2019 Bordeaux tasting - 12 middle ranked wines

[Claudius2]

Folks
Just completed a 2019 tasting with six each wines from the left and right bank.
All wines were decanted for 2-3 hours and then sent to the participants in small glass bottles.
The host pointed out that they had changed somewhat with some air.
My samples were put in the fridge (it was 35C or 95F today) and poured into Riedel Bordeaux glasses in two two flights - left and right bank.
Stupidly I busted one of the glasses later. Luckily it was empty.

My overall impression is that both the right and left bank wines were excellent and the wines tasted pretty good young.
The left bank showed much more structure - acid, tannins, oak, fruit complexity - but realistically, we tried middle ranked wines only.

The wines were unsurprisingly very dark in colour, with the right bank wines showing that pink/red Merlot colour, the left bank wines showing a touch of mahogany and blue/red colour. Most were dense and black/red in the core. The alcohol was around 14% for most wines and as I've written countless times, I think that such a level is pushing the friendship. Seemed more obvious in the right bank, esp St Emilion.

Mangot St Emilion GC
Never tried this wine before.
Nose was quite open and fruit sweet, showing red and black fruits.
Palate showed medium acid and soft, ripe tannins.
A well balanced, fruity wine with a touch of sweetness. Plums, red fruit, a touch of vanilla and smoke.
Pretty good if not a bit simple. Happy to drink any time.
Rated very good.

Clos la Gaffelliere (second wine, St Emilion GC)
Lighter colour than most others, but still quite good red/black core.
Nose was quite dry, with undergrowth, red and black fruits.
Palate was more acidic than the other right bank wines, though lowish tannins and the wine was slightly fluid for my palate.
Soft red fruits with a touch of tobacco and French oak.
Rated good+ Others liked it better than me.

Clos de L'Oratoire St Emilion GCC
Dep red/black, slightly pink/purple rime. Seemed dense.
Nose was initially closed, very deep, plummy, red fruits and some inky. iodine characters.
Palate was vibrant and powerful, medium acid and tannins, quite an array of fruit - violets, plums, red fruits, fine tannins and a touch of oak and minerality.
Wendy thought the alcohol was high (14% I think) but the spirit character wasn't too bad.
Very good+ to Excellent, though not sure if the alcohol will be too prominent later. Time will tell.
Much more intense than the two above.

Sansonnet St Emilion GC
Never tried this wine before. No idea of its history.
More purple colour, quite dense.
Nose of plums, red fruits, earth, mocha and nutty oak.
Palate was initially rather diffuse. It built some power in the glass over a few hours and showed good acid and tannins, the fruit being medium bodied and very primary.
It was the most closed of the left bank wines, and with some air, showed ripe plums, blackberry and new oak.
Good minerality and complexity. I think it will develop well.
Very good now, maybe better with age.

Rouget Pomerol.
I've got a few vintages of this wine in one of the wine fridges. This vintage was better than expected, though the price is now higher than I recalled.
Nice dark red/black, not as pinky/purple as the St Emilions.
Smoky, spicy dark fruits and some inky/iodine character.
Fine grained tannins, good acidity and tightly wound red and black fruits.
Seemed more like the right bank wines in terms of its tannins, acid and fruit style.
Most thought this was the best of the right bank wines, with some length and good structure.
Exellent- and much better than my past experiences with it.

Carlmagnus Libourne
What?? never heard of it, and the Libourne AC is a bit out of place here. The host showed that the vineyard is just outside the Emilion AC.
The cheapest wine here as a result. Colour a little lighter than most.
Soft, sweetish nose of red fruits, a bit candied.
Palate was quite open and showed a range of red and black fruits, though a little fluid.
A slight varnishy/chemical character spoilt it a bit, but it was actually quite pleasant is not a bit simple and fluid.
Good+ and I have no idea how it will age.

Bellegrave Pauillac (CB)
Cheapest of the right bank wines, and a nice wine at its price.
Typical red/black fruit, nose of smoky black fruits, some tobacco and undergrowth.
Palate was quite acidic compared to the right bankers, though it was balanced and showed moderate tannins.
Dark fruit, good acidity and a touh of oak on the palate.
Nice medium bodied wine without claims to fame and fortune.
Good+ to VG.

Haut Baatailley Pauillac (5th Growth)
Mahogany red/black. Very dark core.
Nose is sweeter, more complex than the above wine. Some depth and smokiness.
Palate showed fine grained tannins, medium acidity, some minerality.
Dark fruit, so typical of Pauillac, some earthy, mocha character and a touch of tobacco.
More complete and longer than the Bellegrave by some distance.
VG+, promising future I think.

Blason D'Issan, 2nd wine from the Margaux estate.
If this is a second wine from 2019, the first wine must be excellent.
Good dark colour, some viscosity. Some nice minerality on the nose, plus dark fruit, nutty oak and floral aromatics.
Palate was similar but a bit fluid and simple. Nice drink in any event without claims to greatness.
Very good. Opinion about this wine was a bit divided, maybe others liked it more than me but as a second wine, it does well.
It does not have the structure for long ageing but drinks well now and for the medium term.

Dufort Viviens Margaux Cru Classe
Good dark red/black.
Nose is complex and quite interesting, showing violets, mineral, some nutty oak and an array of dark fruit.
I liked the typical berry character of Margaux, and whilst still rather close, the aromatics are nice.
Nice palate of ripe fruit, the acid and tannins being in balance. Some minerality and grip to the fruit.
I think this was arguably my favourite wine. But I like Margaux with its violets, purple and dark fruit in any case.
Excellent. Not entirely sure how it will age, but should last quite well.

Lafon Rochet St Estephe CC.
Not a good order - the Dufort was more overtly fruity and this St Estephe was lighter and earthier.
Nose was smoky, inky, with dark fruits, a little closed.
Pretty good palate - nice balance of fruit, acidity, tannins and oak. Not exactly intense or complex but way too young now.
I cannot really predict the future here. It seemed lighter than I hoped for, but the fruit is well balanced though maybe it does not wow me.
Very good-.

Langoa Barton St Julien CC
If the above wine (Lafon Rochet) was closed and a bit surly, this was the opposite.
Very dark red/black, quite viscous.
Nose showed the most vanilla/spicy oak of the twelve wines tasted.
Quite a fruit sweet, open nose. Quite intense and round.
Palate was well balanced, showing good acidity, tannins and ripe fruit. Some tobacco and earth, a touch of minerality.
The most glossy, showy wine of the tasting (a bit of a surprise to me) though well balanced.
Rated excellent. A more commercial style from the Bartons?

The Langoa was voted as the best wine of the tasting but I voted for the Dufort Viviens (okay, I'm a lover of those Margaux violets and berries) and the Rouget was voted the best of the right bank wines. The Bellegrave and Blason D'Issan were seen as value wines but I'd argue that none of these wines were overly expensive and they would compete against any region on a QPR basis. However, none of them are in the top flight.

Although there were no highly ranked wines here, we had a pretty good cross section of regions and overall, they showed well.
Again, I'm not sure than the traditionalists will love them. Yet 2019 is clearly a very good vintage and both banks showed well, the quality of the wines being good overall, and the more expensive wines being justifiably so.

Despite my fear of too much alcohol, it was not evident on the left bank and only a concern in one or two St Emilions.
A few tasters including Wendy and me did raise the issue of too much alcohol in St Emilion. Others did not seem concerned. Oh well.

cheers
Mark

[DavidG]

Nice report Mark. Sounds promising. Got an email from MacArthur’s yesterday that the 2019s are starting to come in.

[Musigny 151]

Mark; I have a more general question for you. When I was in Singapore, doing a wine judging, it was hot and humid, and there was some speculation among the judges that the wines were not showing well because of the pressure and heat. There was of course a/c, but it as a really interesting conversation. Have you had the chance to compare similar bottles in Singapore and elsewhere?

[greatbxfreak]

CarlMagnus is a Fronsac wine.

[Claudius2]

Izak
Sorry, I did not see the bottle, the host said Libourne.
No wonder I was confused as Libourne is a town.

Mark,
I fully understand your question, and yes, the heat, humidity is an issue here.
I have now been here over 12 years, and when I first moved, the wines I brought over with my luggage never tasted as good as when I drank them in Sydney, which would have been in Spring at the latest.

The importer of these wines is very careful about handling.
I received them about 4 hours before the tasting and put the boxes in the fridge - I mean the normal fridge, not wine fridge.
Yes, that is the crazy thing we do here. If I'm opening a wine from a wine fridge, I mostly leave it a little while in an air cond room.
I poured them about an hour before we started sipping, and they were still cool.
Irrespective of what you do to them, constantly changing temp is salient.
The air cond room was about 25C (77F) which is too warm for red wine.
As such, the notes on ANY wine depend a lot on serving conditions.

Also note that as most locals are not wine drinkers, handling and storage are also problematic.
When I directly import (mainly Burgundies) I load them literally as soon as the plane is unloaded.
I gave up trying to bring older wines into Singapore soon after arrival as had too many failures.

cheers
Mark

[Musigny 151]

Thanks.
My experience and yours seem pretty close. As well as heat, the high pressure may have affected the wines. I have been to airline tastings, where wines need to be chosen according to how they taste in high pressure.

It was many years ago, but I loved my week in Singapore. The wine tasting experience was pretty dismal, because although the organizers were very experienced, the importers and the servers were not. I am not sure it was 77 degrees but certainly too warm.

[AKR]

Carl Magnus is a modern, rich Fronsac. I had the 2009 maybe last year. It looks like most of the right banks were on the newer wave side, while your Medoc's tilted traditional, generalizing.

That seems like a nice representational tasting overall though.

[JimHow]

2019... Let's get it on....

[Claudius2]

Arv
The right bank wines were modern in style with the possible exception of Sansonnet where I saw more structure and less fruit sweetness. The alcohol was a bit too high for my preferences but none were overtly spirity.

My comment to the group was that 2019 is good on both banks but I saw more typicity on the left bank. We spent some time chewing the fat over the style and how it has changed over the years. Most agreed that the style in 2022 is more open, riper and “glossy” - even if I do cringe if I hear that term.

But given that we did not try any top level wines I feel that 2019 Is a top vintage though I’d hazard a guess that 2016 will go down as the very best vintage of the decade based on what I’ve seen so far.

We are doing another 2019 tasting of higher ranked wines later this month so we seem to be making up for lost COVID time.

Cheers
Mark