me to find one & drink it soon.
regards, Mark S.

[kenzo]

Just be aware that the Calon (IMO) is a more "understated" red. It has volume and depth, but not a lot of complexity when young. I've polished off a number of my halves of the 2000 vintage lately, and I doubt I will buy again. It just lacks the excitement factor, and I'd rather have two bottles of Lagrange for the same price.
Just another viewpoint, though the heart label does go down a treat on dates...

[Attila]

Buy the 1996 Calon Segur with confidence, it is an amazing wine.
You too Kenzo should try a bottle. It will restore your faith in the wine.
Cheers,
Attila

[kenzo]

Attila, the '96 left bank wines are certainly drinking a treat right now - lovely weight of fruit there, and they'll keep on going too. Even some of the Pomerol wines are lovely and soft - best IMO for near term drinking rather than extended cellaring.

As for the Calon, I know what I like and this ain't really it. It's not bad at all, just subjectively not in my favourites list. I'm sure I'd enjoy it more than many other wines, but when it comes to forking over the money, I'd rather spend elsewhere.

Now I bet someone will try and get me at a blind tasting, so I'll also say that I don't like Chave or Brunel either...

Cheers,

S.