Dubourdieu “Graville-Lacoste” 2007 Graves (Bordeaux) – Simple lemon-lime, grapefruit, tonic, and salt. Direct, clean, and pure. Drink nowish. (7/08)
bordeaux
Lur-pak
Lur-Saluces “Château d’Yquem” 1990 Sauternes (Bordeaux) – I find this wine strangely unaffecting. It’s not fully open, but even what’s ferreted forth is somewhat twisted and upset. There’s a pristine quality in the background, and the thick layers of other-than-wine (from both the vineyard and the cellar) don’t really detract in any fundamental way, but other than a toasty, baked apple and jellied apricot aroma that seems to dominate, there’s just not all that much here. Low-level taint? Damaged bottle? Damaged taster? Perhaps any, perhaps all. (8/07)
Supérieur, it’s said, never gives up her dead
Nacef “Haut Nadeau” 2005 Bordeaux Supérieur “Réserve du Propriétaire” (Bordeaux) – Snore. (6/08)
More BWE notes
If you like pointillism, all the notes have been posted — one-by-one — to oenoLog, but they’re in more coherent form over on the main site: Alsace & Germany (with apologies for getting those two back together, even temporarily), Bordeaux, and the U.S.A. (California, Oregon, and one Washington interloper).
Not such a little prince
Malescot St. Exupéry 2003 Margaux (Bordeaux) – Big and tannic, but reasonably balanced for all its musculature. Elegant, lush fruit, pepper, some spice and heat on the finish. Considering the vintage, this isn’t all bad. (2/08)
A Beauregard for the truth
Beauregard 2000 Pomerol (Bordeaux) – Sour wood, dill, weeds, red fruit, and dust. Structurally, this is in balance, if quite dense, but the elements in balance aren’t particularly appealing. (2/08)
Dillon no deal
Dillon “Bahans Haut-Brion” 2003 Pessac-Léognan (Bordeaux) – Thick chocolate and impenetrable tannin. There’s graphite, which is a positive, and I suppose this might be good someday. (2/08)
Pavie lifting
Pavie Macquin 1996 Saint-Émilion (Bordeaux) – Very tannic. Dark fruit. Closed and impossible. (2/08)
Can you merle?
Cantemerle 2000 Haut-Médoc (Bordeaux) – Bell pepper and tobacco, tight and in no mood to do anything but close up even more. Burnt coffee on the finish, which is long. This seems like it might possibly be balanced, but it’s very difficult to tell, as the wine’s in such a bad place right now. (2/08)
Troplong cassidy
Valette “Troplong Mondot” 1996 Saint-Émilion (Bordeaux) – Tobacco in milk, the darkest cassis, and tannin. Long. Maybe? It’s strange, though. Could just be a stage. (2/08)