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Notes from a tasting of 2005 Bordeaux wines - Saturday, October 11, 2008, at the Wine Exchange in Orange, CA. Twenty wines were poured for a tasting fee of $29. Prices per Winex the day of the tasting. Overall impressions: Winex presents 3-4 current-vintage Bordeaux tastings per year, usually with a mixture of price ranges to keep them affordable. This tasting featured a really nice lineup of moderately-priced Bordeaux that included several very nice wines under $40. Interestingly, they chose to present the last seven wines in a blind format. We knew they were 2005 Bordeaux, but nothing else. Several wines tasted represent excellent pricing, notably the Charmail and La Dauphine - both under $25 and excellent values. I should also mention the Clos René and Clos Manou as relative bargains as well. On the down side, I was surprised that the Arômes de Pavie and the Cordelillan-Bages didn't perform better. The Cordelillan seemed a bit underfilled, though perhaps others would find it more of an elegant style. On the other hand, the Arômes seemed somewhat overly ripe to my palate. At their respective price points, I expected more. |
2005 Château de Rochemorin Blanc - Pessac-Léognan. $17.99. Light
gold color. Nicely ripened almost sweet nose of citrus and gooseberry. Full in mouthfeel, especially at midpalate, with nice balance, and decidedly more tart-crisp flavor than the nose would have you believe. 2005
Château Plaisance "Alix" - Premières Côtes de Bordeaux. $22.99. Medium-dark garnet ruby
in color. About 70% Merlot, with a dense nose of dark fruit and touches of tobacco and toast. Plenty of macerated cherry and spice flavors, chewy mouthfeel, good balance and persistence, though the finish tapers off a bit on the back end. 2005 Château Le Conseiller - Bordeaux Supérieur. $26.99. Medium-dark garnet ruby in color. Mostly Merlot, the nose shows dark fruit, tobacco and leather, as well as a sappy old-vine quality. The 100% new oak is quite drying on the palate, possibly leading to some bitterness noted through the long finish. Considering the attractive nose, I was a bit let down by the mouthfeel. 2005 Clos de la Cure - Saint-Émilion Grand Cru. $28.99. Dark garnet ruby in color. Very attractive nose of dusty cherry, with roasted fruit and clove aromas. Lots of fruit on the palate, though largely bitter in mouthfeel, the wine seems well balanced with a huge gripping finish. Can you say tannins! 2005 Clos de Jacobins - Saint-Émilion Grand Cru. $48.99.
Dark ruby in color. Lovely off-sweet fruit in the nose, with lots of cake spice and toast. Full and chewy mouthfeel, with excellent palate coverage, seemingly perfect balance and a very long finish. Really, really nice! 2005 Château Lafleur-Gazin - Pomerol. $39.99. Medium ruby garnet in color. The nose has an old vine kind of sappy scent, with dried cherry and toasted earthy notes. Very nice combination of flavors and full round mouthfeel, very good balance through mid-palate, but falls off on the back end. 2005 Château Méjean - Graves. $26.99. Dark
garnet color. Mostly Merlot, with a nose of deep freshly macerated fruit, and a light sappy streak with some interesting background notes. Nice flavors, moderate complexity, off-sweet fruit, very long finish. 2005 Château Charmail - Haut-Médoc. $23.99. Dark ruby garnet color. Big juicy nose of red fruit, with a touch of orange zest and spice. Nice balance and flavors, with off-sweet fruit initially, that sweetens-up a bit more through the long finish. Very nice! 2005 Château Giscours - Margaux. $59.99. Very dark
ruby color. Lots of cassis and cake spice, with a touch of toast. Big and chewy in mouthfeel, the volume seems to increase by mid-palate, and carries through the very long finish. Lovely! 2004 Château Pichon Longueville "Comtesse de Lalande" - Pauillac. $69.99. Medium
dark garnet ruby color. Nose of dusty cassis, tobacco, leather, wood shavings, and a faint smoked and roasted quality. Very nice flavors of off-sweet cherry and spice, with a big chewy mid-palate and a very long mouth-watering finish.
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2005 Clos Manou - Médoc. $34.99. Medium
dark ruby color. Big nose of fresh fruit and spice. Big in mouthfeel as well, with terrific balance and flavors, and very long tasty finish. Nice! 2005 Epicuria de Martinat - Côtes de Bourg. $25.99. Medium
dark ruby color. Ripe and slightly burnished sappy nose. Very tasty in mouthfeel, rich and ripe flavors. There seemed to be a slight separation of flavors on the palate, and a trace of heat on the otherwise long finish. Nicer nose than mouthfeel. 2005
Les Grands Marechaux - Premières Côtes de Blaye. $13.99. Dark
ruby color. Fascinating nose of dark fruit, tamarind, and olive had me anticipating a big % of Cabernet Franc in the blend. Nice on the front end, but there's a hole at mid-palate and the wine rapidy drops off to a bitter finish. Too bad. 2005 Château Cordelillan-Bages - Pauillac. $59.99. Dark
ruby garnet color. Slightly sharp and oaky nose of dark fruit, with background notes of talc and tobacco. Moderate weight on the palate, with off-sweet flavors, and moderately long and slightly underfilled finish. I don't know, maybe this wine is in an awkward place, because it certainly should have been better than this. 2005 Clos René - Pomerol. $35.99. Medium
dark ruby color. Lovely nose of cassis, spice and toast. Nice smoothness on the palate, big structure but elegantly framed, excellent balance with a long seamless finish. 2005 Arômes de Pavie - Saint-Émilion Grand Cru.
$61.99. Medium
dark ruby garnet color. Burnished nose of seemingly old vine fruit, combined with some floral and toasted aromatics. Ripe in mouthfeel, yet also has a bit of sour cherry streak. Good balance and long finish. Decent enough wine, but it smelled and tasted more like a Medoc, and certainly underperformed here. 2005 Château de La Dauphine - Fronsac. $24.99.
Dark ruby color. Slightly spicy bright fruit, with a lovely sweet perfume nose. A bit off-sweet on the palate, with excellent coverage and balance, and nice long finish. 2005 Château Doisy-Védrines - Sauternes Grand Cru. $25.99. Yellow-gold in color. Nose of highly perfumed sweet citrus rind and spice. Deliciously light on its feet, very smooth and seamless. This wine is more about elegance that power and weight..
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No original material may be reproduced without written consent Mail & Comments - Eric Anderson |