UGC 2009 Bordeaux Tasting - NYC - 1.25.12
New York City
Tasted Wednesday, January 25, 2012 by Faryan with 1,135 views
Introduction
For a synopsis of the vintage and tasted appelations please visit the blog:
http://www.connectionstowine.com/bordeaux-2009-from-bottle/faryan-amir-ghassemi/
Flight 1 - UGC 2009 (32 Notes)
A Bordelais' antiques-roadshow
Closing
Voila.
2009 Château Haut-Bergey
France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan
Opulent, thick, a bit overt oak on the nose which is not symptomatic of the house (didn’t see this as much in the 08,06 or 05 at prior UGCs). Perhaps they thought the fruit ripeness could afford more oak, but to me it was a bit beyond what I would like in my Haut Bergey, perhaps sacrificing elegance. The wine is undoubtedly plush on the palate, but it doesn’t speak to Graves. We’ll see how it progresses. (90-93)
Post a Comment / 1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Report Issue
2009 Château Carbonnieux
France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan
More traditional and “blocky” than the Haut Bergey. A bit more stodgy and oaky, but too young to really condemn the wine in terms of its balance. It clearly has the stuffing and depth that one wouldn’t expect from Carbonnieux, but as a rule, it is something to expect from the 09s. (88-91)
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
2009 Domaine de Chevalier
France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan
Last tasted a year ago almost to the day via barrel sample. The wine has “grown up” quite a bit. Before it was primordial, backward and embryonic. In this setting it has calmed down and begun to settle into infancy. The wine shows far more class on the nose compared to the prior Graves. More floral lift (almost Margauxesque) and a beautiful red berry element to the fruit. I can’t wait until the telltale smoke begins to develop with more time in bottle. D d Chevalier rouge seems to be nipping at the heel of the 2nd tier graves rouges. Excellent. (92-96)
Read 3 Comments / Post a Comment / 1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Report Issue
2009 Château Haut-Bailly
France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan
structured, backward and massive. To me, Haut Bailly shows very classic and backward in its youth. I distinctly remember many people fawning over the 05 when tasted at this event years back but I was struck by its reticence more than anything. Old guard indeed. Nonetheless, the nose is regal in its fruit. It has that unmistakable ability to hold both light/fresh delicacy on the nose, compared to the power and depth to the mouth. The classic velvet glove in the iron fist. I find wonderful nervosity in the nose and this is something I project as great potential. (91-95++)
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
2009 Château Larrivet-Haut-Brion
France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan
basic, nice red berry aspect to the nose. Clearly less regal than the Haut Bailly. Still, it has beautiful fruit but some drying tannins on the finish butting in. If priced as LHB has been historically, this is a nice wine to keep, but I don’t think it has the class to justify a high price point. (88-92).
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
2009 Château Pape Clément
France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan
Decidedly more modern than all of the wines tried prior. The creaminess on the palate smacks of vanilla toast oak rather than fruit and to me this is something I tend to avoid as it impairs the transformative gift that Bordeaux wines provide with patience and a cold cellar. To me, this wine shows like a California Cabernet that is aimed to please a buyer in its relative youth. Again, there is wonderful fruit and depth to it, but this is a stylistic choice Pape Clement made, effectively turning its back on what I loved about the Chateau from decades prior. (NR)
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
2009 Château Smith Haut Lafitte
France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan
Cut from the same mold as the Pape Clement. Too rounded and “smoothed” over. The finish is a touch drying, but I just don’t vibe with this wine. The style is simply too formulaic for me. Caveat being, that if you enjoy the early consumption style, this is undeniably quality. (NR)
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
2009 Domaine de Chevalier Blanc
France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan
OMFG nose, blowing away everything else tonight. This wine is simply superb. While embryonic and very basic, it has extraordinary lift and balance; the most focused young white wine I can remember tasting. It’s like a hypothetical blend of Chablis Clos minerality, Chevalier-Monty focus and Graves tropic fruit/grape composition. The wine is pure, completely transparent with no hints of excessive oak (or any oak for that matter as the fruit is centerfold). Guayaba, pineapple, citrus, stone, chalk. Incredible intensity. Superb transparency. Buy buy buy. (97-99+)
Post a Comment / 2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Report Issue
2009 Château Smith Haut Lafitte Blanc
France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan
Exotic, bombastic with a backbone of oak but again completely overshadowed by the Chevalier Blanc. (91-94)
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
2009 Château Malartic-Lagravière Blanc
France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan
Rounder and sadly a bit of a letdown to taste after the Chevalier blanc. Lacks that grip, that bracing and shocking focus. More oak dominated on the nose and riper on the fruit, but still a fantastic graves blanc. Sadly, it’s a casuality of its compatriot D de. Chev Blanc. (91-94)
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
2009 Château Cantenac Brown
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux
Stylistic shift from Graves off the bat. This is less cabernet driven, a litter lighter and more spry on its feet. Good red berry fruit, but a bit drying oak treatment on the finish. A solid Margaux at a reasonable price point. (88-90)
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
2009 Château Brane-Cantenac
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux
More stuffing than CB, more structure but a bit more reticent. Much rounder on the finish. (90-92)
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
2009 Château Rauzan-Gassies
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux
The 05 is a sleeper and a favorite from that vintage for me (available at a fraction the cost of its elder peer and many of the other heralded Margaux…). I think the showing of 09 confirms my overall view of Margaux, as this 09 lacks some of the imprimatur of the appellation I look for in a “great” vintage. Simpler, a bit curt but rounded to deceive one into not prodding too much into its substance. Nice wine, but lacking the bells and whistles (90-92)
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
2009 Château Chasse-Spleen
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Moulis en Médoc
Really shows lovely. Wine has great lift, floral aromatic with unmistakable claret qualities. Projects very well in terms of its ability to progress beyond infancy. Fruit is the name of the game with this wine. It is a delicate dancer that has nothing to do with oak. It’s one of the most transparent wines at the tasting. Should be drinking immediately well and into the near future. 91-94+
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
2009 Château Poujeaux
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Moulis en Médoc
Cut from a similar cloth as the Chasse Spleen. All about red berry fruit, great energy and lift. Not a distance runner, but a beautiful wine to enjoy as you sit on your bigger wines. 91-93+
Post a Comment / 1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Report Issue
2009 Château Pichon-Longueville Baron
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
A bit atypical on the nose. Far more feminine in its lovely floral lift. Like a precocious youth wowing you with his memorization skills. Reminiscent more so of the Lalande in many ways. Red fruit and cassis but far more backward than the 08 was at this stage. It is less transparent and classic in its expression, but more like a show horse. Stuffed to the gills with tannins and fruit. One doesn’t need to worry about the structure or over-treated oak as some of the other wines. I still haven’t been able to discern its Pauillac roots after sampling the wine for some time, but the big 09s are so embryonic and must be judged with a longer time horizon. (93-97)
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
2009 Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
Nose is a bit more reticent and shut down (could just be the amount of air this wine has gotten). Still has hints of the feminine floral lift one comes to expect from great Lalande, but this wine is big big big. The palate is simply lovely with world-class balance, fruit and composition. Beautiful, delineated fruit; so transparent. There is no makeup, there is no cloying/overt oak. Classic Lalande. Just give it time to add richness, depth, pitch and complexity. This wine will not disappoint. (94-98)
Post a Comment / 1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Report Issue
2009 Château Lynch-Bages
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
A regal wine, undoubtedly and a style Lynch Bages seems to project vintage in and out. A millionaire’s (not billionaire’s) Mouton so to speak. Rounded, supple nose with rhubarb and wonderful cassis. The cassis is the name of the game. A bit of vegetal/burnt rubber that blows off with some more swirling. The palate is clean, pure and in superb balance. Will it be the next 90 LB? Time will tell (94-97)
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
2009 Château Grand-Puy-Lacoste
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
One of my top three of the tasting, and it garners this title partly because one doesn’t have to crack a thousand dollars to buy a case of it. I’d love to line this wine up against a recent vintage Latour and serve them blind; it is that good. What the GPL has that many of the other Pauillacs tasted seemed to miss was the freshness and nervosity on the nose that I began in my preamble. Great lift and floral elements on the nose that is simply gorgeous. Far less backward than the 06 and 05 GPLs; this wine is not draped in imposing tannins like those vintages. It is subdued and elegant; qualities I think will make for better aging in a vintage that may have some risk-factor for long-term cellaring. Simply superb and a wine I will seek to buy. (94-98+)
Post a Comment / 2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Report Issue
2009 Château Clerc Milon
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
Not quite as impressive as the GPL, lacking some excitement. Clerc seems to nail a balance between classic Pauillac and modern fruit very well and the 09 is no different. Should be approachable younger than many of its peers. (91-93)
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
2009 Château d'Armailhac
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
Maybe a small notch below the Clerc. Similar, but harsher on the nose with some drying wood tannins on the finish. (90-92)
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
2009 Château Saint-Pierre
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien
Too much. Too much oak, too much extraction. Vanillin, toast, drying fruit that smacks one in the mouth. I don’t understand why they build their wines this way (welp… the big points they garner). There is no elegance and restraint to their wines anymore. I think 05 was the last vintage that didn’t push this envelope too far. (NR)
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
2009 Château Talbot
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien
Nice, but has a burnt streak to it that seems to arise from the oak treatment. Will it integrate overtime? If so, it will be a nice wine (88-92)
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
2009 Château Léoville Poyferré
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien
One of the most heralded wines at the tasting and you can see why; it’s structured similar to the 2003 with a bombastic and “winner take all” style, but unlike some other chateau, I think the fruit is sufficient to hold the oak treatment. The nose is beautiful red cassis with mocha bean espresso, but not excessive or drying. Superb balance with miles of fruit, but not a classic wine in its balance or composition. Very plush, very modern but I don’t sense that electricity, that nervosity, that freshness that I feel when I drink a 1990. Let’s see if this wine can evolve positively. (93-98)
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
2009 Château Langoa Barton
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien
You know you’re at Barton when you begin to taste some backward wines. I think I can still taste the 08s, 06s and 05s from yesteryear UGC tastings. This Barton, while backward in comparison to some of its peers, is surprisingly rounded on the mouth. So delicious, satin, plush. Marries the structure with the mouthfeel. A superb success this vintage with approachability in the near-term (92-95)
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
2009 Château Léoville Barton
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien
Excellent. The best way to describe this wine is complete. Structured and voluminous but not embryonic. Excellent mouthfeel even superseding the Langoa. Unfortunately, this bottle is pretty shut-down, especially on the nose which isn’t budging much. I wouldn’t be surprised if this is a banner year for Barton (94-97+?)
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
2009 Château Gruaud Larose
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien
Another top 3 for me even though I concede it as less “impressive” and “endowed” as some of its peers. This wine beckons to the glory days of Gruaud: the 80s (or 60s if you’re an old fart). Already the most complex nose of the night, with hallmark Cordier funk (sans Brett), superb red fruit, intermixed with secondary aromatics. The mouth is absolutely lovely and light on its feet. I recall old-timers talking about how fantastic and unheralded 1982 Pichon Lalande was in its youth. I think this wine may be similar; the rare Bordeaux that drinks fantastic throughout its lifespan. Back up the truck (95-98+)
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
2009 Château Beychevelle
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien
Simple fruit, lacks depth and harmony. Cloaked with heavy oak. The finish confirms what the nose sleuths out. Not an impressive showing (86-89)
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
2009 Château Climens
France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Barsac
A great Sauternes, but for whatever odd reason, I reach for the memory of the 2008 which made a better impression on me than this wine did. The 08, while less endowed, had a lift and a delicacy that was quite Germanic in many ways. It balanced tropic fruit with acidity and lift. The 2009 is much bigger and a bit more cumbersome at this phase (something that would likely be eased with age). The finish still shows why its Climens. It is precise, delicate and beautiful. The nose opens up as it comes to temperature with delicate crème brulee, coconut shavings. Still Barsac, but I crave 08 (94-97)
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
2009 Château Coutet Barsac
France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Barsac
Less complex and intricate, the 09 Coutet still has a beautiful depth of fruit at a very reasonable price. The botrytis sings through but it lacks that nth degree of complexity and finish in the Climens. A value buy (93-95)
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
2009 Château de Fargues
France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes
shut down on the nose but deep on the palate. Supple, but lacking the “baby yquem” qualities I associate with de Fargues, especially with regards to mouthfeel and weightlessness.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
2009 Château La Tour Blanche Sauternes
France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes
perfectly enjoyable, but didn’t really leave an impression on me. (90-92)
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue