Other French Red Notes      October 2003 Bordeaux . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Rhône Any Others BORDEAUX 1995 Château Croizet-Bages, Pauillac October 2003 Deep garnet fading slightly to a brownish rim. The nose is high toned with slightly cooked, sweet black fruit. The palate has good concentration, nice acidity and well controlled, slightly furry tannins. A very smooth wine of medium length - nothing earth shattering but smooth and tasty. 1999 Château Lafite, Pauillac April 2003 I've only drunk Lafite once before and that was the 1996. So it's interesting to note a strong family resemblance with the blackcurrant core wrapped in a graphite and cedar coat. Just a suspicion of oak too. Again a nice core of black fruit on the exceptionally smooth palate. This hasn't the concentrated of the 1996 but it's cut from the same cloth. Still excellent I'd say. 2000 Château Lamothe Bergeron, Haut-Médoc April 2003 Deep colour. Cassis and a little spice on the nose. Concentrated with forward tannins. Long but a suggestion of cork - not rated. 2000 Château d'Escurac, Médoc April 2003 Almost saturated purple. The nose has tons of sweet toasty oak with faint blackcurrant. Astringent tannins, a black fruit profile and lots going on - quite impressed by this. Long too with a trace of vanilla. Very good but needs plenty of time 2000 Château Beau-Site, St.Estèphe April 2003 Again very deep colouration. The nose is oaky, but less so than the previous wines showing nice blackcurrant. Lovely fat palate but the tannin is very drying. Good concentration and acidity. Much longer finish than the previous wines. Very good. 2000 Château Lilian Ladouys, St.Estèphe April 2003 Very deep colour. The first wine whose nose nose shouts "fruits". A gorgeous mix of blackcurrant and blacberry. The black fruit is also excellent on the palate, again with strong astringent tannins. Good acidity and quite long too. Easily the best wine of this tasting, excellent value too. 2000 Château Batailley, Pauillac April 2003 Quite deep ruby colour with a purple rim. They obviuosly use a lot more oak today than when I last bought (1995). It's toasty but with sweet fruit supporting. Medium tannins, good acidity and good fruit concentration coupled with reasonable length make this not bad at all. 2000 Château Chantegrive, Pessac-Léognan April 2003 Deep ruby. The nose has more subtle and creamier oak than many. The tannins are astringent and slightly bitter, good fruit and excellent length though. Pretty good. 2000 Château La Pointe, Pomerol April 2003 Deep ruby with a purple rim. The nose is reticent but shows more fruit than oak. Nice concentrated fruit on the palate. Tannic with good acidity and good length. Very good. 1996 Château Poujeaux, Moulis en Médoc September 2002 Garnet with a ruby rim. This wine has subtle oak and very unsubtle 'stewing' black cherry and plum aromas. Good concentration on the palate, again black skinned fruit - mainly cherry and plum but a suggestion of blackcurrant too. The acidity is very good and paired with medium tannins. Still a couple of years required here, but a good wine. 1995 Les Pensées de Lafleur, Pomerol September 2002 Full ruby coloured. Nose is restrained but with much swirling you can find traces of oak with black cherry in the background. The palate, despite showing considerable tannin is nicely silky. Acidity is good, supporting medium intensity black fruit. Caramel notes on the finish. Very good. 1997 Château Clerc Milon, Pauillac July 2002 Deep ruby colour with some fading at the rim. Nose is a sophisticated mixture of roasted fruits, cedar and pencil lead – very appealing. The palate unfortunately is a bit of a let-down; weak density of fruit, with reasonable acidity and mild tannins. Length is okay, but this wine is not worth the outlay - disappointing. 1998 Château Fonroque, Saint Emilion Grand Cru Classé May 2002 (Half) Dark, almost opaque garnet. Nose is quite oaky with ahigh toast, but quite pleasing with something halfway between blackcurrant and black cherry peeping out over the oak. The palate is oakily fat with good acidity and medium length. A nice drink already. 1998 Le Petit Cheval, Saint Emilion Grand Cru May 2002 (Half) Not as dense colour as the Fonroque, and more purple. On the nose a different beast; no obvious oak, just mild spice and sweet high toned red fruit. The palate has similar density to the Fonroque, with less persistent acid but more tannin. Oak induced creamy finish which is quite long. I prefer this style and would guess it will be at it's best over the next 5-6 years. 1998 Château Belair, Saint Emilion Grand Cru Classé (B) May 2002 (Half) Dark garnet colour. Nose is similar to the Petit Cheval, though a little less interesting. The fruit on the palate is also similar to the previous wine though denser, with higher acid & tannin. Certainly much more stuffing, and should be the basis of a longer lived wine. 1998 Les Pensées de Lafleur, Pomerol May 2002 (Half) Very dark, almost opaque garnet. Nose is very oaky with high toast. Behind there is plum and bitter chocolate. The palate is silkily tannic with long acidity and good depth of fruit. This is much more of a challenge to drink right now than the previous three, I'm just trying to imagine what Lafleur itself must be like. I think I'd most like to have the baby Lafleur in my celler, but to drink over the next few years, the baby horse is the star. 1994 Château Grand-Puy Lacoste, Pauillac February 2002 (From half) Deeply coloured, mature ruby with amber at the rim. From cold (14C), impressively intense nose with blackcurrant at the top end coming down to leather with earth and pencil lead at the bottom end. Palate is medium bodied with nicely lingering acidity which pushes the finish longer, though a little astringent. Tannins are almost gone, and the fruit is too diffuse to put your finger on anything in particular. The astringency goes with food, but I would say this is a wine to drink up. Considering the vintage a lovely wine. 1995 Carruades de Lafite February 2002 (From half) Maturing colour of deep ruby. Some high tones with mild almond and blackberry in the mix. Palate is a little short of fruit, nice acidity and not intrusive tannin. Long but not in a nice way as the finish is unpleasantly astringent. 1988 Château Croizet-Bages, Pauillac January 2002 Mature coloured, a core of deep brick, browning at the rim. The nose has a bit of sulphur to start which becomes a little cheesy as it develops. But there is also a lift of sweet apple pie, followed by mixed dried fruit, meat & leather, pencil shavings but no cigar box. The palate is thick and smooth with very well covered acidity and some drying tannin. There is baked fruit, but not focused enough to characterise. Only medium length, and a touch astringent at the very end. A really interesting wine which is still enjoyable, but drying out and should be drunk, it lost a lot of interest after being open for an hour. Given the colour though, maybe this example hasn't seen the very best storage. Enjoyed this more than my Lynch-Bages '88 though! 1988 Château Lynch Bages, Pauillac January 2002 From half. Still deeply coloured, more garnet than ruby and browner at the rim. Freshly opened the nose gives leather, wood and . . . Münster cheese (!) At first the palate is dominated by the acidity and is not very rewarding. Given a couple of hours the nose is a little less expressive at least in the cheese department, but a little bramble starts to come through. The acid whilst still prominent is no longer the dominant feature. The tannin is still there and reasonably fine. The finish is good, just melting away. Good, but not very good. 1998 Château La Pointe, Pomerol January 2002 My first 1998 right bank. Very dark garnet. Absolutely fantastic focussed black fruit on the nose. The palate has lovely furry tannins and good acidity but today the mid-palate is a bit thin, as is the finish. Probably drunk much too young, but more rewarding than normal for such a young Bordeaux. 1995 Château de La Dauphine, Fronsac October 2001 (From half). Deep ruby. Initially dumb nose, much swirling produced a hint of stewing plum fruit. Medium bodied, mild tannin and reasonable acidity, overall as smooth as silk. Good but perhaps a bit too 'flimsy' to be very interesting. 1990 Château Prieuré-Lichine, Margaux October 2001 (From half). Very deep garnet, only a slight brick/lightening at the rim. Still oak on the nose, though pleasant enough. Subtle tobacco against a sweet blueberry-plum background develops after 25 minutes. Subdued tannins, refreshing acidity, sweet and very smooth. The fruit is a pleasant with medium length. Still a long life ahead, fine, but given the 1990 hype, I expected more. 1995 Château Canon de Brem, Fronsac October 2001 (From half). Deep ruby, bricking a little at the edge. Nose started not quite as nail varnish (meths?), but certainly volatile with a dank background. Not nice in the mouth, the overly high acid in balance with nothing else. Yuk, I took it back - first one for 18 months. 1995 Château Leoville Barton, Saint-Julien October 2001 (From half). Not checked on the progress of this in the last 18 months so: First sniff in the neck was – "wow! Have I got the wrong wine" - very concentrated blackcurrant like a new world wine with added dimension, the only similar smell I can relate it to is 1995 Lafite in the glass! It lasted only a couple of moments and then was gone. In the glass a deeply coloured ruby wine. Still blackcurrant, though more subdued, a dash of coffee bean and the oak which I remember is starting to fade. With food, you can easily drink this now with it's rich fruit, lovely acidity and quite well covered tannins. Leave it a few more years to savour on its own. Excellent. 1996 Chateau Cheval Blanc, St.Emilion Grand Cru Classé (A) August 2001 From half. Deep ruby/brick red, clear at the edges. Only(!) 13%, but thick legs on the side of the glass. The nose is full of blackberries, spices and perhaps cassis - didn’t find the violets of other tasters. This wine is seriously smooth and fat. There’s plenty of tannin, but it’s the ‘velvety smooth’ kind. Beautifully balanced acidity, lots of fruit and still perceptible vanillin oak, finishing with black chocolate! This wine is a lovely drink today, I wish I could afford to see how it develops over the next few years. 1994 Chateau Haut Lariveau, Fronsac January 2001 100% merlot. Ruby red, fading to brick. The nose was dominated by warm plum and damson aromas with a suggestion of oak. Again the cooked plum and damson theme comes through of the fat palate. The tannin is hard to find, and the acid muted. This wine is seriously smooth with a gradually fading finish. Superb drinking right now. Excellent 1995 Chateau Plince, Pomerol December 2000 From Half. Deep ruby but brown at the rim. Pronounced chocolate coated fruit on the nose. Not very ‘fat’ but still heaps of fruit on the palate. The tannins are of the big variety and slightly rough, but nothing that food won’t cope with. Reasonable length and good acidity. Not a bad buy if those tannins were to soften with time. Good 1995 Chateau Lagrange, Pomerol December 2000 From Half. A very deep ruby red, brick at the rim. The sweet black cherry nose was fresh and clean finishing with black chocolate, though was quite closed at first. Fat and mouth-watering. The tannin coats the inside of the mouth without getting out of hand. Very good. 1995 Chateau Feytit-Clinet, Pomerol December 2000 From Half. Deep ruby, lighter at the rim. Initially the nose was more flowery than the Lagrange, also less sweet and deep - developed into red cherry aroma. Lighter tannins but definitely still there. With food the wine became ‘harsher’ and tasted more acidic. Okay 1995 Chateau Conseillante, Pomerol December 2000 From Half. Deep red fading at the rim. Very ‘clean’ and high toned flowery nose, not very deep or exciting. Tannins are quite smooth, but acidity is high and not so well balanced right now. 1995 Chateau La Grave a Pomerol, Pomerol December 2000 From Half. Dark ruby. Closed on the nose. High acidity and medium tannin, hard to say anything positive - so I won’t. RHÔNE 2000 Chapoutier, Crozes-Hermitage Les Meysonniers April 2003 Deep cherry red. The nose is earthy with high toned fruit and a little cracked pepper. Again high toned fruit on the palate, medium tannins and quite good acidity. A slight bitterness to the finish, but still quite good. 2000 Chapoutier, Cornas April 2003 Also deep cherry red. The nose is a little unformed, slightly spicy but the fruit is too diffuse to spot. More concentrated than the 'Crozes', a little spicy too. Versus the Crozes, the tannins are more pronounced and there's better acidity. Still a little overpriced perhaps - quite good. 2000 Chapoutier, Côte Rotie Les Bécasses April 2003 Deep cherry with a purple rim. The nose is subdued but there are some high toned violet notes and a little apple pie lower down. A soft entry but the tannin soon builds - good acidity and fruit concentration to buffer. Reasonable length too. A good wine. 1999 Chapoutier, Côte Rotie La Mordorée April 2003 Deep colour with a purple rim. The first interesting nose of the series, still relatively subdued, but there's a peppery top layer to some interesting plum fruit. On the palate there's tannin to spare - though velvetty it is significantly the dominant sensation. The fruit is quite ripe and is coupled with good acidity. Not sure that there is enough material to ever balance the tannins though. Quite good. 1999 Jeune, Châteauneuf-du-Pape Grand Tinel April 2003 Medium-plus ruby red shading to a hint of amber. The nose is a lovely mix of too many elements to list. Sweet and concentrated, medium tannins and good acidity. Good length too. Very good. 1999 Vieux Télégraphe, Chateauneuf-du-Pape Le Crau August 2002 Deep garnet, just a little redder at the edges. Nose has toasty oak and perhaps some VA on the first couple of sniffs. As the nose develops, it becomes much more savoury than fruity. Palate is very sweet and succulent with red fruits at the top end and black cherry lower down. There is good acidity, but it imparts a slightly harsh metallic effect to the long finish. Tannin is not the smoothest, but of course it’s more important what it will be like in 5+ years. Given the excellent fruit, this could be very fine in time. 1999 Domaine Bonserine, Côte Rôtie Les Moutonnes July 2002 Deep purple heart with ruby rim. Nose is very special – behind a thin veil of toasty oak there is cherry pie with cinnamon and cream. The palate is not oakily fat, but has plenty of concentrated fruit, very good acidity and medium tannins. This is definitely a more-ish wine. Creamy finish is nicely long. Excellent wine with very sympathetic use of oak. 1999 Clos de l'Oratiore des Papes, Châteauneuf-du-Pape June 2002 Deep ruby colour. Nose is a really interesting mix of leathery notes at the bottom with sweet black and red fruits higher up. Good broad palate with plenty of fruit, medium tannins and medium acidity. The acidity gradually seems more noticeable, but I think it's just because the finish is becoming a little astringent. Enjoyed this, but it was better without food. 1996 Jean-Luc Colombo, Cornas Les Ruchets March 2002 Almost opaque garnet colour right to the rim. To start with the nose is quite dumb, a little toasty oak and bacon fat but not much else. The palate is oaky sweet with good acidity, medium tannin and a nice mouthfeel. Roasted black fruit comes through on a finish that is on the long side of medium. With a little aeration and time, the nose pads out with alcoholic dark plum, and fresh bread. The palate oaky and a little one-dimensional, I wanted to like this (because everyone was so negative) but it should be better for €32. 1997 Domaine Yves Cuilleron, St.Joseph Les Sérines March 2001 Colour was a nice medium red, still with hints of purple. The nose, well blow me down, smells like the burgundies I've been drinking, a hint of vanilla, plenty of red fruits and slightly sweet. Medium bodied, but smooth and viscous with plenty of fruit in the mouth. Definitely not the sledgehammer of Aussie equivalents. Sweet, succulent with a long finish. Yum Yum. THE OTHERS 1998 Domaine de Trevallon March 2003 First bottle corked. This one was quite a deep garnet colour. Also a deep nose with a little smoke, pepper and coffee at the lower registers, higher up it's cooked fruit, jam tarts and plum pie. The palate has concentrated black fruit, a little toasty blackcurrant and an almost black olive note. There's good acidity and tons of astringent, furry tannins. The finish is long and drying from the tannins. An excellent wine which was obviously drunk a little too young - I'm looking forward to trying it again at ten years old. 1998 James Herrick, Milla Passum Syrah Vin de Pays d’Oc December 2002 Deep ruby colour. High tones nose with mild peppery notes. Palate has grippy tannins, good acidity and nice fruit. A nice, good value wine. 1993 Alain Brumont, Chateau Montus Madiran May 2001 Drunk in a restaurant with too much lemon in my main course to give a decent TN, however, deep red still with hints of purple(!). This wine overflows with clean & pure blackcurrant and blackberry character. Medium bodied with good acidity and reasonable tannin. Everyone said it was good, so what more can I say? 1996 Marcel Diess, Pinot Noir Burlenberg Vieille Vignes December 2000 A monster, a complete monster! The back label said decant 2 hours before 'degustation', so I lost patience after 25 minutes. Deep ruby colour with an edge of brick. Clear, but not 'glintingly', 'shiningly' clear. A nose like the smoke from a barbecue, really dense, almost overpowering, finishing with the smell of freshly opened (before the spoon/knife goes in) mixed fruit jam. The first swirl in the mouth was really impressive and 'thick', lots of spice. plenty of acid and really long - fantastic. Unfortunately after half a glass, I simply found the wine too much like hard work, it was just too 'big', too smokey etc. - my wife, however, loved it. © nanson.ch 2000-2003