emcquillan
3009
This weekend’s choice is 2003 Latour
2003 was a very difficult vintage with deathly heat. The right bank didn’t fair so well, but there were some absolute stars in the left bank. Château Margaux, Cos d’Estournel and indeed Latour seemed to sparkle the brightest. The wine exhibits more bretts than just a few years ago, but the complexity is rewarding. Intertwined with the gorgeous dark berries are Eastern spices, earthy notes, fully integrated oak and a complex saline finish. Bordeaux will take my lifetime to truly understand as every chateau and vintage exhibit unique characteristics. 2003 was a vintage that showed well early. Most grand cru classe I prefer after 20 years cellaring, but this varies and is chateau and vintage dependent. Whereas 2003 Latour’s optimal drinking window was 2016-2022 (albeit still a fantastic glass with 15 years left of life yet), 1982 Mouton is still in its prime. Live, taste and lean. Have a great weekend!
This weekend’s choice is 2003 Latour
2003 was a very difficult vintage with deathly heat. The right bank didn’t fair so well, but there were some absolute stars in the left bank. Château Margaux, Cos d’Estournel and indeed Latour seemed to sparkle the brightest. The wine exhibits more bretts...
2003 Latour indeed a rewarding wine in a very hot year.
Not jammy like many of its peers.
Looks like a perfectly preserved bottle. Glad to hear it was still going strong.
I hope to be pleasantly surprised. But you never know. ...
Hee hee always nice to see treat's from your cellar Bill. 1982 is such a perfect vintage that I think you will be pleasantly surprised.
I've never had a lifeless bottle of Ch. Margaux regardless of its age. Some vintages are definitely superior, but they always have an energy. Cheers,
Curious…
Well aware that this is a sweeping generalization but what is your favorite of the big 5? ie the most consistently drinkable and least disappointing of the big boys?
That’s a great and very difficult question because it’s so dependent on the vintage, but II’ll give you my personal answer anyway :) …
Latour is spectacular when it hits perfectly. Haut Brion has incredible freshness and sublime minerality when it hits. Mouton is consistently reliable oozing refined pedigree. Lafite - no wine is suaver when they hit. Margaux is the least disappointing. I...
'82 is certinly a classic and great year
However,in my drinking experience ths far,i've always prefer the '83 Chateau Margaux and Chateau Palmer to the '82s It could be my unfortunate experience As regards consistency of bottles among he top 5,Chateau Haut Brion takes the prize All great wines a...
I wish that was the case in the other direction 1981. Unfortunately not.
I am sure it will still be interesting. ...
I've had two too many bottles of Haut Brion that were off. More corked HB than all the other four first growth combined. Mold and also cooked fruit BUT
When Haut Brion hits it's magical. I could also have very bad luck with my HB bottles. Also, I couldn't agree more about 1983 - stellar in Margaux.
Another gem! I’ve never had a corked bottle of La Missiion HB Bill :)
I would say 1/10 bottles of Haut Brion have been off. I really don’t know if that’s a thing or I’ve had bad luck. For Pontet Canet, one of my favourite Bordeaux that’s still decently priced, I have found 1/12 bottles are corked. I factor that into the pri...
Thanks for your thoughts. I am a big Pontet Canet fan also.
But as always I seem to age things a little too much. Always searching for the occasions. ...
Oh,these will still be drinking well....what a spread
Had the 01 Pontet Canet few years ago and it was still enjoyable.The same could be said for the 96 Monbosquet,albeit that was consumed yet earlier. I think the vintage matters Enjoy....but not too late!
I do like the Monbousquet also. Have a few of those.
I had been told that my 1999's should be consumed soon as they are beyond their peak. Have a lot of Lynch Bages lingering. ...
Some people think brettanomyces is a character of French wine.
In my opinion, it can ruin a wine. For Bordeaux red whether left or right bank, in the first decade of the millennium, 09 and 10 shine. 08 can take ages to mature.
I agree. The Bretts from 95 and 96 Lynch Bages and Cos d’Estournal as an example are too much.
Subtle Bretts I don’t mind. You find much less from St. Emilion and Pomerol. Incidentally, I pumped the last 40% of the 2003 Latour and the Bretts really settled the second night. So much of wine is how the individual is smelling and tasting on a given da...
Bretts is a clear sign that sanitization is not carried out properly in a winery.
This is what I learnt while I was reading a postgraduate degree in wine technology. Personally I dislike it.
I agree this is the case for most wineries. We know the finest chateaux employ a modest amount on purpose and
It’s not from unsanitary conditions, but rather purposelt added probably with older oak barrels. When it’s extremely subtle i enjoy it, but only on the most formidable wines where it takes a back seat. It’s a personal preference. When it’s not subtle I ca...
Once I compared Grange 1990 with a Mouton Rothschild 1990 with some French friends.
The two bottles were already 25 years at the time. The Grange was beautiful and the Mouton Rothschild was elegant. Mind you, vintage 90 for Mouton Rothschild is "pot luck", one never be sure if each bottle sings the same tone. 3.5 hours later, the Grange ...
The terroir is entirely different.
A good example is difficult to get a Chardonnay has styles of Puligny-Montrachet out of the region. I think you understand what I meant. There are some nice Pinot Noir produced in Tasmania and some cool parts of Victoria. They can be expensive in Australi...
I can hear the passion in your words my friend.
Nice to meet a fellow connoisseur and would liove to enjoy a bottle of wine one day. I haven’t been wowed by American Pinot Noir yet, but I do understand there are some good producers. I look forward to exploring some Australian examples. Canada promotes ...
There are some inexpensive Pinot Noir I had in Prague. I was also surprised.
Nice to meet a wine connoisseur 😀 Making really nice Pinot Noir is the holy grail for a lot of wine makers. It is just difficult and challenging. Canada taxes heavily on imported wine, is that correct?
Yes Canada does tax heavily. However, the Liquor Control Board of Ontario …
Is such a massive purchaser ( price controlled for good and for bad) they often get wines at reasonable prices. It’s all about getting your allocation and especially so for Burgundy. If you have good relationships you can get allocations. If you get alloc...
There is one recent discovery, Curly Flat Pinot Noir 2021.
I am not sure if it is available out of Australia. Phil Jones of Bass Philips obviously has retired now. I spent a half day with him in his winery. That was a long time ago. Another one is Dixon Glaetzer in Tasmania. La Judith Shiraz and Rêveur Pinot Noir...
