TN 2000 Ch. Haut-Batailley Paulilac

[AlohaArtakaHoundsong]

For better or worse I'll wait another 5-10 years to drink the next two or three bottles I may have of this. Lighter-bodied, this is still elusive and not really accessible (although Kathy liked it). It had a little baby powder in the bouquet and has a moderately tart flavor profile. Whatever is there, and there is something there, remains in the shadows of the acidity and tannin. My guess is this will be better when it finally unclenches and develops some secondary characteristics. I'm sure other tasters would doubt it has the ability to get there. Anyway this is consistent with ancient memory although other bottles have seemed to have a little more stuffing. An example of the heterogeneity of the 2000 vintage (with apologies to George Orwell).

Placed in service last night in lieu of my probably penultimate bottle of house favorite 1996 Ch. Semeillan Mazeau, Listrac, which was badly corked.

[AKR]

There's a wine I've not had in a long long time.

Thanks for the update.

Doubt I have any vintages of this now.

What is this Listrac you mention?

I have a hard time grasping the word 'favorite' and 'Listrac' in the same sentence....

[AlohaArtakaHoundsong]

The Semeillan Mazeau was something I stumbled upon in store at MacArthur's in the 2003 time frame. I'd heard some people here speak well of the '96 vintage in Bordeaux so at $9 I figured I'd buy the three bottles on the shelf. It was so good - a lot of ripe depth and structure - that a couple of years later when 9 more appeared on the virtual store shelf at $12 I cleaned them out. It is probably one of those home run outliers that happen to practically every estate (even no-names) once in a couple of generations (although somebody here, like DutchCheese, may have spoken well of another vintage too).

Quick edit. Just searched the forum and I realize I also had the 1990, which was also really good at 20+ years of age. So perhaps not such a fluke.

[AKR]

Got it. I once had a case of the 96 Biston Brillette, a Moulis I've never seen again, that sounds like your Listrac. Ridiculously good for a long time. Punched way over its $200/cs price.

[Roel]

DutchCheese became me over time
I have written some things in the past re: Faizeau v.v., not this Listrac. And yes, I too have difficulties with 'Listrac' and 'favorite' in one sentence. Even Moulis, just around the corner, does so much better. Listrac is green and mean in most cases.

[AlohaArtakaHoundsong]

So you are now FineAgedDutchCheese?

You guys are too mean and/or need to get out more often. Fourcas Dupre and Fourcas Hosten are nice Listracs as is Chateau Clarke which also is a minor darling of the wine writers because of the Lafite connection.

[Comte Flaneur]

Hound

Don't worry you only have to wait another 30 years. The 1970 is dwinkin bweautifully...a bweautiful, bweautiful wine.

Yes we did a few 00s last week: Cissac, GPD, and Brane-Camtenac - one stinkin' sonambitchin', muthafukkin' backward vintage...sorry...I think the 2000s still need more time.

[Blanquito]

I used to drink a lot of Listrac and Moulis back in the early-to-mid 1990s. The 1990 Fourcas-Loubaney was a world class bargain back in 1995.

[AlexR]

Listrac: the overall level is, I agree, perhaps the lowest of all the communal appellations.

However, there are, of course, some good wines made there.

I would mention Châteaux Clarke, the two Fourcas cited above, and Saransot-Dupré.

Alex R.

[Rudi Finkler]

Some good wines indeed, but the only Listrac that ever really impressed me was Fleur de Rose Sainte-Croix. The 2000 was outstanding as well as the 2001.

[AKR]

I'll actually confess to purchasing a Clarke in the last year or so, but have yet to try it.

Maybe the wines are better now.

But it has never struck me that they were particularly offering any 'value' in exchange for the harshness.

One wonders what modern technology like what UC Davis showcases could do there.

Perhaps a blind tasting would be good in this respect.

Sometimes people carry mental connotations into tastings, bringing back prior irrelevant memories.

If Listrac is making better wines, but prior experiences are coloring my current views, maybe tasting them blind will remove those blinders.

Nowadays I do almost zero blind tasting, but when I was younger, we did more of it, and I thought it was helpful.

[Nicklasss]

I always liked Clarke. Not lot experience with other.

Nic