Thoughts on the 2008 Bordeaux Reds
Tasting wine is always subjective. Doing so at public tastings, especially in the presence of the winemaker or proprietor is even more so. Objectivity is very difficult under these circumstances. That's why most serious wine critics base their reviews on blind tastings conducted under controlled conditions. It's also why I don't give specific points ratings on wines. Even in the best of situations, I think it's difficult to be consistent to that degree of specificity. I'd rather give a more general sense of quality for the wines so that there's no chance for people to make buying decisions based upon a single point or two. Be that as it may, public tastings can be enjoyable and allow a person to get a good sense of what a vintage, region or varietal is like. There's nothing like tasting 20 to 50 related wines side-by-side for getting a perspective on overall similarities and differences. The Union des Grandes Crus of Bordeaux tasting is always helpful in that respect. Organized by region, you can taste through all the St. Emilion, then all of the Pomerol, etc.
Even if you're focused on the minutia of each wine, your subconscious creates a big picture view for the region you've been tasting. Then, when you move on to a new region, your brain shouts "Different! Different!" So you set about pinpointing what those differences are. For some people, the differences may be seen from a very technical perspective. For others, it may be more basic: fruity vs. earthy, tart vs. tannic, yummy vs. meh. Since Bordeaux is of personal and academic interest to me rather than part of my "official beat," I take a slightly more casual approach to these tastings than I do to some others. That doesn't mean that I drink rather than spit! It just means that my notes are less detailed and are more focused on general impressions than finding umpteen descriptors for each wine. And I'm more open to conversation and merriment. Speaking of which, I got to the tasting about mid-way through. By the time I got around to some of the more high-profile wineries, their bottles were all empty. I didn't get to taste Pomerol's Chateau La Conseillante, Pauillac's Chateau Lynch-Bages or that areas pair of Pichons. And I nearly missed out on Canon-La-Gaffelière from Saint Émilion. When I walked up, proprietor Comte Stephan von Neipperg was in conversation with people from another chateau. And there were nothing but empty bottles on his table. He saw me and walked over to say hello, apologizing that there'd been a run on his wines. He was all out. I told him that it was a shame but that I understood. I then reminded him of our having sat beside each other during a very nice lunch at his Chateau in 2008. [He and his winery are pictured below.] We talked a bit more and then he said, "Let's see what we can do." He proceeded to pour the remaining three to six drops out of each of the eleven bottles into my glass. By the end, I had a pretty decent amount to taste. And it was my favorite wine from St. Émilion. Honestly, I think that's because it really was the best. But I can't know until I taste the wines blind? Fortunately, I've seen comments from some others that favored the 2008 Chateau Canon-La-Gaffelière as well.
The wine includes a higher percentage of Cabernet Franc (45% with 40% Merlot and 15% Cabernet Sauvignon) than the most of his neighbors. That may be one of the reasons that the wine is so successful. Cab Franc ripens quickly and does well in relatively cool years. It was a smooth and elegant wine with lightly sweet black fruit and enough currant leaf to be interesting. The runner up for me among the St. Èmilion was Chateau Angelus (62% Merlot, 38% Cabernet Franc). It is a very different wine though. It's more full-bodied and full its dark flavors (chocolate, espresso, black fruit) were more toasted and bitter. The tannins are chewy and the finish generous with the lingering flavors that espresso lovers will enjoy. The rest of the tasting was "normal" with respect to the pours, though there were many proprietors with only empty bottles before them. From an overall perspective, I think the 2008 St. Julien and Pauillac wines showed the best. My favorites from those areas were Chateau Gruaud Larose, Chateau Lagrange and Chateau Leoville Poyferre. Chateau Leoville-Barton was just a tick behind. I only tasted four Pauillac wines, but all were very good. I preferred the Chateau Batailley and Chateau Grand-Puy Ducasse by a very slight margin over the Chateau Clerc Milon and Chateau D'Armailhac. From the other regions I tasted, there weren't too many standouts. Again, I wasn't able to taste all of the wines though. From Pomerol I really liked Chateau Beauregard, another wine with a fair amount of Cabernet Franc (25% with 75% Merlot). It was richly fruity, especially compared to the lean wines from most other areas. In Medoc Chateau La Lagune was a winner, as it has been for several years now. The Margaux and St. Estephe wines I tasted were fine, but not exciting. That said, I didn't get to taste the Chateau Phelan-Segur during the walk-around but did have some the previous evening (during a seminar on Bordeaux terroir) and it was quite good. Unfortunately, I didn't get to the red wines of Graves nor the Sauternes at all.
Even if you're focused on the minutia of each wine, your subconscious creates a big picture view for the region you've been tasting. Then, when you move on to a new region, your brain shouts "Different! Different!" So you set about pinpointing what those differences are. For some people, the differences may be seen from a very technical perspective. For others, it may be more basic: fruity vs. earthy, tart vs. tannic, yummy vs. meh. Since Bordeaux is of personal and academic interest to me rather than part of my "official beat," I take a slightly more casual approach to these tastings than I do to some others. That doesn't mean that I drink rather than spit! It just means that my notes are less detailed and are more focused on general impressions than finding umpteen descriptors for each wine. And I'm more open to conversation and merriment. Speaking of which, I got to the tasting about mid-way through. By the time I got around to some of the more high-profile wineries, their bottles were all empty. I didn't get to taste Pomerol's Chateau La Conseillante, Pauillac's Chateau Lynch-Bages or that areas pair of Pichons. And I nearly missed out on Canon-La-Gaffelière from Saint Émilion. When I walked up, proprietor Comte Stephan von Neipperg was in conversation with people from another chateau. And there were nothing but empty bottles on his table. He saw me and walked over to say hello, apologizing that there'd been a run on his wines. He was all out. I told him that it was a shame but that I understood. I then reminded him of our having sat beside each other during a very nice lunch at his Chateau in 2008. [He and his winery are pictured below.] We talked a bit more and then he said, "Let's see what we can do." He proceeded to pour the remaining three to six drops out of each of the eleven bottles into my glass. By the end, I had a pretty decent amount to taste. And it was my favorite wine from St. Émilion. Honestly, I think that's because it really was the best. But I can't know until I taste the wines blind? Fortunately, I've seen comments from some others that favored the 2008 Chateau Canon-La-Gaffelière as well.
The wine includes a higher percentage of Cabernet Franc (45% with 40% Merlot and 15% Cabernet Sauvignon) than the most of his neighbors. That may be one of the reasons that the wine is so successful. Cab Franc ripens quickly and does well in relatively cool years. It was a smooth and elegant wine with lightly sweet black fruit and enough currant leaf to be interesting. The runner up for me among the St. Èmilion was Chateau Angelus (62% Merlot, 38% Cabernet Franc). It is a very different wine though. It's more full-bodied and full its dark flavors (chocolate, espresso, black fruit) were more toasted and bitter. The tannins are chewy and the finish generous with the lingering flavors that espresso lovers will enjoy. The rest of the tasting was "normal" with respect to the pours, though there were many proprietors with only empty bottles before them. From an overall perspective, I think the 2008 St. Julien and Pauillac wines showed the best. My favorites from those areas were Chateau Gruaud Larose, Chateau Lagrange and Chateau Leoville Poyferre. Chateau Leoville-Barton was just a tick behind. I only tasted four Pauillac wines, but all were very good. I preferred the Chateau Batailley and Chateau Grand-Puy Ducasse by a very slight margin over the Chateau Clerc Milon and Chateau D'Armailhac. From the other regions I tasted, there weren't too many standouts. Again, I wasn't able to taste all of the wines though. From Pomerol I really liked Chateau Beauregard, another wine with a fair amount of Cabernet Franc (25% with 75% Merlot). It was richly fruity, especially compared to the lean wines from most other areas. In Medoc Chateau La Lagune was a winner, as it has been for several years now. The Margaux and St. Estephe wines I tasted were fine, but not exciting. That said, I didn't get to taste the Chateau Phelan-Segur during the walk-around but did have some the previous evening (during a seminar on Bordeaux terroir) and it was quite good. Unfortunately, I didn't get to the red wines of Graves nor the Sauternes at all.
