WTN:K&L Bordeaux from newbie

This was a standing sequential wine tasting at the K&L wine store in SF on Saturday. Consider these the first impressions of a few sips of a newbie

2008 Roquefort Blanc, Bordeaux - A: a little citrus? very restrained T: zingy, quite zingy/limey, some minerality. ok I guess
2003 Ch. Verdignan, Haut-Medoc - A: briefly funky T: a little fruit, but then really acidic and a super drying finish
2006 Chapelle aux Moines, St. Emilion - A: quite fruity T: plummy and juicy with a nice oaky finish
2006 Ch. Ferriere, Margaux - A: not much on the nose, then maybe a little wild licorice T: generic one note berry
2007 La Choix de Beaucaillou, St. Julien - A: elegant flowery nose, then a bit of dried prune T: tobacco, plum, spice, a touch of oak
2007 Phelan Segur, St. Estephe - A: roast beef? smokey? but in a good way? T: earthy, tobacco, heavy oak but not overoaked, rather tasty
2005 Clos du Marquis - A: nothing! my nose isn't tired because the pours are miniscule, I'm sniffing my hands, and the last red smelled great, T: earthy, a hint of something but it dissipated quickly, because sour and nothing more.
2005 Ch. Pichon Lalande, Pauillac - A: again, not much T: some berry, fades, then some nice oakiness, but at least the mouthfeel is a bit bigger
1998 Malescot St. Exupery, Margaux - A: gorgeous fruit, flowers, earth, with a touch of hayfunk T: sweet, luscious mouthfeel, fruity but not jammy and not one note, lingers for a long time. The easy winner of the tasting. I suppose of the younger wines, I liked the Phelan Segur for being interesting.
2007 Carmes de Rieussec, Sauternes - A: tropical with a hint of guava T: very sweet but not cloying, thick mouthfeel, finishes clean

My conclusion is that the 2005's are closed (going dumb?), and the Pichon-Lalande has more potential. Swirling them in the glass didn't seem to help. I don't really see why anyone tastes the 2005's if they're all going to be like that. I think the 2003 might be too young as well (or maybe it's just crap). Are the 06 and 07 wines going dumb or are they coming out of their dumb phase?

1. If you decant a "dumb phase" 2005 for several hours, will it every open up?

2. Also, how long should you lay down a Sauternes?

Hello Steve,

Thanks for your notes! I've ordered from K&L on many occasions - they're my favorite online wine retailer in fact - and I would love to be able to just go to the store and shop. I don't think the 2005's are in a dumb phase yet - they're simply that young and that structured. Even the mid-range ones take a lot of time too open. How long to cellar Sauternes? Depends on your preferences - I enjoy them at every stage of development, although it is quite possible for the more structured vintages to be too young. Any quality Sauternes will age 20 years, and in that context, probably hit their stride at age 10 or so. Interesting to note that in October I had Rieussec's 3rd wine, Chateau de Cosse 1998, and it was singing, with maybe 10 years ahead of it, and 1998, while a very good to excellent vintage, is not as strong a vintage as 2007.

Best Wishes,
Ryan

Steve
Ta for the notes

My view on the Bordeaux, is if you open a good 2005 then no amount of decanting will give you what you could have experienced at maturity. There again, I am somewhat of a necroviniac, with a liking for old and even fading wine. I rarely enjoy drinking structured cellarworthy reds when they're young.

As to Sauternes, I'm late to the party, so have limited experience, but to date Ryan's comments about enjoying them at varying stages of development seems to be holding up pretty well. Perhaps my favourite was a 1983 Ch Liot we had at a pudding party about a year ago. Ch Liot isn't a prestigious estate, but does have the reputation as a long lean runner and this was perhaps borne out by a wine that had great balance and complexity, yet wasn't particularly sweet and definitely not luscious. Perhaps counter-intuitively, the lack of overt sweetness worked really well with the puddings I tried. Currently I've got two (Guiraud) 1989s in the cellar and two halves of (Suduiraut) 2003 in the cellar. I suspect I should fill that gap!

regards

Ian

Hey, Steve. I actually walked into the K&L shop on Saturday as she was just getting ready to start the tasting! I decided I was too tired (had been doing one of "city hikes" with my basenji and collie mutt) so I just ended up looking around!

Wish I had tried the 1998! Sounds delicious.

I am in the camp of "you just don't open a Bordeaux". They almost all need a decant, to get rid of sediment as well as to aerate the wine. You can drink some '05's but it might take 4-5 hour decant and even then they are better the next (or even the third or forth day). cellartracker.com is a wonderful resource to ascertain how close to being ready a Bdx is. But even "ready" means a decant. I like to use a Pyrex measuring bowl and then, after the decant, back into the bottle, chill, and you are ready to serve. Sounds complicated, but it's not, and the only way to get the most out of your wine. I opened an '05 La Tour Carnet just to evaluate the wine, and let me say that it was decent the first day (after 2 hr. decant), better on day 2, and on days 4 & 5 it was a stunning wine. I can't wait until '13 to open another. I have done some experiments with decanting Bdx and putting back into the bottle to open 2-6 months later. Seems to work well, and you can drink "next day wine" on the first day. Or you can just wait 8-10 years for the wine to do its thing. You will have fun learning about Bordeaux.