Bordeaux Futures 2005: third report

2005: The Wines of Stéphane DerenoncourtThird report (April 4, 2006) There exists a Derenoncourt signature in the taste of wine, just as there exists a Michel Rolland or a Denis Dubourdieu signature. Here is how I define it: the wines are often highly coloured and very fruity at the nose. The nature of the fruit is fresh, that is to say, ripe, neither green nor overripe. As a rule, this type of nose often heralds somewhat thin structures. Now, Stéphane Derenoncourt manages precisely to give good corpulence to his wines. The man is also very attached to ripe, delicate tannins. He obtains this body and this refinement by thinking carefully about the maturity of the grapes he is harvesting. He obtains this fruity presence thanks to the work on the vine, to gentle extractions and to maturing on the lees. Finally, I have often noticed that the greatest wines which he cares for gain expression during maturing. I think that Mr Derenoncourt has approached the 2005 vintage wisely and prudently in order to draw out from it primarily pulpy sensations, freshness, tannins without harshness and aromatic finishes. BEAULIEU Comtes de Tastes Bordeaux Supérieur 86My best score given to this wine as a future. I did not like this wine before, considering it rough and simple. I prefer it today. In its favour, it has the pleasure procured by soft flesh and a more distinguished aromatic brilliance. Mr Guillaume de Tastes says he also prefers it like this. He took advice from Stéphane Derenoncourt. A good idea. BEAUSÉJOUR 1901 Montagne-St-Emilion 87An estate with Stéphane Derenoncourt as new consultant. Very lovely colour. Lovely fruity, pure, mellow nose. In this A.O.C. it is not easy to find non-rustic wines. Well, here you have one. Its fresh, flowery, liquorice dimension is astonishing. In the mouth, the wine is full of life, of pulp, of fresh flavours and of pleasure. The finish is long, strong, scarcely mineral and chalky in its lengthy persistence. Exquisite. BELLEVUE St-Emilion Grand Cru 93 Dark, intense colour. Lovely nose of fruit, very fresh and mineral. This wine always offers a delicate sense of touch in the mouth. But in 2005, this touch becomes delicate and most of all fat. Very rich, very pulpy, very elegant in its softness, fruity and tannic, this wine melts in the mouth with notes of liquorice, blackcurrant, blackberry and wood. Never is the tannin felt. A flavour of blackberry jam at the finish. Great, full and refined wine. BROWN red Pessac-Léognan Well tasted once. I am waiting for a second tasting. CADET BON St-Emilion Grand Cru 87 Never have I seen it so dark. Never have I seen it with such a fruity and cocoa nose. Average body. There is a very agreeable and quite subtle ethereal aspect in this wine. Very lovely length with coated tannins. CANON LA GAFFELIERE St-Emilion Grand Cru 90 This wine is especially fruity in the mouth, more than at the nose. Then it melts on the palate with good density and ends tannic, fruity, sappy and long. CLOS DE L’ORATOIRE St-Emilion Grand Cru 87 Lovely colour. Lovely fruity nose. Lovely dense, flavourful and juicy mouth. It always ends slightly firm with mineral and chalky notes. Globally, from this estate, this is the wine which has the most flesh. CLOS FOURTET St-Emilion Grand Cru Well tasted once. I am waiting for a second tasting. D’AIGUILHE Côtes de Castillon 88 It is the choice of the pulp which was made. The wine, different from the usual, more ethereal and also more acid (malolactic fermentation unfinished), ends aromatic and long with aroma. As soon as the malolactic finishes, this wine will gain fat. DOMAINE DE CHEVALIER red Pessac-Léognan 93 This is one of the best recent Domaine du Chevalier that I have tasted. It has escaped the two traps of the vintage: over-extraction and the dry final nuances due to alcohol. This wine is a pure delight and slips down on its own.. A unique indulgence this year in Bordeaux. DOMAINE DE L’A Côtes de Castillon 91My best score given to this wine as a future. Very lovely colour. Complex nose of essence of blackcurrant, raspberry and blackberry. Pure and lovely. The cru is faithful to itself in its offering of an elongated form. Ample, suave, pulpy, meticulous, very flavourful, fleshy, it is both lengthy and muscled. But what softness and what elegance. The finish is finely balanced with a noble woodiness which is almost Burgundian. It is a finish of a Grand Cru Classé of the Médoc. FERRAND LARTIGUE St-Emilion Grand Cru 86 Very lovely dark colour. Great nose: very, very fruity, pure, fresh, mellow and strong. The mouth is slightly less fleshy than the nose leads one to believe. But the pleasure is strong. Rounded, ample, juicy, it ends a trace woody and could be just a little more enveloped. GIGAULT Cuvée Viva Premières Côtes de Blaye 88My best score given to this wine as a future. Strong nose of very ripe fruit. The fat in the mouth makes the taste buds quiver. Richness in spadefuls. Perfect tannic coating. Beautiful flavourful length. It is really very, very good. GREE LAROQUE Bordeaux Supérieur 85 Lovely colour and nose. What fruit and pleasure in the mouth. Soft tannins. Medium length. HOSTENS PICANT Sainte-Foy-Bordeaux 85 Since 2004, this cru stands out at last from the rest (I did not appreciate it before, despite the praises of so many others). The mouth is fruity, juicy, dense and tannic, but with more balance and flavour. Medium length. A wine which is mineral in the persistence. HOSTENS PICANT white Sainte-Foy-Bordeaux 85 A caressing and very fruity wine with a taste of pear. At the finish, it takes on fabric to become longer and sappy. It is just slightly marked by the wood. Medium length. HOSTENS PICANT CUVÉE LUCULUS Sainte-Foy-Bordeaux 86 Intense colour. Strong nose. Mouth full of roundedness and flesh. Flavours very, very fruity in mid-mouth. Then the wine develops creamy with a precise and well-thought out tannic coating. Beautiful length. JEAN FAUX Bordeaux Supérieur 86 The nose is strong and fruity. The mouth tastes of Merlot, with fresh but also mellow flavours, taste and a very pertinent way of occupying mid-mouth. At the finish, watch out for the woodiness. But it is lovely and good. L’ISLE FORT Bordeaux Supérieur 86 Beautiful colour. Strong, mellow nose. The fat of this wine has an unprecedented character. It is a top of the range Bordeaux Supérieur. In particular, the tannic definition and the approach of the wood are rather sophisticated. It gave me pleasure and it gives pleasure to the drinker (lovely terroir but young vines). I am sure the following vintages will become better and better. LA BIENFAISANCE St-Emilion Grand Cru 86 The colour is lovely, dark and intense and the nose strong, fruity and mineral (it evokes the 1947 on the hillsides). It is good but slightly borderline in the pleasure it gives this year. The fruit and the fleshy envelope have been very well thought out. The flesh remains fruity. Medium length. LA FAVORITE DE RICHELIEU Fronsac 88 A coloured wine. A strong, chocolaty nose. The profile in the mouth is identical to Richelieu but with more thickness and plumpness. The taste in mid-mouth as well as the body are also better. Very lovely dense, strong length, almost perfumed by the fruit and the flowers. A must-have. LA GAFFELIÈRE St-Emilion Grand Cru 92 Great dark, intense colour. Great, fine, fruity, pure nose. The wine has more than others a constructed, rich, fat mid-mouth which means that the wine stops developing and lingers in this central part. Very complex, very rich, very concentrated in its aromas, long, enveloped in flesh and juicy, this wine proves concentrated from the inside and unavoidable. Splendid complex length. LA MONDOTTE St-Emilion Grand Cru 94Malolactic fermentation not carried out. Very lovely colour. Lovely nose of cocoa and liquorice. Fruity. It develops notes of raspberry and violet on swirling. Even if the malolactic fermentations have not been carried out, this wine releases considerable fat. In particular, I appreciated the richness of mid-mouth which was ample, sappy and ethereal. Very, very fruity, the wine develops with coated tannins without harshness. Very lovely strong, sappy length with lots of fat. I think it will be a must-have. LA PRADE Côtes de Francs 86 Once again in this vintage, the pulp and the tannic envelope are impressive in this cru. They delay the perception of a rather usual mineral note which is sometimes firm. Very good. LA ROUSSELLE Fronsac 87Undergoing malolactic fermentation. The wine is not easy to taste, especially in the midst of all the others, given that it is undergoing malolactic fermentation. I liked its fruity, rather ethereal, dimension, its smoked note and that finish of Cabernet Sauvignon and blackcurrant which makes the wine so easy to confuse with a Médoc. Very lovely length. LARCIS DUCASSE St-Emilion Grand Cru 89My best score given to this wine as a future. Beautiful colour. Great nose, fruity, fresh, pure and complex, becoming strong on swirling. The mouth develops all in tactile softness, suave, well constructed, aromatic and long. A noble tannic grain. A success. LE THIL COMTE CLARY red Pessac-Léognan Well tasted once. I am waiting for a second tasting. LES CHARMES GODARD white Côtes de Francs 86 In this wine there is always a note of Sémillon which evokes the presence of botrytis. Caressing in the mouth, agreeable, very fruity, it develops both lively and tender with a very, very good taste. Lovely finish. LES GRANDS MARÉCHAUX Premières Côtes de Blaye 85 There is substance, and the body remains slightly acid. That said, the tannin is coated. Medium length. LUCIA St-Emilion Grand Cru 89 I adore this nose. It smells more of the Merlot of Pomerol than of Saint-Emilion. It is very creamy, rich, strong and sophisticated. In the mouth, the wine presents its very Merlot and creamy aspect. However, I would have preferred slightly more texture, even though it remains fat and enveloped in the flesh at the finish. A wine of pleasure. MONESTIER LA TOUR Bergerac 84 Fruit, roundedness and pleasure. However, compared to the Bordeaux, there remains something more austere. Less velvety. PAVIE MACQUIN St-Emilion Grand Cru 91Still undergoing malolactic fermentation. A coloured wine, it has a lovely delicate nose of fruit and spice. Beautiful entry with a silken touch. The wine develops very, very fruity, with a taste of cherry. After mid-mouth, a nearly chalky note shows, and the wine ends tannic but fine. Its principal asset is that it offers lots of taste. Lovely length. PREUILLAC Médoc 86 - 87 Dark red colour, of good intensity. Neat nose, of medium intensity, fruity and resinous. This wine, tender in the mouth, is constructed in a classic fashion. It does not have the exuberance encountered in the 2003. On the other hand, the tannins are fine, and the length is good. Maturing will tell us more. PRIEURE LICHINE Margaux Well tasted once. I am waiting for a second tasting. PUYGUERAUD Côtes de Francs 85 Lovely colour. Mellow nose of cherry and blackberry. In the mouth, the wine presents a certain austerity. It does not have the hoped for pulp in mid-mouth. That said, it catches up at the finish with a lovely length and coated tannins. RICHELIEU Fronsac 85 There is in this wine a refined note due to a subtle tannic texture made of a delicate fat and lots of taste. That said, I was hoping for more in thickness in the middle. Lovely length. Elongated style. ROL VALENTIN St-Emilion Grand Cru 92My best score given to this wine as a future. Very lovely colour. Great complex nose, very fresh and very pure. The mouth reveals itself from attack, all softness, with taste. All pulp, strong but not rustic, this astonishing wine ends long, very aromatic and very, very pleasant. Very lovely fresh length with liquorice. SANCTUS du Ch. La Bienfaisance St-Emilion Grand Cru 89 With this wine, the score is higher than that given to the sample tasted at the Right Bank Circle. In particular, I was impressed by this wine’s strength, length and complexity. TERTRE DAUGAY St-Emilion Grand Cru 87 After the success of the 2004, here is a 2005 with a very, very fruity nose. The wine is fat, juicy and fairly strong, offering taste. It is concentrated in mid-mouth and could be longer. I was expecting it to be less austere in this vintage. TROIS ORIGINES Saint-Emilion 86Stéphane Derenoncourt is one of the owners of this new property. Very lovely intense dark red. Neat, strong nose, of medium intensity. A note evokes ripe blackcurrant and the hillsides. In the mouth, one is down on the plain, if anything. The wine is flavourful, very fruity, but still slightly firm in its tannin given the vintage. Normal length. VRAI CANON BOUCHÉ Canon-Fronsac 85An estate with Stéphane Derenoncourt as new consultant. Very lovely colour. Lovely nose: fresh, pure, mellow and subtle. There is something particular in this cru. The mouth is more withdrawn, with notes which are slightly less lively and slightly less fleshy in mid-mouth than in other crus (to be checked next year). That said, the length is good and the tannin well-placed. To be followed during maturing.

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Bordeaux Futures 2005: third report

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