Château Lascombes Margaux 1994– Alc.12.5%. This was at the time a reputedly under-performing estate but my dozen of its 1990, all gone, were delicious. This 1994, however, lives down to its reputation. Quite a nice bouquet with a whiff of Margaux fragrance and an unmistakably left-bank and pleasantly drinking palate but lean, not very long and without much distinction. I might have accepted this performance from a modest cru bourgeois but not from a 2ème GCC; barely 15/20.
Bourgueil Le Grand Clos 2002 – Yannick Amirault- Alc.12.5%. This one really shows up the Lascombes. This is not Amirault’s top cuvée and I feared that I might have kept it too long but not a bit of it. Medium bodied yet generous and beautifully shaped with lively acidity, brightly focussed red fruit, minerals and vegetal tang. I recall from earlier bottles of Amirault’s 02s a slight greenness in the tannins but they have now rounded out. My last bottle, alas. 16.5/20++.
Côtes du Rhône Villages Cairanne Cuvée Prestige 2003 – Domaine de l’Oratoire Saint-Martin – Alc. 13.5%, made from 60% Grenache and 40% Mourvèdre, rose above the limitations of its vintage showing full body, deliciously rich and velvety dark fruit with touches of liqueur and leather but no hint of jamminess unlike its brother Haut-Coustais and was perfect with duck in a cherry sauce; another last bottle 16.5/20++.
I have written TNs recently on the next two wines but these latest bottles gave a slightly different impression. As I always eat with wine, except at tastings, my view is always subject to palate variation due to the pairing, though in one case, at least, bottle variation was probably a factor here.
Arbois “Grand Elevage” Vieilles Vignes Savagnin 2002 – Rijckaert – Alc. 13%. Last time this was a bit of a chameleon with some garlic interacted badly with it, though it was great with goat cheese. This time there was no garlic with the rouget and it was absolutely and unqualifiedly delicious. It would make new friends for Savagnin even if some Jura lovers light accuse it of being atypically ingratiating in its generous white fruit, abundant minerals, bracing acidity and tang, medium/full body with some fat and good length; a third last bottle, 17/20.
Last time I complained that Château La Fleur Chaigneau Vieilles Vignes - Lalande de Pomerol – 1998- Alc. 13% was disappointingly light, even dilute, for its VV designation and theoretically fine right bank vintage. However there were some pretty fruit and aromas as compensation; 15/20. It must have been an off bottle because this time there was no impression at all of dilution; it was far from a blockbuster but the body was quite full as a backdrop to the pretty fruit and aromas and the overall impression was elegant and very satisfying; 16/20.