The Thursday night wine tasting at Fine Wines of Stockton was a study of five recent Bordeaux vintages. Two of these vintages, 2005 and 2009, are considered great. The growing seasons were warm and produced lush fruit and opulent, complex wines. The others, 2006, 2007 and 2008, just average. Weather in those years was cool, inconsistent and challenging for winemakers. Some Châteaux produced very good wines, others not so much.
Of course all of the wines are from the Left Bank, Pauillac and Margaux specifically. They are predominantly Cabernet Sauvignon. Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot are also present in varying amounts.
George presented three Fourth Growth and two Fifth Growth wines from two Châteaux. All were tasted blind. Some questions to ponder as we tasted these wines…Can we pick-out the exceptional years of 2005 and 2009? Has aging changed the flavor of these wines? As usual, we all voted for our favorite wine at the end of the tasting.
2006 Château Clerc Milon – the dark fruit and earthy nose was followed by cocoa and dark fruit flavors. The tannins are still significant and grippy. This medium-bodied wine is very well-balanced and tastes very good on its own. No food required. Both Pete and I chose this as our favorite wine. Will it get better with time? Maybe, but it tastes really good now, so why wait? The blend is 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 44% Merlot, 6% Cabernet Franc.
2008 Château Clerc Milon – a minimal nose of caramel was followed by minimal fruit flavors, tobacco and leather. Slightly bitter, grippy tannins produced a moderate-length finish. The tannins dominated the flavor and finish of this wine and were too bitter to my palate. Maybe this wine would come alive with food. The blend is 42% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot, 16% Cabernet Franc, 2% Petit Verdot.
2007 Château Marquis de Terme – another amazing nose! Coffee, chocolate and earth scents were followed by tobacco, dark fruit and cocoa flavors. The tannins were significant in this very light-bodied wine. This wine provoked a lot of discussion. Some tasters thought it was out of balance with too much acid and tannins that were not well-integrated with flavors. Others liked it. Go figure!
2009 Château Marquis de Terme – earthy, very ripe fruit nose. Sweet, dark fruit flavors with a bit of vanilla, big, grippy tannins and a long finish with fruit and tannins. This wine tastes ripe, complex and has a heavier weight in the mouth. There is a lot going on in this wine, and it has the potential to become something really interesting with time. The blend is 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 5% Petit Verdot.
The history of Château Clerc Milon goes back the the early 19th century. It involves numerous owners, neglect and finally rescue by Baron Philippe de Rothschild in the 1970s. It is located in Pauillac, across the road from Château Mouton-Rothschild. Pauillac is home to three of the five First Growth Châteaux in Bordeaux (Château Latour and Château Lafite in addition to Mouton-Rothschild). Château Clerk Milon is in good company. It is considered by many to be an over-achiever within the Fifth Growth classification.
Château Marquis de Terme’s history reaches back to the Middle Ages. As part of a larger estate that was divided to produce Château Rauza-Ségla and Château Rauza-Gassies, both Margaux Second Growths, Château Marquis de Terme is also in good company. Early recognition came in 1787 when, following his stay in France, then Ambassador Thomas Jefferson positively “reviewed” the wines of Château Marquis de Terme.
The group chose as its favorite wine the oldest of the group and one from the two better-regarded vintages of 2005 and 2009. It was the favorite by a wide margin. Were we really able to pick-out the stellar years of 2005 and 2009? Most of us thought not. It was more a matter of choosing what we liked best. Red faces all around!
The flavor of the older wines in this group tended toward cocoa, coffee and tobacco with a lighter weight in the mouth than the youngest wine in the group. Flavors and scents produced by these older wines were very complex. The 2009 Chateau Marquis de Terme had more fruit flavors, a rounder, heavier feel in the mouth than the older wines. It stood out as different than the others in the group. Maybe due to age or maybe due to a warmer, more predictable growing season. Maybe because of both, who knows. Most tasters in the group were able identify the older wines in this group by flavor.
Our next tasting will be a similar tasting of Bordeaux from the Right Bank. Merlot and Cabernet Franc should be the stars of that show.
Cheers!
