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Château Mouton Rothschild 2021/ Medium-deep crimson. Lifted blackcurrant, blackberry aromas with toasty, marzipan roasted chestnut notes. Inky deep blackcurrant blackberry fruits, fine graphite/firm and a hint cedary tannins with plentiful toasty/ roasted chestnut/ vanilla notes. Finishes chocolaty firm and minerally with bittersweet notes. A very lovely wine with ample dark fruits, superb richness and energy. Should develop very well. 89% cabernet sauvignon, 10% merlot, 1% cabernet franc.97–98 points
”18d 23h ago
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2021 Château Latour / Ruby. Blackberries, cassis, dark fruit, very fruit driven nose at this stage, tight knit. Fresh acidity, ripe tannins, detailed, blackberries and cassis, detailed, intense and layered, nuanced, energetic, superb balance, incredible length. Goes on and on. 13,1 % alcohol. 96-98
”1m 23d ago
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This years "en primeur" tasting seemed like a journey in time. Bordeaux is back to a more moderate alcohol level and the style is lighter and more elegant. One could say the wines are reminiscent of the 80s, however made with more experience and the modern techniques today. It is not a powerful vintage. The wines are elegant, however the well made ones have an excellent persistence, depth and length. They offer a convincing potential for a long ageing and promote elegance in Bordeaux again. It is a true vintage of terroir although there is a lot of talk about a vintners vintage. However, terroir was the decisive factor in 2021.
Professor Axel Marchal has presented the 10 key points of this vintage on the occasion of the Union des Grands Crus press tasting:
"1. The start of the growing season was marked by severe frost on the 7th and 8th of April.
2. Wet and gloomy weather in May slowed down the vine growth although a providential window of fine weather helped flowering unfold in ideal conditions in early June.
3. Thunderstorms in June slowed down the onset of water stress.
4: Cool, dull weather in July increased the threat of vine diseases.
5. Véraison (colour change) was observed in mid-August, while vine growth had not stopped yet.
6. Thanks to a cool summer, the dry white wines are brilliant, lively and aromatic.
7. The wonderful Indian Summer allowed the red grape varieties to ripen in ideal conditions and preserved aromas.
8. The Merlots are fresh and aromatic while the Cabernets from the finest terroirs are well-structured with good balance.
9. The development of Botrytis cinerea in Sauternes was delayed by the cool summer and eventually triggered by rainfall in mid-September.
10. Despite low yields, the botrytised sweet white wines are of excellent quality."
It will be exciting to see the evolution of this vintage which produced in many cases yields on a very low scale. Arguably it will be a vintage praised for it finesse in the future. A vintage rated on finesse and persistence rather than on sheer power and opulence.
”2m 29d ago
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2020 – the paradox vintage
2020 began with mild temperatures even breaking temperature record highs at the beginning of February. These conditions led to a premature budbreak. Budding developed unevenly, very much depending on the locations although the coo and humid weather in April had not a very significant impact on slowing down the growth of the vines. Finally all the vines came into bloom at the end of May without any significant coulure or millerandage. At the start of June, frequent rain intensified the pressure of mildew. From mid-June, the weather changed. The whole Bordelais saw a period of very dry weather for two months. However, the earlier accumulation of water reserves prevented water stress. Around July 18 a heat wave began to build up but the cool nighty prevented water stress on the wines again. The veraison started at the end of July and went on till the beginning of August. The heatwave in August accentuated water stress, but shorter rainy episodes avoided a complete block. The dry and sunny weather in September encouraged the grapes maturity and harvest started on September 10 with a rather mild weather. Towards the middle of September, rain prevented the fruits from wilting but as its frequency was quite concerning, the haves was pushed forward. "Le diabolique" is the title given to this vintage by Véronique Sanders. It is a very special French word, which is not correctly translated with “diabolic” in English. In France, the expression means to overcome the devil. And the vintners succeeded. 2020 is clearly a vintner’s vintage which asked a permanent reinvention of the wineries, struggling hard with this difficult vintage. However, the vintage surprises with excellent wines, exemplary freshness and elegance and very dense structure. In former times it was said that the vine has to suffer to make exquisite wines, in this vintage the people have suffered to make a great wine. The first part of notes for this tasting with over 800 wines you will find today. More notes will follow over the coming days.
”1y 2m ago
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Bordeaux 2018 in bottle / After having tasted more than 150 wines already (primo January 2021), big and small properties, I can already make a very bold statement. This vintage in red is really something, and I've to backtrack my earlier opinion based on barrel tasting, that it's inconsistent compared to 2010 and 2016. It seems that the time spent in barrels and final blends benefitted the wines a lot and they're of high quality everywhere in Bordeaux.
”1y 6m ago
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Tastingbook's weekly Pro-tasting with wines from 1970-2019
”2y 19d ago
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Bordeaux 2019 / 2019 Château Pichon Longueville Baron
Ruby. Lush nose of cassis, blackberries, blueberries, tobacco, chocolate and truffles. Fresh acidity, ripe tannins, rounded, detailed, juicy, the structure behind is hidden behind velvety fruit and rich concentration, layered and deep with an amazingly long finish. 97-99
2y 24d ago
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In 2018 Pauillac was again one of the star appellations and there will be some legendary wines from here this vintage. Mouton was probably my personal favorite, it just has everything you want from a perfect vintage of Mouton and Pauillac. Alcohol clocking in at 13,8 or so is not frightening either. My surprise was that Pichon Comtesse didn’t make an even greater wine than they did. I tasted it twice, both at the estate and at the UGCB press tasting with very similar notes. Haut-Bages Liberal was not available to taste where I normally taste it due to low production caused by mildew. Pauillac has some less expensive stars as well, Fonbadet has made their possibly finest wine to date. Armailhac and Clerc Milon has also been on a roll the last vintages and they both shine again this vintage. Lafite is bolder in style even if not that high ripeness; it is a flamboyant version of itself. Duhart-Milon is fine and less rustic than it can sometimes be. Smoother. Grand-Puy-Lacoste is stunning, maybe in a somewhat richer style but landing perfectly in the more elegant side of the vintage in my book. Lynch-Bages has more concentration and depth with lots of stuffing and will probably be for the long haul. Pichon Baron shows great depth and richness, it is a powerhouse. Latour has a similar richness with just a bit more depth. Pontet-Canet is big and rich with lots of depth but also freshness to back it all up. A very fine vintage in Pauillac.
”3y 2m ago
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Every now and again one stumbles across a paradox that confounds the accepted natural order of things. The 2016 Bordeaux vintage was born out of a growing season that was near-catastrophe and near-perfection. After the Hesperian Dragon’s relentless torment, the Titan God Atlas had seemingly kept the sky aloft with the help of a Phoenix. Following five months of diabolical weather patterns, a warm to hot dry summer arrived in the nick of time, not only saving a vintage, but creating one of the most spectacular vintages in a lifetime.
The sense of relief in Bordeaux must have been as thrilling as avoiding the bullet of Russian Roulette, or the adrenalin of surviving a base-jump. The razor’s edge has never been so exquisitely fine. While the end result is not always perfect, with the odd abrasions here and there, the overall quality of the 2016 Bordeaux vintage is remarkably consistent with many Chateaux making some of their best wines in 50 years. Typically, the wines have deep colours, pure fruit aromatics, generous saturated flavours, dense rich tannin structures and bell clear acidities. Precision, freshness, elegance, smoothness and “delicate opulence” are words that are being used by various Chateaux to describe their wines.
The Bordelais are, of course, the world’s greatest spin doctors. They leave snake charmers for dead when it comes to the art of mesmerising. The newly opened and impressive Cité du Vin, which sits on the banks of the Garonne River in Bordeaux, sparkles like a polished turd; a monument to the exaggerations and optimism of this particular type of fine wine game. Momentum is achieved through belief. There is no room for wavering or self-doubt.
”5y 3m ago
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BORDEAUX VINTAGE 2016 / Tasting "en primeur" is a challenge every year. The wines tasted are showing a tendency only and it is still the beginning of a longer process of evolution and maturation in the barrels. There might be some changes during the next year and a half until the wines will be bottled, but already today the tendency is quite clear. For most of the red wines it will be an outstanding vintage, a vintage for Cabernet, old vines, limestone and clay soil. It was a challenging year for the vintners. An incredibly wet spring was worrying the winegrowers and at the beginning of June, the spirits were down. However warm and dry weather between June 3 and June 11 creating an close to ideal situation for the flowering and good weather conditions starting in mid June changed the nature of the vintage. The fine weather continued into July and August. The month of August was featuring hot weather and a remarkable amount of sunshine but the absence of rain let to water stress. Heavy rain in mid September set an end to water stress and when the sun returned on September 20 the vintage was saved as there was excellent weather till to the end of the harvest. The effects were various. the white wines are on a good quality level and display fruit and flavour but the acidity is lower than in previous vintages and the white wines show an opulent and rather soft style. The noble sweet wines are extremely pure and are more on the rich and powerful side than on the freshness. For the red wines originating from the right terroirs and old vines, the vintage an be called outstanding. Water stress was managed well on limestone and clay terroirs, Cabernet varieties did extremely well and old vines found water even during the stressful dry periods of summer. In some few red wines the tannins are slightly harsh, almost bitter, a result of water stress and/or intense extraction. In general the red wines are on an excellent level with an advantage for the left bank, mainly the Médoc area, and the classic great terroirs of Saint-Emilion and Pomerol.
”5y 3m ago
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In 2016 Pauillac has made some excellent wines and on the top, Mouton has made something very special and might be wine of the vintage competing with Petrus. Lots of estate has made excellent wines from Pauillac this year. Saint-Estephe has also made stunning wines and Cos d'Estournel has made one of the greatest wines I have ever tasted from them. Northern Médoc is far better in 2016 than in 2015, but for me, 2016 on a whole delivers more. 2015 for me eas a bit hyped even if the wines were very good indeed. 2016 probably has the edge over 2011 as well that is seriously undervalued in the market, but will give many some surprises for the future.
”5y 3m ago
“Bordeaux 2015 Vintage Part III / Petrus 2015 - Medium deep colour. Fragrant inky dark plum, dark cherry aniseed aromas with touch of praline, espresso oak. Beautiful concentrated wine with inky dark plum dark cherry fruit, supple vigorous graphite textures, generous smooth yet juicy rich mid palate, cedar mocha oak notes and slinky firm tannin finish. Perfectly balanced and integrated with lovely energy vibrancy and juiciness. A great Ch Petrus in the making. 100 points. ”
6y 2m ago
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