WTN: 5 Decades of Bordeaux

[David M. Bueker]

Notes from a “5 Decades of Bordeaux with a Ringer” tasting last night.

All wines were decanted & served double blind.


1983 Chateau Pichon Longueville Baron
Dusty, leathery cherry fruit. The fruit deepens on the back end. Quite suave and evolved. I like this.

1981 Chateau Saint Seurin
I had never heard of this wine, but I liked it. There was a buttery element as well as some nicely sweet fruit. It did not hold up in the glass very well, but it was quite tasty while it lasted.

1971 Chateau Margaux
Sadly this was somewhat spoiled by a cork problem. There was still a nice wine underneath a dirty/musty element, but the unpleasantness kept growing.

1961 Chateau Cantenac Brown
This seemed 20 years younger than a ’61 at least. Soft but plentiful fruit, elegant, fresh and lasted well in the glass & when I grabbed a small, supplemental pour after the wines were revealed. Delicious & eye opening stuff. After 15+ years as a wine geek never having had a ’61, I have had two in two weeks Life is good.

1995 Chateau Cos d’Estournel
Quite woody. Needed time to open up, and is still very, very tannic. There’s a lot of material there to support the tannins, so I am not worried about this wine, but leave it alone if you have it.

1971 Chateau Latour
As with the ’61 CB this seems rather young, though it is soft and fully mature. Cedary, tobacco infused fruit dominates the nose & palate. The aromas are better than the palate, but it is really fun to smell.

2002 Grangehurst (South Africa)
A Bordeaux blend that has surprised our group blind two months in a row. Lots of fruit, good balance and outstanding value at $15 or so a bottle.

2003 Chateau Cantenac Brown
Big, closed, brawny and in need of a lot of time. Bury this deep in the cellar. The balance seems good, so give it a shot in the basement.

Overall this was an outstanding tasting that I was lucky to attend.

nice lineup. Latour seemed to really excel back then in the "not hyped but not bad at all" vintages like '67 and '71

Nice to hear positive things about Cantenac Brown - usually a property that only gets negative press. I have only had (unless memory fails me) two vintages, the '96 and '00, from them but both were highlights in the moderately affordable category of those years.

Great tasting!

The only Cantenac Brown I've had was the 1996 this past August and I really enjoyed it (notes posted here). Doubt I'll ever see the 1961, but I'd be happy to try that 2003 (in like 10 years!).

-Michael

[David M. Bueker]

Another 20 would be more like it for my taste, but you get the idea.

David,

Thanks for sharing your notes, and I appreciated the fact that you put in some lesser known wines, and weren't afraid to stick in ones from unpopular years.

Alex

[David M. Bueker]

Alex,

While I did not set up the tasting, I was also pleased to see a wine that was essentially unknown (Saint Seurin) in the line up - doubly so in that it performed so well. I rated it higher than the group, but it did achieve a 15.5/20 across the 9 of us, so it was certainly well received.

Great tasting notes as usual!

Especially thanks for the notes on the 95 Cos. I've got a box that I've been itching to open but this will make me leave it for a bit more time yet.

Regards,
Mike

[David M. Bueker]

Mike,

If you have a case of the Cos then I would open one now. It's young, but a few hours of decanting should give you a good glimpse into the wine.