Bordeaux Wine Enthusiasts

JonoB

One quick correction. I realized 15 minutes after I sent the previous post (while I was out walking our dog) that I misspoke slightly in responding to the issue of blind tasting. I should have said that my understanding is that Parker historically tasted wines that were blinded not double-blinded. ...

JonoB

If you are good enough to taste the La Conseillante-ness in the La Conseillante, then I don't doubt you might be disappointed if it were replaced by even a (objectively?) "better" wine that did not taste quite the same. But it's a brave new world and there's probably an emerging cohort la...

JonoB

To add to this... I've had a number of dinners with J-M Laporte from La Conseillante and he agrees with me on one thing. He prefers his 06 to his 05. Why, because he had to work hard in 06 and make a wine that a) tells a story, and b) tastes like a quintessential La Conseillante. He says the 05 is a...

JonoB

1982 is when modern winemaking techniques were not in place and remember... Alcohol levels at13.5 were considered ripe then. 13.5 (eh hem, 2007) is considered weedy now. I think Leo-Poy 08 is good because it is from what critics consider a marginal vintage. I will think forever that 08 is a BWE kind...

JonoB

No, more like ego rubbing but to be fair, all the comments seem pretty genuine if you understand HWSRN's palate.

JonoB

Yes, as Jeff will argue, it's a free market and in some theoretical sense if you believe in capitalism shouldn't producers be able to charge whatever the market will bear, ...-- there's a lot less thin, watery, astringent bordeaux these days because of Parker's and other critics' encouragement of v...

JonoB

I love Haut-Bailly but (this isn't in a bad way) the style has changed. It has gone from classic Pessac- 1983 is magical to being something more akin to VCC or Red burgundy. Not necessarily a bad thing, but Pessac it is no longer! I suppose some things like Domaine de Chevalier and Pape-Clement can ...

JonoB

Jim,

There is always Louis Jadot to save the day...
Isn't it about time we had a protest vote WOTY??

2010 Piedmont perhaps?? :p

JonoB

Thank you for the notes. A nice collection of middle (?) to young aged wines. It is nice to see the Eugenio Bocchino wine showing well. Whilst the wines are modern, it was one of my most memorable visits when in Piemonte... they have a lovely house at the foot of the hill going up to La Morra, and t...

JonoB

Because of everything that has transpired, I said negative, but I can't really disagree with anything said. To be honest, one could argue that the biggest problem is not Parker but points and price chasers. A good example. I went to a restaurant that I love on Saturday with friends, and they have a ...

JonoB

99 Palmer is WOTV no??
Fantastic stuff...

JonoB

For me...

2005
2000
2009
2006
2008
2002
2001
2004
2007 (I think these will show well eventually though and in time will be above 04)
2003

JonoB

Thanks Robert,

I'll see if I can taste some first.
2010 is a vintage I do really like, but I'm concerned that it may be lacking, because at the Cru Bourgeois tasting in London I found a lot of wines were not well balanced compared with the big guns.

JonoB

... or should that be AOP Castillon, Cotes de Bordeaux. ?? :twisted: :?: Possibly more a question for Alex, but we are putting together a work offer for 2010 Bordeaux pre-arrival and whilst the prices are lowest on the UK market, some are still quite eye-watering and make me feel a bit... :cry: :o :...

JonoB

That's the problem nowadays. Mature white burgs can be absolutely magical, but when spending that much money, is one willing to take the risk? I tend to be drinking my white burgs younger and younger (and often at the lower end for earlier drinking) nowadays. Right now, I really should try some 05s ...

JonoB

I don't see a huge change in style. The consultantancy have come along, but having spoken to members of the team, nothing has changed in how things are done. I think Derononcourt coming to give advice may lead to more consistency, but I've always liked the wines. I tasted the 2008 when I tasted the ...

JonoB

More left, but I have a dirty secret... "a penchant for Pomerol", and the odd Saint-Emilion etc.

JonoB

2010 Bourgogne Blanc; Domaine Hudelot-Baillet lots of buttery fruit, good depth and rounded perfume. Good zip and poise, with hints of clay and quite a plump figure. Plenty of citrus, grapefruit and lime fruit and nice length. Lots of clay and earthy notes; a hint of wax... Lovely round length. Ora...

JonoB

As usual per every year, Day 1 of my annual trip to Piemonte can be found here. This year we only went for three days rather than four, so it will be a bit shorter, but it was probably better for the fact that it was a not a huge group and we were thus able to visit producers who accept no more tha...

JonoB

2011 Bodegas Castaño, Monastrell Viñas Viejas en Altura, DO Yecla smoke, blackcurrant and tobacco, some depth and je ne sais quoi. There is something about this that draws you in. Angostura bitters, leather and tobacco. Smoke and fruit, with good length, simple but better than the price charged for...

JonoB

Perhaps for many Cru Bourgeois and the like... but from barrel, and from bottle, I saw no obvious lack of fruit in the top estates.

I really think there may be transport issues for some of these wines, or simply that after 4 months in bottle they are heading into a deep slumber.

JonoB

Mike,

Great notes.
I've had three or four bottles of the 85 La-C, and the first set in motion the idea of a La-C mega tasting in London a couple of years ago.
It was simply magical, the other bottles haven't lived up to the high, but your bottle sounds like my first.

JonoB

I'd drunk quite a lot of Bordeaux, but the search for greatness started when I tried 61 Mouton... Rather than simply a nice fruity drink, I started to see wine as something altogether more magical. I'd been tasting wines simply because I liked the differences, but that set the "hole in the wall...

JonoB

WOW, All the comments from the UGC there are coming out completely different to the UK one's late last year which I went to to reconfirm or disprove my original assertions, and low and behold, I was correct in that nothing had changed, and I felt the wines had improved and hadn't seen too much wood....

JonoB

2007 Bourgogne Blanc "Cuvée Oligocène"; Patrick Javillier showing butter, caramel, cooked lemon and lime on the nose, then there is something bitter (not Angostura) and astringent on the palate. Then it is quite nasty and showing hints of TCA on the finish. Not undrinkable, but the fruit ...

JonoB

2010 Abril de Azul y Garanza; Tempranillo-Cabernet Sauvignon: DO Navarra, Agricultura Ecológica lots of dark fruits, strawberry and minty herbs, some silky wood and vanilla. A hint of meat and leather... Quite crisp and clean on the palate. Almost verging on delicate, not lean but not heavy or too ...

JonoB

http://www.bordeauxwineenthusiasts.com/ ... f=4&t=2833

These were my thoughts from a buying trip for the company to Bordeaux in April 2011.

I tasted at the London UGC, and the wines had calmed and showed well... my thoughts remain consistent with my original opinions.

JonoB

Indeed, I'm not usually a fan of this producer, but this was lovely... Some of their other bottles I've tasted in Japan have been a bit too modern. There was a nice middle ground with this one. I would add that Koshu is quite light and idiosyncratic but in terms of flavour that is probably the best ...

JonoB

2010 Grace Koshu "Toriibira Vineyard"; Chuo Grape Wine Co. Ltd lots of smoke, flint and lime aromas on the nose, lots of freshness and poise, plenty of zip and elegance. Very classic and flinty, and a welcome return to the mineral classic style of old after a vintage of ripe international...

JonoB

It is a Japanese white wine from Katsunuma made from the Koshu Grape. Iwai means celebration. This particular winery has Bernard Magrez as a consultant/partner.

JonoB

2010 Trebbiolo Frizzante; Bonarda, Barbera: La Stoppa funk, earth and chocolate, very fresh and with plenty of scorched earth and a hint of fizz. Bacon fat and blood. Some grip and structure... Beautiful with the Nduja, this is an umami filled combination! Pepper, spice and chili oil. It is mainly ...

JonoB

2010 Iwai; Koshu, Katsunuma Winery: Adega Vinicola D'Aruga lots of bitter herbs, lemon and silky texture, good freshness, flint, marble. Quite lifted, perfumed, crisp, rotten rice, raw brown rice, there is some waxy undertones, some lemon juice and minerals. Raw white fish; lemon sole perhaps? Lots...

JonoB

I'd probably say for the fresher styles white fish, grilled or fried... Perhaps with a creamy sauce for Older wines or richer styles.

JonoB

... Or rather to a local Italian restaurant for Mayuko's birthday! 2012 Conegliano, Prosecco Superiore, Sainbury's Taste the difference lots of green apple, chalk and freshness, simple, appealing and loveable. Quite round and fruit driven, with lovely herby balance. A great little Prosecco that tick...

JonoB

JM, This is a wine I have followed for a number of years. It always punches well above its weight and is as good as a lot of village wines. Patrick Javillier for me is third only to Coche-Dury & Pierre Yves Colin-Morey in the whole of white Burgundy. His reds can be exciting as well, but are mad...

JonoB

2007 Bourgogne Blanc "Cuvée Oligocène; Patrick Javillier initially quite honeyed and with a hint of palo Cartado & wild flowers, this has become very focused, mineral and precise on the palate with the mildest hint of lemon, lime, butter. Some richness and breathe marry well to bright acid...

JonoB

The non single vineyard vintage is 06 which is quite brooding and backward. 05 Riservas are starting to sing now. 07 was a warm/ripe vintage and general feeling is that unlike typical vintages like 04, 05, 06, 08, these wines won't shut down but simply develop over the next 10-20 years. Produttori m...

JonoB

2009 Dolcetto di Monferrato; Agostino Pavia & Figli minerals, sweat and dark plum, dark cherry, dense inner perfume, smoky, funky and intense, dark fruits, leaves, forest floor, very fresh and quite deep but with decent complexity, some dark chocolate and a delicate lift and balance. Really nic...

JonoB

David, I wouldn't know but that oaky/vanilla flavour can come from reduction rather than wood. It did taste like it had seen some but "natural" doesn't have a true sense as everyone uses different meanings, and thus can you use steel rather than wood or cement for wine? I'd guess it is mai...

JonoB

2005 Les Rochais Brut Nature (Chardonnay), Champagne Francis Boulard oaky, rich, lots of butter, minerals, chalk, some asparagus, lots of minerals and depth, oxidative and nutty, with good concentration and complexity. It is a good bottle of bubbles that will improve but is good to drink now. A bit...

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