Dufort-Vivens - from luncheon claret to serious second?

[Comte Flaneur]

Last Thursday we did a Dufort-Vivens dinner hosted by my friend Graham Harvey who kindly agreed to let me use his notes.

Over to you Graham:

I organised the offline to find an excuse to drink my 2018 which had been very strongly recommended to me by Nick Martin of Wine Owners who tried it EP and thought it equal to or ahead of Margaux or Palmer and consequently I snaffled a half dozen. Galloni and Anson also reviewed it very positively and v recently the French critics Bettane+Dessauve gave it 99 points and as I had picked up another couple of cases of three, I thought it would be a shame not to try it, and also I had had a very positive impression from a 2015 I had recently tried by the glass. I was expecting anything pre-2012 to be potentially ropey due to critical opinion, cellar tracker reviews, and also because when the Chateau showed Neal wines in a vertical last September, they just showed him 2012 to 2019, and from what I have read, Gonzague Lurton began viticultural improvements in haste as from 2009 onwards and finally achieving organic and biodynamic certification by 2013.

Looking back at the evening it struck me how much of a disparity there was between wines that I liked and wines that I didn't like, and it seemed almost as if there had been a family meet up where certain family members had made huge successes of themselves and left most of them in their wake, except the regal 1996. Clearly there were swathes of mediocrity but also promise and hope which unfortunately was limited to only two of the recent vintages, and ideally I would love to have had one or two more bottles from 15 onwards, yet still I didn't really feel like it was a "taking it for the team" kind of evening because the food was excellent, the company was great, and there were genuinely very good wines to discuss further. I also found it a fun Chateau to cover as this is supposed to be an 1855 2nd growth and looks to finally be hitting its stride as recent vintage reviews have shown, and no surprise at all to me that @Keith Prothero 's 2016 is singing. I've since picked this up in 2020 EP and may look to fill in some of the gaps in the more recent vintages.

On the night, I voted my top three in the following order 96 / 18 / 14, which remains an accurate reflection of my enjoyment, yet I have given a higher score to 18 which was the best wine. My notes also include an ESW I brought along and a fantastic Barsac thanks to Ian, sorry not grouped neatly!

2015 Albury Estate Biodynamic Wild Ferment Blanc de Blancs - United Kingdom, England, Surrey (4/7/2022)
Light yellow in colour, honeysuckle on the nose, fine bubbles, lively yet delicate on the mid palate with some complexity and persistence on the finish. No shortage of freshness, medium bodied, delicacy over power and seems well balanced for an ESW. Something to drink now or over next couple of years except you won't find this available as only 600 bottles made. From 100% Chardonnay (not a given in an ESW BdB), biodynamic and 11.5% ABV. (93 pts.)


2004 Château Durfort-Vivens - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux (4/7/2022)
Crimson red in colour with red cherries on the nose. It is medium bodied and has slightly coarse tannins which seem to have been a bit forced, still it has sufficient freshness and red fruited charm. Probably make a decent luncheon claret that would should pair nicely with a shepherd's pie. (89 pts.)
2006 Château Durfort-Vivens - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux (4/7/2022)

Crimson red with a bit of menthol and mustiness on the nose, slightly coarse tannins, dark red fruit, seems quite sharp and seemed a bit too oaky for my liking. There was some discussion at the table as to whether this might have been an off bottle, however it didn't seem technically faulty. (85 pts.)

2008 Château Durfort-Vivens - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux (4/7/2022)Musty and quite brooding on the nose, the former of which blows off after a while. Coarse tannins and slightly stewed fruit red and black fruit, seemed disjointed rather than well balanced. May not have been the best bottle. (84 pts.)


1996 Château Durfort-Vivens - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux (4/7/2022)
Still crimson in colour but no signs of bricking and bottle appeared to be in very good condition. On the nose this showed a certain rusticity that reminded me of leather arm chairs and smoking jackets(!). The wine was quite fine boned and really fresh on the palate and not and had sappy cherry fruit, plums and pomegranate. It had gentle tannins yet underneath sufficient concentration and stuffing to cellar another decade, although unlikely to improve. Excellent balance and utterly charming. A real surprise. (93 pts.)

2000 Château Durfort-Vivens - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux (4/7/2022)
The jury was out on whether we just had a bad bottle as the wine seemed disjointed and lacking in appeal. Dark in colour, black tea and rhubarb with a lick of oak. Seemed quite extracted and unbalanced. Not much more to say than that. (85 pts.)

2005 Château Durfort-Vivens - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux (4/7/2022)
This wine didn't really do anything wrong, it just failed to excite, rose petal and red fruits on the nose, palate seemed quite thin and tannins lacked refinement, although it had a certain appeal to it so would be happy to drink a bottle over the course of a Sunday roast. (89 pts.)

2010 Château Durfort-Vivens - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux (4/7/2022)
Quite a closed nose at first, nice mouthfeel from velvety tannins, quite a big scaled wine with plenty of power, yet for some reason the fruit has not quite fully swallowed all of the oak and the oak sticks out a bit. Initially the wine felt a bit disjointed and unbalanced but improved in the glass. Not a wine I would make a big effort to find, but if given the chance, would happily enjoy a bottle over a hearty meal. (90 pts.)

2014 Château Durfort-Vivens - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux (4/7/2022)
Crimson in colour, dried flowers on an utterly charming nose. Wine glides across the palate with fine tannins and showing juicy red fruits. Real freshness, charm and balance here with some structure underneath too, but not a wine I would be confident cellaring for the long haul (why bother when it is drinking so well anyway?). Would be very happy to come across this again. (92 pts.)

2018 Château Durfort-Vivens - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux (4/7/2022)
Certified organic and biodynamic vintage whose 2018 vintage was decimated by mildew with yields down to 9hl / ha. 69% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot and 1% Petit Verdot vinified in amphora and elevated in 70% new oak and 30% terracotta. 6000 bottles.
TN: Dark crimson in colour with a truly seductive nose showing mint, rose petal, cassis and raspberry. Lovely mouthfeel from very fine silky tannins and mid palate shows pristine delicious sappy fruit which conceals the considerable power and structure lurking underneath. Melts away on the finish. A lovely wine already although I will try my next bottle in 3 to 5 years as it remains very primary. Score 94++ (94 pts.)

2014 Château Coutet - France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Barsac (4/7/2022)
Golden yellow with an absolutley gorgeous nose showing orange pith and cantaloupe melons. It came over as quite full bodied, with plenty of mid palate weight yet freshness in spades whilst acidity not overdone and so well balanced. Young and with a great future ahead, yet even now really captivating and memorable. (94 pts.)

https://wine-pages.com/community/index. ... ost-310449

[Comte Flaneur]

In response to a comment that there is so much good wine out there that it is unnecessary to drink Bordeaux

In defence of Bordeaux the disappointments these days tend to be the aged low energy luncheon clarets, like the first flight of DV. All of them would be satisfactory foils for meat or cheese dishes, without drawing unnecessary attention to themselves. After all that is the point of a luncheon claret isn’t it? But you expect more from a second growth from the 1855 classification. None of them were unpleasant, or as unbalanced, or such a mess, as the bottle of Galatrona Torrione 2015 Tuscan I had earlier in the week.

The 2006 even seemed quite promising when I decanted it before leaving home, and I thought it might be an improvement on the first bottle from the case, which was so-so. But I don’t know what happened to this second bottle, which seemed to have gone back into its shell by the time it was served. The 2004 and 2008 weren’t quite as disappointing but all three of these shrinking violets seemed to suffer from stage fright. It was hard to coax much out of them.

There was a sense that things could only improve from there and they did. The 1996 was quite delightful and my wotn, and the group’s joint favourite. The 2005 also impressed me (at least relatively speaking) as being in quite a good place, and I even rated it as my second favourite wine, while the 2000 as noted was somewhat blighted. But I had a nagging feeling that the 1996 and 2005 only impressed because the first flight set such a low bar. I doubt that either DV 1996 or 2005s would have stood out in a crowd of other 1996s and 2005s.

In the final flight the 2010 did not really impress and I preferred the 2005. With the 2014 you noticed the pivot to a more modern style; in a good way, a bit juicer and more interesting. This got my vote as third wine of the night. The 2018 tasted like other 2018s I have tried; big, ripe and primary, the antithesis of the shy creations from the first flight, but didn’t really give me the sense that it was anything really particularly special in the context of this vintage..?

Hence I gave my third vote to the 2014. I suspect KP is right that if the 2016 was in the mix it might have shaken things up a bit. I suspect the 2015 would have too. As Joel noted the evening was an educational experience and still most enjoyable with the fine company around the table. Good to see Neal looking trim and well after his travails and look forward to reading his impressions from the Chateau. It just remains to thank Graham for pulling this together. BAMA next?

With the scores from the doors the 1996 and 2018 shared equal top billing with 18 votes. The 2005 came third on eight, and with the ten and 14 scoring five votes each.

[Ognik]

Hope 19 and 20 will be an improvement to contemporary history.
Ferriere and Haut Bages Liberal are hot too.

[jckba]

I was curious where the pricing for this fell now a days and despite its so called period of underperformance, the 2019 still rings in at just under $80 while the 2020 just under $70 per bottle. And while I haven’t tasted either, I would much rather buy a number of the overachieving 3rd growth Margaux properties such as D’Issan, Giscours or even Cantenac-Brown for less $ and then plow the money saved into something else.

[Musigny 151]

I was curious where the pricing for this fell now a days and despite its so called period of underperformance, the 2019 still rings in at just under $80 while the 2020 just under $70 per bottle. And while I haven’t tasted either, I would much rather buy a number of the overachieving 3rd growth Margaux properties such as D’Issan, Giscours or even Cantenac-Brown for less $ and then plow the money saved into something else.

Substitute Brane Cantenac for Cantenac Brown and I am totally with you on this. A couple of months ago, I bought Rauzan Segla 2019 for $75, although it has gone up since then.

[Claudius2]

Guys
I have some recent vintages of DV in storage, and have only tried a few older wines.
On my last visit to Australia pre-Covid, I drank a few wines that had been left behind in storage - most were single bottles for some reason.

This included 2005 Giscours, HBL and DV, plus a few Cote Roties from 1999 and some 2005 Burgundies.
At least I didn't need to buy much wine on this trip.

Of the Bordeaux 05's, the Giscours was excellent in a modern "fruit bomb" style with heaps of everything. Les tannins than expected.
It probably would not suit everyone but it was quite delicious and with that typical Margaux berry or fruit compote style.
The fruit literally jumped out of the glass. Not sure it would make old bones.

The HBL was surprisingly good - I was quite impressed with it, despite the fact that I had not been overly impressed with it previously.
So now I pick up some EP in the better vintages incl 2019. Good structure and plenty of well balanced fruit.

The DV was I thought pretty good. I am wondering if the wine you drank were partly corked or had storage issues?
I have now drunk the wine 3 times and all three were in good condition and were more composed and tighter knit than what yours seemed to be.
The fruit was quite Burgundy like based on my recollection - it reminded me of Anne Gros Volnays or Pommards, with musky, rose petal characters, reds fruits and some French oak. The tannins and acid were moderate and like the Giscours, I would not expect it to be particularly ageworthy.

The last bottle was drunk after a 2005 Burgundy (Beaune Marconnets), a 1999 Jamet Cote Rotie (last bottle unfortunately) and with hearty Italian food. The order probably wasn't right but the Dufort Viviens was pretty good and was happily gulped down by all.

cheers
Mark