WCC 2003-2005 RED BORDEAUX BLIND
@ Yono's Restaurant,
Albany, NY, 7/28/2011
Most of my Albany-area group got together to taste 2003 and 2005 red Bordeaux
with one 2004 ringer to round out the Graves flight.
The food at Yono's was exceptional for the 2nd time in a row!
Sadly, I forgot my camera, so no pix this time.
Flight 1: St. Julien
With Grilled Hawai'ian Escolar with Bordeaux Reduction and Mascarpone Polenta.
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2005 Château Branaire (Duluc-Ducru) - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien
Big bruising nose of black fruit. Warm thick tannic. Rich. A beautiful wine.
Young with lots of sweet fruit. Should drink well for 10-20 years. (93 pts.)
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2005 Château Beychevelle - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien
A little more perfume in the nose. Silky. More ready to drink now.
Just a hint of green in the finish keeps it from being excellent. (89 pts.)
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2003 Château Léoville Poyferré - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien
Black fruit and licorice. A touch of cedar. Very long and tannic. Great potential.
More austere than 1, but with greater depth. Should be terrific in 5-10 years.
My #2 WOTN, but I was the only one to vote for it. (95 pts.)
Flight 2: Pauillac
With Hand Rolled Garganelli with Braised Rabbit, Roasted Chanterelle &
Black forest Mushrooms, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Reggiano.
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2005 Château Clerc Milon - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
Smokey red fruit nose. Much more austere than anything in flight 1. Needs time.
(90 pts.)
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2005 Château Duhart-Milon - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
Sweeter in the mouth, but still very tannic. With a bit of a green streak.
(87 pts.)
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2003 Château Lynch-Bages - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
Softer, but quite astringent. Yuck. (78 pts.)
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2003 Château Pontet-Canet - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
Short, sweet red fruit. A bit astringent, but pleasant after the one above.
One of 3 wines tied for group #3 WOTN. Go know. (86 pts.)
Flight 3: Pessac-Léognan
With Twenty-Four Hour Red Wine Braised Beef Short Ribs with Pommes Purée
and Roasted Summer Vegetables
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2004 Château Pape Clément - France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan
Ripe nose of black fruit. A delicious wine. Refreshing after the last flight.
A joy to drink. One of 3 wines tied for group #3 WOTN. (93 pts.)
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2005 Château Smith Haut Lafitte - France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan
Intense black fruit nose. Thick and rich in the mouth with delicious ripe fruit.
Nice sense of harmony. Group #2 WOTN. My #3. (94 pts.)
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2003 Château Pape Clément - France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan
Dark, delicious, stunning nose. Wow! What a wine! Dense and sweet with oodles of complexity.
Very special. Great length. [I am thrilled to see afterwards that I bought a case on futures!]
WOTN for me. Also, Group WOTN with 14 points. (96 pts.)
Flight 4: St. Estèphe
With Assortment of Local Farmhouse Cheeses, Classic Accoutrements.
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2003 Château Lafon-Rochet - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe
Big smoky red and black fruit nose. Rich and balanced, but quite tannic.
Needs some time to show, but I think the potential is there.
One of 3 wines tied for group #3 WOTN. (92 pts.)
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2005 Château Calon-Ségur - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe
Beautiful black fruit nose. Thick rich black fruit on the palate.
Tight, tannic, yet still delicious! (94 pts.)
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2003 Château Montrose - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe
Bright red fruit nose. Doesn't smell like any other wine here.
Very tasty up front, but a short tannic finish. Not in a good place now.
(92 pts.)
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2005 Château Cos d'Estournel - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe
Long delicious complex. A little impenetrable right now both because it is so young
and it is wine #14 tonight. These are all big wines.
Still, this one has great potential. Pretty shut down.
Not a single vote for WOTN. (94 pts.)
Dessert
With Mignardises.
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2005 Château Doisy-Daëne - France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes
Light yellow color. Loads of botrytis. Obviously Sauternes.
A little harsh in the finish.
Nice, but it's hard to drink a wine this sweet after 14 reds.
(92 pts.)
Summary
Plenty of good wines here, but hard to judge.
Many showed better on release.
I think 6-8 years after the vintage is an awkward time to taste these wines.
Posted from CellarTracker
WOTN Voting (3pts each for #1, 2pts for #2, 1pt for #3)
Rank | Pts | Wine |
1 | 14 | 2003 Pape Clément |
2 | 11 | 2005 Smith Haut Lafitte |
3 | 7 | 2003 Pontet-Canet |
3 | 7 | 2005 Pape Clément |
3 | 7 | 2003 Lafon-Rochet |
6 | 6 | 2005 Beychevelle |
7 | 5 | 2005 Duhart Milon |
8 | 4 | 2005 Calon-Ségur |
8 | 4 | 2003 Montrose |
10 | 3 | 2005 Branaire Ducru |
10 | 3 | 2003 Lynch-Bages |
10 | 3 | 2005 Doisy-Daëne |
13 | 2 | 2003 Léoville Poyferré |
All original content © Ken Vastola