Tag Archives: Saint-Julien

August 1, 2012 · 9:42 pm

Lead by example (Bordeaux, France – Day Four)

If you don’t work in the wine industry then Bordeaux can be one of the best wine experiences you can have. For one thing the old part of the city of Bordeaux is quite beautiful and offers many epicurean delights (although wine lists are very inconsistent and of course parochial). There are plenty of places to stay providing your budget isn’t too small, and it is quite easy to get around thanks to the buses and trams. Getting out to the wineries means renting a car or joining a tour which by all accounts are great with some tour being allowed to visit some of the top producers. There are thousands of producers to choose from and they are all relatively close to the city. The chateaus are often beautiful and the cellars are filled with flashy fancy equipment and plenty of new barrels. Speaking personally I find Bordeaux to be one of the most boring regions to visit, in no way impressing me and making very little attempt to impress me. For one the thing they have a very homogeneous and flat landscape offering one less influence on the terroir. As I have mentioned in the past fancy wineries and modern equipment don’t offer anything if you aren’t understanding and expressing your terroir well, which in most cases they are not (partly because in my opinion the terroir isn’t that good to begin with). I also feel they aren’t making respectful wines when they are doing pretty heavy maceration and new oak maturation, resulting in wines that don’t begin to drink until many years after they are released. The system of selling also is completely out of touch and arrogant in my opinion. There is a good reason why other regions in France and Europe get frustrated with Bordeaux, but at the same time their influence has been so strong on other producers around the world.
A lamp shade in the shape of the mouton of Mouton-Rothschild

Continue reading →

Leave a comment

Filed under Winery Visits

Tagged as , , , , , ,

July 31, 2012 · 12:31 pm

A river runs through it (Bordeaux, France – Day Three)

There are many places in the world where a river is a divider both from a geographical perspective but also in an intangible way. Some of the most famous cities in the world are split by equally famous rivers, like the Thames in London and the Seine in Paris. Not that it is any comparison to these cities but Melbourne is also divided by the Yarra River, and a common question asked is ‘which side of the river are you, north or south?’ There are often philosophical, political and financial divisions around this that have a lot to do with history. Wine region sometimes have this and none more so than Bordeaux, which is separated by the Garonne River. On the right bank you find Saint-Emilion and Pomerol where merlot is the major variety. On the left bank you have the Medoc with Margaux and Pauillac, and cabernet sauvignon is king. Winemaking is pretty similar which means the selection of variety and the terroir. On the right bank there is more clay in the soils which is better for merlot, and on the left bank it is a little warmer and therefore better for the later ripening cabernet sauvignon. The left bank wines tend to take longer to age in the bottle which is why I tend to prefer right bank wines younger. But there is plenty of spoils for all and as always every vintage is different. For my third day I visited one estate on each side of the river, and then met with one of the more important Bordeaux negociants to discuss how the wines are sold in their own unique way.
One of the coolest spitoons I have encountered

Continue reading →

Leave a comment

Filed under Winery Visits

Tagged as , , , , , , , ,

July 30, 2012 · 10:53 pm

Chateau Leoville-Poyferre – 26/07/2012

2011 Chateau Le Crock (Saint-Estephe)
Soft and mellow merlot nose, quite plummy with some interesting very ripe tomato. Very soft opulent tannins, nice freshness good acids, very supple and generous, quite broad and surprisingly light, balanced concentration. Good purity and freshness.

2011 Chateau Moulin Riche (Saint-Julien)
More closed on the nose, deeper darker fruits, less brightness more brooding, concentrated and subdued by oak for now. Excellent lines through the palate, bold on the front but softening quite nicely, cabernet doughnut hole being well filled by the merlot and petit verdot. Mouth-filling acidity and tannins, firm but not heavy or abrasive. Great consistency through the palate and extension. Benefit from 5-10 years in bottle.

2011 Chateau Leoville-Poyferre
Deeper more intense colour, but good clarity. Significantly more cabernet sauvignon influence on the nose, very berry concentrated with stalkiness and some tight-grain oak characters, but overly a great balance between fruit and savoury characters. A little more texture and grip from the tannins, certainly an influence of more cabernet sauvignon, textured and will take a lot more time in bottle to soften out and start to express the concentrated and closed fruit characters. Powerful expression but not heavy and well-balanced alcohol.

Chateau Moulin Riche 2007
Starting to show some age in the colour. Very stalky and dusty on the nose, fruit somehow a little subdued but more in the red fruit area. Good freshness and balance, seeing some of the secondary and tertiary elements come through, good balance and some nicely developing texture as well. Still with another 5 years perhaps, you might start to see a little more leather in the background.

Chateau Leoville-Poyferre 2006
Wonderfully perfumed floral and dark berry aromas, very inviting and expressive, a lovely bouquet, one of the nicest I’ve seen in a Bordeaux for a long time. Intense and fresh, lively and full, soft yet structured. Excellent purity but still tight in the structure and needing more time to continue softening and opening up in the bottle. Tight but showing wonderful finesse and elegance, great acidity to keep things together and ageing well. Superb balance will be wonderful in 15-20 years.

Chateau Leoville-Poyferre case

Leave a comment

Filed under Tasting Notes

Tagged as , , , ,

July 25, 2012 · 6:44 pm

Chateau Leoville-Barton – 25/07/2012

2011 Chateau Langoa-Barton
A little sharp on the nose, not very expressive fruit or floral elements, very dusty cabernet sauvignon dominant aromas, quite reductive and shut down. Shy and reserved fruit, good structure, not full or heavy, a little shy and not full, clean texture, good freshness, nice and lean but not sure how it will react to another nine months in barrel.

2011 Chateau Leoville-Barton
A much darker inkier colour. A lot more ripe cabernet influence, certainly more ripeness of dark fruits and expression, denser and still with that stalky dustiness. Showing slightly more new oak characters. Great structure and texture, wonderfully fresh and bright, tight and lean tannins and excellent core of acidity through the palate. Excellent potential given time to be a structured food friendly wine that is both approachable but with good character. Excellent fruits.

Leoville-Barton 2010 Jeraboam

Leave a comment

Filed under Tasting Notes

Tagged as , , , , ,