WTN: Sauzet and Te Awa

[Jenise]

From a half bottle: 2004 Etienne Sauzet Puligny Montrachet "Les Garrenes" Deep gold with oxidative flavors of almond and butterscotch. Disappointing.

1999 Te Awa "Boundary" Bordeaux style blend, New Zealand: Good red and black fruit in the nose with a lot of both primary and secondary characteristics underpinned by a rather radical streak of green stuff on the palate. Tannins and acidity are still evident and appropriate. Consumed slowly over three hours and the fruit did feel less impoverished with time but never enough to lose the green bits entirely. We've been through about two cases of this seriously good wine over the years and this bottle's a mean ugly stepsister to all the other bottles we've had. Yet there wasn't any obvious flaw. Definitely wasn't TCA, but something else? On its way downhill? Hiding? God only knows, but sure not in a good place right now.

Oh, cute story: while making our dinner, I sent my husband, who is really bad with "foreign languages", to the cellar for the Te Awa since I could give him the easy instruction "Bin 102, near the floor." He shuffled back empty handed about two minutes later and explained, dead serious mind you, "I couldn't find any Tallywhacker."

...and this bottle's a mean ugly stepsister to all the other bottles we've had. Yet there wasn't any obvious flaw. Definitely wasn't TCA, but something else? On its way downhill? Hiding? God only knows, but sure not in a good place right now...

Jenise - did you check the ullage? While working through a case of '75 Lafite over the past 30 years, I've found the ones with the least amount of ullage seemed better than the ones with more space.

Jenise,

Sorry you were disappointed with the Te Awa, but pleased to see all the other bottles were satisfactory.

The wine was made for several years by a friend of mine, Jenny Dobson, who was winemaker at Château Sénéjac (AOC Haut-Médoc, cru bourgeois) for about a decade.

All the best,
Alex R.

[Jenise]

...and this bottle's a mean ugly stepsister to all the other bottles we've had. Yet there wasn't any obvious flaw. Definitely wasn't TCA, but something else? On its way downhill? Hiding? God only knows, but sure not in a good place right now...

Jenise - did you check the ullage? While working through a case of '75 Lafite over the past 30 years, I've found the ones with the least amount of ullage seemed better than the ones with more space.

The bottle was immaculate, Howie. A 99 in a good cellar won't have lost anything at this point. But with your 75's...you're right, that will make some difference. But even then you probably have exceptions. Hard to tell, at that age, which are going to be the good bottles and which arent'.

[Jenise]

Jenise,

Sorry you were disappointed with the Te Awa, but pleased to see all the other bottles were satisfactory.

The wine was made for several years by a friend of mine, Jenny Dobson, who was winemaker at Château Sénéjac (AOC Haut-Médoc, cru bourgeois) for about a decade.

All the best,
Alex R.

Alex, I knew that the lady winemaker had trained in Bordeaux but did not know where. I'm not giving up on the wine, btw, from what I tasted my remaining bottles have as good a chance as not of being better than this or even coming around again in a few years. I've had Bordeauxs that went through late-career bitter, green phases only to lose that and shine again brightly. The '99 Glorias in my cellar have followed that exact track, in fact.

Too bad about the pox, the Sauzet is really a lovely bottle when correct.