WTN: 01 du Tertre, 98 Leoville Poyferre

[Jenise]

1998 Château Léoville Poyferré, St. Julien
Subdued red fruit with good minerality and a short finish. Did not decant, and opened it in a group situation which did not allow for a protracted examination. I feared (my bottle, first of six I've opened and of which I'm the original owner) that it's past peak but others present disagreed and deemed it not ready yet. Hoped the TNs on Cellar Tracker would shed light, but reactions seem mixed. Think it's more likely I'm right--but would be thrilled to be wrong. Anyone here with recent experience?

2001 Château du Tertre, Margaux
A slightly reduced nose blew off with about 30 minutes of decanting and the wine was fully open and ready in little over an hour. Perfumed black fruit just beginning to acquire secondary nuances, and it presents as both rustic and elegant at the same time. Should evolve wonderfully from here. Our first of six; am delighted to have more.

[David M. Bueker]

I have a hard time believing that a '98 Poyferre would be past its best at age 16. 1998 is certainly not a stellar left-bank year, but the wines are solid. I don't see any mention of the typical old and/or too old Bordeaux characteristics in your note, so I am inclined to say - too soon.

[Jenise]

David, it wasn't mature-mature, but it was lighter in color and weight than I would have expected (should have mentioned that in my note, sorry) and read like a wine that could just fade away.

Interesting about the LP 98.

The better 98 Right Banks are not ready yet for peak drinking, by and large (based on what I've tasted of course). I also have a nice but small selection of 98 Left Bank too, (Montrose, Pichon Baron, Leoville Barton, Duhart Milon, GPL), but I haven't touch any yet assuming they would still be tannic. I tried a few 98 Left Bank five or six years ago, and they were still quite firm. Reminded me of the 88's.

du Tertre is usually a very fine value play in Bordeaux. Bottles of the 1979, 1996, 2000, and 2003 all showed well in the last year.

For what it's worth, I've been drinking a few '98 Calon-Segur, a trove of which I came upon recently. It seems in its prime, though it could go longer. Maybe a little fruit forward for this wine at this stage, but that may be owing to the large percentage of Merlot that I am told is in this year, and '98 apparently was a nice year for Merlot.