UGC 2015 in Montréal

[Nicklasss]

*i don't pretend to be a professionnal taster, so these comments below are an image of that day*

First time I attended, went with JeanFred, as we're 5 hours drive away from the big city. Talked a lot about the coming BWE convention during the drive.

I thought it was very cool to have the owner/wine producer there. It was fun to see back Lilian Barton-Sartorius, meet Olivier Bernard, Xavier Planty and Stephen Von Neipperg.

I did not taste all the wines, as even if i spit it would have been too much.

Some general comments:

- Margaux is surely the best Aoc, very seductive, concentrated and very Margaux with berries and flowers.
- i thougth the Saint-Émilion were the less convincing wines (Canon being the exception!).
- i thought the best wines were (in that order) Chateau Canon (just very complex on the nose and mouth, lot of flesh but balanced), Chateau Pichon Comtesse de Lalande (great fruits, great Pauillac character, but with that nice Comtesse touch), Chateau Rauzan Ségla (Palmer and the 1er growth not there, this was very very convincing, with all the Margaux character, but an extra dimension of soil flavors), Chateau Pape Clément (super Pessac character and complexity, fruity, smoky, mineral, long, good concentration but not overextracted or oaky at all).
- most of the producers (let say >80 %) are saying that their 2016 is even better.

Quick comments on the wines:

La Louvière : ok, with good fruit, a bit light, fresh. 87.

Haut Bailly: concentrated, a bit closed, good core of fruits, tobacco, tannic, decent length. 91-92.

Domaine de Chevalier: long fresh pulpy fruit, elegance, perfumed, red berries, rasberries, lead pencil, excellent. 94.

Smith Haut-Lafitte : first time i saw the new black label. Concentrated black fruit, ashes, gravel, wood, tannic, of one block, potential's there. 91-92 +.

Fieuzal: nose closed, fruit ok but unbalanced brytal finish. A bad bottle?

Pape Clément: ouf, very Graves, minerality, gravel, blaclberry fruit, dry red berries, smoky, herbs, blackcurrants, long in mouth, very complex, ripe abundant tobacco taste tannins. Tn: 95.

Canon: complex nose and mouth, mixing with density, fruits, spices, minerals, meat. Long long final.95-96.

Valandraud: perfumed confit cherry nose. Mouth a bit uneven, concentrated, but very unseductive final. 89-90.

Beau Sejour Bécot: oak, cherries, cinnamon. Mouth ok only. 90.

La Gaffelière: i was expecting something elegant, red fruit like in the old 90's vintage. Error! Powerful, oaky, cooked fruit, big attack, unpleasant finish. A change for the worst. 89.

Brane-Cantenac: very Margaux, with good concentration, but elegance, with a taste of fruits, flowers, terroir. Long finish. 94.

Du Tertre: red and purple berries, violet flowers, more fruit, light oak spices, very concentrated but slightly less elegant, very long. 92.

Malescot Saint-Exupéry: again from the best aoc in 2015, fruit, wellmade, good thickness, maybe a bit more masculine too, but excellent. 93.

Rauzan Ségla: Blackberries, blackcurrants, Margauxberries, perfumed nose, mouth with fruits, mint, light cinnamon, blackberries, soil minerality, wow. 95.

Lascombes: again very Margaux, by the fruit of Margauxberries, but a bit more spicy than other, great mouth, medium long leather and mineral final. Tn:92-93.

La Lagune: certified organic in the 2016 vintage, 2015 is also organic without the label. Concentrated and primary La Lagune, but all is there to integrated and make it an excellent to great wine. Concentrated nose fruity, spicy but a bit closed. Mouth with great fruit impression, some grilled oak, spices, purple berries. Long and nice. 92-93.

Branaire: a nice wine but after the Margaux, seems a bit overripe and dry oak dominating. 89-90. Bad bottle?

Lagrange: no mistake here and very "Lagrange" in style. Nice balance of red berries, darker berries, oak, herbs. Medium concentration. 91-92.

Léoville Barton: excellent Cabernet Sauvignon style. Mix of fruits, spices, more fruits, light green pepper, fresh, balanced, long, claret, a great Léo Barton. 94.

Léoville Poyferré: one block of concentrated fruit, black, blue and purple. Some stuffy ripe tannins. Hard to judge now but will open one day and everyone will cry. 92.

Couffran: nice Haut-Médoc made of 85 % merlot. Great merlot nose, fruity, something like after rain aromas, more fruit and smoke. Feel Cabernet in mouth, black berries, big attack, long tannic finish. Very good. 89-90.

Chasse Spleen: traditionnal style Cabernet. A bit brutish like Moulis can be, with big black character (berries, licorices, plums), long, lead, tannic, excellent Chasse. 91.

Clinet: i thought that would be big, no. Concentrated yes, but in a "Yquem" way, stay very fresh and elegant with fruits, flowers, grilled truffles. Mouth is long, fruity, invading but sweetly, violet flowers, cocoa powder, long mineral fruit finish. Superb fine tannins. 95.

Gazin: nose of peanut scales, fruits, light oak, flowers. Mouth beautiful, with power, slightly more rustic than Clinet. But hey, unspittable! 93.

Armailhac: one of the weakest wine that day. Missing concentration, medium fruit, a bit simple. 88-89.

Pichon Comtesse de Lalande: very Pauillac, with this concentrated half closed nose of blackcurrants, blackcherries, minerals, integrated spicy oak. But the mouth, a bit like Clinet, invading, blackcurrants, blackberries, light noble wood, and that strong thickness of elegant tannins, full of graphite flavors on the final. 95-96. I said to the representant "don't tell me the 2016 is even better?" And he answered, "effectively, beleive me, yes".

Pichon Longueville Baron: a bit more open than Pichon Lalande, but less evolved in the complexity, one block of fruits, blue and blackberries, some wood and terroir hidding on the background, pure breed tannin, but a bit less Pauillac and a bit less long than the Comtesse. But i have faith...it will go far. 94-95.

I tried two dry white, Pape Clément and Smith Haut-Lafitte, but I won't say anything, not being a natural fan of the ambitious white Pessac. Yes they both have nice citrus skin, white berries, wax, fresh aromas, maybe i'm giving the edge to SHL, but > 150$ a bottle each? No way.

I tried also a few Sauternes, Guiraud and Doisy Daene being my favorite as more complex, more balances, medium botrytis, more flowers and fruits apricots and quince, than the Clos Haut-Peyraguey and de Fargues, both thicker, strong fat honey, botrytis, peaches style.

Hope that help making an idea.

Nic

[jckba]

Nic - nice impressions and I am looking to form my own later today, oh and happy birthday

[Nicklasss]

Jckba, thanks for the birthday wishes, and I want your report of that 2015 vintage as a gift .

Nic

[Antoine]

Good to read as I bought Canon (3) Rauzan (6) Chevalier (1) and Cantenac Brown (1) plus 3 tour St Christophe. Pity about PLL as I love the stuff but a bit pricey... Mind you choice was dictated by this forum...

[Ognik]

Thank you for sharing.
Bought
Rausan Segla
Brane Cantenac
Canon
Trottevielle
GPL
Domaine de Chevalier
Pape Clement
Gazin
VVC
Life is good

[jckba]

Let me start by stating that it’s insane how many people come out of the woodworks when there are reports of a good vintage, CIPRIANI was jam packed on Monday afternoon in NYC and I guess with good reason as there was a lot to like this year. I thought the Right Bank wines were especially strong this year and many of my wines of the day came from this side of the Gironde. On the Left Bank, I honestly think that on the whole I preferred the wines from Pessac to those from the Medoc generally speaking which kind of surprised me considering all of the positive reports that I had been hearing with respect to it being a banner year in Margaux. The problem I had with many of the Margaux wines were that several of them were a bit closed and I failed to be able to get a good read (Giscours and Prieure Lichine), while some of the usual suspects still showed too much oak for my liking (Malescot and Lascombes), but the few that were open were absolutely gorgeous and weren’t all that far off from being in my running for my wines of the day (Brane Cantenac and Rauzan Segla). If push came to shove and I had to rank the Medoc wines, I would probably go Margaux, Saint Julien then Pauillac both of which were equally impressive followed by Saint-Estephe which felt a little empty by comparison and without the usual grit, granted none of the big boys are on show but still. Keep in mind that at tastings such as this there are small pours and samples can vary (ie. bottle just opened vs end of bottle) and I for several wines I did notice differences btw pours. Anyways my favorites this year, all of which would fall in the 94-97 point range were as follows:

Clinet - ripe dark fruited nose that leads way to a bombastic multidimensional palate that dances. WOTD
Valandraud - beautiful dark fruited nose that explodes with a wonderfully textured palate that is hard to spit
Canon - aromatic dark fruited nose with floral and stone notes that gave way to seamless multidimensional palate
Pichon Baron - aromatic nose of black and red fruits and cassis that leads to a full bodied, multidimensional palate exhibiting a great mouthfeel
Leoville Barton - top Saint Julien in show by a country mile and better Leoville by far as the Poyferre was surprisingly closed by comparison. Beautiful black fruited and tobacco nose led a seamless and pure palate
Haut Bailly - I had 2 small pours of this and the second was remarkably more open than the first; beautifully complex nose that was dark fruited and tobacco driven and turned seamless on the palate
Rauzan Segla – beautifully aromatic floral and dark fruited nose leads to a seamless palate
Chevalier Rouge - dark fruited and tobacco on the nose but really opened up with a depth on the palate
Larcis Ducasse - dark reddish fruits on the nose that translates to the palate with a long spicy mineral driven finish
Clos Fourtet - aromatic dark fruited nose which leads way to an expansive mouthful of silky dark fruits
Brane Cantenac - great dark fruited nose gives way to a complex palate that was drinking surprisingly well

For the sweet wines, Coutet displayed its tropical nose and is/was my favorite of the day if we are taking price into consideration, if not, the de Fargues was equally tropical but much viscous, Guiraud was better for me than I usually find and Suiduiraut was simply too sweet for my liking.

[JeanFred]

I was there in Mtl with Nic

I can say I have in general the same impression than Nic

The best AOC was Margaux very sedutive and the margauxberry fruity than Pessac with a magnificient freshness and a pleasant mineral aspect.
More variation for the Nord Medoc aoc with some wine closed: Lynch and Poyferre for example. ( same impression than Jckba)
The right bank was less seductive: some wine with too much extraction and oak not perfectly integrated now. Canon being a exception, very powerfull, round with nice oak on final

We can say that 2015 is a great vintage. Nic said 80% said that the 2016 is better. I would say that true only for the nord Medoc: paulliac, Saint-Julien and Saint-Estephe. Many producer prefer 2015 in Margaux and Pessac

There my favorite wine 95-97in order:

Rauzan
Pichon lalande
Pape Clement
Canon

Than, a group of wine around 94:
Chevalier
Giscours
Brane Cantenac
L. Barton
Pichon Baron
Lascombe

Some other good to great around 93:

Malescot
La Lagune
Gruaud Larose
Clinet
Gazin
Valandraut
Clos Fourtet

JeanFred

[JeanFred]

Also taste the Sauterne. A sprint tasting at the end. Taste 6 Sauternes in less than 10 monutes...

Like the red, 2015 is a very good vintage:

I prefer Guiraud: freshness, classic, Powerfull and long
than a bite under
Fargues - Nice botrytis and oaky aspect
Lafaurie-Pey. - lot of richness and zesty agrume touch
Clos Haut-Pey - perfect balance between tropical and agrume

JeanFred

[Chateau Vin]

I attended the UGC event in LA...Let me chime in....

The trade tasting event was great. They served never ending variety of cheeses, crackers, Bread, pretzels, Olives, grapes and what not, along with Salmon Spread and Chicken Liver Pate (Oh, so delicious...). The event was well organized at Beverly Hills Hotel, and several owners of the chateaux were in attendance, including Mr. Eric of Carbonnieux, Mr. Bernard of DdC, Mr. Lurton of Brane Cantenac, Mr. Ronan of Clinet, Mr. Edouard of Rouget, Mr. Neipperg of La Gaffeliere, Oratoire, etc., Ms. Lilian of Leo Barton, Daughter of Mr. Cazes of Lynch Bages.....It was great see the acquaintances and meet new people...

Here are my impressions....

For me, the communes that performed better than the rest are Margaux and Pessac. I also thought Haut Medoc and Moulis performed nicely...I felt the variation on the right bank, particularly in St Emilion was huge comparatively.

Here are my star performers...

PESSAC/GRAVES:
Haut Bailly and Domaine de Chevalier showed great complexity and depth compared to their peers.

SHL was a bit lower, and I personally was not moved by Pape Clement. I was surprised that it was a bit flabby and lacked acidity (may be off bottle?)..


MARGAUX:
Brane Cantenac was great with balance and nuances of flowers, black fruit and berries. For me it was WOTD, and I would be on the lookout for this. It was closely followed by Rauzan and Giscours.

When I tasted Lascombes, I was expecting a bit more fruity and on the modern side, but I was pleasantly surprised to see it with good acidity and balance and drinking great. Du Tertre was also good, but I was a bit disappointed by Malescot as I found the pour to be a bit disconnected, thin and off balance.


ST JULIEN:
I thought Barton and Beychevelle showed well with cassis, blackfruit and round tannins. Awesome stuff from St Julien. Poyferre was a bit lower than these followed by the rest.


PAUILLAC:
The top performer for me was Pichon Lalande with its lead, smoke and earth along with elegance and finesse. But it also seemed to be closing down. It was followed by Pichon Baron and Lynch Bages. Clerc Milon was good, but I personally felt that Armailhac was off balance and a bit of greeness...


ST ESTEPHE:
The commune did not stick out as much, but I thought Lafon Rochet was the top performer from the commune at the event. (Of course the big boys from this commune were not there).


HAUT MEDOC, LISTRAC & MOULIS:
La Lagune performed well although not on par with chateaux of Margaux/St Julien. But the real QPR for me was the performance of Poujeaux. I thought it has great balance akin to its 09 and 10 characteristics, and might be on the lookout for it.

SAUTERNES:
Tasted only two chateaux, and I liked Doisy Vedrines the best...


ST EMILION:
Felt Clos Fourtet and Canon were best performers from this commune at the event. Both had great balance, and I loved the slight grainy tannins of Clos Fourtet. Canon was surprisingly smooth with round tannins and nice nuances of pepper, bitter chocolate and dark fruit characteristics. They were followed by Valandraud and I felt La Gaffeliere was a bit lean.


POMEROL:
Clinet and Gazin were the star performers. Clinet was a bit on the fruity side, but balanced well with acid and velvety tannins. Gazin showed a bit more tannins with notes of pepper and cherries. They performed for me well in their own way. Rouget also performed good albeit a bit lean for me, but seemed to be on the rise. Came to know that the chateau is on the organic drive mode...

I bought couple of mixed cases of 2015s (comprising Clinet, Gazin, Les carmes, rauzan, Giscours, Christophe)...I might not be looking for more other than maybe Brane Cantenac, as I feel I should be more invested in 2016 vintage as it is my type of vintage with lower alcohol levels...

[Nicklasss]

Very interesting ChateauVin.

Any of you had Siran? Seems like everybody's crazy about it on Cellartracker.

I know JeanFred liked Clos Fourtet and Canon La Gaffelière in Saint-Émilion. I did not sampled as much wines as he did.

He liked Lynch Bages as well, but I passed on Lynch, because of the reception we had there in 2015! I did not tried any Saint-Estèphe, but I know JeanFred tried some.

Nic

[Chateau Vin]

Very interesting ChateauVin.

Any of you had Siran? Seems like everybody's crazy about it on Cellartracker.

I know JeanFred liked Clos Fourtet and Canon La Gaffelière in Saint-Émilion. I did not sampled as much wines as he did.

He liked Lynch Bages as well, but I passed on Lynch, because of the reception we had there in 2015! I did not tried any Saint-Estèphe, but I know JeanFred tried some.

Nic

No, Nic. I haven't had Siran. I liked Canon La Gaffeliere, but I didn't like La Gaffeliere. La Gaffeliere was off-putting with its disjointed and lean structure...I liked Lynch Bages, but IMO it didn't rise up to Lalande and Baron.

[Nicklasss]

JeanFred, when you have a look at the ratings on Cellartracker, 2015 vs 2016, all different chateaux have higher ratings for their 2016. Only exception seems to be Pomerol and Chateau Margaux.

Guess it is fair to say 2016 is better on 80 % of wines! . The main thing i remember from producer's answers is that "2016 have a little bit more of everything".

Nic

[JeanFred]

Agree with you Nic

My comment was just to say that It mainly in Nord medoc where there is no douth that 2016 is better. Margaux, Pomeral and Pessac, it depends.

JeanFred

[jckba]

I just reread the end of this thread and think that the one thing we are going to have to keep in mind is the pricing and more specifically, the pricing differential between the last 2 vintages while also not forgetting about the bargains found in 2014. The 2016 primeur's went from 2015 levels with Pape Clément and then spiraled out of control as the campaign progressed and in some cases touching on the highs reached in 2009 and 2010.

[DavidG]

The high en primeur prices removed the main impetus for buying early: getting the wines at a substantial discount to release prices.

I bought no 2015s en primeur and have no plans to buy on release but it will be interesting to see how much of a difference there is between the en primeur and release prices as the wines start coming out later this year.

[Blanquito]

I haven’t paid close attention to futures since the 2005 campaign, but there were virtually no price increases once the 2005s hit the shelves, unless you count non-deliveries from Premier Cru as a price hike (I made a lot of my 2005 futures orders at PC).

There were a few price spikes on wines where Parker gave a super high final score, but even wines like the 2005 Malescot St Exupery —which got a final score of 97 from Parker — were available on the shelf at the same price as futures. I assume that this has been in the new normal since 2005, at least for the hyped vintages.

[DavidG]

I think you're right Patrick. It's been a long time since en primeur was an automatic bargain. Probably the 2005s as you note.

[JimHow]

I rarely do futures but from 2015 I bought 6 bottles of Giscours, 6 bottles of Siran, and 3 bottles each of Rausan Segla, Pape Clement, Smith Haut Lafitte, and Tour St. Christophe. If I am reading the MacArthur's site correctly the 2015 Tour St. Christophe is in stock at MacArthur's.

I also bought a case of 2016 Tour St. Christophe from Zachy's at $23 per bottle, which seems like a good deal.