The 2010 red Bordeaux challenge

[Nicklasss]

Ok, Parker ratings are out. But nobodys sure what to think about that 2010 vintage. So I want to hear what the membres of BWE think about that vintage, how do we raté it?

So, I start that thread called THE 2010 RED BORDEAUX CHALLENGE.

So until Sunday the March 17th, I want the most members of BWE, pick up any bottle of 2010, open, taste, drink, and comment in the présent thread. Young or less young members, right or left bank wine, little Bordeaux or 1er Grand Cru classé, I have full confidence we can define together that 2010 vintage accordingly to it real quality.

Can BWE give the truth about that vintage? Bring the comments on.

Thanks for participating.

Nic

[Bacchus]

Are there many 2010s available in Quebec, Nic? Here in Terre Neuve there are very few, and no classified growths at all. In fact, the 09s were only put on the shelf a couple of months ago, so I expect it will be awhile before there are many 10s available here. The best I have seen so far is the l'Esprit de Chevalier.

[robert goulet]

Wines were crazy tight difficult to gauge for an en primeur newbie, one of the few wines I could tell true to appellation was Lacoste borie...it actually tasted the most pauillac, Gloria..nice, marsalette tasted very pessac, enjoyable if a bit overoaked. Poyferre, pape clement and clos l'oratoire stole the show, but maybe too new world...Loved Haut batailley, pure silk...Love GPL, def. one of the best wines...Baron displayed huge fruit... honestly I'm not sure I'm a huge fan of '10..this is def. a solid vintage, but is it classic enough for me???..jury is out

Though let's be real....
honestly why would anyone listen to a guy who is in love with the ''04 vintage?

[Bacchus]

That's true, 04 kinda sucks! Did I tell you I picked up a 6 pack of 04 Gruaud Larose at $29 per bottle. Ahh, gotta love that old school pricing ...

[Nicklasss]

We discussed too much about 2010, but without too much tasting. No, not that many 2010 available in Québec, but I will play the game anyway. Bacchus, that 2010 Esprit de Chevalier would be surely a good start. Pick up what is available, even If it is Fronsac, Lussac Saint Émilion, Blaye or Graves. The important thing is to have a good sample.

Tonight, I opened a bottle of the 2010 Château Tayac, from AOC Margaux. Nice dark red color, with dark red rims (not purple rims). Nose was shy at first, opened up on nice creamy dark red berries, light oak, some flowers (red roses?) and fresh Black berries. In mouth, it is a nice wine, with maybe a tad more oak than on the nose, but supported by dense dark red berries flavors, nice tanins, medium soft structure, noble wood, rasberries, medium long final on more merlot dark berries. I agree, a bit primaire, but the texture of that wine is very good, a bit denser than what I expect from Margaux, but very seductive and ripe. Keep good acids on the final. I like that. TN: 87+. Should mellow and improve seriously within 6 to 8 years.

Later this week, I'll open a Clos Floridène red.

Nic

[Nicklasss]

By the way, there is no obligation to participate, but hey, it is so easy to pick up a small 2010 Bordeaux when coming back from work, and report.

And isn't BWE a great community to face that challenge?

Nic

[OrlandoRobert]

I wanna play. Just got back from work through this entire weekend, buried through Wednesday, but asked BobbyG to do some recon in Orlando to see what's available. He doesn't work so should be able to sniff around.

[robert goulet]

Lmao, I frigin love u

[robert goulet]

Lots available here for 2010 but most bottles of distinction are $90 plus

Here are some with realistic pricing;

Grand puy duccasse is reasonable @$59
Gloria $59
Reserve contesse$59
Dauzac $59
Haut bages liberal $59
Barde haut $49
Lynch moussas $49
Marquis d'alesme $49
Ormes de pez$49
Cabanne $49
Pedesclaux$44
Labegorce $39

Etc..etc..

[robert goulet]

Maybe mr. Esquire would like to split a bottle this week...I say duccasse, Gloria, labegorce or comtesse

[OrlandoRobert]

You pick it up, I pay, we drink. Good formula.

See ya, Alice . . .

[robert goulet]

Ok I'll pick up the pontet canet then at $399!!!

[Nicklasss]

You can do it (Pontet Canet, more realistic the Gloria).

I have to confess: sometimes, when I read your exchanges on BWE, I think about Mad Hatter and March Hare, but in a good way!

Nic

[JonB]

I had 2 classic 2010 Bordeaux blends at a wine open house this weekend. Does that count? Most 2010 Bordeauxs have yet to show up in my neck of the woods, and it seems fewer merchants stock Bordeaux.

2010 Betz Clos de Betz 65% Merlot, 35% cab, 5% petit verdot....bright red, aromas of raspberries and graphite, medium bodied, red currant and raspberries and basalt....this was finely balanced, silky and a long finish. The best Betz merlot this young that I've tasted. 94

2010 Betz Pere de Famille 65% Cab....ruby red, red currant and tobacco (wow, what a nose!), medium bodied plus, this had layers of red and black fruit...again, very impressive for a young Betz wine. The finish was slightly drying and shorter than the merlot, but the fruit here was amazingly concentrated. 95 I found out later they'd double decanted the wines about 4 hours before the tasting, which made a large difference in how these showed yesterday.

Prices have crept up here because of Betz consistent strong wines, but still in the $40/$60 range. They seem to evolve a lot over the first year in bottle, and then age in a linear fashion (they don't shut down), but generally show better to my tastes around the 10 year mark.

[Nicklasss]

Thanks JonB. Hope everything is going well in Seattle.

These 2010 bordeaux blend from Washington State seem delicious, but don't help to understand the 2010 vintage in Bordeaux...

Nic

[OrlandoRobert]

I have to confess: sometimes, when I read your exchanges on BWE, I think about Mad Hatter and March Hare, but in a good way!

Nic

There are many versions of Alice, my friend Nic. BobbyG's version would not be the classic film. He's more, em, eh, how do I say this, "avant garde"!?

In keeping with this theme, BobbyG - as you know I prefer a layered, thematic approach to life - let's go with the panty-dropper. Is that Ch. l'O in stock yet?

[robert goulet]

I'm the Independent film channel to his showtime

[Tom In DC]

Note to self - put getting together with the Bob's on the to-do list - sure to be a hoot.

Nic,

I don't pass any good wine shops during my commute, but I'll do my best to pick up and try another 10'er before your deadline.

I've tried a couple of the early releases and unlike 2009, it doesn't seem like a vintage where you can just grab anything off the shelf.

Tom

[Nicklasss]

So, who's playing?

For me tonight, it will be the 2010 Clos Floridène from AOC Graves, made by Mr. Dubourdieu. Let's play!

Nic

[Nicklasss]

You know, that 2010 Clos Floridène is not bad. Very Graves, not too Pessac Léognan. No overconcentration, or exotic oak, just plain good Graves. Color is dark red, with a medium to powerfull nose of sweet smoke, darkcurrants, ripe grape, light blueberries and light coal. Intense nose. The nose let you think the mouth will be huge... Not at all! Very nice attack on dark grape, blackcurrant, noble oak flavors, with a medium mid-palate with light vine wood and dark red berries, with a final with decent tannins and medium long minerals, and more grape flavors. Well done and approcheable now, after an hour decanting time. TN: 88.

Good impression up to now with my limited number of low price 2010 Bordeaux. Fruit is surely less ripe and wine less alcoholic than 2009, with slightly less concentration and more apparent tannins. 2010, a style I like until now. I'm not the Bordeaux taster with the most experience, and started buying wine with the 1993-1994 vintages, but 2010 seem a bit to me like a mix of 2001 and 2002: very good ripe fruit character but with an apparent tannic structure. But don't take that basic analysis too seriously...

Nic

[JimHow]

I haven't seen any 2010s here in Maine/NH, Nic, other than Dauzac. And seeing as it is only a HWSRN89, I think the $65 pricetag is a bit much.

[Ken]

I have only tried a couple of lesser wines including the following. If these are examples of the vintage it makes me optimistic, except for the price.

Caronne Ste. Gheme: 2/3/2013 - 89 Points

This is a very nice 2010 Bordeaux. Did not decant. Served with grilled NY strip steak. Lovely nose of earth, casis, and berries with a full mouthfeel and moderate, but soft tanins in the finish, partly hidden by the fruit in the front end. This is the best Caronne Ste. Gheme I have had and a strong testament to the quality of this vintage. Good wine for a very good price and given the structure, should last for 5-8 years.

2010 Le Conseiller: 11/11/2012 - 89 Points

Drank this after dinner while visiting my family. Opened about 2 hourse before serving, but not decanted. I currently have the 2005, 2008, 2009, and the 2010 Le Conseiller's. Having tried them all recently, I would give the edge to the 2009, but the 2008 is very good, and the 2010 is better structured than any of them. I think the 2010 will be the better wine after a couple of years. Casis and a touch of leather in the nose, noticeable round but slightly astringent tanin in the initial flavors, good length on this generic bordeaux. I have recently purchased a case of this and think it is an excellent value and great buy.

I also purchased a couple of lesser Bordeaux to try over the next week or so including: 2010 Château Haut-Vigneau (Pessac-Léognan) and 2010 Château Vieux Clos St. Émilion. Parker described the 2010 Vieux Clos as " Probably the finest wine I have ever tasted from this estate, ...abundant notes of licorice, Christmas fruitcake, cedar, underbrush, black currants and cherries....for drinking over the next 7-8 years.

[stefan]

>>
I currently have the 2005, 2008, 2009, and the 2010 Le Conseiller's.
>>

I think it is a good idea to store weekday Bordeaux a few years, but I lack storage space. If we go through with Lucie's plan to convert part of the garage to a wine room I'll do that because we'll have the space and, due to the expense of the wine room, less money to spend on fancier wines.

[Nicklasss]

Thanks Ken. When the little Bordeaux are good in a vintage, doesn't that mean it is a good vintage? I think so.

For all other BWEers, keep the 2010 Bordeaux TN coming until tomorrow.

Nic

[Ken]

Nicklasss - I generally agree with that sentiment about judging the quality of a vintage by the petite Bordeaux. It certainly is a good indication of quality.

Stefan - Good luck on wine room. Should be fun to have when it is done. I also have the same problem with storage space; but the good thing about the less expensive wines is we may drink them sooner rather than later, so proper storage (55-60 degrees as long as we avoid extreme heat greater than 78 degrees) may be less an issue. I also agree about aging the less expensive Bordeaux. I think some of the less expensive 05's are just now approaching their drinking range, but I would drink most of them within the next 3-7 years. Not sure how the 09s will progress. I suspect they may remain very drinkable for a number of years. The 10's may need some time.

[OrlandoRobert]

Sorry, Nic.

Went to my local store yesterday. The only 2010 they had was L'esprit de Chevalier. Could not get the motivation to pull the trigger on this one, so ended up buying a handful of mixed things. Keep the TNs rolling!

[OrlandoRobert]

So I finally found and popped a 2010: Cambon La Pelouse, Medoc. This is a very serious effort, and surprisingly approachable. All of $20. Liked it enough to order a 6-pack the next day. A very worthy drinker.

[OrlandoRobert]

Oh, and I ordered another 6 of the 2009 Lanessan. I cannot have enough of this wine.

[AlohaArtakaHoundsong]

I (unfairly in hindsight) christened the 05 Cambon la Pelouse "Cambon la Pelooze." It was truly gooey, stick to the wall stuff on release. (Ah, it seems like only yesterday, wha-) It dried up nicely after just a few years in bottle. Will hold a couple past the 10-year mark in the never-ending quest for scientific enlightenment.

Also, don't shortchange that baby. Pretty sure it's an Haut Medoc. Near to Cantemerle and La Lagune in fact.

[JimHow]

Very dusty terrain down there near La Lagune and Cantemerle.
I remember the roads were very dusty. Everything was dusty down there in the Margaux/southern Medoc.

[OrlandoRobert]

I (unfairly in hindsight) christened the 05 Cambon la Pelouse "Cambon la Pelooze." It was truly gooey, stick to the wall stuff on release. (Ah, it seems like only yesterday, wha-) It dried up nicely after just a few years in bottle. Will hold a couple past the 10-year mark in the never-ending quest for scientific enlightenment.

Also, don't shortchange that baby. Pretty sure it's an Haut Medoc. Near to Cantemerle and La Lagune in fact.

My friend who got me to try the 2010 Cambon - not BobbyG, a real friend - said the same thing about the '05. He said avoid the '05 and load up on the '10. I wonder if they have a new winemaker.

[RDD]

I saw the 2010 Gloria here in Charlotte at Total wine for 60.00.
Unfortunately I was just there to buy a 1/6 keg of stone IPA.
I ruined a batch of beer (turned sour) from a pump with rotten barely stuck in the impeller thanks to a helper in my brewery.
So had to back fill.
I have some wonderful Maibock in the fermenter now.
I know this isn't wine talk but I sure like brewing too.
And it helps my understanding of wine as I'm really familiar with cleaning/sanitation/fermenting/transfer/conditioning.
Plus I can make world class beers for .50 a pint.

For world class wines you can't even get the grapes needed.