Bordeaux

• Barsac
• Bordeaux Supérieur
• Margaux
• Graves
  • Pessac-Leognan
• Haut-Medoc
• Listrac
• Pauillac
• Pomerol
• Saint Emilion
• Saint Estephe
• Saint Julian
• Sauternes

Its hard to believe that a First Growth can exceed expectations, but this one did.  From a good not great vintage, this wine was tremendous.  Purple/ruby in color.  The nose is great with cherries, chocolate, and slight tobacco.  A soft texture that makes the wine very accessible.  Some silky tannins.  This is delicious.  Young but open.  Cherries and milk chocolate on the palate.  This will work with heavier foods.  This should get better over the next couple of decades, but it is great right now.  

Decanted for sediment and served.  Purple in color, ruby at the rim.  The nose is earthy with cedar, spice, cassis, and slight celery note.  Much more developed and intense on the palate.  Cassis and slight tobacco.  Good finish.  Classic Bordeaux.  Served with hearty foods and meats.  This producer had some issues in the late 80's but since the mid-90's they have been doing a great job.  

At peak.  Purple/ruby in color, ruby at the rim.  The nose has nice cherries with some cassis and cigar box.  On the palate, some complexity.  Nice texture.  Juicy cherries with some cassis and underlying slight cocoa dust and tobacco.  Nice finish.  This is about as good as this wine will be.  Reasonably food friendly for medium and heavier foods.  

Nice enough wine but seems to be a bit past prime.  Ruby in color, slight bricking at the rim.  The nose has black cherries, slight cedar and slight spice.  On the palate, this is straightforward.  Cherries.  no tannins.  Good balance.  Very food friendly.  A nice Bordeaux for the dinner table.  

Deep purple in color, ruby at the rim.  The nose is great with cassis, slight blueberries, soy sauce, and slight baking spices.  On the palate, this is young, tight and tannic, but given that, it presents delicious drinking right now.  Of course, give it five or ten years and there is definitely some upside.  The palate has lots of cassis intertwined with a nice earthiness with some salinity.  Good finish.  Needs heavier foods right now.  This has another 20 years in it depening how you like your wines.  

It's not too often I get the chance to drink a Bordeaux from my birth year - 1958, so this was quite a treat.  Pale ruby/brown in color to the rim.  The nose took a few minutes to sort itself out.  It is clearly old and past its prime but it was good and had plenty of life left.  The nose had dust, some mushrooms but also some cigar box and even some cherries.  Maybe I imagined it, but also some classic soy sauce notes.  On the palate, this is soft but reasonably in balance.  No tannins.  Some cherry fruit layered with damp earth/tobacco.  Good finish.  I won't give this an official grade b

This seems to be at peak at this point.  It won't get any better not discounting bottle variation.  Ruby in color, slight browning at the rim.  The nose has cassis, cherries, slight baking spice, slight dried craisins, On the palate, there is good acidity here.  Tart cherries, cassis with underlying dry forest floor notes.  Nice finish.  This will work nicely with meet based dishes.  Give it 30 miutes of air to blow off the bottle stink and it is good to go.  

09 was a pretty open vintage especially on the right bank.  At age 9, this is drinking very well.  That said, there is plenty of room for further improvement.  Purple in color.  The nose has black cherries, black raspberries, dark chocolate and char.  On the palate, this is juicy with a full bodied texture.  Black raspberries, layered with chocolate dust and slight oak notes.  Long finish.  This will work with roasted meats dishes quite well.  Another five years in the cellar and this should come together quite well.  If opening now, give it some air.  

One of the great wines of Bordeaux well deserving of its second growth status.  This is from a very hot vintage that many wine makers had some trouble with.  Purple in color, ruby at the rim.  The nose has cassis, black cherries, slight tobacco and slight fresh floral notes.  On the palate, this is drinking quite well.  Showing some development, it is close but not yet at peak.  Layers of cassis and black cherry fruit, with some dry earthy forest floor.  Wispy tannins at this point.  Long finish.  Would work well with roasted meats and other foods.  Some possible upside still left.  

Purple in color.  This is drinking quite well now.  Pretty classic right bank but perhaps still a skosh more room to develop.  The nose is nice with cherries, some cassis, cigar box and chocolate shavings.  On the palate, this has nice cherries, not super ripe, but nothing green.  Undertones of tobacco and damp earth.  Good balance.  Drank over two nights and while different just as good on each night.  Will work with most foods.  Really everything you could want from this wine at this point.