2001 Chateau Larrivet Haut Brion Pessac Leognan. Replacement from K&L for a corked bottle of Bordeaux. About $36 retail. We really enjoyed this The wine had that savory, somewhat gritty and soy sauce element to it, but there was plenty of lovely ripe but fresh red cassis fruit as well. Just a hint of green, but by no means dominant. My two Bordeaux books (Stephen Brooks and Oz Clarke) are somewhat dismissive of this estate, but I found the wine elegant, balanced, with that nice fruit and those interesting other notes. Long finish. There is something about the Graves reds that I, in my
very limited experience, am drawn to. Is it a textural thing? Even when they are somewhat oak bombs
(Smith Haut Lafite) I have enjoyed every Graves wine I have ever tried. 2001 seems to have been particularly good in Pessac Leognan.
2001 Michele Chiarlo Barolo Tortiano The basic cuvee. I picked this up at a blowout price at Cost Plus...I think $15 or so! I wish I could have bought more. This was piercingly lovely brilliant cherry fruit with the floral underpinnings and delicious refreshing acidity. Bright and lovely wine...maybe a tad bit simple, but very refreshing on a soggy Sunday afternoon.
Last edited by Brian K Miller on Tue Apr 13, 2010 5:10 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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