TN: A dozen Bordeaux from the 2008 & 2009 vintages 3/6/13
Posted: Mon Jun 24, 2013 8:50 am
A few weeks ago I attended a tasting of a dozen reds from Bordeaux from the 2008 & 2009 vintages, with a local ringer thrown in just to make things a little more interesting. All of the wines were presented blind.
FLIGHT 1: Two Cru Bourgeois level wines from each vintage to begin with – the group noted they were surprisingly more approachable than they were expecting, especially in respect to the tannins.
2008 Château Lanessan, Haut-Médoc (cork): 13% alc. Medium red. Minerally, perfumed and delicate nose with deep-set raspberries, violets and touches of liquorice, chalk dust, and subtle, cedar oak, becoming more metallic with breathing. A surprisingly tangy and tart entry leads to a jubey mid-palate, with considerable velvety tannins that power a long but slightly bitter finish. A solid wine to start the tasting, although there is also a hint of (4ep) brett waiting to spring.
2009 Château Lanessan, Haut-Médoc (cork): 13.5% alc. Medium to dark red/purple. Quite cheesy at first, a lot of charred oak too, but it settles down to reveal blueberry and raspberries, becoming more minerally and jubey with breathing. A soft entry leads to ripe, slushy black fruits and a stony/minty mid-palate, finishing very dry and minty with a suggestion of warmth. Looks a little rebellious and disjointed right now.
2008 Château Bernadotte, Haut-Médoc (cork): 13% alc. Medium to dark red. Opens with barnyard and tobacco, cassis and strawberry, then carnations, musk and smoked meats; a soft entry leads to a tart, medium-weight palate with jubey fruit and touches of gamey/meaty and pepper characters, finishing minty and dry. There are obvious, more attractive traits of (4eg) brett showing, although that leaves a big question mark as to what will happen from here.
2009 Château Bernadotte, Haut-Médoc (cork): 13.5% alc. Medium to dark red. There’s still some sulphur on the nose at first, which quickly breathes off to reveal a perfumed, elegant bouquet, chalky and jubey with just a touch of tobacco and barnyard in the background. The entry of the palate is very tannic, leading to a solid mid-palate with chewy tannins that are finer than the 2008 vintage, finishing chalky with very good length. Marginally my favourite of the first four wines.
FLIGHT 2: Everyone agreed this was a good step up on the first flight.
2009 Château Giscours, 3me Cru Margaux (cork): 13% alc. Medium to very dark red. Opens with sweet, scrubbed blueberries and equally sweet, gluey oak, followed by ripe red and black berries, liquorice and smoke; the medium-weight palate opens with black jubes, raspberries and pastilles, the mid-palate surprisingly soft and plush, finishing chalky and just a little stalky. Very good.
2008 Vasse Felix Heytesbury Cabernet Sauvignon, Margaret River (screwcap): 14.5% alc. Medium to dark red. Very perfumed and plummy, with sweet, biscuity oak, black cherries and musk, blueberries and cedar/spicy oak, all with a touch of lift that should have given away its new world origins. A jubey/sweet entry leads to an explosive mid-palate that’s equally fruit-sweet and not tart like the surrounding wines, finishing with lacy, black tea tannins and some black olive. For an imposter it looked pretty good in this group.
2009 Château Langoa Barton, 3me Cru Saint Julien (cork): 13% alc. Dark to inky purple with legs on the glass. Smells like a barrel sample, with vibrant blueberries dusted in castor sugar matched to biscuity/malty oak, then black cherries as it becomes more medicinal with breathing. The palate’s softer and bigger than the previous wines, medium to full weight with black olive and black cherry, finishing with thick tannins but also a touch of bitterness. Lots of swagger, but it seemed a little disjointed compared to the previous two wines – I suspect all it needs is time.
FLIGHT 3: This next flight of St. Julien wines were a significant step up again.
2008 Château Léoville Barton, 2me Cru Saint Julien (cork): 13% alc. Dark to inky purple/red. Dusty and perfumed, blueberry pie, chalk dust, cedar oak and pencil shavings, already a touch of mushroom, soy and forest floor earthiness adding complexity. A tart entry is followed by black jubes and chewy, chalky velvety tannins mid-palate with gamey/meaty notes, finishing long and velvety, almost Burgundy-like. While many seemed to overlook this wine I really enjoyed its style in this flight, in fact this whole tasting.
2008 Château Léoville Poyferré, 2me Cru Saint Julien (cork): 13.5% alc. Dark to inky red with a hint of purple and legs on the glass. Opens with a wallop of obvious, varnishy oak, settling down with breathing to reveal cassis, some barnyard and tobacco, biscuity oak, cloves and cherry cola. A soft entry is followed by a slow build of black fruits and tobacco, fireplace/charred oak, finishing jubey and minerally with finer tannins than the Léoville Barton – in comparison it seemed to be a riper style, maybe pushing the boundaries.
2009 Château Léoville Poyferré, 2me Cru Saint Julien (cork): 14% alc. Dark to inky purple with legs on the glass. Very modern and young, I thought it could almost pass for a new release Majella or John Riddoch! The nose is full of blueberries, blackcurrants and coal dust, castor sugar, black olive and cocoa powder; the palate’s massive, a full-weight mouthful of chalky tannins and slushy, almost chunky fruit, finishing with black olive tannins. Needless to say this was very, very popular.
FLIGHT 4: Another great flight to finish off the tasting.
2009 Château Haut Batailley, 5me Cru Pauillac (cork): 13.5% alc. Medium to dark red with a hint of purple, notably a lot lighter than the surrounding wines. Very elegant with blackcurrant and tobacco, jubes and sous bois, spices and carnations, spicy but well controlled oak; the palate’s just as plush and inviting, medium-weight and full of cherry fruit, black jubes and soft tannins from front to end, with lovely meaty accents. At first this seemed to be a classic Bordeaux in texture, fruit and oak balance that’s drinking well now, but by the end of the glass it was becoming decidedly medicinal suggesting it may not hold this form due to a good dose of brett. Given the label, maybe I shouldn’t be that surprised.
2008 Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande, 2me Cru Pauillac (cork): 13% alc. Medium to almost dark red. Right from the first whiff I thought this smelled like a super second, but going by the masculine characters on the nose I was thinking more Pichon Baron than Pichon Lalande; there’s a good dose of toast, tar and fireplace char, tobacco, smoked meats and scorched earth to go with black jubes and liquorice. A soft entry is followed by a slow build of tangy, medium to full weight fruit and fine tannins, finishing minerally with some mint, but also a touch of bitterness. It may need some more time to come together, but then it’s also a little shorter than I was expecting for the label – even after going back to it at night’s end I couldn’t make up my mind.
2008 Château Cos d'Estournel, 2me Cru Saint Estèphe (cork): 13.5% alc. Medium to dark red with legs on the glass. Very ripe and rather “modern†in style compared to the two previous wines, full of cherry cola and sweet oak with noticeable lift, biscuity oak, blueberry pie, black olive and cocoa dust. A sweet entry is followed by a massive build up of tarry black jubes, red currants and chalky tannins, finishing long and minty. It had many fans around the room.
Cheers,
Ian
FLIGHT 1: Two Cru Bourgeois level wines from each vintage to begin with – the group noted they were surprisingly more approachable than they were expecting, especially in respect to the tannins.
2008 Château Lanessan, Haut-Médoc (cork): 13% alc. Medium red. Minerally, perfumed and delicate nose with deep-set raspberries, violets and touches of liquorice, chalk dust, and subtle, cedar oak, becoming more metallic with breathing. A surprisingly tangy and tart entry leads to a jubey mid-palate, with considerable velvety tannins that power a long but slightly bitter finish. A solid wine to start the tasting, although there is also a hint of (4ep) brett waiting to spring.
2009 Château Lanessan, Haut-Médoc (cork): 13.5% alc. Medium to dark red/purple. Quite cheesy at first, a lot of charred oak too, but it settles down to reveal blueberry and raspberries, becoming more minerally and jubey with breathing. A soft entry leads to ripe, slushy black fruits and a stony/minty mid-palate, finishing very dry and minty with a suggestion of warmth. Looks a little rebellious and disjointed right now.
2008 Château Bernadotte, Haut-Médoc (cork): 13% alc. Medium to dark red. Opens with barnyard and tobacco, cassis and strawberry, then carnations, musk and smoked meats; a soft entry leads to a tart, medium-weight palate with jubey fruit and touches of gamey/meaty and pepper characters, finishing minty and dry. There are obvious, more attractive traits of (4eg) brett showing, although that leaves a big question mark as to what will happen from here.
2009 Château Bernadotte, Haut-Médoc (cork): 13.5% alc. Medium to dark red. There’s still some sulphur on the nose at first, which quickly breathes off to reveal a perfumed, elegant bouquet, chalky and jubey with just a touch of tobacco and barnyard in the background. The entry of the palate is very tannic, leading to a solid mid-palate with chewy tannins that are finer than the 2008 vintage, finishing chalky with very good length. Marginally my favourite of the first four wines.
FLIGHT 2: Everyone agreed this was a good step up on the first flight.
2009 Château Giscours, 3me Cru Margaux (cork): 13% alc. Medium to very dark red. Opens with sweet, scrubbed blueberries and equally sweet, gluey oak, followed by ripe red and black berries, liquorice and smoke; the medium-weight palate opens with black jubes, raspberries and pastilles, the mid-palate surprisingly soft and plush, finishing chalky and just a little stalky. Very good.
2008 Vasse Felix Heytesbury Cabernet Sauvignon, Margaret River (screwcap): 14.5% alc. Medium to dark red. Very perfumed and plummy, with sweet, biscuity oak, black cherries and musk, blueberries and cedar/spicy oak, all with a touch of lift that should have given away its new world origins. A jubey/sweet entry leads to an explosive mid-palate that’s equally fruit-sweet and not tart like the surrounding wines, finishing with lacy, black tea tannins and some black olive. For an imposter it looked pretty good in this group.
2009 Château Langoa Barton, 3me Cru Saint Julien (cork): 13% alc. Dark to inky purple with legs on the glass. Smells like a barrel sample, with vibrant blueberries dusted in castor sugar matched to biscuity/malty oak, then black cherries as it becomes more medicinal with breathing. The palate’s softer and bigger than the previous wines, medium to full weight with black olive and black cherry, finishing with thick tannins but also a touch of bitterness. Lots of swagger, but it seemed a little disjointed compared to the previous two wines – I suspect all it needs is time.
FLIGHT 3: This next flight of St. Julien wines were a significant step up again.
2008 Château Léoville Barton, 2me Cru Saint Julien (cork): 13% alc. Dark to inky purple/red. Dusty and perfumed, blueberry pie, chalk dust, cedar oak and pencil shavings, already a touch of mushroom, soy and forest floor earthiness adding complexity. A tart entry is followed by black jubes and chewy, chalky velvety tannins mid-palate with gamey/meaty notes, finishing long and velvety, almost Burgundy-like. While many seemed to overlook this wine I really enjoyed its style in this flight, in fact this whole tasting.
2008 Château Léoville Poyferré, 2me Cru Saint Julien (cork): 13.5% alc. Dark to inky red with a hint of purple and legs on the glass. Opens with a wallop of obvious, varnishy oak, settling down with breathing to reveal cassis, some barnyard and tobacco, biscuity oak, cloves and cherry cola. A soft entry is followed by a slow build of black fruits and tobacco, fireplace/charred oak, finishing jubey and minerally with finer tannins than the Léoville Barton – in comparison it seemed to be a riper style, maybe pushing the boundaries.
2009 Château Léoville Poyferré, 2me Cru Saint Julien (cork): 14% alc. Dark to inky purple with legs on the glass. Very modern and young, I thought it could almost pass for a new release Majella or John Riddoch! The nose is full of blueberries, blackcurrants and coal dust, castor sugar, black olive and cocoa powder; the palate’s massive, a full-weight mouthful of chalky tannins and slushy, almost chunky fruit, finishing with black olive tannins. Needless to say this was very, very popular.
FLIGHT 4: Another great flight to finish off the tasting.
2009 Château Haut Batailley, 5me Cru Pauillac (cork): 13.5% alc. Medium to dark red with a hint of purple, notably a lot lighter than the surrounding wines. Very elegant with blackcurrant and tobacco, jubes and sous bois, spices and carnations, spicy but well controlled oak; the palate’s just as plush and inviting, medium-weight and full of cherry fruit, black jubes and soft tannins from front to end, with lovely meaty accents. At first this seemed to be a classic Bordeaux in texture, fruit and oak balance that’s drinking well now, but by the end of the glass it was becoming decidedly medicinal suggesting it may not hold this form due to a good dose of brett. Given the label, maybe I shouldn’t be that surprised.
2008 Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande, 2me Cru Pauillac (cork): 13% alc. Medium to almost dark red. Right from the first whiff I thought this smelled like a super second, but going by the masculine characters on the nose I was thinking more Pichon Baron than Pichon Lalande; there’s a good dose of toast, tar and fireplace char, tobacco, smoked meats and scorched earth to go with black jubes and liquorice. A soft entry is followed by a slow build of tangy, medium to full weight fruit and fine tannins, finishing minerally with some mint, but also a touch of bitterness. It may need some more time to come together, but then it’s also a little shorter than I was expecting for the label – even after going back to it at night’s end I couldn’t make up my mind.
2008 Château Cos d'Estournel, 2me Cru Saint Estèphe (cork): 13.5% alc. Medium to dark red with legs on the glass. Very ripe and rather “modern†in style compared to the two previous wines, full of cherry cola and sweet oak with noticeable lift, biscuity oak, blueberry pie, black olive and cocoa dust. A sweet entry is followed by a massive build up of tarry black jubes, red currants and chalky tannins, finishing long and minty. It had many fans around the room.
Cheers,
Ian