WTN: Mostly Bordeaux, Petit Chablis, Pouilly Fuisse, Alsace

Short notes from one of Lester's Light Liquid Lunches at Le Souffle. Theme was all French.

La Chablisienne Petit Chablis 2006 - Stony. Good but very light fruit. Lemony. Not bad if served very cold on a hot day.

Domaine Gonon Pouilly Fuisse 2006 - Faintly orangey on the nose. Slightly woody. Decent finish. Easy, uncomplicated wine.

Chateau Marjosse 2005 - Rich, tannic. Some coffee. Dry and leathery. Seriously good stuff for a simple AOC Bordeaux. Not sure if I could identify this as Bordeaux if served blind but I don't really care. The wine has some serious weight to it. Needs time to round out and show more complexity but will no doubt be very good.

Chateau Poujeaux 1996 - Prunes and dried fruit. Soft and smooth. Seems like this is just about to go into decline. Still a very good drink now but really should be consumed soon.

Reserve de la Comtesse 2002 - Beautiful nose. Lots of fruit with blackcurrants prominent. Very dry finish. Nowhere near ready but will be excellent when the tannins soften.

La Demoiselle de Sociando-Mallet 2001 - Lightish wine. Coffee. Surprisingly tannic. I'm not sure this has the fruit to outlast the tannins. Rather short finish.

Trimbach Cuvee Frederic Emile Riesling Vendanges Tardives 2001 - Light gold. Butterscotch nose. Lots going on here. Lemon, grape, lemon custard, apples, grape skins. Quite complex and should age well but already very good for drinking now.

Chateau Poujeaux 1996 - Prunes and dried fruit. Soft and smooth. Seems like this is just about to go into decline. Still a very good drink now but really should be consumed soon.

Thanks for the notes, Jay! I'm quite surprised about your note on the Poujeaux. We just had a bottle in a tasting a couple weeks back (sorry, still haven't written it up...) and it was very young, hard and tannic but with such fruit and classical presence that I have great hopes for its future. Prunes and dried fruit don't sound right either - are you sure your bottle wasn't slighty heat shocked? Or do you just like your Bordeaux much younger than I do?

-Otto

Otto,

My experience with '96 Poujeaux is the same as Jay's.

I'm not doubting your tasting prowess (except old Sauternes ), just the particular bottle you tasted that evening.

All the best,
Alex

Surprised by the comments on '96 Poujeaux, though I haven't tried it. I think of Poujeaux as a decent ager, the '90 seemed pretty fresh last year (and the '86 needed more time). I would have guessed the '96 was still young. Wonder if they have changed the vinification?

Hi Otto,

While the bottle may have been heat damaged, I doubt it since the guy who brought it knows his wines and I'm sure he takes good care of them. While I probably prefer my Bordeuax younger than you, it also occurs to me it may have suffered in comparison to the other, much younger wines, at the lunch.