Tag: Cipriani

The Union Grands Crus de Bordeaux is an organization that promotes the Grand Cru wines of the 132 Chateaux members of the Bordeaux region of France that they represent.

The Union not only promotes the wines, but it also embodies “a spirit of conviviality, sharing and solidarity to showcase the greatness of Bordeaux while respecting its values of authenticity”.

Bordeaux is one of the largest wine producing regions in the world, but the Grand Crus are the elite, limited production wines that get all the attention from the wine geeks of the world.

On January 19th they held their annual New York City tasting of the current vintage to be released. The tasting was held Cipriani’s, an event space at 110 East 42nd Street in midtown Manhattan across from Grand Central Terminal.

The building that Cipriani occupies is a repurposed former bank, built at a time when banks were built to impress you enough for you to deposit your money with them, with vaulted ceilings and plenty of marble.

This year the 2023 vintage was showcased. My research suggested it was a difficult year, but the winemakers were able to pull it off. Drinking these wines with a grain of salt because they are still young and need time to come together, but you can get some idea on how the vintage turned out.

For the most part I was getting a lot of light, red cherry fruit with moderate tannin and low acidity. Of course, there were outliers in the bunch, wines with more body and structure, but for the most part I thought this vintage will be for earlier drinking than for later.

Some of what I sampled:

Vintage 2023

Saint-Emilion

Chateau Canon: Opaque dark red, crushed red cherry and graphite on the nose, dense, chewy and silky with red cherry notes ending with moderate acidity.

Chateau Canon La Gaffeliere: Clear medium red, dirty tar and roast meat on the nose, silky dark chocolate fruit ending with silky tannin and a long finish, nice balance.

Clos Fouret: Opaque medium red, cigarette smoke and roasted tar on the nose, tight and dusty red fruit ending with moderate acidity.

Chateau Grand Mayne: Opaque dark red, closed nose of black licorice, chewy red leather fruit, nice balance.

Chateau Larmande: Clear medium red, strawberry and milk chocolate on the nose, juicy red fruit with firm tannin and moderate acidity.

Chateau Pavie Macquin: Clear light red, smoky red cherry on the nose, tight red fruit ending with firm tannin.

Chateau Valandraud: Opaque dark red, dark cocoa sweet cinnamon and violets on the nose, silky red fruit with green herb notes, silky tannin and moderate acidity.

Pomerol

Chateau Clinet: Opaque medium red, sweet tree bark and smoke on the nose, chewy and silky with rosemary notes, silky tannin with moderate acidity, long finish.

Chateau Le Gay: Clear medium purple, dusty crushed dark fruit and black cherry on the nose, tight red cherry fruit, nice balance.

Chateau Gazin: Clear dark purple, sweet cherry, tar and cigarette smoke on the nose, red cherry fruit, tart finish.

Chateau Petit-Village: Opaque medium red, closed nose of tarry dirt, chewy with roast nut notes ending with firm tannin.

Listrac-Medoc

Chateau Fourcas Dupre: Opaque black, purple rim, closed nose of white pepper, chewy dark fruit with sweet licorice notes on the finish, nice balance.

Haut-Medoc

Chateau Beaumont: Clear medium red, toasty, roasted nuts on the nose, chewy tannin with roast nut notes, crisp acidity.

Chateau Cantermerle: Opaque medium purple, perfume of forest floor, dark chocolate, toast, chewy finish firm tannin and crisp acidity.

Chateau Coufran: Clear medium purple, earth and red cherry on the nose, tight fruit with smoky cherry notes ending with tight tannin.

Margaux

Chateau Giscours: Opaque dark red, smoky dark cherry on the nose, chewy, silky red fruit, balanced with a long finish.

Chateau Kirwan: Opaque dark red to black, closed nose of cocoa and roast meat, tight and gritty with a firm finish.

Chateau Rauzan-Segla: Opaque dark red to black, tarry, fresh rosemary notes on the nose, silky and chewy with tar, dark chocolate and tree bark notes, moderate tannin and acidity.

Saint-Julien

Chateau Beychevelle: Opaque medium red, dirty red cherry and graphite on the nose, chewy and dusty fruit with crushed stone notes ending with moderate to low acidity.

Chateau Branaire-Ducru: Opaque dark red, sweet tar, graphite and red cherry on the nose, chewy fruit with milk chocolate notes ending with silky tannin and moderate acidity.

Chateau Langoa Barton: Clear medium red, closed nose of sweet candy and raspberry dark chocolate, silky red fruit with moderate tannin and acidity.

Chateau Talbot: Opaque medium red, crushed slate and red fruit on the nose, silky red fruit with nicely balance tannin and acidity.

Pauillac

Chateau Batailley: Clear medium red, toasty black pepper on the nose, tight red fruit ending with firm tannin.

Chateau Clerc Milon: Opaque dark red, tarry oak and red cherry on the nose, chewy with slate notes, firm tannin, moderate acidity.

Chateau Grand-Puy-Ducasse: Opaque dark red, roast meat on the nose, chewy and silky fruit ending with firm tannin and low acidity.

Chateau Lynch-Bages: Clear medium purple, tar, tree bark and roast meat on the nose, chewy and dusty fruit with oak notes, firm tannin, moderate to low acidity.

Chateau Lynch-Moussas: Clear medium red, tree bark and milk chocolate on the nose, tight and toasty red fruit, firm tannin and crisp acids.

Chateau Pichon Baron: Clear medium red, crushed black fruit, tar and dried herbs on the nose, tight with firm tannin.

Saint-Estephe

Chateau Cos Labory: Opaque dark red, crushed sweet black fruit, black leather and graphite on the nose, chewy and silky with a smoky finish, long balance.

Chateau Phelan Segur: Clear medium red, purple rim, stone and crushed sweet black fruit on the nose, chunky and chewy dark chocolate with silky, firm tannin and low acidity.

 

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The Union des Grand Crus de Bordeaux is a trade organization based in Bordeaux, France that promotes the wines of its 133 member chateaux.

Every year they host a world tour showcasing the current vintage to be released, stopping in various cities in Europe and Asia with the tour arriving in North America on January 18-26.

In New York City on Monday afternoon January 21st, they held a tasting for members of the trade and a consumer event later that evening. Both events were held at the Cipriani Midtown event space located at 110 East 42nd street in heart of Manhattan, just down the street from the iconic Chrysler building. A former bank, the event space is a huge, pink marbled cathedral-like room.

The 2016 vintage in Bordeaux was a Jekyll and Hyde vintage. The first half of the year was very rainy which made the winemakers concerned that the vintage would be a bust, but the second half of the year turned out to be bone dry. 

For the most part, I thought the wines had good fruit and structure with firm tannins and manageable acids. Most of the wines were still wound tight but I think will age well. I didn’t think they had the immediate lushness of the 2015’s where I was getting a lot of California style flavor profiles, nor were they as hard-edged as the 2014 vintage. Overall some nice wines to be drunk in the future.

Vintage 2016

Saint-Julien

Chateau Beychevelle: Clear medium purple with a closed nose of crushed red berries and milk chocolate, tight with silky, firm tannins.

Chateau Talbot: Dark purple, roasted meat and sour fruit on the nose, juicy dark fruit with a firm, balanced long finish.

Chateau Gruaud Larose: Medium red, tree bark and roast meat on the nose, tight silky fruit, moderate firm finish.

Chateau Leoville Barton: Medium purple, sweet tar on the nose, chunky, sweet cherry fruit with firm tannins.

Chateau Leoville Poyferre: Medium red, toasty sweet fruit on the nose, gritty tannins on the dark fruit ending with big tannins.

Chateau Branaire Ducru: Medium red, toasty crushed red fruit on the nose with silky red fruit and green herbs on the finish.

Saint- Estephe

Chateau de Pez: Medium red with a perfume of sweet red fruit, tight red fruit.

Chateau Phelan Segur: Medium red, floral, green herbs on the nose, dusty dark chocolate and slate on the firm fruit.

Paulliac

Chateau Clerc Milon: Medium red, toast and crushed dark fruit on the nose, tight, red cherry fruit with crisp acidity.

Chateau Lynch Bages: Dark red, tar, violets and green herbs on the nose, tight with mouth puckering tannins.

Chateau Pichon Baron: Medium red, crushed dark fruit and violet on the nose, light, juicy fruit with firm tannins and acids.

Chateau Pichon Longueville Comtese de Lalande: Clear, dark red, roast meat notes on the nose, tight red cherry fruit with a moderate finish.

Saint-Emillion

Chateau Canon La Gaffeliere: Dark purple, tar and leather on the nose, chewy, meaty dark fruit, long finish on the balanced finish.

Clos Fourtet: Medium purple, sweet tar on the nose, sweet red fruit with firm , tongue coating tannins.

Chateau Grand Mayne: Opaque medium red, dark chocolate and cigarette smoke on the nose, tight and tannic.

Chateau Pavie Macquin: Medium clear purple, tar and violets on the nose, dusty, red cherry fruit, moderate to long finish with moderate tannins and acids.

Chateau Balestard La Tonnelle: Medium to light red in color with a perfume of tar, tight, silky red fruit with crisp acidity at the end.

Pomerol

Chateau Clinet: Medium purple with a pretty perfume of violets and tar, juicy dark red fruit with moderate tannins and acids on the long finish. Drinkable.

Chateau Gazin: Clear medium purple, toast notes on the nose, juicy red fruit with some earth on the firm finish, tight.

Chateau Le Bon Pasteur: Medium red, cooked berries on the nose, leather notes on the fruit, firm and nicely balanced.

Chateau La Pointe: Medium red, strawberry and graphite on the nose, toasty sweet fruit on the firm finish.

Margaux

Chateau Brane-Cantenac: Clear medium red, tree bark on the nose, dark chocolate and gritty tannins on the fruit.

Chateau Giscours: Medium red, sweet red fruit on the nose with tight sweet fruit and a firm finish.

Chateau Lascombes: Opaque dark red with a perfume of sweet cherry, tar and mint, chewy dark fruit and silky tannins with moderate acids.

Chateau Prieure-Lichine: Dark red with green herbs and red cherry on the nose, juicy followed by big tannins and moderate acid.

Chateau Dauzac: Clear medium red, pixie stick notes on the nose, juicy red fruit ending tart.

Pessac-Leognan

Domaine de Chevalier: Opaque medium red, some barnyard notes on the nose with chunky red fruit, moderate tannins and acids.

Chateau Malartic-Lagraviere: Medium opaque red, sweet black fruit on the nose with silky black, ends tart, moderate tannins and acids.

Moulis En Medoc

Chateau Maucaillou: Medium red with a perfume of turned earth, chunky and rustic, with the fruit dropping a bit but still nice balance.

Haut-Medoc

Chateau La Lagune: Medium red with dark chocolate on the nose, juicy bright red fruit ends with tart notes.