Château Talbot

 Markus Del Monego MW / BWW2024 Finalist, MW (Germany)  tasted  3 wines  from  Château Talbot . In a tasting of  518 wines 

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Primeurs Vintage 2022 Part 2

7m 10d ago

 Andrew Caillard MW / BWW2024 Finalist, Wine Writer (Australia)  tasted  1 wines  from  Château Talbot . In a tasting of  16 wines 

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Château Léoville-Las Cases 2021 95–96p /Medium-deep crimson. Blackcurrant lead-pencil cedar aromas with roasted chestnut notes. Classically structured wine with blackcurrant blackberry fruits, fine sinewy/ grainy tannins and roasted chestnut oak. Finishes muscular firm with leafy notes. Lovely precision. Fresh and voluminous but needs several years to show itself. 80% cabernet sauvignon, 15% cabernet franc, 5% merlot. Maturation in 85% new French oak. 13.2% alc

1y 4m ago

 Markus Del Monego MW / BWW2024 Finalist, MW (Germany)  tasted  3 wines  from  Château Talbot . In a tasting of  745 wines 

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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.

1y 6m ago

 Markus Del Monego MW / BWW2024 Finalist, MW (Germany)  tasted  1 wines  from  Château Talbot . In a tasting of  650 wines 

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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.

2y 6m ago

 Neal Martin / BWW2024 Finalist, Wine Writer (United Kingdom)  tasted  1 wines  from  Château Talbot . In a tasting of  25 wines 

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The 1966 Petrus is often overshadowed by the 1961 and 1964, however, it remains a great vintage that has held up well. It has a much more reserved earthier bouquet than those aforementioned vintages, more black than red fruit infused with clove, autumn leaves and mahogany bureau. It is beautifully defined and noble, offering ash-like/fireside hearth scents with aeration. The palate is extremely well balanced with fine tannin that are slightly drier and more rigid than the 1964. That said, this bottle demonstrates more flesh than the previous one a couple of years back, a gentle sprinkling of white pepper towards the statesmanlike finish. This benefits from time in the glass, stretching its arms to reveal a deeper, slightly gripper Petrus than initially observed. Outstanding. Tasted at the Petrus dinner at Hide restaurant in London.

3y 2m ago

 Julia Harding MW / BWW2024 Finalist, Wine Writer (United Kingdom)  tasted  2 wines  from  Château Talbot . In a tasting of  25 wines 

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Château Margaux Pavillon Blanc 2018 / Harvest started 27 August, as in 2017. ‘It’s as if this came from another vintage’, says winemaker Phillipe Bascaules, because the drought of September missed them because of the harvest date and they missed the hydric stress that the reds faced, so they were able to keep the freshness. Easier to explain the freshness of the whites than that of the reds, he suggested. pH 3.1. Barrel sample. 
Subtle oak spice and mealy, creamy notes from the barrels but also beautifully fragrant citrus and blossom on the nose, making the palate all the more remarkable in its incredible fruit intensity. Amazing intensity and freshness at the same time. Concentration but with this salty aftertaste. Mouth-watering. Succulent and so full of pure, fragrant citrus, almost a touch of apricot. Really aromatic on the palate too. Both sweet-fruited and salty giving very good balance. Mealy, almost savoury on the final salty finish. (JH)

3y 6m ago

 Markus Del Monego MW / BWW2024 Finalist, MW (Germany)  tasted  1 wines  from  Château Talbot . In a tasting of  52 wines 

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The Conseil des Grands Crus Classés en 1855 represents all the Châteaux of the worldwide renowned classification which has been established for the world exhibition in Paris in 1855. It is a great chance to taste most of the wines of this illustrious circle. On May 20, 2020 the samples arrived in my office and were stored under pristine conditions to be savoured the following day. As most of the Châteaux have not been able to show their wines yet, it was a unique opportunity to get a broader picture of the vintage 2019. A few Châteaux have already sent wines before the shutdown so that I even had the option to try them a second time. This might explain some slight adjustments in tasting notes and ratings. The Covid-19 crisis is a nightmare -not only for the Primeurs- but in the same time it offered a perfect chance as well. Usually, the Primeurs would have been presented at the end of March. Now, seven to eight weeks later, the wines had more time to mature and to evolve. The samples performed very well and todays tasting confirmed a lot of quotes from producers in Bordeaux. Bruno-Eugène Borie from Château Ducru-Beaucaillou sees 2019 in a line with the excellent vintages of 2016, 2010, 2009 und 2005. Henri Lurton talks about his best vintage, along with 2016, he has ever vinified at Château Brane-Cantenac. Philippe Dhalluin from Château Mouton-Rothschild asses the vintage as rich and abundant in quality and in quantity as well. After some smaller crops they came back to an average production. Emmanuel Cruse from Château d’Issan sees that 2019 has a lot in common with 2016 yet preserving more freshness. It is a very good vintage but appearing at a very difficult time on the market. At Château Coutet in Barsac, Philippe and Aline Baly were harvesting in three passes with a total of 19 harvesting days. They judge the conditions as rather ideal: “These climatic conditions have generated a harvest whose quality is indisputably present.” The result is a vintage with great qualities. In my opinion 2019 is on a comparable quality level with 2018, however showing even more freshness. Terroir might be more important in this vintage than in 2018 but the best ones show truly great wines.

3y 6m ago

 Izak Litwar / BWW2024 Finalist, Wine Writer (Denmark)  tasted  1 wines  from  Château Talbot . In a tasting of  22 wines 

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Crazy, crazy Saturday dinner the 2nd May with friends (we did keep the distance, washing hands, etc.) and enjoyed some extraordinary bottles. We celebrated the liberation of Denmark from Nazis by the Brits, which happened on the 4th May 1945.  So, we mainly tasted 1945s, but wait a minute….

Somebody wise said once – “There aren’t great vintages, only great bottles!” And it was so obvious during the tasting. It was blind and very entertaining one! The wines served were both normal and magnum bottles. All chateau bottled.

3y 6m ago

 Christer Byklum/ BWW2024 Finalist, Wine Writer (Norway)  tasted  1 wines  from  Château Talbot . In a tasting of  51 wines 

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1998 Château Cheval Blanc; Ruby, pink rim, floral, violets, mint, layered, again impossible to describe fully. Close to perfect balance, playfull and stil relaxed acidity. tannins soft, stunning texture, mouthwatering, just ads and ads with air, incredible length, never ending, I keep raising the score on this as it keeps unlocking more and more secrets. I wish I had cases of this one. 98

Served blind, I was sure it was Petrus, as was most of the table. Wine of the evening!

3y 8m ago

 Markus Del Monego MW / BWW2024 Finalist, MW (Germany)  tasted  1 wines  from  Château Talbot . In a tasting of  100 wines 

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„The best vintage of my life" says Christian Moueix of the Ets. Jean Pierre Moueix in Libourne. In fact, 2018 is a vintage with wonderfully ripe tannins which taste almost sweet and are characterizing the wine with excellent structured. However, this vintage was everything else than easy-going. The first six months of the year saw the complete annual rainfall for the Bordeaux region, over 800 mm. Mildew attacked the grapes, what meant a reduction in quantity but as the leaves have not been attacked the maturity process continued and the lower yields brought concentrated grapes. Another problem where hailstorms bringing further damage. Some Châteaux like Château Guiraud have lost the complete harvest. "We went from hell to heaven" summarizes Véronique Sanders from Château Haut-Bailly in Pessac-Léognan the vintage. After the deluge in the first half of 2018, there was a dramatic change for the second half bringing great, dry weather with a lot of sun. The partially high daily temperatures were in change with lower night temperatures and created a tension for aromatic wines. The correct amount of extraction and maceration was crucial and some vintners have changed their maceration processes and made great wines with a lot of freshness. These vintners are amongst the winners of the vintage. If 2018 will belong to the greatest vintages in Bordeaux for the overall production might show the future. However already today there is a number of Châteaux performing well above the vintages of 2010 or 2016. In every case this vintage is easy to taste. The wines seem already perfectly ripe today. This is a new experience in the primeur week.

4y 8m ago