Bordeaux wine tasting

[Andre]

Tannins anyone? Medoc it is.

Whenever I think of Bordeaux, I automatically start chewing on thin air and liquids while forming some rather funny Mickey Mouse faces to whomever is watching.

Tannis, soft tannis, hard tannins, chewy tannins, green tannins - that is what Bordeaux wines stand for in my eyes – plenty of tannins.

The very next thing that comes to mind is patience.

Why on earth would someone open a top quality 2000 vintage Bordeaux? Ignorance is probably the answer to that. Bordeaux wines are designed to develop a certain number of years allowing the consumers to decide for themselves on their own preferences.

Following is an illuminating tasting performed November 30th:

This tasting is not about great names but rather about great drinking wines.

Always nice to start with a white:

Chateau Bonnet Blanc, Entre-Deux-Mere 2000

A Beautiful expression of the region between the Dordogne and Garonne rivers. Although this area is responsible for most of the Bordeaux and Bordeaux superior wine production the A.O.C. tends to reflect the whites blended mostly by Semillon and some Sauvignon Blanc. Excellent balance and marriage of the two grapes. Medium bodied easy drinking wines with ripe melons and sweet apples ending with a fresh grassy finish. Lovely.

Chateau du Grand Moueys, Blanc 1997

A simple reflection of oak aged Bordeaux whites. At 6 years old, the oak and wine seem as one with a dry earthy, smooth flavors. Although this wine is nothing to write home about, it shows a completely different style than the Bonnet.

A White that I would not hesitate to serve with grilled pork.

The Reds:

Chateau Bonnet Rouge, Bordeaux, 1999.

Medium bodied well-balanced dry red with tannins lingering from the mid palate all the way to the mildly spiced finish. A well made good value for the money wine that will easily stand up to any Bordeaux lovers’ expectation as an everyday wine.

Medoc, Reserve Speciale, Lafite, Baron de Rothschild, 2000.

A rather big name for this rather closed and not so complex wine. I would suggest opening the wine in a year or two and hope for some progress.

Chateau Brown Lamartine, Bordeaux Superior 1998.

A Third label Chateau Cantenac Brown wine just south of Margeaux named after a poet friend of owner Armand Lalande.

A fruit driven [mostly cherry] medium bodied well-rounded wine with pleasant ripe soft tannins intermingling very nicely with the spice oriented oaky finish. I am not sure if this wine will develop any more but certainly will prove a good company to a good steak.

Chateau Monbrison, Cru Bourgeois, Margeaux 1995.

Not a Grand Cru? This wine is a very clear “So what”.

There is something about 1995 and Bordeaux that goes very well together. This year seems to be plenty of tannins. Once used to be a hard wine, the Monbrison is finally showing some balance with little expression of red fruits, mostly forest berries, good acidity and a medium long softly spiced finish coated with ripe tannins. A very good complex and reasonably priced quality wine that is neither a GC nor even a Cru Exepcionelle or Cru Bourgeois superior. Lucky us.

CARRUADES de LAFITE, Pauillac. 1995

This second label by Chateau Lafite, seems more like the harsher more Sirius Mouton this year than a Lafite off-spring. Plenty of now rather soft, yet not necessarily mature tannins with some cassis and red berries and a somehow green harsh tannins on the finish, yet distinctively 1995.

CARRUADES de LAFITE, Pauillac. 1996.

To say the truth, I did not intend to open this wine but 1995 was mentioned too much not to compare with the massive 1996.

The wine is still closed showing plenty of green notes with some fruits appearing in the glass after 15 minutes. The tannins are harsh and rather green and the taste lacks both balance and complexity yet a promise of a really good bargain is showing some signs and should put words into action in two years time.

Chateau Poujeaux, Moulis en Medoc 1995.

An example of the sometimes-awkward Bordeaux classification system. Medium to full bodied chewy wine just starting to express its complexity

With some cassis and red berries coating the now softening tannins. Subtle oak and spices on the finish prove this wine to be an excellent expression of this vintage. A Raw steak with this one and I am a happy man.

Chateau Gruaud Larose, Grand Cru Classe’ Saint Julien 1994

One of the best early drinking quality Bordeaux wine region. The Wine Spectator’s enthusiasm of this region was clearly shown in this years top 100 wine list, and this is one of the increasingly rare moments I come to terms with their wine choices of this region.

The elegancy and gentleness of this wine may have proved disappointing after an array of heavily tannined wines at the first encounter, but after concentrating on its beautifully balanced nose and witnessed the development in the mouth after 10 seconds, ther was no mistake for its uniqueness. Round with ripe raspberries, cassis, dark chocolate, nutmeg and allspice. A friendlier version of Bordeaeaux? Maybe, but, by no means less complex.

Chateau Lafon-Rochet, Grand Cru Classe’ Saint-Estephe 1990.

There is always this question: When should I open my Saint-Etephe?

This upper Medoc appellation is characterized by hard tannins that make most wines very difficult for early drinking.

Situated between Lafite and Cos D’Estournel, this massive wine proved rather young at 13 years of age. The massive amount of hard tannins deprive the current drinker from the supposed balance of concentrated fruits, concentrated tannins and concentrated spices that will not be fully expressed in at least three years.

Patience is a good thing.