Wine Words & Video Tape

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Posts Tagged ‘vin’

Bordeaux 2015: Château Palmer

Written by JW. Posted in Bordeaux

IMG_0887Château Palmer is currently on-song. It has hit top marks in virtually every vintage in the past decade. The 2015 continues this run of form in an exceptional way. There is no doubt that the growing season and rainfall pattern in September favoured the Margaux appellation over everywhere else in the Médoc. Many properties here have made some of their best ever wines. At Palmer they have produced a powerful Margaux that easily rivals 2009 and 2010. It may even surpass them. The fruit qualities are glorious. Despite the concentration there is harmony and a tannic structure that is remarkably supple. It is the classic iron fist in a velvet glove.

Bordeaux 2015: Pessac-Léognan Red

Written by JW. Posted in Bordeaux

IMG_0997It is clear that 2015 is a beautiful vintage for the red wines of Pessac-Léognan. There is purity, power and freshness in equal proportion. Alongside the districts on the right bank and the Margaux appellation, Pessac-Léognan has produced some of the most exciting red wines of the vintage. It starts at the top with an exceptional Château Haut-Brion and a broodingly powerful Château La Mission Haut-Brion, but the wines of Château Haut-Bailly, Château Smith Haut Lafitte and Château Pape Clément are of similar quality. Extremely attractive red wines have also been made at Château Bouscaut, Château de Fieuzal, Château Larrivet Haut-Brion, Château La Louvière, Château Malartic-Lagravière and Domaine de Chevalier. Château Picque-Caillou also looks a potentially good value buy along with [once again] Château Rahoul in Graves.

Bordeaux 2015: Pessac-Léognan White

Written by JW. Posted in Bordeaux

IMG_0998Pessac Léognan has had a very good vintage for its white wines in 2015. The growing season was almost ideal, with good weather during flowering ensuring good fruit set; the ensuing summer drought conditions were ameliorated by rainfall in late July and August and a dry early September allowed for a trouble-free harvest. Cooler than average September temperatures also helped preserve acidity in the fruit. While there are not the aromatic profiles of 2011, 2012 and 2013, there is weight and depth here in 2015. Some properties are even comparing the vintage to 2010.

Bordeaux 2015: Haut-Brion and La Mission Haut-Brion

Written by JW. Posted in Bordeaux

IMG_5640Château Haut-Brion is one of the wines of the 2015 vintage. It has remarkable depth and a wonderfully succulent texture. There is power but there is also restraint. Château La Mission Haut-Brion is typically the drier and more obviously tannic of the two at this stage. There is prodigious scale here in La Mission, though I usually underrate it young. The wine definitely has the structure for three to four decades of ageing and will probably need a decade in bottle to emerge. Expect Haut-Brion to come up for air sooner. The rare whites here require the usual superlatives. At this stage for me La Mission Blanc is slightly weightier with Haut-Brion Blanc displaying a fraction more race and zip, which mostly reflects their respective blends, the former Sémillon dominant, the latter Sauvignon dominant. Both are remarkable. Ah, if only I could afford these wines…  

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