Again this year I was privileged to be invited to the Union Des Grands Crus de Bordeaux tasting in New York City.  I was joined this year by my friend (and Wine Club member) Vern Burling and by Carl Etchery – the sommelier at the Union League in Philadelphia.  We had a wonderful time and tasted almost 100 Bordeaux. 

 

We tasted the 2009 vintage, which was a blockbuster vintage in Bordeaux.  As Vern said, “It was like shooting fish in a barrel.”  Or as one of my French friends said about another vintage, “If you didn’t make a great wine in 2009, then you should make beer.”

 

My policy is to generally not talk about wines I didn’t like, but only focus on wines I am excited to recommend to you.   In this vintage it was easy with 44 wines I can highly recommend – fourteen of which earned my WOW! Status - and three Sauterens that absolutely blew me away.  The 2009 vintage won’t be available in stores for a while yet, but you can refer back to this list when they are finally available.

 

The Reds

 

Ch. De Chantegrive – Graves – This is a WOW!  This is what we loved about the Graves region when we tasted there last summer.

 

Domaine de Chevalier – Pessac-Leognan:  A very good wine with big barnyard.  I liked this wine a lot.

 

Ch. La Louviere – Pessac-Leognan:  This wine is beautiful.  Plenty of barnyard here, and nice balance.

 

Ch. Olivier – Pessac-Leognan:  Very good, drinks easy.  Nice enough.

 

Ch Smith Haut Lafitte – Pessac-Leognan:  WOW!  This was one of my favorites of the entire tasting.  This is why we love Bordeaux!

 

Ch Beau-Sejour- St. Emilion:  I loved this.  Really excellent.  A little soft, but elegant.

 

Ch. Canon La Gaffeliere – St. Emilion:  WOW! Fantastic.  Complex, balanced.  Great.

 

Ch. La Couspaude – St. Emilion:  Excellent – well made, big tannins, complex.  It’s all here.  A really great wine.

 

Ch. Larmande – St. Emilion: Very nice.  Great balance and complexity.

 

Ch. Troplong Mondot – St. Emilion:  Very good.  A tad sweet with soft tannins. 

 

Ch. Clinet – Pomerol: WOW!  This is huge.  Dense.  Tannic.  Are you kidding me?  It’s awesome!

 

Ch. La Cabanne- Pomerol:  Very good.  A classic wine from the region.

 

Ch. La Conseillante – Pomerol: Very nice.  Smooth and elegant.

 

Ch. Clarke – Listrac-Medoc:  Beautiful and complex with nice balance and elegant.

 

Ch. Fonreaud – Listrac-Medoc: Oh yea!  All that I love about Bordeaux – Barnyard! Tannins!  Excellent.

 

Ch. Chasse-Spleen – Moulis-en-Medoc: Very, very good.  Big fruit, soft tannins.  A great wine.

 

Ch. Maucaillou- Mouli-en-Medoc: Very, very good. Elegant.  Classic.

 

Ch. Poujeaux- Moulis-en-Medoc:  Very nice.  Soft.  Elegant.

 

Ch. Cantemerle – Haut Medoc: Nice and basic.  A solidly good wine.

 

Ch Citran – Haut-Medoc:  WOW!  Excellent – this is what a great effort taste like.

 

Ch. La Lagune – Haut-Medoc:  A really good, basic, well made wine.

 

Ch. La Tour Carnet – Haut-Medoc:  Classic.  Really great.  Excellent.  Loved it.

 

Ch. Greysac – Medoc:  Excellent.  Hit’s it out of the park.

 

Ch. Brane-Cantenac - Margaux: Very well made.  An academic wine.

 

Ch. Cantenac Brown – Margaux:  Excellent balance.  Very nice.

 

Ch. Dauzac – Margaux: WOW!  It’s all here.  Lovely fruit, terroir, balance.  This is a great wine.

 

Ch. Giscours – Margaux:  Very good.  Elegant.  Classic.  A little tight now but will age well.

 

Ch. Kirwan – Margaux:  Excellent.  Classic Margaux.  I love this.  One of my favorites.

 

Ch. Labegorce – Margaux:  Beautiful and elegant.  Really very good.

 

Ch. Lascombes – Margaux:  WOW!  This is a really great, classic and elegant wine. 

 

Ch. Rauzan-Gassies – Margaux:  Beautiful, it’s all there.  Love it.

 

Ch. Rauzan-Segla – Margaux:  New label (which I hate) but the wine is a WOW! 

 

Ch. Gruaud Larose – St Julien:  WOW!  Fabulous wine.  This is what I first fell in love with when I started tasting Bordeaux.

 

Ch. Lagrange – St Julien:  Complex, dense.  Very nice.

 

Ch. Leoville Poyferre – St Julien:  WOW!  Yes, this is a beautiful wine.  Complex.  Balance.  Really lovely.

 

Ch. Batailley – Pauillac:  Love this.  Everything here.  Complex.  Balance.  Great tannins.

 

Ch. Clerc Milon – Pauillac:  A classic Pauillac.  Very good.  Will age well.

 

Ch. Grand-Puy Ducasse – Pauillac:  WOW!  Amazingly complex.  What we love about Bordeaux.

 

Ch Grand-Puy-Lacoste – Pauillac::  Very, Very good.  Elegant.  Complex.  I really liked it.

 

Ch. Lynch-Moussas – Pauillac – Great.  I am a sucker for this wine.  Just the smell of it takes me back to France.  Lot’s of barnyard and terroir.

 

Ch. Pichon-Longueville – Pauillac:  A future wow.  Dense.  Tight.  Will age well and could be one of the best in the vintage.

 

Ch. Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande – Pauillac:  WOW!  A very different wine with a little sweetness on it, but I really liked it.

 

Ch. De Pez – St. Estephe: WOW! This is a gorgeous wine.  It’s all here.

 

Ch. Ormes de Pez – St. Estephe:  Beautiful with interesting spices.

 

Ch Phelan Segur – St. Estephe:  Beautiful.  Classic.  A really great wine.

 

Sauternes

 

Ch. Climens – Barsac:  WOW!  This is the most incredible Sauterne I’ve ever tasted.  It has rich honey with a hint of vanilla.  Amazing.

 

Ch, Guiraud – Sauternes:  WOW!  It’s all here and it’s amazing.

 

Ch. Lafaurie-Peyraguey:  WOW!  Another amazing Sauterne.  I loved this.

 

 

One of the fantastic advantages of being in the wine industry is that you get invited to events like the Grand Cru Bordeaux Tasting of the 2008 vintage in New York.  Over 100 producers brought their wines for industry people to taste, and evaluate.  Bill and I attended the event and my notes are below.  It is a very uneven vintage.  Some chateaux made excellent wines while others were thin and uninteresting.  So, buyer beware.  You can get great wines in this vintage, but you need to know what you're looking for.  I should point out that as a general rule I do not comment on wines I don't like, I only comment on wines I would recommend.

 

Ch. Latour-Martillac – Very nice, barnyard on the nose, classic Bordeaux.

Ch. Pape Clement – My personal favorite of the tasting.  A true Wow!  Will be expensive, but this is a tremendous wine.

Ch. Angelus – This is magic in a bottle.  Complex and balanced with layers and layers of elegance.

Ch. Franc Mayne – Big dense, sits on your pallet.  Well balanced.  This is really great.

Ch. Troplong Mondot – Huge and dense.

Ch. Clinet – Very nice, but doesn’t hang on your pallet

Ch. Gazin – Soft in an elegant and beautiful way.

Ch. La Conseillante – Yes, they got this right all the way.  Beautiful.

Ch. Chasse-Spleen – Classic Chasse-Spleen, very nice with some good complexity.

Ch. Poujeaux – Nice enough.  Good not great.

Ch. Belgrave – Very nice, I really liked this wine.

Ch. Cantemerle – Very good, big tannins.

Ch. Citran – Excellent

Ch. LaLagune – Loved this.  It’s all there.

Ch. Cantenac Brown – Very good, big tannins, interesting.

Ch. DuTertre – Very, very good.  Dense and complex.

Ch. Durfort-Vivens – I love it.  Dense and deep, it lays on the tongue.  Love the complexity.

Ch. Ferriere – Beautiful and elegant.

Ch. Labegorce – Very nice, a tad light but great.

Ch. Lascombes – Amazing, love it.

Ch. Malescot Saint-Exupery – This is another WOW!  Awesome.

Ch. Rauzan-Segla – Nice enough.  Good tannic structure.

Ch. Gruaud larose – Wow!  Amazing.  I love it.  The balance is key here.

Ch. Clerc Milon –Good complexity, not particularly tannic.

Ch. D’armailhac – Beautiful but a little weak.  Very nice should age well.

Ch. Grand-Puy Ducasse – Great, really different middle pallet.  I love it.

Ch. Lynch-Bages – Wow!  Beautiful, complex, great.

Ch. Lynch-Moussas – When Bordeaux gets it right it taste like this.  Fills the pallet – gorgeous.

Ch. Pichon-Longueville – Soft and elegant.

Ch. Lafon-Rochet – Classic for the chateau.  A little light but excellent.

Ch. Phelan Segur – Beautiful yet a little tight.

Ch. De Rayne Vigneau – Beautiful, wow, we all loved this.

 

Sauternes – I had forgotten how much I love Sauternes.  These two were my favorites:

            Ch. Guiraud  - Sweet elegance in a bottle.

            Ch.Lafaurie-Peyraguey – Nectar of the gods.

For the latest Wine Reviews by Bob Perkins visit www.bobperkinsconsulting.com