What better way to kick off January 2023 than with a tasting of this fine vintage? All eight wines were from the left bank of the Gironde River: Margaux, Pauillac, Passac-Leognan and St. Julien.
Derek Kranenborg, Founder & Principal at All the Right Grapes, a premium wine import agency, was our guest speaker for the evening.This agency is also the Canadian distributor of the 650+ page opus "Inside Bordeaux: The Chateaux, Their wines and the Terroir" by Jane Anson.
How did you do this evening in distinguishing which wine was which? Here were some of the tips in the notice that was circulated prior to the event. Did this help your identification?
"Pauillac wines are deeply coloured, powerful, and well-structured. Cabernet Sauvignon is dominant in most of the top wines. This means that they last perhaps the longest of all Bordeaux wines, developing an extremely complex aromatic palate as they age.Saint-Julien is one of the most balanced of all the Medoc commune appellations, with character and finesse. It is Cabernet Sauvignon dominant, so expect black-fruit notes, tobacco, liquorice, truffle as it ages. Pessac-Leognan wines are close to an equal blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. Typically oak-aged, their balanced, rich and polished feel make them quite drinkable when young, yet they have enough structure to age beautifully. Often called the most feminine of the Medoc appellations, Margaux at its best makes sculpted wines that age beautifully, with finesse and aromatic richness. Usually a little less Cabernet Sauvignon in the blend than in Pauillac or St-Julien, with Merlot rarely making up more than 30 per cent of the blend."
Were you able to distinguish between your Margaux, your St. Julien and your Pauillac in this line-up? The scores are below. Interestingly the #1 wine tonight, the Grand-Puy-Lacoste from Pauillac was also Group #1 wine when we previously tried them in September 2018. See the comparison table below.
And the scores when we tasted this same vintage in September 2018:
So at least as a Group we are consistent :).
Here is the line-up:
And here is the original notice (with tasting notes) for this event:
Comments