Christian took Remo and me out to a BYO dinner last night – thanks again! Guly joined us after dinner, sat there with him until midnight, finishing up all three bottles leisurely.
Château Pavie Macquin St. Emilion 2003
Thanks to Remo. Blend of 70% Merlot, 25% Cabernet Franc, and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon, from a yield of 22 hal/ha. Plummy purple-ruby-red, pretty gloss. Another young Pavie-Macquin that is a bit exotic, with that mixture of Lafleur-like red berry jam and a Rhône-like wildness. Great expression of terroir, if more in terms of fruit than minerality, more similar to the 1998 than the 2000 in this regard. Hugely ripe yet sufficiently fresh, balanced, beautifully sweet and smooth, very complex, nicely fat, ever so slightly viscous, touch of marzipan oak of course, quite long on the finish. Absorbs its 13.8% alcohol with ease. Good acidity, polished but still flavourful tannin. Modern-styled again, but not offensively so (at this stage, this may be the only Derenoncourt wine I still like very much – occasionally!). Some baked plum and a soft meatiness with airing, more slowly closing down than the Léoville Poyferré. We agree this falls in-between the 2000 and the 1998 (still the finest Pavie-Macquin thus far). Rating: 93+/94?
Château Léoville Poyferré St. Julien 2003
Contribution of mine. Almost opaque purple-ruby colour. Noble tobacco and minerals on the nose, most impressive especially of course for the vintage, but also just per se. Riper and cleaner/purer than the 2000, and easily as full-bodied. Touch of coffee. Great depth and terroir expression, even regardless of vintage. The second-“freshest” 2003 I know after the Montrose (thus perhaps my second favourite Bordeaux of the vintage – but I have not had all the top wines yet). One can tell there was no need to acidify, a low-acid but very tannic wine. Nicely flavourful tannin. Extremely long, as Christian noted. Almost salty minerally core. Highly concentrated, merely faintly spicy-nutty with oak at all. Very complex, with potential for more. More palate-staining, firmer and longer than the Mouton, which itself is a great success. Great cut and structure, especially for a 2003. Tightest and most austere (as Guly as termed it) of the night relatively speaking and yet, not drinking badly at all. My wine of the night (having said that, all three wines were showing so well), but more to the point, this may be the finest, most terroir-expressive (ironically, in the context of the vintage) Léoville-Poyferré (yes, my gut instinct suggests it is better than the 1990 and 1982). More lead pencil but also increasingly more closed with airing. Great cellar candidate. Rating: 95+/96(+?)
Château Mouton Rothschild Pauillac 2003
Thanks to Christian. Blend of 76% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot, from a yield of 28 hl/ha. A bit less primary-syrupy than last time, more civilized, if barely evolved, continues to drink well, an early-harmonious Mouton, but with the structure and balance to age – really one of my favourite Moutons in recent years, may have underrated it early on. Plummy-purple hue to the deep ruby-black, red at the rim. Noble oak and tobacco. Touches of nutmeg-tinged chocolate, malt and even more subtle mocha to complex fruit and nuts. Nice depth. Quite long. The 12.9% alcohol is extremely well integrated. A stylish wine, reasonably oaky, and the sweetest, smoothest and roundest of our three 2003s, no wonder it was Christian’s and Remo’s wine of the night. Rating: 94+/~95?
Greetings from Switzerland, David.
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„J'ai gâché vingt ans de mes plus belles années au billard. Si c'était à refaire, je recommencerais.“ – Roger Conti