For the 4th day of En Primeur tastings we headed up the D2 to taste the Grand Crus from the Saint-Julien, Pauillac, Saint-Estephe and Haut-Medoc regions. This tasting was held at Chateau Gruaud Larose (their website is currently down).
There was less consistency in these wines compared to those from the Margaux region. They were still, overall, very good, but some of them had a higher alcohol content than what you would normally expect from the region.
The higher alcohol content was due to the fact that the Merlot ripened faster than the Cabernet Sauvignon. So, winemakers had a situation where the Merlot was sitting on the vine and no longer ripening, but still adding sugar. This led to a much higher concentration of alcohol for the chateaux who either did not harvest quickly, or use a higher percentage of Merlot in their wine.
I picked 7 wines that really stood out for me. Once again, they are listed in the order they were tasted, not in order of preference:
Chateau Beaumont: Deep red color with pepper and red fruit on the nose. Well-structured tannins, very fruit forward with a lingering palate.
Chateau Beychevelle: Dark fruit, especially black currant, on the nose. Strong tannins, fruit forward with a good body.
Chateau LaGrange: Aromas of pepper and a slight hint of vanilla. Not much fruit, but good medium body with very firm tannins.
Chateau Gruaud Larose: Green pepper and spicy aromas. A very elegant wine, tannins were subtle, with good body lingers on the palate.
Chateau Leoville Barton: Lots of red fruit on the nose and in the mouth, a surprisingly complex wine. Still a little closed, but with great potential.
Chateau Lynch-Bages: Dark fruit on the nose, especially blackberry, with a hint of pepper. A big wine with lots of body and strong tannins, very powerful.
Chateau Lafon Rochet: Amazing, deep purple color. Really coated the glass. Got aromas of blackberry and vanilla. Very fruit forward with a medium body and nice tannins.
0 comments:
Post a Comment