Bordeaux Wine Enthusiasts

Over the last few days due to a few tastings at Enoteca in Tokyo I have spent some time musing over some of the recently bottled, and depending where in the world you are, shipped 2008 Bordeauxs.

On the whole, it is a vintage that I think I will like. Generally soft, fresh, herby and classic but with, in the better wines at least, just the right amount of fruit to balance things out nicely. Although dark fruit is present, the best seem to be the more delicate red fruited wines, from those that I tasted. I didn't taste any firsts (as they haven't been bottled and arrived yet) and few of the big boys were on offer. I tried one White as well. Here are my notes:

Les Plantiers du Haut Brion, Pessac-Leognan Blanc
crisp but woody, waxy nose, smokey, mushroom, lime, citrus, fairly crisp but round... Better than the 09s but a touch short. ****(*) or [3+4+4+4~=15+/20]

Chateau Lagrange, 3rd Growth, St. Julien
slightly closed nose, dark plum, cassis, grainy, very fresh, bell pepper, wood spice, round, nice structure and a little bit of St. Julien funk and minerality. A hint of sweet spice, soft, with a persistence, poise and a touch of depth. ***(**+) or [3.5+4+4+4.5~=16+/20]

Chateau Talbot, 4th growth, St. Julien
green, herby, woody, fairly clean, cassis, plum, menthol, darker fruit, more depth and poise, fresher and leaner, again delicate with a leafy, tobacco, cedar, farmy, decaying fruit finish, lacks breath but will age nicely. ***(**+) or [2.5+4+5+3.5~=15+/20]

Chateau Lynch-Bages, 5th growth, Pauillac
closed on the nose, grainy, structured, gravelly, classic Lynch...mint, eucalyptus, cassis, black plum with freshness and small soft tannins, a bit of wood spice, cinnamon, herbs, fairly complete. Persistent, pepper, spice, mint, plum, cassis finish. Deep. ****(**+) or [3+4.5+4.5+4.5~=16.5+/20]

Chateau Brane-Cantenac, 2nd Growth, Margaux
Margaux-esque nose, cedar, tobacco, decaying leaves, truffle, frilly, grainy, more red fruits, more delicate, a touch of wood spice and cinnamon, nutmeg, red plum, raspberry, a shorter finish, but with poise and elegance. ***(**+) or [4.5+3.5+3.5+4~=15.5+/20]

Chateau Potensac, Cru Bourgeouis, Medoc
round, red fruited, herby, fairly delicate, cedar, tobacco, earth, dusty, grainy, fresh, a touch vegetal but not bad, probably not a style that suits cooler vintages, plum finish. **(**++) or [3+3+4+4~=14+/20]

Chateau d'Armailhac, 5th Growth, Pauillac
round, ripe, depth, cassis, soil, vanilla, wood spice, fresh, plum, mint, structured, toasted wood, persistent but lacking pure focus. Nice balance, but it is non-descript bot. Gravel, round, warming. Should come good but a touch disappointing, tobacco, leafy, herby finish. ***(*[*+?]) or [3.5+4+4.5+3.5~=15.5+/20]

Chateau Beychevelle, 4th growth, St. Julien
round, earthy, funky St. Julien nose, but masked by wood, tannin and structure. Earthy, dusty, gravelly, tobacco, something astringent and unpleasant on the back palate. Nice round and juicy on the front but dies and lacks precision. Will be classically funky in time and improves in the glass but just lacks the class of vintages gone by. ***(*++) or [3.5+3.5+3.5+4~=14.5+/20]

Chateau Giscours, 3rd Growth, Margaux
big, inky, hints of depth but with some elegance, fresh, poised, precise, focused, nicely balanced, this has more going for it, easier to stomach, will need time to really unfurl but there is plenty going on underneath, ash, tobacco, Leafy, earth, cassis, red and black plum, refreshing and clean, long, persistent. ***(***[+?]) or [4+4.5+4.5+4~=17+/20]

Chateau Pichon-Longueville, Comtesse de Lalande, 2nd Growth, Pauillac
perfumed, red fruit, wood spice, elegant and immediately sweet and deep on the nose. Red plum, cassis, currants, balanced, a touch of vanilla, glides down the palate, smoke, toast, fresh, persistent, tobacco, cedar, elegant, subtle, delicate, beguiling, herby finish, with hints of tobacco, long, persistent. ****(**+) or [4+4+5+4.5~=17.5+/20]

Echo de Lynch Bages
mint, cassis but slightly closed, very herby, verging on green, with a touch of round fruit, wood, spice, a bit of earth, poised but not enough precision to make one feel it will be anything more than pleasant in time, long coffee finish. ***(*++) or [3+3.5+4+3.5=14+/20]

Chateau du Tertre, 5th growth, Margaux
smoke, meat, Flint, burnt match, roast beef, terroir-driven and very du Tertre on the nose. Delicate but closed with hints of cassis on the palate, wood, cedar, herbs and a hint of red plum and cassis on the finish. Poised, some roundness... Should be good. ***(**+(+?)) or [4.5+4+3.5+4~=16+/20]

Chateau Branaire-Ducru, 4th growth, St. Julien
lots of sweet red and black fruit on the nose, almost hinting at silk. A bit of earth, tobacco and quite open, soft, elegant and seemingly ready to go with some food. Persistent, soft, rounded balanced finish. Herbs, farmy, woodsy, leafy, cassis, plum, mint. Lovely but not exactly St. Julien, more Pauillac. ***(**+) or [4+4.5+4+3.5~=16+/20]

Chateau Calon-Segur, 3rd growth, St. Estephe
rich, meaty, grumpy, woodsy, round nose, very St. Estephe, poised, precise, rounded fruit, spice, clean, balanced, fairly silky but earthy at the same time. Long, sweet, herby, nicely structured with tension. Precise but mouthfilling with nothing sticking out. ****(**+) or [4.5+4+4+4.5~=17+/20]

Chateau Gruaud-Larose, 2nd Growth, St. Julien
really lifted, spicy, perfumed, deep, complex nose, cassis, red and black fruits, a touch of earth, tobacco, cedar, wet soil. Wonderful nose, still tight on the palate, but very focused and precise, cassis, earth, leafy, herby, delicate, balanced, nothing sticking out. Delightful, elegant, lengthy, violets, damsons, floral. Fantastic stuff. smoke, Flint, toast. ****(***+) or [5+4.5+4+5~=18.5+/20]

Great report.
Sounds like Gruaud Larose is back?!

Thanks for the notes, Jonathan! It's fun to read them.

The Lalande has very few vintages dominant in red-fruit. I would love to try this vintage. The last vintage so much in red-fruit is the '90, which unfortunately was not a good vintage for them. On the other hand, in blind sometimes I would take Branaire-Ducru as Pauillac too, aka '82. It's like a soft version of Pauillac.

I have a question:
<<On the whole, it is a vintage that I think I will like. Generally soft, fresh, herby and classic but with...>>
I am trying to understand the term ""generally soft but classic", is there any other older vinatge has this kind of traits to which we could relate? Like '85?

Werner

Werner, I associate Bordeaux with three types of vintage and I term them as such...

Classic=herby, bell pepper, crunchy (02,08,85,93,97 fall in here)
Hardcore=structured (89,95,96,00,05 fall in here)
Modern=riper, fuller (90, 03, 09, 82, 70 fall in here).

Hope that makes sense.

Jim, I thought it was brilliant and I'm kicking myself that I will now have to buy on the secondary market. That and Giscours are now on my list. I think although good Lynch and Duhart may have to be sold at current prices, and glad I have some Calon Segur!

Despite the UGC reports from some of our agents in the field, which were overall underwhelming, a few people seem to have at least one outlier-darling, especially in St. Julien. So critic x loves the GL, critic Y raves about Leo P., etc., while others are "meh". I guess 2008 is a try before you buy vintage, if that's not the general rule for all vintages.

I think so Hound, you will enevitably find some wines that you love, but it is a mixed bunch... In many ways it reminds me of picking Burgundy, En Primeur I bought estates that I like and have an affiliation with (although I regret not buying more firsts in order to pay for the rest), there are wines that I will continue to love, but there are some that I purchased that I think I will move on at whatever I can get!

Unfortunately I haven't tried any right banks, and I am reluctant to pass them on despite the move in prices, but I really want to see whether the hype is granted, because I think that cooler vintages suit the right bank really well, in particular in Pomerol.

2008 Gruaud Larose for $39 on pre-arrival at PJs is tempting, I think I might buy a half dozen.

Great notes, Jono. The descriptors fresh, red fruits, and balance seem to be consistent.

That is true... I'm surprised that HWSRN gave them high-ish scores, as they really aren't his style of wine. For me, I think they could turn out to be a slightly riper equivalent of 02... But then time will tell, time has been kind to the best 02s, we shall have to wait another 7 years to really find out what is going on in these wines.

JimHow wrote:2008 Gruaud Larose for $39 on pre-arrival at PJs is tempting, I think I might buy a half dozen.

Same thoughts here. Wish it were available locally. Does PJ's ship?

Yes, and their service is excellent David.
They have a list of places they do and don't ship to.

They don't ship to MD or VA, but it looks like hey do ship to DC.:

PJ's does not ship to the following states due to legal restrictions: AZ, FL, GA, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, MA, MD, MI, NC, NJ, RI, PA, TN, TX, UT and VA.


Besides, you can always have them shipped to Jaques and Jill, they'll hold them for you!

Odd that they don't ship to VA. Many wineries do, but then PJ's is a retail establishment. I've got a resource in DC that may be able to receive them.

Or you can have them shipped to me, I can hold them for you.

I'm not sure any retailer will ship to any address other than the cardholder's address - at least on a phone or internet cc purchase.

I always have my wines shipped to my father's house in my name.
So you may be right, Hound, they probably won't ship to David Glasser c/o James Howaniec.

I think they should if after a card check the billing address and card match... Otherwise how do people buy gifts online?? Of course it is a bit more serious with alcohol but generally retailers will do it.

Come to think of it, I've had wine shipped to my father in his name, paying for it with a credit card in my name.

I've never had a problem shipping wine from a retailer or a winery to an address other than the credit card billing address so long as it is in a state that allows shipping and there's an adult to sign for it. I've had wine shipped to friends in California, Virginia, West Virginia, DC, NY.

I had this problem once, and I can't recall what the deal was now. I'm not sure it was shipping wine. For some reason the vendor made me use paypal. No I'm wondering what that was all about.

Want to go halves on a case of '08 Gruaud, Jim? Does PJ's offer a case discount on futures?

Sure, sounds good David, I can order them and pick them up when they come in.
I don't think they have a discount on their futures offerings.
I think they are due to arrive this spring.

Jim, send me an email with the amount once you place the order, and your address, and I'll send you a check.

I was tempted to buy some '08 Talbot based on the RP notes since it is available locally, but Jono's notes indicate a much wider gap between the Talbot and Gruaud than RP's take. I might just get a bit of the Talbot locally to do my own comparison with the Gruaud a few years down the road. These two houses used to track fairly similarly back in the Cordier and AXA days - I guess the owner and winemaker was the same? Is that still true or have they gone in different directions in recent years?

Eh, I just ordered some Langoa and some Ormes de Pez. Just felt like I had to do something.