Two Awful Grand Cru Classe Medocs

[stefan]

I took these to stefanJr's. Bad move. I had not previously tasted either.

1998 Clerc-Milon. After drinking an outstanding 1998 Lafite at BWE-2018, I thought that other Grand Cru Pauillacs would at this time be pretty good at least. Wrong. The Clerc-Milon has a funky nose that I think is brett. stefanJr is not sure it is brett, but it is not TCA for sure. Fortunately, I only bought one bottle. Unfortunately, stefanJr has a couple.

2000 Branaire-Ducru. This usually reliable estate either made a mess of its 2000 or I somehow got a bad bottle. This one was full of stewed fruit that had been left on the counter for a couple of days before being cooked. Unfortunately, this was the first of the six bottles I bought on futures or shortly after release.

[jal]

I am not a fan of Clerc Milon, I heard they have improved a lot lately.
Branaire sounds just like a bad bottle. Hopefully, the other five will be fine

[Ognik]

2000 BD should be better....

[William P]

Bill, I also think this is just a bad bottle. I've had a few in the past and don't remember stewed as a descriptor. Though, it may have evolved poorly. Sorry for your misfortune.

the other Bill

[JimHow]

Agreed, I remember 2000 Branire being very good in its youth.

[stefan]

Maybe this bottle was just prematurely aged.

[dstgolf]

Sorry to hear you had a couple of disappointments. I've have had lots of CdM over the years and before the price went north of $40 cdn this used to be my dinner party go to and it was a regular hit for those not initiated to Bordeaux. I've had the 98 plenty of times and I haven't experienced your disappointment and sounds like you've had a couple of bad bottles. I've got a couple left and I'll try one soon ITNOS and report back.

[JimHow]

The 2004 Clerc Milon was rough at first but with 14 years of age it has matured nicely.

[jckba]

While not Medocs ... So my parents just got back from a nice vacation in Italy and when I asked my father what he would like to drink for father’s Day a couple of weeks ago he said Brunello di Montalcino! So when we got together for Sunday lunch, I had lined up 3 2006 Brunello’s (Il Poggione, Banfi Poggio alla Mura and Stella di Campalto) and wouldn’t you know it, but 2 out of the 3 btls were corked. Luckily I still have some wine stashed away in my parents basement so I just went down an retrieved another bottle but it just goes to show you, tough luck can strike twice!

[AlohaArtakaHoundsong]

I thought the 2000 Brainare had an excellent future the one time I tried it. I also vote for bad bottle.

[AKR]

I've had some good 2000 Branaire Ducru's over the years, maybe as recently as the last couple of years.

I wonder if I have any 98 C-M.

[stefan]

Fortunately, all the other wines we have drunk since coming to Oregon have been at least good. The only other Bordeaux is 1998 Clos Fourtet, which is in the early part of its prime drinking period. It has great balance and a full mouth feel. I have worried about the 1998 St Emillions because some, including Beasejour Duffau and, especially, Beasejour Becot, have St Emilion Merlot funk, which always bothers me and stefanJr even if Lucie and Irena do not mind it. But the Clos Fourtet has pure flavors. Another nice French wine is 2002 Joseph Drouhin Clos de Vougeot. This is another very pure wine that has just a touch of Vougeot earthiness. I thought this was one of the best Burgundies we have drunk this year, although stefanJr, Lucie, and Irena all considered it only quite good and stefanJr commented that he expected more. The balance is perfect and the finish long.

Mostly we have been drinking older St Innocent Pinot Noir that we bought when Mark had a library release. These convince me that SI PN can age very well; in fact, the 1996 SI Freedom Hill is still on the young side. 2003 and 2004 SI 7 Springs are as good as ever. The bigger '03 will be better in five years, but the '04 is in prime time. 1998 7 Springs is outstanding and 1999 Brickhouse is a treat. Only the '96 Brickhouse was past its best.

[Blanquito]

The 99 Shea SI PN was terrific 4 years ago, I like these with some age too.

[JimHow]

How's Shea, is that the real deal?
I remember Stefan saying the 2015 Shea was good, I'm thinking of buying some bottles.

[dstgolf]

Stefan,

I've been holding off drinking my last 2 98 C Fourtet as the other four have matured at a glacial pace and very plummy simple primary fruit with puckery tannins that has disappointed us to date. Sounds like the wine is starting to come in to its own but I must say we've been disappointed so far with this one up until at least now. Your note offers hope.

[stefan]

Danny, my 1998 Clos Fourtet were stored probably 10F higher (66F) than yours for a significant fraction of their lives. Even so, the fruit, while delicious, is still primary. You will have to wait quite a while for this CF to develop secondary and tertiary aromas and flavors. The fruit is so tasty and pure that I am happy to drink it now. The firm tannins are resolved.

Tonight we drank 2000 SI Brickhouse and 2000 SI 7 Springs with Chinook and Steelhead. This Brickhouse is not past its prime but also it is not that interesting. The 7 Springs is more complex with some asphalt mixed in with dark berries but is thinner than the really good 7 Springs. We finished with 2001 Rayne-Vigneau, which is very good now and will improve for the next 20-50 years.

[Claret]

My oldest vintage SI was 2000 7 Springs about 5 years ago. Light bodied but delicious.