The evening was to focus on the two communes Ets. Jean-Pierre Moueix is associated with – Pomerol and St-Emilion – with Château Magdelaine and Château Trotanoy being the highlights. The news of this excited me from the onset; Ch. Trotanoy is my personal favourite in Pomerol and Ch. Magdelaine, very much the insider’s choice of the 1er Grand Cru Classés.

We started the evening with a tasting of 6 wines which Edouard had chosen to show from the so-called ‘lesser vintage’ of 2007 and 1 from 2006. The 1^st 3 wines were Les Songes de Magdelaine 2006, Les Songes de Magdelaine 2007 and Château Magdelaine 2007. The second flight showed the neighbouring commune in the form of Château Lagrange 2007, Château La Grave à Pomerol 2007 and Château Trotanoy 2007.

Edouard guided us through the two sets of wine skilfully, using charming analogies to grip you and make you understand the properties, their locations, their soils and importantly the reflection within the wines. It seamlessly showed the power, structure and purity of St-Emilion to the depth, generosity and minerality of Pomerol.

Les Songes de Magdelaine 2006 showcased its approachable and fruit-laden style against the more structured (and pure?) 2007. The La Grave à Pomerol was my pick of the six for drinking now; supple and elegant with a silken palate and a touch of alluvial minerality. Magdelaine 2007 was heading in the right direction for me and will be in its prime in another 2-3 years. Red Merlot fruit bathes the mid-palate with spice and kirsch riding the finish. Tannins still a little firm. The Trotanoy 2007 was the final key to dispersing any negative preconceptions over 2007 as a vintage. It was dense and surprisingly rich with dark fruit integrated into a medley of spice, truffles and underbrush. A muscular build with an abundance of tannin supporting, will be superb in 6-8 years.

The tasting certainly generated a lot of conversation as we left the tables and headed towards a glass or two of Delamotte Brut NV. A refreshing interlude of a delicious and dangerously drinkable Champagne. Spirits were high, glasses were full and attention turned to dinner and most significantly, the wines to accompany. The menu was 3 courses starting with a ham hock & guinea fowl terrine with broad beans, peas & wasabi salad to be accompanied by Château Magdelaine 2000. The Magdelaine was wonderfully vibrant and expressive, sweet mixed fruits carried a wave of subtle spices, liquorice and mineral tones onto a delectably long finish. Drinking well now and undoubtedly for the next 8 years too.

The second course was roast saddle of welsh salt marsh lamb with pomme fondant and mange tout, to be served with Château Trotanoy 1998. For me, wow! Double decanted hours before, the Trotanoy ’98 was singing. As I savoured the glass it proved to be one of those exquisite wines that changes character throughout, revealing its many different sides. I had last tried it 3 years ago; it has now shed some of the muscle it displayed then and has hit a wonderful harmony of restrained power with refined edges. The fruit was pure with a dash of fig, an incredible savoury and tertiary character walked hand in hand with an alluvial, almost ferrous, mineral streak, encapsulated in a velvety mouth-feel. A stunning and elegant wine with more to offer in the next decade to come. My wine of the night.

The final course was a selection of English and Continental cheeses which came out with Château Trotanoy 1990 from magnum. It was a wine that split opinion and fell firmly into the ‘absolutely yes’ camp for me. I am a sucker for the evolved, tertiary, heavy wines and from mag. I think this still held some fruit nicely. Prune and dried berries jumped out of the ripe 1990’s fruit with savoury characters guiding. Saddle leather and herbaceous notes swept from the mid-palate onto the finish, framed with fine and soft tannins. The refined nature was reinforced with a balanced yet still present acidity that merged flawlessly. Very much a drink now for me, but this vote was not 100% unanimous.

The evening was only heightened by the precise, absorbing and charming insight given by Edouard Moueix, a key member of the very special family for whom Corney & Barrow have the ultimate respect.

Further Options

So the last day of the trip started, later than usual, with another dose of glorious sun. We had just one tasting and then lunch but a real highlight it turned out to be. Helen drove us out of Bordeaux to the base of Ets JP Moueix in Libourne, where we were greeted by our great friends Christian and his son, Edouard Moueix. We tasted the full range of wines – these will be fully written up in the offer but my brief notes below – many of which are exclusive to us in the UK. We started with the Saint-Emilions, after having tasted the new C & B Company Reserve 2008 blend. The full line up was:

Barrail du Blanc - great value and the best I can ever remember it. Serious too.
Puy Blanquet – Harder to get my head around Les Songes de Magdelaine – I was very impressed here, this is the wine that used to be St Brice many years ago, a savvy buy.
Magdelaine – I was stunned by this and thought it superb and very, very serious. Long-lived potential, as always, but I think I was alone in scoring it higher than Belair Monange. I would like more Saint-Emilions to follow the savory style of Magdelaine.
Belair Monange – Dark and extravagant fruit, nicely different from the Magdelaine, new label too.

Then it was across the commune to taste the Pomerols
Chantaloutte – (second wine of de Sales) – dense and masculine in style.
de Sales – good minerality to this, fruit really coming through on the palate.
Lagrange – the best I have ever tasted it, a very impressive buy for this reason – especially as it is the last Lagrange for a while (They are sorting out the drainage here so the vineyard will be “dug up”.) 2010 was such a drought year that the poor drainage may well have helped to make this so good; weird but logical.
Hospitalet de Gazin - even better than when previously tasted, good value.
La Grave à Pomerol – As expected, seductive and charming fruit, very dependable.
Bourgneuf - structured, red fruits, becoming more serious each vintage now.
Certan Marzelle – 100% merlot if my memory serves me well, creamy red/black fruit, slightly more “modern” in style than most.
Latour à Pomerol – I love this chateau so may be biased, but I found it a little closed initially. Thereafter, the true minerality and savory character of Latour came out; very impressive.
Certan de May – Inkily textured, rich and dedacdent, just stopped short of OTT for me but wowed some others.
Gazin – Consistent with other tastings, good, very good.
La Fleur Pétrus – my note says “gorgeous combo of extravagant and classical.” I liked it!!
Hosanna – More subdued and more serious than I expected which is a good thing in my book
Trotanoy – My top scoring wine of the whole week, “A potential legend in the making” as the normally measured Mr Marus put it. Just the right amount of everything, savoy power but so many layers of fruit too. I was sad to only taste it once.

With the week’s tasting done, we had a chat with Edouard; there is no sales pitch here, we tasted in silence then talk after. We all climbed into the ‘van’ and followed Edouard back to Christian and Cherise’s stunning house. The Moueix family are well known for their love of art and the house is mesmerizing. We had a magnificent magnum of Moët 1983 which was just the ticket after tasting on a hot day; the wine was in great form. The Lunch wines had been carefully decanted by Christian while we were tasting and we were in for a superb treat to accompany a delicious lunch. The two red wines were Magdelaine 1959 and Trotanoy 1955 – both were stunning with very different characters, the Magdelaine with a delicious sweetness and a real harmony, the Trotanoy with more savory notes and a deeper structure – staggering. Discussion flowed onto the fact that these wines had aged so well yet had been made with yields so much higher than wines today – food for thought. Christian then gave us his run through of the 2010 vintage in a very logical and measured way, which will appear in our Moueix release.

There was one last wine to serve and it was a port, served blind. We all had to guess what it was and it turned out to be the only port declared from the vintage of our Chairman’s birth – 1957 – and the shipper was Sandeman. It was in good shape and served, as the French do, nicely cool. A lovely ending. Christian had set the whole meal around Percy’s birth year with a shot each side (’55 & ’59) before the bulls eye. We then had coffee outside while I organised the sweepstake on the Grand national that was to be run later that afternoon. Christian, in particular, (like myself,) loves horse racing. The eventual result saw Bryce win (Ballabriggs), Christian second (Oscar Time) & Cherise third (Don’t Push It). It had been a superb, relaxed and enjoyable lunch and brilliant way to end the week. Many thanks to Christian, Cherise and Edouard.

And so it was done…

Please follow us on Twitter @corneyandbarrow for latest 2010 updates.

Further Options

We were greeted by Dominique, our bus driver and taken to our first stop; The head office of Etablissements J. P Moueix on the banks of the Dordogne, in Libourne. We scooped up Edouard Moueix (son of the renouned Christian Moueix) who kindly escorted us on the short trip North to Saint-Emilion.  The bus parked up between the vineyard sites of Châteaux Canon and Magdelaine and the C&B’ers poured off into the glorious sunshine ready to get to grips with what this appellation had to offer. 

Edouard very kindly gave us a tour of the vineyard site and cellars of the newest addition to the Moueix family, Château Belair-Monange.  This property really is situated on a prime piece of land, lying on the plateau just above Ausone and neighboring Magdelaine and Canon – I have no doubt that this is a property on the up.  Following this, we headed North-West to Pomerol where we had to wind our way past some of the most famous properties in Bordeaux (including Pétrus, La Fleur Pétrus and Trotanoy) in order to reach Château Hosanna.  This beautiful Moueix property has recently been refurbished and was absolutely immaculate – as were the wines.  We were guided into the Chai where we were given a sneak preview of the new Belair-Monange label and tasting of some 2009 final blends which were stunning.

Chateau Magdelaine 2009
Quite pretty on the nose – aromatic & sweet ripe black fruit. Showing some muscles on the palate with a touch of pepper, clean acidity and tons of black fruit.  Will need time! 18/20

Chateau Belair-Monange 2009
Considering this property is just across the way from Magdelaine, and is produced with exactly the same winemaking, they are very, very different.  The Belair is very dark, brooding and muscular and needs a fair bit of coaxing to reveal its full self.  Much more masculine than the Magdelaine with great length and depth. 18+/20

Chateau La Grave a Pomerol 2009
This is quite fleshy on the nose with a hint of green leaves but still ripe (probably due to it being sited on much more gravelly soil).  The fore-palate has a touch of white pepper with really nice balance and good grip from the acidity & fine tannin.  16+/20

Chateau Latour a Pomerol 2009
Massively alluring and ripe on the nose – packed with dark fruit.  This is quite savory on the palate, hint of pepper again and very fine tannin – I absolutely loved it! 18+/20

Chateau La Fleur Petrus 2009
This was showing delicious dark fruit and liquorice on the nose – very big & muscular. Quite a masculine style with bulky tannin and a creaminess to the palate that is indescribable – excellent! 18/20

Chateau Hosanna 2009
Rich, creamy and seductive nose – very ripe indeed.  This is a huge wine with huge power yet incredible elegance, intensity and is very, very long indeed. 19/20

Chateau Trotanoy 2009
This was almost a bit closed and needed real patience before it opened up.  Dark, complex and very rich indeed with a seamlessness that I haven’t found with many young wines of the same ilk – absolutely amazing liquid and will just last forever.  Edouard commented upon tasting this “Gosh this is good.”  I couldn’t agree more!

Following this stunning tasting, lunch was served with the windows wide open and sunlight pouring in.  A delicious wild mushroom and pastry starter was served with Ch. Magdelaine 2001 which has helped to affirm my belief that 2001 was not just a good vintage, it was a great one.  This was silky and elegant and complemented the starter brilliantly.  Following this we had fillet steak cooked on the charcoal of Cabernet Franc vines (which supposedly are harder and slower burning than Merlot vines) along with homemade chips.  Edouard served Trotanoy 1999 with this, which was a perfect match; dark and brooding yet starting to come out of its shell to reveal its true colours.

Further Options

A quick update following the first week of releases (not many of them!). Last Tuesday saw d’Angludet out at £219, demand seemed steady, it’s a wine that tasted well this year and has a good following. The other three wines we offered last week were all quite different “beasts” – the Sweet Doisy-Vedrines (£245 or £255 in halves), I won’t tell you the in house nickname, some sold but I think people like to wait and see what the Sauternes prices are like as a whole before selecting – although a few will be in big demand and therefore worth grabbing if you want them. Then there was the deep and serious Certan de May (£725) which sold well, I had been very impressed with this when tasting it in London on the day before release. The last wine of the week and a real C&B drinking favourite was Ch Lamarque (£130) a Haut Medoc on the up and up – selling well as people who know the wine “shove” a case or two away to drink at home in a few years….

So what will happen this week? Quite honestly nobody knows…there will be more press reviews out…a Chateau or two will no doubt come out but it still looks like the campaign will be more of a marathon than a sprint….

On other fronts we had two notable tastings last week.

Olivier Leflaive and his winemaker, Franck Grux, were in London to present the (now offered 2009’s) to the entire team…22 of us crammed ourselves into the tasting room. The wines were so much easier to assess than the 2008’s which had more pronounced acidity. The 2009’s looked lovely, lush and full but with underlying structure…white burgundy fans now have quite a trio of vintages to “play” with in 2007,2008 & 2009 – all will have their fans and all are good just with different characters.

Secondly Edouard Moueix was in town on Thursday night to host a really enjoyable and relaxed dinner at Papillon (which stayed open especially for the night). Rather than hype the 2009’s we focused on a slightly forgotten but good value vintage – 2006. Edouard took us through the wines in amusing style with many a story along the way. The tasting order was spot on as each wine built on the former. A full “Menu” of the wines and food is below…a really great night on which the really style and balance of Magdelaine was the highlight for me, saying that I feel guilty as the La Grave 2001 was so delicious…

Tasting

St-Emilion

Barrail du Blanc 2006

Franc Bigaroux  2006

Côte de Baleau  2006

Belair 2006

Pomerol

Bourgneuf 2006

Hosanna 2006

-

Champagne Delamotte NV

-

Dinner Wines & Menu in Order

Terrine of rabbit and ham, herb salad, pickled Mushrooms

Les Songes de Magdeleine 2006

L’Hospitalet de Gazin 2006

Roast chump of lamb, potato gratin and rosemary jus

La Grave à Pomerol 2006 & 2001

A selections of farmhouse cheeses:

Brie, Fourme d’ambert, Comte and St Maure

Magdelaine 1er Grand Cru Classé St-Emilion 1999 & 1997

Further Options

So, Day 2 over. A simply sensational visit to Moueix. We kicked off with a chat with Christian Moueix at their offices in Libourne. We learned here that, at least on the Right Bank, 2009 is not an absolutely homogeneous success. The first chink in the armour of this much-hyped vintage. A hail storm struck the east of St-Emilion in May damaging a number of vineyards, reducing yields, in some cases by as much as 40%. We will learn more of how this has affected the wines of St-Emilion at the UGC tastings next week.

The tasting of the Moueix wines was quite brilliant. Right through from Barrail du Blanc up to Trotanoy, the wines display the hallmark purity and high class fruit we have come to expect from these wines. Add to that the intensity and concentration of the vintage and the results are exceptional.

Barrail du Blanc is definitely going to be one of the star value buys of the vintage, so too Songes de Magdelaine. Opinion was split on the Magdelaine and Belair-Monange, half of us preferring the concentration and beautiful fruit of Magdelaine and the others blown away by the amazing intensity, freshness and mineral drive of Belair-Monange.

In Pomerol there was almost unanimous agreement that Latour à Pomerol was the wine of the tasting. That said, La Fleur-Pétrus, Hosanna and Trotanoy were also beautifully made. Those who were lucky enough to taste here last year (arguably the highest rated range of wines Christian and his team have produced) confirmed that the 2009s had scored slightly higher marks than the 2008s when tasted this time last year.

La Grave à Pomerol cannot go without a mention, probably the finest young vintage I can remember trying. A more reserved style than some but wonderfully balanced.

A delicious lunch with Christian and his wife, Cherise, was washed down with 2000 Hosanna – succulent, fleshy and ripe allied to beautiful purity – and 1995 Trotanoy. This comfirmed what a terrific vintage 1995 is, packed with dense fruit and lovely flesh all wrapped around succulent, fleshy tannins.

We left Chez Moueix and headed south to Bel Air Graves de Vayres, one of the stalwarts of the C&B list. We tasted right through from 2003 to 2009 which was fascinating. The undisputed stars were the 2003 and the 2006. After some canny negotiating we have walked away with a terrific parcel of the sumptuous 2003 which will be followed by the equally scrummy 2006.

La Tupina in Bordeaux tonight for a bit of traditional south-west French cuisine before a day in St-Emilion with François Mitjavile tomorrow.

Further Options

All they were told was that the wines were from the same vintage and were both from Bordeaux in the £200-£400/cs price bracket…….

Wine 1 – La Grave a Pomerol 2006 (sells at £235ib/cs). Overall score 17 and the view on drinking was now onwards but with no great rush so let’s say 2010-2016. Now what is strange about this score given that we can be quite a critical lot, and yet gave an unknown wine 17 (the scores ranged from 16-17.5+), is that it gets a shocker of a write up from Mr Parker and a poultry 80 points. We’ll have to let him off as it only has one note and that was a year ago. I will see if it get re-tasted now it is bottled.

The contrast in the wines was marked and great to see. The La Grave a more classically inspired wine with such good fruit and decent grip but the sort of claret you can get stuck into. The Roc was more dense (but not heavy) had a richer texture and a little more “lip-gloss”. As we have found over the years this is a great wine to serve blind to someone as it punches well above it’s weight! If you see it available the 2002 and 2004 are really worth buying too and there is a common thread with them and this 2006.

Further Options

The tasting dinner was planned to co-incide with our Christmas offering of Clarets sourced by Moueix exclusively for us. The format was a relaxed walk around tasting of the six wines below :

Lafleur Beauséjour 2005, Côtes de Castillon – Ripe but classical and drinking well now will improve for decanting.
B de Belair 2001, Saint-Emilion – The third wine of Belair St.Emilion, now re-named Belair Monange and also owned by Moueix (but wasn’t when this was made), starting to develop but not earthy, good fruit and structure, perfect now.
Haut Roc Blanquant 2002, Saint-Emilion Grand Cru – We joked that this was a super blend between Haut Brion, Roc de Cambes and Cheval Blanc (ok the Cheval bit was too ludicrous even for us) but actually it was the surprise of the night for me, glamourous, well fruited and with a kiss of oak. I am not a 2002 fan but this was very good.
L’Hospitalet de Gazin 2006, Pomerol – Second wine of Gazin and a wine I know well…..really good honest Pomerol that is versatile and very reliable (why does that sound bad ?), try it…
Capet-Guiller 2005, Saint Emilion – I hadn’t tasted this in a little while and it is a surprisingly serious wine, earthy and structured and in need of more time in my opinion, very good potential.
La Grave à Pomerol 2004 – I have always had a soft sport for the relatively easy charms of La Grave a Pomerol, soft and succulent but with lots of life left too.

A really good tasting of wines that are easy on the palate and good with food but have little pretence to profoundity.

Dinner Menu & Wines
To wash the palate and accompany the Crab Risotto we had a glass or two of Mâcon-Verzé 2007 Domaines Leflaive, still only the fourth vintage but already becoming an old friend, just starting to fatten out too, if you have 2 cases, start one!

We then moved on to two vintages of Certan Marzelle the 2003 & 2004 with slow cooked rump of lamb, mashed potato, pea purée, glazed beetroot, thyme jus. Certan Marzelle is 100% Merlot and when Moueix bought Certan Giraud (last vintage 1998) the estate was split as there were two distinct soil types, one half was made into what is now the mighty Hosanna, the other portion became Certan Marzelle. Both vintage are showing well and for those that like younger Bordeaux, starting to drink well, the style is one I like. Christian, who was on sparkling form all evening, possibly helped by the bottle of Certan Marzelle Adam and Christian shared at lunch, wanted the floor to vote on which wine they preferred. This vote went to the 2003 in a 2:1 ratio. Myself and Paul (Marus) were firmly in the 2004 camp, Adam firmly in the 2003 camp…some things never change.

Next up……Latour à Pomerol 1999 & La Fleur-Pétrus 2003 – a lovely contrast of vintages and properties. A vote would have been interesting but it was not to be. I thought the Latour a Pomerol was absolutely spot on, combining savoury nuances with sweet gamey fruit character and finished with a mineral edge. The La Fleur Petrus had a very un2003 nose, pure fruit, but to me was just not as balanced as the Latour…I think a vote may have been 50:50.

A great evening and not a mention on 2009!!

Further Options

Background – The name Trotanoy (pronounced Trotanwah apparently….I prefer Trot!!) is derived from trop ennui – referring to the fact that working the heavy soils here is just too much work. The dense mixture of clay and gravel is treacherous when wet but bakes like concrete when it dries. It is easy to imagine how the name came about when one thinks of working the land with a horse-drawn plough. made from 90% Merlot & 10% Cabernet Franc fermented for between 1 week and 10 days in small concrete vats, followed by 1 week’s maceration with the skins. Aged for 20 months in 50% new oak barrels. The Chateau is positioned on the plateau of Pomerol, 130 feet above sea level and is 8 hectares planted with 6,200 vines per hectare; averaging 35+ years.

The Wines:

2001 - A really good vintage to be honest, often forgotten amongst the hype around 2000. The dense and full nose was classical Pomerol with a hint of savoury, earthy leather. Serious stuff. Sweet ripe attack but then savoury again with black fruits. Enjoyable now but if I had a case I would leave alone until the wines 10th birthday. 17-18/20

1999 – A charming drinkers vintage, never profound but generally reliable. Slight colour development compared to 2001, a touch of the gamey character of older wine on the nose with a hint of red fruit and licorice coming through. Palate was more delicate and less masculine than the 2001. Good now, Savoury balance. 17/20

1997 – A vintage that was overpriced when released and bombed as a result, never serious but some good, elegant wines. No brownness but more age to the rim than 1999. Cedar and a touch of spice on the nose with just a bit of the classic Pomerol brown sugar. Lighter than the 1999 but very balanced. Almost more in the style of serious Burgundy than Bordeaux. Alive and well. The most pleasant surprise of them all. 17++

1994 - A vintage that was a massive relief after the three “washouts” of 1991/2/3 and the first vintage I really sold in the wine trade! The wines have often lacked charm with structure more evident than anything. Some age showing on the rim but still a good solid colour in the core. Subdued nose not giving much away. Palate was very “clarty“, a phrase I use for slightly old school claret character. Honest and drinking well now for those who like fully maturity, the most in need of food, I am not convinced that this was the best of bottles of this wine. (15-16+)

The general feeling I got was of masculine styled wines with good structure and a richness in the more old fashioned savoury sense…..really encouraging from these *** or **** star vintages. In the best of years 1998, 2000, 2005 Trotanoy often rivals the mightly Pétrus………

Further Options

PUY-BLANQUET 2008, St-Em GC – Rich and broad if a little rough round the edges, OK.

LA SERRE 2008, St-Em GC Classé – Saturated and full nose in a modern style, drink early for opulence.

MAGDELAINE 2008, St-Em1°GCu Classé – The most impressive I have ever tasted from this profoundly good Chateau, no modern flashiness here, very grown up with good but balanced structure.

BÉLAIR-MONANGE 2008, St-Em 1°GC Classé – Previously just called Belair. This is the first vintage under full Moueix control…a little sudued but similar to Magdelaine in a slightly less intense way…a chateau to follow.

L’HOSPITALET DE GAZIN 2008, Pomerol – Meaty and gemay on the nose with good concentration, grown up and well endowed…impressive.

BOURGNEUF 2008, Pomerol – Lush and more modern in style…an earlier drinker I think.

LA FLEUR-PÉTRUS 2008, Pomerol – Fresh nose, showing red fruits as well as black, a more savoury note on the palate, a classy beast in every way…good structure.

HOSANNA 2008, Pomerol – A poor bottle I think…others I spoke to were very complimentary, must re-taste.

CERTAN DE MAY 2008, Pomerol – Richly and opulent, a little more oak than La Fleur Petrus, decdent and richly textured…impressive.

TROTANOY 2008, Pomerol – My wine of the tasting….i gave it (3 ticks plus), Brooding and masculine with so many layers of black complex fruit and wonderfully savoury notes…this will need time….a potentially legendary wines I feel.

2005

BERNADOTTE 2005, Haut-Médoc – Nice nose, palate a little lean…classical but not more.

CAMENSAC 2005, Haut-Médoc – Tarty on the nose but nose in a nice way, full and modern, good for its style.

TRONQUOY-LALANDE 2005, St-Estèphe – Rich, concentrated fruit and good balance..nice.

PUY-BLANQUET 2005, St-Em GC – a little simple and closed.

HAUT ROC BLANQUANT 2005, St-Em GC – Modern sweet and succulent.

LAROZE 2005, St-Em GC Classé – Fresh, lush nose, more savoury characteristics coming through on the palate…..impressive.

DE SALES 2005, Pomerol – A little tight and lean….classical but not very 2005ish.

MOULINET-LASSERRE 2005, Pomerol – Old school…slightly sweaty Pomerol…needs food!

2004

BÉLAIR 2004, St-Em – Before the name change (see BÉLAIR-MONANGE 2008 above), elegant and deliciously refreshing….I love 2004.

PLINCE 2004, Pomerol – Honest style with a slight hole in the palate.

BOURGNEUF 2004, Pomerol – Good balance and a savoury complexity, nice wine for now onwards

LA CONSEILLANTE 2004, Pomerol – Delicious nose, real balance and poise, a nice lightness of touch…..elegant

DUCRU-BEAUCAILLOU 2004, St-Julien – A reminder to buy 2004 when you see it at good prices, real classical “Cabernet” Claret…very good.

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There was also a chance to taste the two wines from Dominus estate…..I had tasted them previously but this was a very welcome chance to have another go

NAPANOOK 2005 – Fresh and elegant red fruits. A slightly “bruised” fruit character on the palate.

DOMINUS 2005 – A big brother for the Napanook, more intensity and a touch of the black fruits to go with the red, poised but with a little flair too…more open than I remember.

Further Options