Vinexpo--I Came, I Saw, I Spat. Part 4

[jparrott]

Here's the biggie, the Union des Grands Crus tasting (not necessarily in the order tasted). Also a horizontal of 2000 Vintage Porto and a few interlopers.

2000 Chateau Carbonnieux Pessac-Leognan blanc:Oak soup. A little oxidation to boot.

2000 Chateau Carbonnieux Pessac-Leognac rouge: Roasty and a bit candied, better acidity, a touch herbal, but the candied nature doesn't go away.

2000 Domaine de Chevalier Pessac-Leognan blanc:Lithe, with tangy herb and melon scents and a fierce chalky core. Needs time, very nice.

2000 Domaine de Chevalier Pessac-Leognan rouge: Feminine, with beautiful floral accents and complex, wild raspberry and plum fruit. Long, slightly torrefacted finish. Beautiful, beautiful stuff.

2000 Chateau Haut-Bailly Pessac-Leognan rouge: A bit oaky, but warm, lithe, plummy and floral. Very ripe, but just holds it together.

2000 Chateau La Louviere Pessac-Leognan rouge: Warm and rich, with ripe herbs and anise accenting a pure plum and cherry core. Very mineral on the finish.Very, very nice.

2000 Chateau Latour-Martillac Pessac-Leognan rouge: A bit reduced, with roasted plum fruit and a succulent finish. Too ripe?

2000 Chateau Les Carmes Haut-Brion Pessac-Leognan rouge:Warm and soft, with stylish floral edges to the ripe plummy fruit. A bit acid deficient.

2000 Chateau Malartic-Lagraviere Pessac-Leognan rouge:Warm, with charcoaly

oak. Plenty of fruit but a bit out of balance.

2000 Chateau Pape-Clement Pessac-Leognan rouge:Very, very mineral and spicy, very closed. Classy and delineated.

2000 Chateau Smith-Haut-Lafitte Pessac-Leognan blanc: I wish this was corked. DNPIM (did not put in mouth).

2000 Chateau Smith-Haut-Lafitte Pessac-Leognan rouge:See note

for the blanc. Rancid flower scents.

2000 Chateau de Chantegrive Graves rouge:Oak soup.

2000 Chateau Ferrande Graves rouge:A bit roasty, but wonderfully perfumed

and floral. Stays together. Good value.

2000 Chateau Rahoul Graves rouge: Classic Graves hot stones frame dark

cherry and plum fruit and succulent acidity. Already complex.

2000 Chateau Beau-Sejour Becot Saint-Emilion: Hot stones, very ripe and oaky, but there is a taut balance here, with good acidity and a wild, scorched flowers accent to the finish. Pretty refined for all the oak.

2000 Chateau Canon Saint-Emilion: Ugh. Oak jam.

2000 Chateau Canon-La-Gaffeliere Saint-Emilion: So ripe, but complex cedar and floral notes rein this beast in. Very nice if a bit moreish.

2000 Chateau Dassault Saint-Emilion: Syrupy and oaky. Blah.

2000 Chateau Figeac Saint-Emilion: Classic St.Em. nose of rubber, plum and grainy minerals. Lithe on the palate, with stunning complexity.Very balanced. A winner.

2000 Clos Fourtet Saint-Emilion: Chunky, gobby, yucky.

2000 Chateau Franc-Mayne Saint-Emilion: Very typical, with hot stones and ripe red fruit. Long, ripe, focused, succulent. Nice.

2000 Chateau La Couspade Saint-Emilion: Bright and floral, a bit soft, with good mineral delineation. Complex and balanced.

2000 Chateau La Gaffeliere Saint-Emilion: Good typicity on the nose, and good astringency, but the finish is muddled and gobby.

2000 Chateau Pavie Saint-Emilion: Port. Expensive port.

2000 Chateau Pavie-Decesse Saint-Emilion: More port.

2000 Chateau Beauregard Pomerol:Oak soup.

2000 Chateau Clinet Pomerol: New label. Nice floral and astringent nature here, but nasty wood tannin and no acid.

2000 Chateau Gazin Pomerol: Earthy and rich, very ripe. Complex but unstructured.

2000 Chateau Chasse-Spleen Moulis: Very ripe and succulent, with cassis and plum and a dash of herb and earth. Nice early drinker.

2000 Chateau Poujeaux Moulis: Lithe and floral, with proper ripeness. Harmonious and pure, very complex. Balanced. A winner.

2000 Chateau Clarke Listrac: Too ripe.

2000 Chateau Fonreaud Listrac: Meaty and earthy, harmonious, with an anise edge to the defined black fruit. Complex already.

2000 Chateau Fourcas-Dupre Listrac: Butter candy. Ugh.

2000 Chateau Beaumont Haut-Medoc: Oak soup.

2000 Chateau La Lagune Haut-Medoc: Minty, gravelly, complex, angular. Real Bordeaux. A winner.

2000 Chateau La Tour Carnet Haut-Medoc: Oak soup.

2000 Chateau Brane-Cantenac Margaux: Nice floral nose, but gobby and torrefacted.

2000 Chateau Cantenac-Brown Margaux: Masculine, with cigar and cedar scents

along with Margaux flowers and spice. Nice astringency. Backward.

2000 Chateau Dauzac Margaux: Floral, with some charcoal, but a beam of ripe fruit and pleasing anise here. Closed, succulent, crunchy. Nice.

2000 Chateau du Tertre Margaux: Overripe.

2000 Chateau Kirwan Margaux: Very floral and typical, with rich plum fruit. Harmonious and very backward. A triumph.

2000 Chateau Beychevelle Saint-Julien: Smoked port.

2000 Chateau Branaire-Ducru Saint-Julien: Floral and bitter, with wood

tannins. Unfocused.

2000 Chateau Gruaud Larose Saint-Julien: Complex nose of plum, cassis and

earth. Chewy dark cherry fruit, with good astringency and minerality. A triumph.

2000 Chateau Lagrange Saint-Julien: Very ripe, with chocolate and underbrush

accents and a lot of cedar. Harmonious.

2000 Chateau Leoville-Poyferre Saint-Julien: Jammy, with dark cherry and spice. Overripe, but lithe. Drink young.

2000 Chateau Talbot Saint-Julien: Darker, with asphalt accents to the ripe

nose. Unintegrated and acid deficient.

2000 Chateau Croizet-Bages Pauillac: High-toned, with leather, cedar and

loads of spice character. Ripe structure and pure black fruit. Very, very nice.

2000 Chateau Grany-Puy Ducasse Pauillac: Harsh and short.

2000 Chateau Lynch-Bages Pauillac: Very rich chocolate, ripe fruit and a

wall of minerals. Classic.

2000 Chateau Lynch-Moussas Pauillac: A gobby, stinky mess.

2000 Chateau Pichon-Baron Pauillac: Perfumed, floral, cigar-box and

spice.Succulent and complex. Wow.

2000 Chateau Pichon-Lalande Pauillac: A shell of a wine. Bottling problems?

2000 Chateau Pontet-Canet Pauillac Compellingly floral, but plenty of oak

and not enough acid. Drink young.

2000 Chateau Cos Labory Saint-Estephe: Charcoaly, overripe, but succulent. Drink young.

2000 Chateau Lafon-Rochet Saint-Estephe: Cedar and powder on the nose, stylish and ripe, but lacking depth. Good mineral finish. Shut?

2000 Chateau Les Ormes de Pez Saint-Estephe: Meaty, jammy cherry fruit and

smoke. Well balanced. An accessible winner.

2000 Chateau Phelan-Segur Saint-Estephe: Oak soup.

2000 Chateau Bastor-Lamontagne Sauternes: A bit herbal, with flowers and exotic melon fruit and strong botrytis. Not particularly sweet. Needs a lot of time but should be pretty good.

2000 Chateau de Malle Sauternes: Lots of botrytis here, with dark honey,

roast melon and grapey accents. Mineral and tight. Promising.

2000 Chateau de Rayne Vigneau Sauternes: Floral and chalky, a bit dilute, apple-y fruit.

1999 Chateau Guiraud Sauternes: Roasty, lots of botrytis, deep caramel, apple and a bit of herb. Shut tight. Very promising.

2000 Chateau Lafaurie-Peyraguey Sauternes: Ripe melon and peach blossom, elegant, fruity, a but unfocused.

2000 Chateau Suduiraut Sauternes: Very floral, not much botrytis and some

raw sugar. Melon, a bit of herb and chalk. Stylish. Classy, especially if it buries the raw sugar.

NV Gosset Brut Champagne "Excellence": Bit spicy, rich pear fruit. Long and fruity.

1999 Donnhoff Oberhauser Brucke Riesling Spatlese: Rich red currant, lime, jammy and talcy, layered, with lemon character poking in the long, perfumed, closed finish.

2000 St. Urbans-Hof Ockfeiner Bockstein Riesling Auslese: Roasty, dark flower and caramel accents, a bit offish and early-maturing.

1999 Dr. Becker Dienheimer Tafelstein Riesling Auslese: Honey, bit yeasty, heavy lime candy.

2000 Dr. Loosen Erdener Pralat Riesling Auslese LGK: BA like, lots of botrytis, roast apple and crunchy mineral, fine for the vintage.

2000 Emrich-Schonleber Monzinger Harlenberg Riesling Auslese ***: Pure auslese, with little botrytis here, floral and high-toned, crunchy and structured. Very nice.

2000 Josef Leitz Rudesheimer Drachenstein Riesling Eiswein: Lithe and racy, with acids framing quartz and lime on the palate. Very harmonious, but may not

evolve well.

2000 Gunderloch Nackenheimer Rothenberg Riesing Beerenauslese: Flat and heavy.

2001 Strauss Sauvignon Blanc Kabinett Gamlitzberg (Styria): herby and crunchy, with some white pepper. Expressive, but a bit offish.

2001 Proidl Riesling Urgestein Senftenberger Hochacker: Crunchy, very dry, a bit herbal, long lemon and lemongrass finish.

2000 Klosterneuberg St. Laurent Rield Stictsbreite Ausstich: Very stemmy, with some asphalt notes and earth framing pure cherry on the long palate.

2000 Leo Hillinger Cabernet Sauvignon Jahrgangwein: Lots of oak frames stemmy plum aromas here, with a wilder palate, raspy and floral. A bit oaky but still a nice drink.

1999 Steindorfer Muscat Ottonel TBA: Restrained and complex, peach, quartz and candied lime. Very long and lithe.

1998 Munzenrieder Welschriesling TBA: High-toned, with roasted schist and lots of botrytis, more defined, elegant and floral on the palate with very ripe structure. Needs lots of time but very nice.

1999 Munzenrieder Samling TBA: Darker, with red fruits and stones and some sweet herb notes. Austere, raisined and chalky. Classy.

2000 Munzenrieder Chardonnay-Welschriesling Eiswein: Apple skin, very floral, pure but a bit dilute. Closed?

1998 Munzenrieder Chardonnay TBA: An astonishing 243 g/L residual sugar. Richly colored, with caramelized hazelnut, floral and old wood nose. Big floral and pear palate, with big mineral in the finish. Very nice.

1996 Munzenrieder Bouvier TBA: Roasted pomegranate accents here, woody, raisiny and not particularly pure.

2000 Quarles Harris Porto: Sugarplum, high-toned, hard. Not particularly good.

2000 Quinta do Roriz Porto: A bit dry, floral and restrained. Early-maturing, but

balanced. Could be am early bellwether.

2000 Smith Woodhouse Porto: Beautiful cassis, floral and mineral nose, very complex already, not too sweet. Fabulous.

2000 Warre Porto: Bit old wood/mahogany, raisin and earth. Very backward on the palate.

2000 Dow Porto: Cassis jam, very stony, complex, with rubber and mahogany accents. Very ripe but in balance. Needs 30+ years.

2000 Quinta do Vesuvio Porto: Hot stones, crushed, dried violets, intense nose. Floral, bit restrained sur-maturite, incredible balance, succulence. Wow. Wow.

2000 Graham Porto: Torrefacted, overripe, but structured with great acidity. Needs about a million years.