Tag: Bordeaux

Wine Spectator N.Y. Wine Experience 2024 Day 1

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The 43rd anniversary of Wine Spectator’s New York Wine Experience was held on October 17-19 and was sponsored by the wine spectator’s scholarship foundation.

The yearly event began in San Fransico 43 years ago and for a while alternated between San Franciso and New York City until it was decided to make New York City the permanent home for the event.

The event consisted of several vertical wine tastings and seminars in addition to two days of Critic’s Choice Grand Tastings.

The grand tastings were an opportunity to sample over 260 international wines that scored 90+ points from Wine Spectator in addition to be able to speak with many of the owners and winemakers that were pouring their wines.

I would say that this is the best wine tasting event of the year for the consumer. It was a huge event with two floors of wine.

I was lucky enough to attend both days which gave me the opportunity to sample a good amount of really good wine.

Since I couldn’t possibly sample every wine that was on hand, I narrowed down on what I would try. I decided each day would be devoted to the wines of one particular floor and on each floor, I focused on what I normally do in these massive tastings, I concentrated on Bordeaux and Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon with an occasional outlier.

New World

2008 Lokoya Cabernet Sauvignon Mt. Veeder (Napa Valley): Opaque dark brick, mint, graphite and cooked fruit on the nose, chewy black fruit with mint notes, silky, firm tannins.

2014 Joseph Phelps Insignia (Napa Valley): Opaque dark red with a purple rim, toast, tar and red fruit on the nose, thick with firm tannins and acids.

2014 Staglin Cabernet Sauvignon Rutherford (Napa Valley): Clear medium red with a brick rim, cooked red fruit on the nose, silky black fruit, silky tannins, great balance.

2016 Diamond Creek Cabernet Sauvignon Volcanic Hill (Napa Valley): Opaque black with a purple rim, nose of violets, tar and pickle juice, juicy, chewy red leather fruit with moderate tannins and acids.

2016 Mt. Brave Cabernet Sauvignon Mt. Veeder (Napa Valley): Opaque black with a purple rim, smokey tar on the nose, chunky chocolate on the fruit with nice structure and a long finish.

2017 Shafer Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select (Napa Valley): Opaque black with a purple rim, roast nuts on the nose, chunky and chewy dark fruit with dark chocolate notes, good grip.

2018 Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon S.L.V. (Napa Valley): Opaque black with a purple rim, plummy, chewy, chunky with silky acids on the good grip, long finish.

2018 Heitz Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Trailside Vineyard (Napa Valley): Clear medium red with a purple rim, sweet tar on the nose, juicy dark fruit, firm tannins.

2018 Schrader Cabernet Sauvignon Heritage Clone (Napa Valley): Opaque black with a purple rim, toasty dark chocolate on the nose, chunky and chewy with dark chocolate notes, firm grip.

2019 Outpost Cabernet Sauvignon Howell Mt. (Napa Valley): Opaque black with a purple rim, crushed blueberry on the nose, chewy dark fruit with lip smacking tannins, long finish.

2021 Memento Mori Cabernet Sauvignon (Napa Valley): Opaque black with a purple rim, chewy dark fruit with graphite notes, firm tannins.

2021 Chimney Rock Cabernet Sauvignon Stags Leap District (Napa Valley): Opaque black with a purple rim, roasted nuts on the nose, chewy dark fruit, firm tannins.

2021 Far Niente Cabernet Sauvignon (Napa Valley): Opaque black with a purple rim, closed nose of ripe fruit, tight and concentrated, big tannins.

2021 Favia Cabernet Sauvignon Oakville (Napa Valley): Opaque black with a purple rim, pickle juice on the nose, tight and concentrated with mint notes, big tannins.

Old World

2010 Chateau Haut-Brion (Pessac Leognan): Clear dark red with a brick rim, tar and smokey black leather on the nose, silky, peppery fruit with bitter almond on the long finish, great balance.

2010 Chateau La Mission Haut-Brion (Pessac Leognan): Opaque black with a purple rim, toasty and tarry on the nose, thick dark chocolate fruit with silky tannins and a long finish.

2014 Domaine Faiveley Latricieres Chambertin Grand Cru (Burgundy): Clear medium brick, nose of tar, earth and cooked fruit, silky red fruit with earth notes and red leather on the finish, great balance.

2015 Chateau Chevel Blanc (St. Emilion): Clear medium brick, closed nose of dark chocolate, silky fruit with tight and firm tannins.

2017 Chateau Leoville Poyferre (St. Julien): Opaque black with a purple rim, nose of sweet tar and smoke, bright red fruit ending with big tannins.

2018 Chateau Leoville Las Cases (St. Julien): Opaque dark red with a purple rim, perfume of tarry black fruit, silky dark fruit with cigarette smoke notes, good grip.

2019 Chateau Lynch Bages (Pauillac): Opaque black with a purple rim, dusty tar on the nose, tight, concentrated and silky with black pepper notes, firm finish.

2019 Chateau Haut-Batailley (Pauillac): Opaque black with a purple rim, roasted nuts on the nose, chewy with firm tannins.

2020 Chateau Pichon Baron (Pauillac): Opaque black with a purple rim, smokey stone on the nose, chewy, bright dark fruit ending with crisp acids.

2020 Chateau Smith-Haut-Lafite (Pessac Leognan): Opaque black with a purple rim, closed nose of crushed strawberry, chewy red fruit with firm tannins.

VinExpo New York City 2024

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VinExpo is a wine and spirit event organized by Vinexposium. This year the expo has and will be held in Paris, Hong Kong and Mumbai. On June 24-25, the expo was held in New York City, “the trendy wine market that never sleeps”.

The event was held at the Jacob K. Javits convention center at 429 11th Avenue on the far West side of Manhattan.

It featured 260 exhibitors from over 30 countries including off the radar wines from Armenia, Georgia, Slovenia, the Czech Republic and Brazil. The vast majority of the wines at the event were definitely from France with Italy a distant second with the U.S. represented with only a small handful of producers. Spirits and beer were on hand as well with a large selection of Japanese whisky.

While most of the wines were French, the majority of those French wines were from the Rhone Valley. That’s not a bad thing since some excellent wines come from that part of that country. I particularly like the underrated white wines made from local grape varieties such as Marsanne, Roussanne and Viognier while there were plenty of reds from Chateauneuf du Pape, Gigondas, Vacqueyras, Crozes-Hermitage and Cote-Rotie to name a few of the Rhone appellations that were present.

VinExpo was held in conjunction with the Fancy Food Show, so when I needed to cleanse my palate after trying several wines, I would make my way to the food show and graze on the numerous and excellent domestic and international cheeses.

I did attend one of the Masterclasses.

Crus Bourgeois du Medoc.

Crus Bourgeois are the unclassed growths of Bordeaux, as such they are usually a good value compared to the classified growths. They are red wines that come from 250 chateaux produced in 7 appellations. Bordeaux has had a string of good vintages up until the 2021 vintage and in good vintages, there is so much good grape juice that the quality extends to all the tiers of producers.

2020 Chateau de Panigon (Medoc): 50% Merlot, 45% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Petit Verdot. Clear medium red, crushed rock and petroleum on the nose, tight and tart with some green notes.

2019 Chateau d’Agassac (Haut Medoc): 72% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc. Opaque dark red to black, smoky black fruit on the nose, juicy with crushed rocks on the dusty, firm finish.

2019 Chateau Reverdi (Listrac Medoc): 40% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Petit Verdot, 30% Merlot. Opaque dark red with a purple rim, crushed black fruit and gravel on the nose, concentrated and dusty fruit with firm tannins on the dusty finish.

2022 Chateau Mongravey (Margaux): 68% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 2% Cabernet Franc. Opaque dark red to black with a purple rim, closed nose of herbs, concentrated and dusty with some cardboard notes on the fruit.

2019 Chateau Tour de Pez (St. Estephe): 63% Merlot, 28% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Cabernet Franc. Opaque black with a purple rim, tarry dark chocolate on the nose, tight, minty red fruit ending with big tannins.

Decanter Fine Wine Encounter NYC 2024

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Decanter is a British based wine magazine that covers news of the wine and spirits world. As with other wine-based magazines, they rate wines as well.

On June 8th, for the third consecutive year, they held the Fine Wine Encounter wine event in New York City. The event was held on the 60th floor at Manhatta restaurant located at 28 Liberty Street in lower Manhattan. Similar events by Decanter will be held later this year in Singapore and London.

The event featured a Grand Tasting which was a walk around event featuring award-winning wines from 50 producers with various masterclasses throughout the afternoon. In addition to the wines in the main room, they had a separate room that featured about 30 bottles of their Platinum, Gold and Best in Show rated wines to sample.

As in the past, it was an excellent tasting with a nice selection of top end wines of the world. I have to say, not in my top three but still an excellent tasting with the outstanding view in the venue as an added plus.

As is usual in the case of these big tastings, I focused on Bordeaux and Napa Valley Cabernet for the most part while sampling a few others. One good thing about this particular tasting is that many of the Bordeaux producers brought bottles of older vintage wines to sample and it’s always nice to try a Bordeaux with some age to it.

Some of what I sampled:

Old World

2003 Chateau Lagrange Magnum (St-Julien): Opaque dark red with a brick rim, pretty nose of crushed rocks and crushed black fruit, silky with slate notes on the firm finish.

2004 Speri Amarone “Sant’ Urbano” (Veneto): Clear medium brick with roasted nuts on the nose, leather notes on the balanced fruit with a good grip.

2010 Chateau Talbot (St-Julien): Opaque dark red with a brick rim, earth and mint on the nose, chunky with tight tannins.

2016 Chateau La Dominique (St-Emilion): Opaque dark red with a brick rim, perfume of crushed black, cooked fruit with silky red fruit, firm tannins and a long finish.

2016 E. Guigal Chateau de Nalys Chateauneuf du Pape Jeroboam (Rhone): Opaque medium red, perfume of tar, smoke, spice and mint on the nose, silky and juicy with stone notes on the fruit with great balance and finish.

2018 Chateau Giscours “La Sirene de Giscours” (Margaux): Opaque dark red to black, oak and crushed black fruit on the nose with chewy dark fruit ending with a nice grip.

2019 E. Guigal Chateau d’Ampuis Cote-Rotie (Rhone): Opaque medium red with roasted red fruit on the nose, chewy, sweet red fruit ending with a long finish.

New World

2004 Catena Zapata, Nicolas Catena Zapata Cabernet Sauvignon (Mendoza): Opaque black with a brick rim, toasty and chewy with ripe, cooked fruit notes.

2006 Joseph Phelps Cabernet Sauvignon “Insignia” Magnum (Napa Valley): Opaque black with a brick rim, sweet tar and earth on the nose, silky, chewy fruit with silky tannins and dark chocolate mint on the finish.

2012 Santa Rita Casa Real Reserva Especial Cabernet Sauvignon (Maipo Valley): Opaque black with a purple rim, warm roasted meat on the nose, chunky with tight tannins.

2013 Quintessa Red Blend (Napa Valley): Opaque black with a purple rim, cooked black fruit, dark chocolate and roast nuts on the nose, silky red fruit with gun metal notes, good grip, long finish.

2014 Stonestreet Cabernet Sauvignon “Christopher’s Vineyard” (Alexander Valley): Opaque black with a purple rim, black tar and vanilla on the nose, fruit starts out silky and ends with big tannins,

2019 Joseph Phelps Cabernet Sauvignon “Insignia” (Napa Valley): Opaque black, roast meat on the nose, tight and dense black fruit with a firm and balanced finish.

2019 Domaine Anderson Pinot Noir “Dach” (Anderson Valley): Clear light red, barnyard on the nose, dusty fruit with roasted nut notes.

James Suckling Great Wines World NYC 2024

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James Suckling is a wine writer with the blog jamessuckling.com. The blog reports on news of the worldwide wine industry and reviews and rates wines using a 100-point rating scale.

Mr. Suckling hosts several wine tasting events throughout the year and on June 5 & 6 he hosted the Great Wines World tasting event in New York City.

It was two days of over 500+ wines from 380+ producers that have been rated 92-100 on the JamesSuckling.com website. Those wines and the producers were spread over the two days but if you only attended on one day, that was still enough time to try a couple of hundred wines.

The event was held at The Glasshouse event space at 600 12th Avenue on the far west side of Manhattan overlooking the Hudson River. It was an event space that I have never been to before.

I attended on Wednesday and the sprawling event space overlooked the Intrepid Museum which was docked right outside. There were more than enough excellent wines of the world to occupy the whole evening sampling them. I had wished that the organizers of the event had grouped the wine booths by country as they normally do instead of by alphabetical order as they did in this case which would have made things less confusing, but that’s a minor point when drinking so much good juice.

As usual, in mega tastings like this I focused my energies primarily on Bordeaux and Napa Valley Cabernet with the occasional foray into the other regions.

Some highlights:

2019 Pahlmeyer Chardonnay (Napa Valley): Medium gold, tropical fruit notes on the nose, green herbs and pineapple on the fruit with good structure.

2021 Merryvale Chardonnay “Silhouette” (Napa Valley): Light gold, lime and tropical fruits on the nose, tight, with lime notes on the fruit, good structure.

2021 Chateau Boswell Chardonnay UV Vineyard (Russian River Valley): Light gold, lime and green herbs on the nose, tight with crisp acids.

2010 Chateau Phelan-Segur (St. Estephe): Opaque medium red with a brick rim, pretty nose of mint and toasted twigs, silky and smoky fruit with a great balance.

2013 Quintessa Winery Cabernet Sauvignon (Napa Valley): Opaque black, dark tar and leather on the nose, silky dark chocolate fruit with gritty tannins and a great balance.

2015 Chateau de Fieuzal (Pessac Leognan): Clear medium brick, ripe tar and cigarette smoke on the nose, toasty fruit with a long, tight finish.

2015 Chateau Prieure Lichine (Margaux): Clear medium red with a brick rim, barnyard and ripe red fruit on the nose, dusty fruit with a nice balance.

2016 Pym-Rae Red Blend (Napa Valley): Opaque dark brick with sweet cooked fruit on the nose, chewy, leather fruit on the long finish.

2016 Brane-Cantenac (Margaux): Opaque dark red with a red rim, roast meat and crushed rocks on the nose, silky fruit with herb notes ending with tight tannins.

2018 Heitz Cellar Cabernet Sauvignon (Napa Valley): Opaque dark red with a purple rim, toasty and smokey on the nose with turned earth notes on the tight fruit.

2018 Pym-Rae Red Blend (Napa Valley): Opaque black with a red rim, barnyard on the nose, chewy graphite fruit ending with a good grip.

2018 Chateau Phelan-Segur (St. Estephe): Opaque medium brick, closed nose of earth and tar, silky black fruit with a bitter almon finish.

2018 Marques de Carceres “Gaudium” (Rioja): Opaque black with a red rim, barnyard on the nose with chewy graphite fruit and a good grip at the end.

2018 Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon “Fay” (Napa Valley): Opaque dark red with a purple rim, warm toasted nuts on the nose, juicy with a long, grippy finish.

2019 Pahlmeyer Red Blend (Napa Valley): Opaque black with sweet herbs on the nose, silky and dusty sweet tar on the fruit, nice balance with a good grip.

2019 Pontet-Canet (Pauillac): Opaque dark brick, earthy tar on the nose, silky, chewy and earthy fruit with a long finish.

2019 Chateau Batailly (Pauillac): Opaque black with a purple rim, sweet tar and roasted nuts on the nose, silky and tight with a firm, long finish.

2019 Chateau Lynch-Moussas (Pauillac): Opaque dark red with a red rim, earthy red fruit and roasted nuts on the nose, tight and smokey.

2020 Chateau Gris Nuit St-Georges 1er Cru (Burgundy): Opaque medium red, pretty nose of earth, smoke and leather with bright red fruit and firm acids.

2020 Don Melchor Cabernet Sauvignon (Puente Alto): Opaque medium red with a brick rim, toasty roast meat on the nose, tight and silky red leather fruit with a firm finish.

2020 Chateau Maillet (Pomerol): Opaque dark red with a purple rim, tar and dark chocolate on the nose, silky fruit with white pepper notes, firm tannins.

2021 BV Cabernet Sauvignon “Georges des Latour” (Napa Valley): Opaque dark purple, chalk and crushed raspberry on the nose with tight and dusty fruit. Still young at this point.

Vinous Icons Tasting NYC 2024

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Vinous/Explore All Things Wine is an online wine Magazine run by Antonio Galloni that features articles of all things wine and wine reviews.

On March 1 & 2, they held their first annual Icons tasting which consisted of wine dinners and a walk around tasting. The event was held at the Altman Building venue space at 135 West 18th Street in Manhattan which is next door to its sister venue, the Metropolitan Pavillion. Both the dinners and the walk around tasting were open to consumers and to members of the trade and I attended both walk around tastings.

This was an amazing event for the sheer quantity of high-end quality wines from around the world. Most of the wineries in attendance were from the United State, France and Italy with a handful of wineries on hand from Australia, Spain, Argentina, Chile and even China. Most of the wineries poured different wines or vintages each of the two days so there was the opportunity to sample a wide range of wines.

As is the case in these types of tastings with such a large selection of top end wines, I narrowed my choices and focused my energies on California Cabernet and Bordeaux.

Hopefully this will be an annual event from now on.

Some of my highlights:

New World

2019 Brion Cabernet Sauvignon “Sleeping Lady Vineyard” (Napa Valley): Black with a purple rim, earth and tree bark on the nose, concentrated silky black fruit, nicely balanced with a long finish.

2019 Brion Proprietary Red Blend “Ecotone Vineyard” (Napa Valley): Black with a red rim, perfume of crushed black fruit and fresh herbs, thick and juicy with good structure on the finish.

2017 Cornell Cabernet Sauvignon “Cornell Estate” (Sonoma): Black with a purple rim, roast meat on the nose, dense and chewy fruit with chewy tannins and a long finish.

2014 Pahlmeyer Proprietary Red (Napa Valley): Opaque dark red with a purple rim, saline and pickle juice on the nose, silky red fruit with saline notes on the balanced finish.

2021 Pahlmeyer Merlot (Napa Valley): Black with a purple rim, oak and tobacco on the nose, thick and chewy with mint notes with silky, firm tannins.

2013 Plumpjack Winery Cabernet Sauvignon “Oakville” (Napa Valley): Opaque black with a brick rim, warm leather and dark chocolate on the nose, sweet mont and red fruit, silky tannins.

2018 Realm Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon “The Bard” (Napa Valley): Opaque dark red with a brick rim, ripe slate and dark fruit on the nose, chewy, dense leather fruit with dusty, silky tannins.

2009 Ridge Vineyards Lytton Springs Red Blend 1.5L (Dry Creek Valley): Opaque dark red with a brick rim, pretty perfume of sweet violets, chewy and minty with dusty tannins, long finish.

2016 Ridge Vineyards “Monte Bello” Blend (Santa Cruz Mtns): Opaque dark red with a brick rim, sweet perfume of tar and violets, silky fruit with some astringency on the finish.

2013 Shafer Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon “Hillside Select” (Napa Valley): Opaque dark red with a purple rim, dried herbs and mint on the nose, juicy, dark chocolate fruit, gritty tannins, nice balance.

2016 Stag’s Leap Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon “SLV” (Napa Valley): Opaque black with a purple rim, dark leather and roasted nuts on the nose, chewy dark chocolate fruit, silky tannins, long finish.

2016 Stag’s Leap Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon “FAY” (Napa Valley): Opaque black with a purple rim, crushed black fruit and red roses on the nose, concentrated black fruit, dusty tannins.

2021 Tor Cabernet Sauvignon “Beckstoffer To Kalon BFD” (Napa Valley): Opaque dark red with a purple rim, crushed black fruit on the nose, juicy with coffee and roast meat notes on the fruit, dusty and silky tannins.

2012 Vine Hill Ranch Cabernet Sauvignon “VHR” (Napa Valley): Black with a brick rim, pretty perfume of sweet violets, tar and leather, silky red fruit with a great balance.

2020 Vina Don Melchor Cabernet Sauvignon “Puente Alton Vineyard” (Maipo Valley): Opaque medium red, crushed green herbs on the nose, tight with bright red fruit.

Old World

2016 Chateau Brane-Cantenac (Margaux): Opaque medium red, closed nose of mint and earth, chewy red fruit with bitter almond on the long and balanced finish.

2015 Domaine De La Chapelle “Hermitage La Chapelle” (Rhone): Opaque dark red to black with a brick rim, closed nose of roast meat, juicy and chewy black fruit with firm tannins on the great balance.

2016 Chateau Canon (St Emillion): Opaque medium red, big nose of smoke and roast nuts, tight red fruit, firm tannins.

2018 Chateau La Gaffeliere (St Emilion): Clear medium red, perfume of barnyard on the nose, chewy with gritty tannins on the long finish.

2016 Chateau Larcis Ducase (St Emilion): Clear medium brick, smoky toast on the nose, tight and concentrated fruit, silky tannins with bitter almonds on the finish.

2010 Chateau Montrose (St Estephe): Clear medium red, brick rim, pretty perfume of slate, mint and red roses, silky dark red fruit with a dusty and balanced long finish.

2019 Chateau Montrose (St Estephe): Clear medium red with a purple rim, perfume of roast meat and crushed red fruit, juicy and thick with chalk notes on the dusty and balanced finish.

2009 Chateau Pichon Longueville “Comtesse de Lalande” (Pauillac): Clear medium brick, warm cigarette smoke on the nose, dusty fruit with a smoky notes on the tight, but balanced finish.

2018 Chateau Pichon Longueville “Comtesse de Lalande” (Pauillac): Clear medium brick, tree bark on the nose, crushed red fruit with green herbs, earth and leather on the fruit, firm but balanced finish.

2014 Bodegas Vega Sicilia “Unico” (Ribera del Duero): Opaque medium red with a brick rim, tar and cigarette smoke on the nose, silky red fruit with bitter almond notes on the finish.

Union Grands Cru Bordeaux NYC 2024

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The Union Grands Cru Bordeaux is an organization representing 131 Grand Cru Chateaux of Bordeaux. They promote the wines of the top estates with a yearly world tour showcasing the current vintage.

In the United States the tour has taken them to Miami, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco and on January 22 to New York City. The wines they poured are the current release which is the 2021 vintage.

The event was held as it has been for several years now at Cipriani at 110 West 42nd Street in midtown Manhattan. Cipriani is an event space housed in a former back that was built when banks were built to impress with vaulted ceilings and lots of marble.

The wines at the tasting were still very young at this point, which I understand but it is a good way to get an overview of that particular vintage and on how the vintage is coming along and on how the wines may age in the long term.

Bordeaux has been lucky with a string of very good vintages in the past few years. In good vintages there is so much good juice grown in that region that there is plenty of good wine coming out from even the third, fourth tier and cru bourgeois estates.

Unfortunately, that streak came to an end with the 2021 vintage. It was a challenging and uneven year. For the most part I was getting a lot of tart, red cherry juice notes on many of the wines with nothing anywhere ready to drink at this point. 

Fortunately, when things are not so good in the vineyards for the regular wines means that the conditions were good in Sauterne and Barsac for the Botrytis mold to grow. There were about half the producers pouring these dessert wines at this event that they’ve had in the past but what I tried was well balanced.

Some of what I sampled:

Pessac-Leognan

Chateau CorbonnieuxDomaine de Chevalier
Chateau Smith Haut Lafitte

Saint Emillion

Chateau CanonChateau Canon La Gaffeliere
Chateau La GaffeliereClos Fourtet
Chateau Pavie Macquin

Pomerol

Chateau BeauregardChateau Le Bon Pasteur
Chateau ClinetChateau Le Gay
Chateau Petit Village

Margaux

Chateau Brane CantenacChateau Dauzac
Chateau Cantenac BrownChateau Kirwan
Chateau Prieure LichineChateau Rauzan Gassies
Chateau Siran

Saint Julien

Chateau BeychevelleChateau Branaire Ducru
Chateau GloriaChateau Gruaud Larose
Chateau LagrangeChateau Leoville Barton
Chateau Leoville PoyferreChateau Gloria

Pauillac

Chateau BatailleyChateau Clerc Milon
Chateau d’ArmailhacChateau Duhart Milon
Chateau Grand Puy DucasseChateau Haut Batailley
Chateau Lynch BagesChateau Lynch Moussas

Saint Estephe

Chateau Cos LoboryChateau Lafon Rochet
Chateau de Pez Chateau Phelan SEgur

Haut Medoc

Chateau Coufran

Sauternes/Barsac

Chateau Doisy DaeneChateau Guiraud
Chateau de Rayne VigneauChateau La Tour Blanche

Decanter Wine Encounter NYC 2023

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Decanter is a British based wine magazine that is similar to the Wine Spectator magazine in that they feature articles on all things related to wine including wine reviews.

Each year they host a wine tasting in London and last year for the first time, they held that tasting in New York City.

On June 10th they held the second annual fine wine encounter tasting in New York City. As in last year, the event was held at Manhatta restaurant located at 28 Liberty Street in lower Manhattan.

The restaurant is on the 60th floor and fortunately, the Canadian wildfire smoke from the previous week was gone and the picture windows in the restaurant provided an impressive view of lower Manhattan harbor.

They brought “world class wines from around the world” with over 50 of the producers on hand to explain what they were pouring. They also held several master classes and a separate tasting of 34 of their Gold, Platinum and Best in Show winning wines from the Decanter World Wine Awards.

It was a selection of wines of the world with France and Italy well represented and Californina and Oregon not so much so.

Some of what I sampled:

Old World

2001 Domaine de Chevalier Pessac Leognan: Clear medium brick, pretty nose of sweet bell pepper and crushed flowers, tight with bell pepper notes on the finish.

2006 Famille Perrin Chateauneuf du Pape: Clear medium brick, tar and ripe fruit on the nose, juicy, mouth filling fruit with herbs notes on the long and balanced finish.

2009 Chateau Potensac Medoc: Clear medium red, tar, spice and crushed red fruit on the nose, juicy with spicy bright red fruit, firm finish.

2011 Marquis de Murrieta Castillo Ygay Gran Reserva Especial Rioja: Clear medium brick, crushed red fruit and ripe vegetables on the nose, smokey, tight and tart.

2010 Chateau Pichon Baron Pauillac: Opaque dark brick, pretty perfume of anise, violets and tobacco, silky black fruit with tobacco notes on the finish, good grip.

2009 Chateau Clerc Milon Pauillac: Clear medium brick, stinky tar and tobacco on the nose, tight with firm acids.

2015 Chateau Clerc Millon Pauillac: Medium red, dusty dark fruit on the nose, chewy fruit ending with firm acids.

2010 Chateau Lascombes Margaux: Opaque dark red with a brick rim, crushed blueberry on the nose, chewy, crushed sweet cherry fruit with tar and mint on the long, balance finish.

2011 Chateau Lascombes Margaux: Opaque dark brick, tar and smoke on the nose, juicy and dense with herbs and mint notes on the finish, balanced.

New World

2013 Rutini Apartado Gran Blend Uco Valley: Opaque dark red with a brick rim, tobacco and anise on the nose, juicy red fruit ending with big tannins.

2014 Horsepower Sur Echalas Vineyard Grenache Walla Walla Valley: Opaque medium brick, juicy nose of crushed blueberry with juicy, smoky black fruit with dried herbs on the finish.

2017 Trefethen The Cowgirl and The Pilot Napa Valley: Mostly Merlot. Clear medium brick, smoky ripe fruit on the nose, silky red fruit ending with firm tannins.

2011 Verite La Jolie Sonoma County: Opaque dark red to black, big nose of mint, tar and crushed black fruit, chewy, silky fruit with silky tannins on the long and balanced finish.

2019 Verite La Jolie Sonoma County: Opaque dark red to black, toasty crushed black fruit on the nose, dense and young ending with firm tannins.

2019 Black Stallion Transcendent Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley: Opaque black, crushed red fruit, blueberry and milk chocolate on the nose, chewy, minty fruit with a tart cherry grip at the end.

2019 Daroush Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley: Opaque dark red to black, muted nose of crushed black fruit, chunky and dusty with dark chocolate on the finish, balanced.

2019 Daroush Cabernet Franc Napa Valley: Opaque dark red, crushed rocks and dark chocolate on the nose, juicy with milk chocolate and dried herb notes on the fruit, silky tannins on the finish.

Union des Grand Crus de Bordeaux NYC 2023

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On Monday, January 23, I attended the annual world tour of the Union des Grand Crus de Bordeaux.

The Union is a trade organization that represents the Grand Crus of 130 chateaux in Bordeaux. The tour brings them to Europe, Asia and North America and showcases the current released vintage of the wines, in this case the 2020 vintage.

The event was held at Cipriani restaurant at 110 East 42nd Street in Manhattan with a trade tasting in the afternoon and the consumer tasting in the evening.

This was an excellent tasting with an opportunity to sample many grand cru Bordeaux while getting an idea on how the vintage turned out.

The 2020 vintage generally got good reviews, from my point of view I had the impression that many of the wines exhibited characteristics of a cool weather vintage. I was getting a lot of tart red cherry fruit and bitter cherry notes on the finish. Some were a mouthful of tannins while others were more approachable but even the approachable ones will need a few more years in the bottle to round things out. Alcohol levels were manageable since I wasn’t getting a lot of heat on the finish for the most part.

2020 Vintage

Saint-Emillion

Chateau Canon: Opaque medium red with a purple rim, petroleum on the nose, silky fruit with firm tannins and bitter cherry on the finish.

Chateau Canon La Gaffieliere: Opaque dark red, tar and tobacco on the nose, concentrated red cherry fruit with firm tannins and bitter cherry on the finish.

Chateau Fourtet: Opaque dark red, tar and violets on the nose with dusty sweet black and black licorice ending with firm tannins.

Chateau La Gaffieliere: Clear medium red, toasty leather on the nose, dusty and silky red fruit with silky tannins, good balance.

Chateau Pavie Macquin: Clear medium red, perfume of tar, leather and cigar box, silky red fruit with balanced tannins and acid at the end.

Pomerol

Chateau Le Bon Pasteur: Opaque dark red, crushed black fruit and toast on the nose, dusty black fruit with mint notes, firm, silky tannins.

Chateau Clinet: Opaque dark red, brambly, black fruit and green stem on the nose, silky black fruit with firm tannins.

Chateau La Pointe: Clear medium red, candy apple nose, black fruit with firm but balanced finish.

Chateau Le Gay: Clear medium red with a brick rim, dusty nose, red cherry fruit with bitter cherry notes on the tart finish.

Listrac-Medoc

Chateau Fourcas Dupre: Clear medium red, toasted barnyard on the nose, silky red fruit with a firm, nice balance.

Haut-Medoc

Chateau Citran: Clear medium red with a brick rim, toasty red cherry on the nose, dusty black fruit with toast notes on the finish, moderate tannins.

Margaux

Chateau Angludet: Opaque medium red, stinky, tar and damp earth on the nose, juicy fruit with a tarry balance. Accessible.

Chateau Brane-Cantenac: Opaque dark red, sweet perfume and green herbs on the nose, tight red cherry fruit, firm tannins.

Chateau Cantenac Brown: Opaque medium red, dust crushed black fruit on the nose, tart, bright red fruit ending with moderate to low tannins.

Chateau Kirwan: Opaque medium red, crushed red fruit on the nose, juicy red fruit with firm, silky tannins.

Saint-Julien

Chateau Beychevelle: Clear dark red, pretty perfume of earth, tar and violets with silky black fruit, bitter cherry on the finish, silky tannins.

Chateau Branaire Ducru: Clear medium red, perfume of crushed black fruit and damp earth with earthy black fruit and a dusty finish. Moderate tannins.

Chateau Leoville Poyfere: Opaque red fruit with a purple rim, smoky gravel on the nose, black fruit with dusty, firm tannins.

Chateau Talbot: Clear medium red, big perfume of toasty black fruit, toasty red fruit with big tannins at the end.

Pauillac

Chateau Clerc Milon: Clear medium red, red cherry on the nose, red cherry fruit with leather notes on the finish, moderate tannins and firm acidity.

Chateau Duhart Milon: Clear medium red, wet earth and tar on the nose, silky red fruit with firm tannins.

Chateau Lynch Bages: Clear medium red, toasted tobacco on the nose, tart red cherry fruit with moderate tannins.

Saint-Estephe

Chateau Ormes de Pez: Clear medium red, damp earth and barnyard on the nose, tight and tannic.

Wine Spectator’s New York Wine Experience 2022

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The 41st annual New York Wine Experience was held on October 20-22. The Experience was sponsored by the Wine Spectator, an influential magazine which covers all aspects of the wine world. A good score on its 100-point scoring system is highly converted.

The three-day event was a chance to meet the influential winemakers, owners and chefs and to sample their wines and eat their food at seminars and at the chefs’ challenge. They also unveil their top 10 wines of the year.

On Thursday and Friday, they hosted the Critic’s Choice Grand Tasting. It was two days with two floors of wines rated 90+ points by the Wine Spectator from over 250 wineries/chateaus. The Grand Tastings were sponsored by the Wine Spectator Scholarship Foundation.

One thing that was missing this year was the Awards dinner which was held on the last night in which they presented the wine of the year awards followed by a performance from some recognizable band or singer.

I was able to make it on Friday night. As per usual with the sheer volume of wines available, I planned to focus on Bordeaux and California reds. which I did and after four hours I still didn’t get to all of the Bordeaux and Napa Cabs.

Looking back and looking through the tasting book, there were so many good wines I never had the chance to sample but would have liked to, but I still did sample some of the top-notch wines of the world.

California Reds

2002 Ridge Vineyards Red Blend “Monte Bello” (Santa Cruz Mtns): Always a favorite, opaque dark red to medium brick, beautiful perfume of wood chips, chewy and dusty with dried leaf notes on the finish, great balance

2007 Lokoya Cabernet Sauvignon “Spring Mtn District” (Napa Valley): Opaque black, purple rim, citrusy nose, concentrated black fruit with a firm finish.

2012 Shafer Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon “Hillside Select” (Napa Valley): Opaque black, crushed black fruit and cooked fruit notes on the nose, dense dark chocolate fruit, tight silky tannins and along finish.

2013 Diamond Creek Cabernet Sauvignon “Three Vineyard Blend” (Napa Valley): Opaque dark red with a purple rim, crushed cooked black fruit on the nose, chunky cherry dark chocolate fruit with silky tannins.

2014 Opus One (Napa Valley): Opaque dark red, crushed black fruit on the nose, dense fruit with some toast notes.

2015 Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon “Fay” (Napa Valley): Opaque black, purple rim, pickle juice notes on the nose, dense and chewy with dark chocolate and dusty brick notes on the fruit, nice balance.

2016 Mt. Brave Cabernet Sauvignon “Mt Veeder” (Napa Valley): Opaque, purple rim, perfume of crushed red fruit, mint and warm spices, tight red fruit with crisp acids at the end.

2017 Bond “Vecina” (Napa Valley): Black in color with a purple rim, warm crushed plums and cooked vegetable on the nose, chewy, juicy black fruit with a mouthful of tannins.

2018 Accendo Cellars (Napa Valley): Opaque black, earth and crushed black fruit on the nose, dense and chewy with mint notes on the balanced finish.

2018 Adobe Road Cabernet Sauvignon “Beckstoffer Georges III Vineyard” (Napa Valley): Opaque black with a purple rim, ripe red fruit and warm cooked berries on the nose, chewy dark chocolate and coffeee fruit ending with silky tannins.

2018 Robert Mondavi Cabernet Sauvignon “The Reserve” To Kalon Vineyard (Napa Valley); Opaque black, purple rim, sage and dried herbs on the nose with concentrated red fruit.

2018 Schrader Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon “Heritage Clone” To Kalon Vineyard (Napa Valley): Opaque black, purple rim, dark chocolate on the nose, dense, chewy red fruit ending with crips acids and firm tannins.

2018 Beringer Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon “Private Reserve” (Napa Valley): Opaque black with a purple rim, crispy bacon on the nose, silky dark fruit ending tight and firm with a long finish.

2018 Duckhorn Vineyards Merlot “Three Palms Vineyard” (Napa Valley): Opaque dark red with a purple rim, roasted meat on the nose, chewy red fruit with a juicy finish and a good balance.

2018 Louis M Martini Cabernet Sauvignon “Lot No. 1” (Napa Valley): Opaque black, purple rim, crushed red fruit and green herbs on the nose, juicy red fruit with a crisp finish.

2018 Pahlmeyer Winery Red Blend (Napa Valley): Black in color, violets and roast meat on the nose with dense and juicy black fruit.

2019 Ovid Red Blend (Napa Valley): Opaque black, spice notes on the nose, dense, chewy red fruit with a juicy finish.

2019 To Kalon Vineyard Co. Cabernet Sauvignon “Highest Beauty” (Napa Valley): Opaque black, crushed red fruit, cinnamon and spice on the nose, thick and dense with silky tannins.

2019 Continuum Estate “Sage Mtn. Vineyard” (Napa Valley): Opaque black with a purple rim, chocolate and crushed green berries on the nose, dense and syrupy chewy dark chocolate fruit, good balance.

Bordeaux

2010 Chateau Haut-Brion (Pessac Leognan): Opaque dark red, closed nose of crushed dark fruit and mint, silky red fruit with great structure.

2010 Chateau La Mission Haut-Brion (Pessac Leognan): Opaque dark red, nose of sweet smoke, violets and crushed red fruit, silky red cherry fruit with crisp acidity.

2010 Chateau Pichon Longueville (Pauillac): Opaque medium red with a brick rim, toasty red fruit on the nose, tight and balanced.

2011 Chateau Lafite Rothschild (Pauillac): Clear medium red with a brick rim, forest floor on the nose, tight red fruit with a bit hit of tannin at the end.

2011 Chateau Margaux (Margaux): Dark brick in color, beautiful perfume of spicy violets, tight and silky with fine tannins, nice finish.

2015 Chateau Cheval Blanc (St Emilion): Clear medium brick, crushed rocks and rosemary on the nose toasty dark fruit with dried herb notes.

2015 Chateau d’Armailhac (Pauillac): Opaque dark red with a purple rim, spicy cooked fruit on the nose, tight red fruit with a firm finish.

2016 Chateau Montrose (St Estephe): Opaque medium red, roasted meat on the nose, tight red fruit with a firm finish.

2018 Chateau Leoville Poyferre (St Julien): Opaque black, toasty tree bark on the nose, chewy and juicy with mint notes, firm tannins at the ends. Getting some heat.

2018 Chateau Pichon Baron (Pauillac): Black with a purple rim, roasted meat on the nose, silky red fruit with dusty tannins with firm and long finish.

Others

2012 Bodegas Vega Sicilia “Unico” (Ribera del Duero): Opaque dark red with a brick rim, perfume of toasted oak and roast meat on the nose, silky red fruit with a nice long finish.

2015 Gaja Barberesco “Sori Tildin” (Piedmont): Clear medium brick, sweet tar on the nose, dusty fruit with gritty tannins and a long finish.

Some Bordeaux 2022

Published on by Bruno DonaggioLeave a comment

Traditionally at this time of year many of the wine and spirit distributers have their portfolio tastings. These tastings are open to members of the trade who will make buying decisions or for those who need to educate themselves on the products of a particular distributer. They can show up and browse the portfolios for something in particular or to search for something new. Some of the tastings showcase the whole portfolio in which case there may be 100+ wines and spirits available to sample. Sometimes they have smaller, more intimate tastings that showcase a niche category.

On March 2nd one of those distributors, Fredrick Wildman & Sons held an invite only small tasting of some of their upper tier Bordeaux from their portfolio. It was a mix of current releases (2018) with some older vintages that were available for sale. When Bordeaux is drinking well, it’s a nice experience.

The tasting was held at Benoit restaurant located at 66 West 55th Street in Midtown Manhattan.

Some of what I sampled:

2014 Chateau Carbonnieux (Pessac-Leognan): Dark red with a purple rim, tobacco and crushed red fruit on the nose, silky and chewy red fruit, beautifully balanced with a long finish.

2018 Chateau Haut-Bailly (Pessac-Leognan): Black with a purple rim, nose of sweet tobacco, chewy black fruit, silky tannins with a great balance.

2015 Chateau Troplong Mondot (St.-Emilion): Black with a purple rim, toasty crushed black fruit on the nose, silky and chewy with a long finish.

2018 Chateau Canon La Gaffeliere (St.-Emilion): Dark red to black with a purple rim, dark chocolate and sweet tobacco on the nose, silky red fruit with crisp tannins at the end, long finish.

2018 Chateau Clos de L’Oratoire (St.-Emilion): Black with a purple rim, sweet strawberry on the nose, dense and tight with a tight finish.

2016 Chateau Gazin (Pomerol): Black with a purple rim, toasted oak on the nose, chewy and tight with silky tannins.

2016 Chateau Jardin de Petit Village (Pomerol): Black with a purple rim, toasty red fruit on the nose, chunky black fruit ending with a good dusty grip.

2010 Chateau Lascombes (Margaux): Dark red to black with an amber rim, perfume of tar and dark leather, silky dark fruit with a beautiful long and balanced finish.

2015 Chateau Cantenac Brown (Margaux): Dark red with a purple rim, smoky nose, tight with green olive notes on the firm finish.

2016 Brio de Cantenac Brown (Margaux): Dark red with a purple rim, big nose of cigar smoke, tight with bell pepper notes on the firm finish.

2014 Chateau Lagrange (St. Julien): Dark red to black with a purple rim, nose of sweet tar, black leather and cigar smoke, dense and tight with wet slate notes, tight acids at the end.

2014 Chateau Leoville Poyferre (St. Julien): Dark red to black, sweet perfume of tobacco, mint and crushed black fruit, chunky with silky tannins with dark chocolate, black fruit and bitter bark on the finish.

2015 Chateau Talbot (St. Julien): Dark purple, brambly nose, chewy with dried leaf notes, balanced with a long finish.

2018 Chateau Leoville Barton (St. Julien): Dark red to black, crushed strawberry on the nose, chewy and dusty green fruit ending with moderate tannins and acids.

2018 Chateau Gloria (St. Julien): Black with a purple rim, stinky nose of crushed black fruit, chewy black fruit with a good grip and long finish.

2018 Chateau Branaire Ducru (St. Julien): Dark red to black, sweet nose of pixe stick and green fruit, silky, dusty black fruit ending with moderate to low tannins and acids.

2016 Chateau Lynch Bages (Pauillac): Black with a purple rim, mint, tobacco and some barnyard on the nose, tight with silky tannins and crushed rock notes on the fruit.

2014 Chateau Phelan Segur (St. Estephe): Black with a purple rim, crushed black fruit and mint on the nose, tight fruit that lighten ups at the end.

2015 Chateau La Croix Bonis (St. Estephe): Dark red, nose of sweet spice and tree bark, dusty, silky tannins with a good grip.