Portes ouvertes in Pessac Leognan with AlexR

[Nicklasss]

Last Sunday, i went to Pessac Leognan with AlexR and 2 young chinese students (that are in Bordeaux to study wines), as it was the portes ouvertes event. Many chateau visited with some highs and lows (all white were from 2011):

chateau pape-clement : visit was not very fun as we were 60 with the guide. At the end, we tasted the 2010 Clementin de Pape-Clement that was really good, low acidity, smoky, ripe lush fruit, a nice wine.
chateau l'angelot de seguin : just a small tour, and tasting the red. The 2010 second wine red was ok for the price, a fair pessac, but nothing to impress too much, unfortunately.
chateau de france : again the white let me without comments, exotic and oaky, too much for me (i'm a guy that like white with acidity, minerality and no oak). The 2009 red was very good, an little auster but quite tasty with good grip. The 2008 was very nice too, for the price, a bit less rich than 2009.
chateau brown : the white was nothing interesting for me, and the 2008 red was a big deception : first bottle was having no nose. I sampled another one, that was a bit better but final in mouth was harsh.
chateau Larrivet Haut-Brion : also a big deception. too much coal and dry tannin on the 2008, don<t know why someone would buy. I made the joke that probably the wine in the barrel where we spit was probably better... (i did not know i could be so mean).
chateau fieuzal : the best wine that day. the 2010 white was having a clear light oaked sauvignon style, with light fruit and minerality. very good. I thought the 2009 red was very very great. balanced. nice mix of fruit, smoke, light oak, mineral with a long balanced fruity finished. A must buy as enjoyable now and will be for many years as it is so balanced.
chateau la louviere : crowded place. Nice place. their late harvest sauvignon was very good, as their 2008 red. classic pessac in the making. a bad note for the cinnamon parfume smell in the tasting room.
chateau grandmaison : another great discovery. I bought their 2011 white, as it was elegant, fruity and almost no oak. Clean sauvignon style. The red was very elegant also, not very expensive, well fruited and with decent structure. the second best estate that day.
the chateau in front of Haut-Bailly (help me Alex) : a rustic style but very genuine to old style. a funky touch to their red. A nice story as the family bought the plot in 1989, drained everything and planted vines...
the last chateau (help me Alex) : nothing impressive there. they were having the claret, 2 vintage of white and 5 reds to taste. the 2003 special cuvee from cabernet franc/malbec/petit verdot was fruit confit on the nose but oxydized in mouth... I taste the 2005 red that was ok but nothing special. the 2009 was only ok, in that epic vintage.

A nice day, where we spit everything. Always fun to visit the Chateaux with Alex, and a new experience for me with young chinese that like Bordeaux. And effectively, the chinese confirmed that Bordeaux are a bit <<odd for chinese cooking<< so this is why there is some enthusiast in China for Bourgogne, that fit their cuisine better...

Nic

[JimHow]

Now I am going to buy a case of 2009 de Fieuzal for $35 per bottle.

[AlexR]

Nic,

- the chateau in front of Haut-Bailly : that was Domaine de Merlet

- the last chateau : that was Château Bardins

Jim,

The 2009 red Fieuzal was on sale at 45 euros (about 60 dollars) at the château...
I bought one bottle and concur with Nic.
I have had some issues with white Fieuzal (pre-moxed in 2 different vintages), but the one I tasted at the estate was superb and I bought a bottle - which I think I'll make a point of drinking on the young side.

Best regards,
Alex R.

[chris kissack]

Interesting that you liked Fieuzal so much. I'm not so keen on the wines ofthis estate in recents vintages, as they are darker, more extracted and tannic, and have lost some of the classic Graves style. I don't know if it is the influence of Laforest or whether it is the direction in which the owners want to go (I'm tempted to think predominantly the former) but for my palate they aren't any better for this development. Sounds like a great day out though, with plenty of visits!

[robertgoulet]

Very interesting...so seguin was not pouring '09 or '10 reds?...mr. Liyptwar these could be the greatest values in all of Boudreaux

Larrivet haut Brion.....I really liked this wine...I do not remember any charcoal notes, but I could be wrong...tasted 2 times

[AlexR]

Chris,

I am not a great fan of "modern Bordeaux", so rest assured, the Fieuzal was in a classic mold, a real vin de terroir with lots of class.
I only know what I tasted, cannot claim to have done a vertical to place this experience in any context.

Robert,

Seguin was only pouring the second red wine, L'Angelot.
I have found this estate to be tremdous value in the past, and have bought it by the case.
I have also heard good things abou their prestige cuvée, "Les Confidences", but this was not for tasting. It cost 50 euros a bottle.

Best regards,
Alex R.

[AlohaArtakaHoundsong]

Not impressed so far with 05 Ch. de Fieuzal. Low acid to the point of flat, flabby and dull. Maybe it will wake up someday, or maybe I got a bad or damaged lot. Nice to hear the 09 is a good wine.

[greatbxfreak]

Niclasss,

Your comments sound confusing I'm afraid.

Seguin doesn't make white wine.

Surprised by your antagonism against white Graves/Pessac-Leognan. Bardins, Brown and de France make very nice whites.

robertgoulet,

Litwar and Bordeaux, please spell correctly. I'm not responsible for what they serve and not serve at Seguin.

[Nicklasss]

I'm sorry to be confused a bit, but I'm trying to remember everythings, with no notes. Alex is right, at Seguin it was the 2010 L'Angelot that we tasted.

Discussing with Alex during that day, we agreed that it was not a good way to do visit of Chateaux in Bordeaux. Bottles are open you don't know since when, the multiple glasses aren't perfect and different from site to site, and quantity poured are different at different sites. Maybe preparation of the wines were different too for each site? To my taste that day, I would have bought only red Fieuzal,Grandmaison and second of Pape-Clement (in that order), plus the white Grandmaison (maybe the white Fieuzal also). This is what my taste told me that day, this is all I can say. I'm not pretending being the ultimate taster.

For white Pessac Leognan (or other white Bordeaux), I really like freshness and very light oak. As soon there is tropical tones (kind of vernish, + vanilla key lime pie aromas), I'm just rebuted. I prefer unoaked Chablis, Bourgogne, Sancerre, Pouilly-Fume and Alsace Riesling that are very different from white Pessac. Alex's comments on the white Pessac would be probably more fair. But the Grandmaison was very pure.
Hope we can discuss that face to face, greatbxfreak.

Hope these precisions help.

Nic

[Bacchus]

Haven't had the 09 red Fieuzal yet, but I have tried the 05, and I've got to agree with the Hound. As I recall it's flabby and out of balance. There's an interesting, quite prominent rock-dust element to it. But it's just too flat in the mouth for me.

[greatbxfreak]

Niclasss,


It's Ok, we've just different tastes.

Alex should've told at Seguin that he knows me, so at least you could have tasted 2008. Who received you there - Denis Darriet the owner, his father or cellarmaster?
It's btw not forbidden to ask at every chateau to taste additional vintages.

[AlexR]

Izak,

You need to appreciate that Open Days are for the general public.

These are not professional visits.

Some châteaux are very liberal, others not.
Bardins served 6 different wines, for instance, while neither Pape Clément nor SHL serve the grand vin.
This makes sense because they are mobbed.

Alex R.

[robertgoulet]

Great bordeauxfreak, yes I do know how to spell...I'll make sure to double check my work in the future, sometimes I type too fast and forget to review. I guess this doesn't happen to u...oh wait...it does happen to u... Carruaders de Lafite...cheers...still like your blog