Browse Tag

bordeaux

Coutet d’etat

Coutet 2002 Sauternes-Barsac (Bordeaux) – Cinnamon and nutmeg. Juicy and light. To be honest, drinking Sauternes and/or Barsac at this stage is somewhat of a waste, because they never show what’s ultimately compelling about them. (2/08)

Climens and take a ride

Climens 1996 Barsac (Bordeaux) – Silky lemon and orange, well-spiced. Gentle and long, though there’s a soapy note to the finish. Elegant, but the rot here isn’t quite as noble as it should be. (2/08)

Two live Ducru

Borie “Ducru-Beaucaillou” 1970 Saint-Julien (Bordeaux) – Gorgeous coffee and old black fruit. Leafy tobacco. Well-aged, silky, yet retaining a certain masculinity. It’s not at the absolute top of its game, but it’s awfully good. (2/07)

He shoots, Giscours!

Tare “Giscours” 1970 Margaux (Bordeaux) – All tobacco and leather and first, then adding chocolate and black dirt. Structured, with drying tannin, but persistent. Blended peppercorns dust the finish. Beautiful, and still in the prime of its life. (2/07)

Pope Clement

Pape-Clément 2004 Pessac-Léognan Blanc (Bordeaux) – Ripe gooseberry, melon, and fresh grapes. Sweaty and very dense. Good acidity, a bit of skin tannin. Striking but a bit overdriven right now. Age might sort things out. (2/07)

No Émile?

Coutet 2000 Graves “Cuvée Frédéric” (Bordeaux) – Wet stones, ripe green and yellow fruit. Very mineral-infused. Quite good. (2/07)

S-B C

Coutet 1997 Sauternes-Barsac (Bordeaux) – Big. Apricot, nutmeg, cinnamon, and other sweet-oriented spices. Still lithe and beautiful, but showing signs of maturing along a very pleasant path. (2/07)

Desk Clerc

Rothschild “Clerc Milon” 1992 Pauillac (Bordeaux) – A beautiful, though somewhat restrained, nose of tobacco and brown earth rolls from the glass, promising more than the palate can honestly deliver. The wine is definitely hanging on to the end of its maturity curve with a certain conviction, but other than (mostly)-resolved structure, the palate adds little not already delivered by the nose. This is a great pleasure to drink, certainly, but it’s not the sort of thing Bordeaux lovers will be talking about on their death bed. (1/08)

To the four winds

Thienpont “Clos des Quatre Vents” 2000 Margaux (Bordeaux) – Lush and fruity, but no internationalized bomb; the dark, concentrated berries rest in a stew of graphite and ripe tannin, with cedar and dried flowers floating at the edges. This is large, to be sure, but it’s recognizably Bordeaux, and will easily reward another decade of age. Probably more. (1/08)

Sauternes cross

[corks]Meslier “Raymond-Lafon” 1988 Sauternes (Bordeaux) – Muted and weird. Butter-spiced caramel and orange rind are present, but there’s just not a whole lot to this, and the general lack of a finish hints that damage rather than an adolescent sleep is the culprit. (1/08)