09 Canon La Gaffeliere has been uncorked and other ramblings

[Rudi Finkler]

Good theory, Stefan. But I have another: The Bordeaux winemakers have lost their senses.

[Bacchus]

For Christ's sake Jim, GLC! And I thought this was a Bdx site! I'm going to launch a protest by cracking an 04 GL! Put that in your whoopie pie and smoke it.
Let's try and save something of 09, Jim. Open up a Giscours.

[JimHow]

The sacrifices we make in the name of science Bacchus!

[DavidG]

Leave it to our resident mathematics professor to put forth this hypothesis. Well done! We may need to do some further testing...

[Claret]

2012 JJ Prum looks like a safe bet for cellaring, this 2009 not so much.

Ripe high alcohol Bordeaux is not my thang. Bordeaux really turned the corner after the wonderful 1996 Left Bank vintage and my Bordeaux purchasing dollars have been allocated elsewhere.

[Jeff Leve]

Jim... I cannot help but think, served blind in a flight of other 2009 wines, you might comment on the ripeness, but you would not notice the alcohol level.

[JimHow]

Possible, Jeff, but I would be very surprised. There have been wines from 2009 that I have not felt were overly alcoholic, like Meyney, Cantemerle, and Larrivet Haut Brion, of which I purchased a case each (although I have doubts about the Larrivet). Even some 2009 right bankers have not been unpleasant as far as the alcohol is concerned. I really have noticed it in others, though, including the Canon La Gaffeliere. I kept waiting for the alcohol to soften but it never did. And I really went into it with a completely open mind, indeed, a commitment to try to find the positives in the wine.

[marcs]

I've had this wine multiple times. It's a sensational wine but not really Bordeaux like at all. The issue goes beyond alcohol -- it's not Bordeaux plus alcohol. It drinks like a very high end, well done, California merlot. It's not overly sweet or cloying (which is why it's a good wine), but it's also not savory or particularly refreshing. Has no earthy or herbal qualities, no mineral or red fruit, lots of black fruit -- plums and even fig -- heavy palate weight.

[Chasse-Spleen]

I was looking at a bottle of 2000 Duhart today - 12.5% alcohol.

[JimHow]

Chasse, see Nic's thread, "Only 12.5% alcohol in that 2000."

[Chasse-Spleen]

I just saw it about two seconds after I made my post. Odd how we were thinking the same thing.