Chronicle 155: 2000’s tasted from consumers’ cellars. Pibran, the incredible outsider 2011, 2010, 2009. Branaire Ducru 2011, 2010, 2009, 2003

2000’s tasted from consumers’ cellars: La Serre, Beauséjour Bécot, Figeac, Vieux Château Certan, La Conseillante, Cos d’Estournel, Pape Clément, Lascombes, Pichon Baron, Palmer, Lynch Bages, Gruaud Larose, Ducru Beaucaillou, Léoville Barton, Léoville Las Cases Branaire Ducru 2011, 2010, 2009, 2003 Pibran, the incredible outsider 2011, 2010, 2009 Pontet Canet 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008 Bordeaux 2013 (continued) Chronicle 155 (22 September 2013) 2000s TASTED FROM CONSUMERS’ CELLARS The tasting took place in September 2013 in a private Swiss club. The wines were served blind and in public in series as described below. They were not decanted, which probably confined the width of some of them on the palate. Overall, I was surprised by how quickly their colours had evolved. This vintage remained closed for a long time, but now seems ready to be served. Amongst the top level wines, 2000 is just starting to open and outshine 2001, which had been better for a long time. First series LA SERRE 2000 Saint-Emilion GC 15.// 87 Deep colour with medium intensity, slightly aged. Discrete, fruity nose. Pleasant on the palate with medium length and body. Lacking in strength. 2013-2018. BEAUSEJOUR BECOT 2000 Saint-Emilion GC 15.75.// 89 Deep colour with medium intensity, slightly aged. Ripe fruit on the nose. Animal hints. Lovely, flavoursome attack. It melts and caresses the palate with a nice fruity taste, but it lacks strength. 2013-2020. FIGEAC 2000 Saint-Emilion GC 16.// 90 Deep colour, but average intensity and already aged. Ripe fruit on the nose. Animal and smoky hints. Lovely attack. It grows to become aromatic and melting with taste, medium body and fine tannins as it lingers. Spicy notes. 2013-2023. VIEUX CHATEAU CERTAN 2000 Pomerol 15.// 87 Surprising on the palate because it is slightly acidic and has medium length. This is obviously a bad bottle. This is unfortunately frequent with this vintage at Vieux Château Certan. See the Guide Quarin des Vins de Bordeaux, p. 52. (Soon available in English) LA CONSEILLANTE 2000 Pomerol 16.25.// 91 The colour is of medium intensity and slightly aged. Animal and fruity on the nose. Lovely attack, subtly soft, smooth and fruity. It develops to become caressing, not very powerful on the mid-palate with a slightly firm finish. Standard length. Decanting would have improved it. 2013-2023. Second series COS D’ESTOURNEL 2000 Saint-Estèphe 16.// 90 Deep colour, intense, lovely and bright. Fruity, elegant nose. Hints of tar. Soft, fragrant and melting on the palate, developing to reveal a fine structure with medium strength and length. 2013-2023. PAPE CLEMENT 2000 Pessac-Léognan 16.75.// 93 Deep colour of average intensity. Subtle nose of ripe fruit and vanilla. Lovely, big attack. It develops to become juicy, flavoursome, melting and has good density. Long finish with the slightest hint of wood. 2013-2030. LASCOMBES 2000 Margaux 17.// 94 Deep colour with medium intensity and slightly aged. Lovely fruity, smooth nose. Big on the attack, juicy as it develops, mouth-filling and quite full, it grows in strength with structure, both smooth and a little austere. Wait until 2015, then up to 2030. This was a surprise that I intend to confirm or not in a future tasting, because I have so few notes on this wine. PICHON LONGUEVILLE BARON 2000 Pauillac 15.5.// 88 Deep colour with medium intensity and slightly aged. Discrete, fruity nose. Rounded and pleasant on the palate, lacking strength in the middle and medium length. Ready to drink now, up to 2020. Unfortunately there are major differences from one bottle to another with this wine in this vintage. See the past comments in the database. PALMER 2000 Margaux 16.// 90 Deep colour with medium intensity and slightly aged. Meaty and spicy on the nose. Round attack, fruity, flavoursome, soft and smooth in the middle, stretches out on the finish that is fragrant but also stiffened with a hint of wood. 2015-2030. LYNCH BAGES 2000 Pauillac 17.// 94 Deep colour, intense and slightly aged. Fruity, elegant nose. Cedar notes. Flavoursome on the palate with a lovely caressing feel, going on to be melting and energetic, finishing long with fine-grained tannins. Slightly austere, but very tasty. 2015-2030. Third series GRUAUD LAROSE 2000 Saint-Julien 16.5.// 92 Deep colour of standard intensity and slightly aged. Ripe fruit on the nose. Hints of vanilla and smoke. Immediately juicy on the palate with a surprisingly airy quality and softened tannins and no stiffness. Good strength. Long, pleasant finish. It’s tasty! 2013-2025. DUCRU BEAUCAILLOU 2000 Saint-Julien 16.25.// 91 Deep colour of standard intensity and slightly aged. Fruity nose with vanilla and cream. Smooth, flavoursome, melting and fragrant on the palate. Standard strength. Altogether delicious. Good length. 2013-2025. LEOVILLE BARTON 2000 Saint-Julien 16.75.// 93 Deep colour that is intense and uniform. One of the few to still be young. Ripe fruit on the nose. Soft and very fruity on the palate with a silky feel. It melts in the middle and ends up sappy with a very Cabernet Sauvignon profile and fine tannins. Very nice length. Lots of charm. Impossible to spit out. 2013-2030. LEOVILLE LAS CASES 2000 Saint-Julien 17.5.// 95 Deep colour that is intense, uniform, lovely and young. Deep, complex nose that is mainly fruity. Vigorous attack, then it develops to become powerful with a taste of blackberries, juicy, flavoursome and structured. Softened tannins on the finish. Noble, fragrant grain. Lovely length. It’s very good. 2013-2035. A very attractive wine that I scored 18 // 96 last February, served decanted TASTED THIS WEEK IN BORDEAUX BRANAIRE DUCRU 2011 Saint-Julien 16.5.// 92 Very nicely made wine, fruity and especially flavoursome with soft tannins and good length that is floral, fruity and fine-grained. 2016-2030. BRANAIRE DUCRU 2010 Saint-Julien 17.// 94 Lovely elegant nose, smooth and fresh with vanilla notes. Very fruity and flavoursome on the palate, richly supple with taste and fine tannins, without being very powerful. 2020-2040. BRANAIRE DUCRU 2009 Saint-Julien 17.5.// 95 Lovely accomplishment from the estate. Profound colour. Elegant nose with a tasty blackberry jam smell. Richly supple on the palate and juicy, soft and powerful at the same time, finishing complex and with softened tannins. Don’t miss this one! 2020-2040. BRANAIRE DUCRU 2003 Saint-Julien 17.5.// 95 This is the third time in fifteen months that the great quality of this wine surprises me. While many 2003 are losing their rich suppleness and becoming austere, this one stands out with its multi-layered nose, its big, graceful palate that is so powerful and delicious. Seek it out. 2013-2030. PIBRAN (Pauillac), the INCREDIBLE OUTSIDER For a Pauillac, this wine has two distinctive features: the largest proportion of Merlot in the appellation and its soil, which is more clayey limestone than gravel, reminiscent of that of Clerc Milon. The team from Pichon Baron produce a wine there that is more and more remarkable. It stands out with a high enjoyment score. 2011 16.// 90 This is a wonderful achievement. This wine has no weak points. It is round, juicy and fills the mouth, finishing gracefully with a very high score for enjoyment. 2013-2030. 2010 16.5.// 92 Very fruity wine, rolled up in a ball, with fleshy tannins and very wrapped up strength. It’s long and very tasty. 2017-2035. 2009 16.75.// 93 What an accomplishment! Very ripe fruit on the nose. A hint of fig. Big attack, it melts in the mouth, graceful before building in strength and finishing long and very, very good with a taste of blackberry jelly. 2015-2030. PONTET CANET, Pauillac 2011 16.5.// 92 Very flavoursome, richly supple wine, quite powerful. It ends nicely constituted with a softened, fruity finish of good length. 2017-2030. 2010 18.// 96 Very fruity and very ripe on the nose, a little Californian. A hint of ink. Powerful, multi-layered and fresh on the palate with a very long finish and slightly extracted tannins. 2020-2040. 2009 19.// 98 Tasted from a half-bottle, this wine is slightly more aged than in a full bottle. Big and caressing on the palate with complex hints of violets and ink, reminiscent of what is best of Cabernet Sauvignon. Grand, noble finish. Superb fine wine. 2020-2050. 2008 17.5.// 95 I have tasted this wine twice in one year. It is one of the stars of the vintage in the Medoc. Deep colour of average intensity. Ripe fruit and vanilla on the fresh nose. Juicy on the attack, then it develops to become very fruity with a lovely feel and notes of raspberry and vanilla. Flavoursome and sappy on the finish with fine tannins. It’s long and very tasty. 2015-2035. BORDEAUX 2013 We had autumnal weather between 6 th and 15 th September, half wet, half sunny and cool temperatures at night. Depending on the areas, there were between 16 and 24 mm of rain, not including the storm on the 14 th . The red wine grapes that I have tasted are not ripe yet, but they are disease-free and quite well distributed on the vines. For the moment, I find the size of the grapes quite small, which is a good thing. A big question mark hangs over the next thirty days. “The weather just needs to hold up”, says Thomas Duroux, manager at Palmer. This estate cultivated 33 hectares (81.5 acres) organically out of its total 55 (140 acres). From November onwards, it will all be organic, which makes it imperative to pay close and continuous attention to the vines. The news about the coming white wine harvest is waxing positive both with regard to volumes and quality. We’ll see. Happy reading! Jean-Marc Quarin _________________________________________________________________________ © Copyright 2010. This publication is the original work of Jean-Marc Quarin Sarl, 10 allée de Ginouilhac, Le Taillan-Médoc. France. - E-mail : jmquarin@quarin.com The news media and subscribing wine distributors, importers and retailers may use portions of this material (such as tasting notes, ratings or quotes) provided that it is not distorted, the proper wine and vintage are stated, www.quarin.com is given credit for the material utilized, and Jean-Marc Quarin (JMQ) is shown as the Copyright holder.

2013 Chronicles

Chronicle 155: 2000’s tasted from consumers’ cellars. Pibran, the incredible outsider 2011, 2010, 2009. Branaire Ducru 2011, 2010, 2009, 2003

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