Chronicle 198

Chronicle 198 (Sunday, February 14 2016) Bottles vs. magnums, second round! THIS TIME THE MAGNUMS WIN, BUT OVERALL, WINES IN BOTTLES ARE STILL BETTER THAN MAGNUM WINES Brane Cantenac 1985, Mouton Rothschild 1975, Latour 1986, Grand Puy Lacoste 1986, château Margaux 1997, Palmer 1998, Haut Bailly 1995, Léoville Barton 1999, D'Aiguilhe 2003, La Conseillante 2001, La Mauriane 2005, Grand Puy Lacoste 2010 Not wanting to conclude on the basis of a single result, I had decided to continue the test to derive an average. I therefore kicked off the New Year with a further comparison of bottles to magnums. While bottles beat magnums eight times out of twelve in the previous series, in this year's comparison, the magnum wines were better five times out of ten; wines from bottles won three times and we declared a draw twice. Out of the twelve wines tasted, two pairs were affected by corky overtones. So this time, the magnums have it. At first blush, this result makes an overall conclusion less obvious, but for all twenty-two wines, bottles still come out better with 11 wins compared to 9 magnums and two draws. So the old claim that wine is better from magnums than from bottles is still not endorsed. Outstanding performances Haut Bailly 1995, which was the overall winner of the tasting of 1995's twenty years after, confirmed its leadership, scoring 16.25 (91) for its bottle and 17 (94) for its magnum. La Mauriane 2005 compensated for its poor performance last June. Château Margaux 1997, which is supposed to be a modest vintage, provided a pleasant surprise. The bottle of Brane Cantenac 1985 performed well with a surprisingly appealing finish. This blind tasting was held in public in January 2016 using purchased wines, which were decanted one hour before being served. _________________________________________________ 1st series Brane Cantenac 1985 magnum 14,5 // 86 Logo on the cork: an upside down T Fruity nose, but a tinge green. Pleasant, melting, fragrant, soft but light on the palate. Brane Cantenac 1985 bottle 15,5 // 88 Logo on the cork: unreadable The colour has aged more than in the magnum. Intense and above all more elegant on the nose. Not at all green. Fruity hints with touches of cedar and blackcurrant. Pleasant and very fruity on the palate, it is smooth and fragrant, and finished sappy. Drink now and up to 2025. Mouton Rothschild 1975 magnum 12 // 76 Logo on the cork: unreadable The colour has aged more than in the bottle! Mediocre nose. Fruit on the palate, but pretty thin. Mouton Rothschild 1975 bottle corked Logo on the cork: unreadable _________________________________________________ 2nd series Latour 1986 bottle 15,75 // 89 Logo on the cork: unreadable Pretty nose that is intense, fresh, fruity and subtle. Succulent attack, flavoursome and fragrant in the middle, medium-bodied, it becomes melting and ends on a slightly shortened finish. Pleasant overall, but very tender for a Latour. Drink now and up to 2026. Latour 1986 magnum 15 // 87 Logo on the cork: unreadable Nose identical to that of the bottle. Flatter on the palate, not so melting and slightly drier on the finish. Grand Puy Lacoste 1986 magnum Logo on the cork: unreadable Oxidised. Doesn't stand out. Grand Puy Lacoste 1986 bottle corked Logo on the cork: SM _________________________________________________ 3rd series Château Margaux 1997 bottle 16 // 90 Logo on the cork: an upside down T Fruity and fresh on the nose. Tender, succulent, smooth and flavoursome with elegant tannins and a hint of ink on the finish. It's delicious and impossible to spit out. Nice surprise! Drink now and up to 2022. Château Margaux 1997 magnum 16,75 // 93 Logo on the cork: an upside down T The colour has aged more than in the bottle! More complex nose than the bottle! More elegant and fruitier too. Softer and smoother, more richly supple on the palate, but still remains very fruity. You want to suck it on the finish. Drink now and up to 2022. Palmer 1998 bottle 15,5 // 88 Logo on the cork: an upside down T Discrete, fruity nose. Hints of cedar. Holds back a little on the attack, but flavoursome. It melts on the palate, but finishes a little firm. Medium length. Drink now and up to 2022. Palmer 1998 magnum 16,25 // 91 Logo on the cork: an upside down T The colour has aged more than the bottle. The nose is more elegant too. Lusher on the palate, more fragrant and more textured. Standard length. Drink now and up to 2035. _________________________________________________ 4th series Haut Bailly 1995 bottle 16,25 // 91 Logo on the cork: unreadable Dark, aged colour of good intensity. Intense, elegant, fruity, ripe, deep, fresh, creamy and subtle on the nose. Silky, melting and flavoursome on the palate with a taste of ink. It is rich and supple, slender and subtle. Delicious! Drink now and up to 2025. Haut Bailly 1995 magnum 17 // 94 Logo on the cork: unreadable Colour more aged! Nose more closed. Smoother and more fully constituted on the palate, while remaining subtle. Flavoursome long finish. Superb wine! Drink now and up to 2035. Léoville Barton 1999 magnum 16 // 90 Logo on the cork: LBG Nose still young and a little discrete, but creamy. Lovely wide attack, then it begins to melt, revealing lots of taste. Unfortunately the finish is a tad bitter. Pity! Drink now and up to 2035. Léoville Barton 1999 bottle 16 // 90 Logo on the cork: LBG The bottle is practically the same as the magnum. Quite astonishing! Drink now and up to 2035. _________________________________________________ 5th series D'Aiguilhe 2003 magnum 15,75 // 89 Logo on the cork: AL Dark colour, slightly aged. Intense and fruity on the nose. Hints of cedar. Fruity, smooth and flavoursome on the palate, medium-bodied, but with a very uniform development throughout the tasting. Overall, very pleasant and more richly supple than the bottle. Drink now and up to 2030. D'Aiguilhe 2003 bottle 15,5 // 88 Logo on the cork: MS. Dark colour, slightly aged. Fresher nose than the magnum, but more tannic on the finish. Drink now and up to 2023. La Conseillante 2001 bottle 16,5 // 92 Logo on the cork: an upside down T Dark, aged colour of good intensity. Intense, fruity, fresh and creamy on the nose with a hint of ink and an exotic note. Beautiful, full attack, then the wine asserts itself on the mid-palate and is rich and big at the same time. Fine, flavoursome finish with lots of freshness behind the tannins. Wait before drinking. 2020-2040. La Conseillante 2001 magnum 15,5 // 88 Logo on the cork: an upside down T Slightly oxidised nose. The finish is quite austere. Fine example of a “bad bottle”. _________________________________________________ 6th series La Mauriane 2005 magnum 16,25 // 91 Logo on the cork: A in a circle Lovely deep, intense colour. Elegant, subtle nose with very ripe fruit. Richly supple, smooth, melting and even ethereal on the palate. It becomes succulent and is finely knit on the finish with still a slightly tannic edge. 2023-2045. La Maurianne 2005 bottle 16,5 // 92 Logo on the cork: A in a circle Identical colour. Purer, classier and deeper nose. More richly supple on the palate than the magnum! Very good length. This bottle is just like I have always known it and is nothing like what I tasted in June 2015. A superb Outsider. 2018-2040. Grand Puy Lacoste 2010 magnum 17 // 94 Logo on the cork: an upside down T Lovely deep, intense colour. Elegant, subtle, fragrant nose with a hint of vanilla. Caressing, especially fragrant and melting on the palate, it has taste. It bounces back on the finish with a refined texture and hints of liquorice, vanilla and different fruit. It's delicious. 2030-2060 Grand Puy Lacoste 2010 bottle 17 // 94 Logo on the cork: an upside down T Identical colour and nose. Very close to the magnum on the palate, but just a little more tannic on the finish. 2025-2050 Happy reading. Jean-Marc Quarin ________________________________________________________________ @Copyright This publication is the original work of Jean-Marc Quarin Sarl, 10 allée de Ginouilhac, 33320 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 is shown as the Copyright holder.

2016 Chronicles

Chronicle 198

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