Ch. Magdelaine navigates difficult vintages with aplomb, and this was the case with the 2002. This was telling because next to the L’Eglise Clinet it was clear that a lot of effort was undertaken in the cellar to transform the Pomerol into something that it inherently is not. I could still gladly drink this wine, whilst cognisant of its shortcomings. But using a swimming analogy it was making a lot of splashing and not going very fast while the Magdelaine was swimming serenely and pulling away effortlessly.
Flight two - Graves/Margaux - DDC vs Haut-Bailly vs Rauzan Segla
The DDC 2002 was an outstanding bottle - very Gravesy with scorched earth and those warm red roof tiles that is the leitmotiv of many a fine bottle of Graves. This bottle was ‘a point’. This may have been the last vintage before the winemaking changed to a more anonymous internationalised style, but of the recent vintages of DDC rouge I have tried this was super, as good as the 1996, and at least as good as the 1998. The Haut-Bailly was less overtly gravesy and in fact an introvert of a wine by comparison, but quietly classy at the same time. This particular bottle of Rauzan was a bit weird, I thought with swimming pool aromas but I don’t think it was flawed. Looking at my Cellartracker notes the last time we had this wine at such an event it showed better.
Flight three - St Julien - Ducru vs Leoville Barton vs Leoville Poyferre
The Ducru was the outstanding wine last night in my opinion. It is everything you look for in a classic claret with the hallmarks being restraint and perfect equilibrium. This is now in the perfect place aged 20, because it has plenty of evolution and complexity but maintains a grippy youthful vibrancy. In a strong field it had that extra bit of class. The Leoville Barton is a stalwart and the benchmark of this vintage. Even though I only got some of the dregs, that was again apparent last night. It has a bit more heft than the Ducru. I loved the Poyferre too, but it was in a looser knit format than its flight mates and clearly matured much faster. It’s hallmark is black pastille fruit, a lovely wine. A suggestion of TCA? Perhaps but I really liked this. If you have any drink them sooner rather than later.
Flight four - Pauillac - Lynch Bages vs Pichon Baron vs Pontet Canet
The St-J flight was a hard act to follow and so it proved. I had been quite meticulous about the line up and the group kindly indulged me. I wanted to match Lynch Bages up against Pichon Baron, expecting these two to be strong contenders for podium places when the votes were cast. The Lynch was quite classical claret but a bit awkward and clunky at the same time. It had a nice leafy Cabernet aspect but was a bit too heavy handed. The Baron had a text book Pauillac entry but lacked the energy of previous bottles. This is a wine that has been drinking very well for more than a decade so it may have been a combination of the heat and being open too long.
Neil Holland did a masterful job in keeping the wines at the right temperature with adroit use of the ice buckets, but rapid changes in temperature are probably not ideal for these wines…they heat up very fast even with the airco on and then get plunged into an ice bucket, which might impart some kind of a shock. The Pontet Canet emerged as the star of this flight. It showed beautifully and had more precision and finesse than the Lynch and more energy and pizazz than the Baron. The Coutet 2001 to finish, served from two half bottles, was a treat as always one of the most under-appreciated wines from Sauternes and Barsac.
What to make of all this? Well I would say this tasting confirms that 2002 has been a classical but relatively early maturing vintage, hence a very useful one. I can’t really think of many 2002s that would repay keeping but of the FGs I have only tried Haut-Brion recently and that is definitely in its drinking window.
In the methode comteflaneuse voting it was a three way contest between Barton, Ducru and the DDC which emerged a narrow winner.
