- 2001 Château Beau-Séjour Bécot - France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru (7/27/2006) 13% 55€
Very dark red - very youthful (duh!).
The nose is quite lovely: there is much fruit, rather dark toned in nature, there is certainly perceptible oak but it is unintrusive, but also there is a delightful fresh, herbal nuance and even the tiniest hint of earth. I also get a hint of dill, which usually I don't like, but here works in harmony with all else.
The palate is rather full bodied, very fruity, again darker toned than I usually find St.-Emilions to be, but with nice acidity and rather soft tannins. The aftertaste is moderate in length and delightfully savoury from the herbal nuances.
Not profound, but very nice; walks a fine line between modern and traditional but is likeable even for me. I understand that Rolland consults here. This is the first Rolland wine that I have truly enjoyed. It unfortunately totally fell apart the next day, with no signs of the lovely herbal character. What a dashed shame. - 1999 Château Pichon-Longueville Baron - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac (7/28/2006) 13% c.50€
Quite lovely! The nose is fresh and lifted but pleasantly shitty. It has all the classic features of young (but open) Pauillac. The palate is fleshy, fruity, open and quite a delight to drink even though obviously young. Very nice! This didn't fall apart when tasting on the second day with a different Antti, but was not as lovely and fresh as on the first day - it had closed down. I hope that one more day will open it up again. Young Bordeaux can be a bit fickle.
Then I met up with a different Antti (must be one of the most common names in Finland!). We had a few very nice wines and a nice meal and a nice cigar as well.
- 2005 Celliers de la Pauline Sancerre La Côte Blanche - France, Loire Valley, Upper Loire, Sancerre (7/29/2006) 12,5% c.15€
I'm not really a fan of the grape, but this wine was pretty nice. The wine was the colour of water. The nose was true to the grape and appellation but had a more fruity profile than in cooler years, but the minerality was still there. On the palate the acidity was as nice as ever despite the strong fruit and the minerality was very evident - especially on the finish. Very nice and very friendly thanks to the great fruit! - 2005 Domaine les Hautes Noelles Muscadet-Côtes de Grandlieu - France, Loire Valley, Pays Nantais, Muscadet-Côtes de Grandlieu (7/29/2006) 12% c.15€ (rip off: the ex-cellar price is about 3€!)
A very pleasant fruit forward Muscadet with all the classic elements of sea breeze and minerals. The palate isn't as zippy as one would hope, but is still acidic and mineral. A friendly wine and much fun. - 1990 Château Beau-Séjour Bécot - France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru (7/29/2006) 12,5% c.60€
Very dark red - no real signs of age. The nose is quite lovely: ripely fruity as expected from the year, but not raisiny and no signs of sur maturité. There is a lovely hint of damp earth and cigar. The palate is full bodied, with lovely acidity - again something I didn't expect from this year, with noticable but soft tannins. This is drinking very well now, but I would have hoped for a little more age and a little more aged characteristics. Very good.
Posted from CellarTracker