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| Tasting notes from a 2003 Bordeaux tasting - Saturday, March 25, 2006, at the Wine Exchange in Orange, CA. Twenty-one wines were poured for a fee of $34. The wines were double-decanted 24-hrs prior to the tasting. Pricing shown is as it was at the Wine Exchange on the above date. Overall impressions: this was my second look at the 2003 vintage, a flight of mostly lesser cru wines, with a few grand cru thrown in for good measure. Generally, there were some nice wine here - at some very affordable pricing - except for the Montrose, that is. I'm sure there may be (or have been) better pricing on this wine, but it is a stupendous wine nonetheless. The sleepers in this flight were the La Vielle Cure, Monbrison and d'Aiguilhe - all under $30, and the St. Pierre and Clos St. Martin - both under $40. The quality at Chateau d'Aiguilhe just keeps climbing, and this is a wonderful wine -- for any price, much less $25. Several other wines deserve mention, including the La Couspaude, which was very good-excellent, and many lesser cru from Pauillac, St. Emilion and Fronsac. Not showing too well this time out was the Calon Segur. Brutally tannic and backward right now, this may develop nicely in the long run, after is sheds some of these tannins. As an aside, the wines are not served blind in this setting. Therefore, I attempt to shield myself from outside influences, by ignoring previous reviews, by not looking at the pricing of the wines until I am finished with my notes, and by ignoring the the pouring staff's banter about Wine Advocate or Wine Spectator scores for said wine. |
2003
Chateau Pape Clement Blanc - Pessac Leognan. $79.99. Light
lemon color. This apparently got a healthy dose of new oak - and
it shows! Gorgeous smoky nose of lemon and lime peel, and faint
sourdough toast. Off-sweet mouthfeel, slight, but noticable oak
on the palate, integrating the citrusy flavors nicely through the
long finish. 2003
Chateau Virecourt Pellebourse - Bordeaux Superieur. $9.99.
Dark ruby garnet color. Nose of light herb and cigar tobacco
punch up the cassis a little, but there's not a lot of depth here.
Nice flavors, not particularly complex, but then neither is the
price. Good quaffer. 2003
Chateau Lafleur Mongrion - Entre deux Meres. $14.99. Dark
ruby garnet color. Deep nose of black cherry and cassis, with light
notes of cinnamon and nutmeg. Off-sweet mouthfeel, medium body and
concentration, nice balance,and long finish. 2003
Chateau Veyry - Cotes de Castillon. $19.99. Very dark
ruby garnet color. Scents of toast and lots of tobacco accent the
cassis fruit. Off-sweet mouthfeel, juicy acids, nice flavor profile,
chewy body, and medium-long finish. 2003
Chateau d'Aiguilhe - Cotes de Castillon. $24.99. Very dark
ruby garnet color. Deep scents of cassis and dark cherry, with clove,
toast, and a touch of sage. Plenty of fruit, body and concentration
here, and the wine continues to build in the mouth from the very
beginning through mid-palate, softening slightly through the long
smooth finish. Really nice! 2003
Chateau La Vielle Cure - Fronsac. $19.99. Dark ruby garnet
color. Hi-toned nose of cassis and bing cherry, pipe tobacco, and
a toasted bread. Off-sweet mouthfeel, sweet/sour fruit, slightly
chewy mouthfeel through mid-palate, with just a trace of bitternessshowing
on the back end before the otherwise very long smooth finish. 2003
Chateau Haut Carles - Fronsac. $22.99. Very dark ruby garnet
color. Fascinating nose of cassis and herb, with a touch of Philly
cheese steak! Sweet ripe mouthfeel, chewy throughout with lots of
body and concentration, and a nice medium-long finish. 2003
Chateau Cote de Baleau - St. Emilion. $16.99. Medium-dark
ruby garnet color. Nice ripe nose of dark fruit, sweet fennel, and
light toast. Fairly chalky in texture on the palate, the initial
sweet flavors seem to get a bit bitter toward the medium-long finish. 2003
Chateau Fombrauge - St. Emilion. $25.99. Dark ruby color.
Very nice clove-laced cassis nose, with touches of herbs and mint.
Off-sweet mouthfeel, good balance and plenty of fruit lasts throughout.
Strangely, there seemed to be some heat on the back end of this
wine. 2003
Chateau Bellefont Belcier - St. Emilion. $23.99. Dark garnet
ruby color. Aromas of baking spices and toasted bread accent the
cassis nose. Chewy and juicy off-sweet mouthfeel, with nice balance
and finish. Very nice, if uninspiring. 2003
Chateau Clos St. Martin - St. Emilion. $38.99. Dark ruby
garnet color. Lovely deep nose of sweet spicy dark fruit, with a
touch of dill and sage. Substantial mouthfeel, of-sweet fruit, excellent
balance, and smooth fine-grained tannins coat the mouth from mid
through latter palate. 2003
Chateau La Couspaude - St. Emilion. $44.99. Dark ruby garnet
color. Gorgeous nose of espresso-infused cassis, mint and clove.
Sweet oak on the palate seems nicely integrated, very nice balance,
but the fruit falls off a tad, and the wine seems a bit brief on
the finish. 2003
Chateau La Gomerie - St. Emilion. $69.99. Dark garnet ruby
color. Lovely subtle, yet complex nose of dark fruit, toasty aromas,
and hints of dried floral scents. Big mouthfilling fruit, very refined
, smooth textures and mouthfeel, fabulous balance and huge long
finish. Beautiful! |
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2003
Chateau Monbrison - Margaux. $25.99. Medium-dark garnet
ruby color. Intense nose of dark - almost black fruit, with dried
floral scents and touch of sweet herb. Brighter fruit profile on
the palate, excellent balance, and long finish, but surprisingly
lighter in weight - considering the aromatic intensity in the nose.
2003
Chateau Branas Grand Poujeaux - Moulis. $22.99. Medium-dark
ruby garnet color. Moderately intense nose of cassis and dark cherry,
with a slight touch of herbs. Nice flavor profile, with off-sweet
fruit and very good balance. The wine seems just a bit underfilled
toward the latter palate, and through the otherwise flavorful finish. 2003
Chateau St. Pierre - St. Julien. $34.99. Dark ruby garnet
color. Beautiful nose of spice and cassis, with notes of espresso
and pipe tobacco. Rich and chewy mouthfeel, excellent balance, and
long smooth slightly sweet finish. Absolutely delicious! 2003
Chateau Fonbadet - Pauillac. $19.99. Dark ruby garnet color.
Herb-infused cassis aroma with a hint of dill (American oak?) and
toast. Full mouthfeel, with very good balance, yet there is some
obvious oak and some residual bitterness in the fruit at present.
2003 Chateau Pibran - Pauillac. $22.99. Dark ruby garnet color. This wine had some issues - the initial vanilla and spice notes seemed to initially disguise a faint TCA scent. A few other tasters thought this wine corked as well, but the staff felt otherwise, so the bottle was not replaced,and it would be unfair to judge this wine. 2003
Chateau Calon Segur - St. Estephe. $74.99. Very dark ruby
garnet color. Huge dense nose of cassis, slightly burned toast and
dried floral aromas. Quite tannic on the palate - in fact, pry-bar
tannic, there is obvious fruit down deep in this wine, but the digging
will take some major time. I don't usually use the phrase "brutally
tannic," but in this case it would certainly apply. 2003
Chateau Montrose - St. Estephe. $169.99. Very dark ruby
garnet color. A bit reticent in the nose initially, some vigorous
swirling brought a glimpse of a huge scaled wine that's obviously
loaded with fruit. Blackberry and cassis dominate the nose, with
lesser amounts of tobacco and dried herbs. Huge mouthfeel, tannic
- but very integrated and manageable, nice juicy acids, excellent
balance, very chewy on the palate, massively long fruit-filled finish.
Wimps need not apply. 2003
Chateau La Tour Blanche - Sauternes. $42.99. (750ml) Light
gold color. Spicy dried citrus rind, with a nice hint of citron
and sweetened grapefruit. Smooth and spicy on the palate, the fruit
seems almost elegant, and the wine finishes softly. |
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