This tasting took place in Napa in February 2020 just before the global pandemic took hold. This post though is not about Napa wine but the annual Institute of Masters of Wine tasting of the 2015 Bordeaux vintage in bottle, a tasting which travels to London, Napa and Sydney. The setting was the centrally locatedContinue reading “Bordeaux 2015 tasting in Napa”
Tag Archives: Saint-Estèphe
Château Capbern Saint-Estèphe 2015
We see so few Bordeaux wines in Australia that are from the left bank appellations of Pauillac, Saint-Estèphe, Margaux and Saint-Julien and are not a cru classé. This is a mistake, as with the improvements and price increases in Bordeaux, there is wonderful value in these villages at below cru classé level. This wine, fromContinue reading “Château Capbern Saint-Estèphe 2015”
Château Cos Labory Saint-Estèphe 2003
2003 was a drought vintage in Bordeaux, and despite many of these wines being dismissed as a consequence, the vintage continues to provide very enjoyable drinking 16 years later. So some are wrong. Certainly, I would be a buyer of 2003s for current drinking. The 2003 Cos Labory has brooding aromatics of earth and cedar.Continue reading “Château Cos Labory Saint-Estèphe 2003”
Château Beau-Site Saint-Estèphe 1999
Good Bordeaux cru bourgeois lack the label prestige of the left bank cru classé, but on the evidence I have seen to date, they develop along similar lines in the cellar. They therefore represent a smart and economical choice. Here’s an example. This wine – a Château Beau-Site from Saint-Estèphe – is quite deliciousContinue reading “Château Beau-Site Saint-Estèphe 1999”
IMW Annual Bordeaux tasting – 2013 vintage
Held in Sydney by the Institute of Masters of Wine on the weekend, this was a first close local look at the 2013 vintage of Bordeaux. The 2013 vintage in Bordeaux was, of course, rather dire. It saw a dismal spring, an early summer and catastrophic flowering. The vintage culminated with tropical weather at theContinue reading “IMW Annual Bordeaux tasting – 2013 vintage”
A couple of 2012 Bordeaux (Sénéjac and Lilian Ladouys) and an Orange merlot (Gartelmann)
It has been a quiet tasting week. Nonetheless, a couple of mid priced Bordeaux from the 2012 vintage and a new release Orange merlot caught my interest. Notes follow. Château Sénéjac, Haut-Médoc 2012The spell checker would have me call this Chateau Senegal, which I shall seek to avoid typing. Oh, wait. For its modest price, thisContinue reading “A couple of 2012 Bordeaux (Sénéjac and Lilian Ladouys) and an Orange merlot (Gartelmann)”