Bordeaux Futures 2006: fifth report

Saint-Estèphe, Pauillac crus bourgeois and second wines Fifth report, April 6, 2007 New CALON SEGUR .... 90In September, 2006, Vincent Millet left his position as quality control manager at Château Margaux to take command at Calon-Ségur. I have never smelled a Calon-Ségur with such a pure nose. As for the taste, it has more flesh than usual, without losing its caressing touch. Very lovely long, flavorful finish. A good success this year. The Merlot was picked rather late, between September 26 and 28, and the Cabernet Sauvignon between October 2 and 8. These dates, a priori a bit later than usual, did not decrease the fruit’s fresh character. Composition: 63% Cabernet Sauvignon, 33% Merlot, 4% Petit Verdot. Words from the winemakers Jean-Noël Hervé, owner, Moulin Haut-Laroque at Fronsac “The problem with 2006 is to follow 2005.” Dominique Béve, director of Château Lascombes à Margaux “Analytically, 2006 appears like 2005, but only analytically.” 2006, 2001 comparative continued Yesterday, I forgot another important distinction: the 2001 harvest is much less productive than the 2006 harvest. That is why certain 2001 wines have a very lovely concentration (Montrose, Latour, Léoville Las Cases, Pape Clément, La Conseillante). Saint-Estèphe, Pauillac crus bourgeois and second winesAmong the four major communal names, Margaux, Saint-Julien, Pauillac and Saint-Estèphe, the latter is, all things considered, the least successful of the year. Allowing for exceptions, the wines lack charm, overall. The colors are less deep than in Saint-Julien and Pauillac. As is its habit, the appellation presents wines of a style a little firmer than elsewhere. Pauillac 2006 wines exceed Saint-Estèphe wines in quality. They are more colorful and have a fatter taste. Saint-EstèpheANDRON BLANQUET Saint-Estèphe Cru Bourgeois 85 - 86 Good color, dark, nose fruity, ripe, fresh, and vanilla-flavored. The mouth starts fat, becomes smooth, and finishes with tannin a bit firm, but aromatic. The wine offers fat for the year. BEAU SITE Saint-Estèphe Cru Bourgeois 84 Red color, dark, average intensity. Fruity, pleasant taste, average fullness, tannin a bit firm at the finish. Pleasant wine without being complex. CLAUZET Saint-Estèphe Cru Bourgeois 87 - 88After 2005’s superb success, Baron Velge and José Bueno play their cards perfectly in this not-always-easy year in Saint-Estèphe. The color is lovely and the nose is fresh, floral, fruity and ripe. In the mouth, the wine offers us a smoothness, new for the appellation this year. It develops dense, with tannins, but hidden in a perfectly mastered way. Spicy flavors, Finish astonishingly aromatic. This wine shows no rigidity. An estate that makes more progress each year. DE PEZ Saint-Estèphe Cru Bourgeois 88 - 89 Very lovely dark red, good intensity, beautiful. Nose intense, fresh, fruity, subtly toasty and accompanied by a hint of coffee. Mouth caressing, silky, juicy, aromatic, built. It fills out in the heart of tasting on fine tannins. There is breeding in this kind of wine! Good finish, incessantly aromatic. A beautiful success of the year. HAUT BEAUSEJOUR Saint-Estèphe Cru Bourgeois 83 Colorful wine, with a simple and slightly peppery nose. Tender, light, pleasant mouth. It is ideal for a light lunch. HAUT MARBUZET Saint-Estèphe Cru Bourgeois 87 - 88 Colorful. Nose fruity, fresh, floral, and licorice. Mouth offering the roundness of Merlot on attack. Then the wine has a slight eclipse in the middle, before starting up again at the finish, smooth, aromatic, and accompanied by a woody taste that makes the brand’s reputation. Normal length. LA DAME DE MONTROSE Saint-Estèphe Second vin 85 - 86 Colorful wine, Discreet, fruity nose. Mouth tender, with a fruity taste, a bit bland. Well-constructed. Average length. LA PEYRE Saint-Estèphe Cru Bourgeois 84 Colorful wine, aromatic, fruity with average body and hidden tannin. LE CROCK Saint-Estèphe Cru Bourgeois 86 Lovely dark red color, intense, Nose discreet, fruity, ripe, floral. Taste pleasant and rather smooth for the year. Round tannin. Average length and fruity. LES ORMES DE PEZ Saint-Estèphe Cru Bourgeois 87 Very lovely dark red, good intensity. Nose fruity, fresh, pure. Delicious wine in the mouth, aromatic and smooth. Dynamic finish. Good, flavorful length. A pleasure. MEYNEY Saint-Estèphe Cru Bourgeois 85 - 86 Very lovely dark red color, intense, purple. Nose fruity, creamy, fresh, and spicy. This wine changes its style this year. It lost its slightly boorish, tannic presentation. The balance is better. The wine finishes flavorful, tannic, but not rigid. PHELAN SEGUR Saint-Estèphe Cru Bourgeois 87 - 88 Very lovely color, intense and dark. Nose very fruity, ripe, fresh and aromatic. This year at Phélan escaped the tannic rigidity at Saint-Estèphe. The fat is lovely, the mouth smooth, and the tannin very much in flesh. Beautiful length. POMYS Saint-Estèphe Cru Bourgeois 84 Red color, average intensity. Reduced nose and rather animal. Once again this animal expression is truly typical of this wine. I find it incessantly in the bottled vintages. It is made by the same team as Château Saint-Estèphe. Pomys is a smoother wine. Nonetheless, this presentation in primeurs is rather unrefined. It must wait for aging. I note the taste and good tannin at the finish. SAINT ESTÈPHE Saint-Estèphe Cru Bourgeois 83 The color is dark red, with average intensity. Discreet nose, simple and even very brut in its presentation. Fruity mouth, round enough at the beginning and developing with tannin a bit rough. Average length. SEGUR DE CABANAC Saint-Estèphe Cru Bourgeois 85 - 86 Very lovely dark intense red, black and purple. Nose aromatic, floral, and spicy. In the mouth, mildness prevails. The wine has a fruity flavor, subtly creamy and fat. Fullness and length are normal, tannic but without roughness. SERILHAN Saint-Estèphe Cru Bourgeois 84 Dark red color, vivid, lovely. Fruity nose, ripe and vanilla-flavored. Tender wine on entry, which develops fruity. It lacks presence in the middle and the tannin arrives rather fast. The length is normal. TOUR DES TERMES Saint-Estèphe Cru Bourgeois 85 Lovely red color, dark, vivid. Discreet nose. Round mouth, juicy, with pleasant smoothness. The tannin is well in place and hidden. Powerful, tannic finish, well-followed by the aroma in its persistence. TRONQUOY LALANDE Saint-Estèphe Cru Bourgeois 84 - 85 Colorful wine, presenting fresh fruit. The taste is not boorish, as were preceding years. The tannin is more subtle, but in the wine that I tasted, the fruit lacked sparkle. To look at again during aging. PauillacBELLEGRAVE (Pauillac) Pauillac 85 - 86 Dark red, good intensity, purple. Nose fruity, fresh, woody, and subtly toasty. This wine's entry, as well as the middle, resembles the fat that I found in the 2005 wines. Then the wine presents an average body, hidden tannins, and no angles. Average length, too. CARRUADES DE LAFITE Pauillac 85 - 86 Lovely color, Fruity, ripe, fresh nose. Wine has a ripe taste and well-extracted tannic texture. Caressing in the mouth and pleasant. It ends with an average finish. Only the aromatic expression seemed a bit timid to me. Aging will say what follows. COLOMBIER MONPELOU Pauillac 85 Lovely dark red, good intensity. Nose is fruity, vanilla-flavored and creamy. Tender mouth, fruity, slightly rounded in the middle. The fullness and finish are average. FONBADET Pauillac 87 - 88 The color is intense and lovely. The rather aromatic nose has hints of blackberry. Smooth taste, very fruity, developing with a caressing touch. Tannin perfectly well-hidden. Flavorful, aromatic finish. A well-made wine, perfectly balanced with no tannic angle. Here is a good success of the year. HAUT BAGES MONPELOU Pauillac 86 Very colorful wine, with a fresh, fruity nose. Very fruity taste on attack, developing with a creamy touch and an aromatic structure with average strength. Very flavorful, the wine finishes a tiny bit firm in its persistence with normal length. Aging will reveal it a bit more. LA FLEUR PEYRABON Pauillac 88 With this vintage, Patrick Bernard confirms the progress of his favorite wine. The color has all that it needs. The nose is intense, fruity, creamy, and spicy. But, above all, it is the taste, incredibly fat for the year, that captures my attention. Very well built, aromatic, powerful, tannic, and constantly full of flesh, this energetic wine finishes with very good length. A success of the year and above all, a wine that progresses more and more since 2001. LES FORTS DE LATOUR Pauillac 90When I tasted this wine, I was initially seduced by the vividness of its fruit. It inevitably made me think of the great amount of work by the property's operators in the managing the vineyard. And to find, in the taste of the wine, the involvement of every moment of the year is a true happiness for me. The taste of this Forts de Latour 2006 is fleshy, full of flavor and life. The wine develops with flavor, juicy, very slowly, occupies the middle of the palate well and finishes sappy with tannins with a ripe taste. The finish persists a long time while keeping its vividness. A very fine approach that mixes the sense of pleasure and viticultural esthetics. Bravo. LES TOURELLES DE LONGUEVILLE Pauillac 85 - 86 Lovely dark red, purple. Fruity nose. Lovely smooth wine on entry. Very fruity. Fresh. Shows taste and good construction. For the moment, the finish is a bit tannic and woody. It will change with aging. PAUILLAC 3ème vin du Château LATOUR Pauillac 87 - 88Another success! Wine lovers must know that this wine, which does not have the quality of raw material comparable to that of FORTS DE LATOUR or LATOUR, is made into wine in a different way. The goal is to give it charming qualities immediately. To do so, wine makers also depend on their knowledge of what is good and pleasant in the wine's taste: touch, balance, fat, and fruit. The color is lovely, the nose pure and very fruity. The taste has the style of a small model. Flavorful tannin, well hidden. Very good quality. A pleasure. Blend 49% Cabernet Sauvignon, 45% Merlot et 6% Petit Verdot.PETIT MOUTON DE MOUTON ROTHSCHILD Pauillac 85 - 86 Very colorful wine with a discreet, fruity nose. Taste round, fruity, with volume and average vividness. I suppose that the best fruit was not put in this second wine. Such is its calling. The tannin is hidden, nevertheless, and the length average. Mr. Dalhuin called my attention to the presence of 16% Cabernet Franc in this Petit Mouton. From experience, he thinks that this will result in a strong tendency to reduction. Thus the wine seems to be unstable as long as it continues aging. That said, Mr. Dalhuin recognizes that Petit Mouton has not yet been touched by the grace of changes in progress in all the vineyards of the Domaines Baron Philippe de Rothschild.PIBRAN Pauillac 85 - 86 Very lovely coloring, intensity. Discreet nose, smelling of slightly cooked fruit. The taste is very tannic, or fruity and lacks a little bit of smoothness in its persistence. Aging will certainly get rid of this perception. Why? Well, Pibran uprooted a large part of its Cabernet Sauvignon vines in order to replant them. Thus, this 2006 vintage is a blend of 70% Merlot for barely 30% Cabernet Sauvignon. At this age, it is normal for the Merlot to be a bit more marked by wood. It probably will be delicious drunk young.RESERVE DE LA COMTESSE Pauillac 85 - 86 Lovely dark red, good intensity. Fruity nose, average intensity. The taste is all fruit and rather vivid. Normal fullness. Fruity tannin and a dash of wood. Average length. Very pleasant wine. Thank you for your attention. We will rest during the Easter weekend. The next report will be published on Tuesday, April 10th. It will talk about prestigious chateaux. Have a nice week-end. Jean-Marc Quarin ______________________________________________________________________________ © Copyright: All rights reserved. No part of this article may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form, or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the author: Jean-Marc Quarin Sarl, 10 allée de Ginouilhac, BP 40, 33320 Le Taillan-Médoc. France. Tél. 00 33 (0)5 56 35 83 93. Fax 00 33 (0)5 56 35 86 50. E-mail : jmquarin@wanadoo.fr

2006 Futures live

Bordeaux Futures 2006: fifth report

Subscribe

Subscription

Wine name	(Producer, appellation, etc.)