Nony, Nony

Nony “Château Grand Mayne” 2001 Saint-Émilion (Bordeaux) – Quite aggressive, already significantly herbal (both green tobacco and crisp brown leaves), black pepper dust, and blackened bell pepper skin, with a headiness that hovers but doesn’t, in the end, amount to much more than velocity. I actually like much of what this wine offers, but it’s certainly far from great; that I purchased it for $30 rather than the regular price (double that) makes me feel much better about the outcome and the assessment. It is, at least, recognizably Bordeaux, and that’s not something one can say about far too many of the region’s wines these days. (9/11)

French tennis

Château Graville-Lacoste 2009 Graves (Bordeaux) – So reliably solid, greens and whites atop a bed of hay. A little dash of salt, a little sprinkle of white pepper, and a lot of good clean fun. (8/11)

Men's road

Château Guiraud 2001 Sauternes (Bordeaux) – Extremely advance, to a point that I can’t believe this bottle is intact. Already here are the bronze, caramelized, slightly oxidized brown sugar elements of mature Sauternes, and that’s just extremely unlikely after only ten years. (8/11)

Just a Rieussec

Rieussec 2002 Sauternes (Bordeaux) – If I remember correctly, Rieussec was my first “good” Sauternes. I’d had a few cheapies as a run-up, but this was the one that lit the bulb over my palate; “oh, I get it now!” Since those exploratory days I’ve learned that the botrytized and wooded style is far from my favorite way to consume liquid sugar, and so I mostly drink other things. In a way, then, this was as much a Proustian pleasure as it was an actual pleasure…though it was that, too. Good? Yes. I wouldn’t call it great, though, and that may well be the aforementioned stylistic preference at work (which is why I mentioned it in the first place). All the expected elements – bronzed and preserved fruit, caramelized apples, toasted spices, a warming mélange of bakery aromas – are in place and in balance. There is acidity, but as my preferences run towards sweet wines with a lot more of it, it seems slightly insufficient to me. And it’s not particularly deft with food, either; it can wage (and may win) a battle of richness, but it does not envelop nor allow itself to be enveloped. Still, I don’t want to over-criticize; there is almost no situation in which I would turn a wine of this quality down. (9/10)

Cannery Row or Suduiraut?

Suduiraut 1998 Sauternes (Bordeaux) – Grossly insufficient. I bought this for a closeout steal, and it was overpriced even then. At full price? Spare me. Bad bottle? I certainly hope so. (12/10)

Averous, then make gravy

Cazes “Château Haut-Bages Averous” 2004 Pauillac (Bordeaux) – Deep, dark fruit…really more black cherries and blackberries than anything in the currant family…with layers of satiny texture. There is, blessedly, a feuilleté of tobacco and cedar floating around in there somewhere. I can say this is recognizably Bordeaux and really very good, but the current state thereof has to be considered for context; I’m not sure this is what fans of the ultra-traditional are looking for. I think, though, that it’s got as good a chance as many modern wines to approach that state at some point in the future. Or maybe I’m wrong about that. Either way, it’s an impressive, muscular, but not overtly steroidal wine at the moment, and even if that’s all it ever achieves, it’s not so bad. I can say this with more equanimity because I have no idea what this costs, and would probably prefer to not find out. (11/10)

Alain

Dubourdieu “Château Ducasse” 2009 Bordeaux Blanc (Bordeaux) – Greens and grasses, grapefruits and…something else alliterative that isn’t quite coming to mind right now. Grapes? Sure, why not? (7/10)

Dubourdieu “Château Ducasse” 2009 Bordeaux Blanc (Bordeaux) – Grassy green, faded yellow, pale white, flavorful but reticent. Never really goes much of anywhere. (8/10)

Hemingway

Château Margaux 2000 "Pavillon Rouge du Château Margaux" (Margaux) – Lush, sultry, slutty, whorehouse Bordeaux. I don’t mean that as a bad thing, necessarily, but the lurid aromatics and the very particular texture…well, I can see why certain critics tend towards describing wines such as this in pornographic terms, because the lingo fits. There’s plenty of structure, but it’s oh-so-plushy and New World, and the dark fruit is expansive and soft. That said, there’s tobacco and pepper dust (more on the fruit than the spice side of pepper), and it is recognizable as Bordeaux. But modern Bordeaux, for sure. I find it impossible to not like, despite any stylistic reservations. Surprisingly drinkable now, but there’s far from any hurry to get to it; I suspect there’s a lot more development to come. (5/10)

Huit l'Enclos

Raynaud “Château Quinault l’Enclos” 1998 Saint-Émilion (Bordeaux) – Green cranberry, tobacco ash, and oak tannins that lend even more Kermit-hued underripeness to the blend. Biting and unpleasant, with a short finish. Leaves a residue of dried blueberries. One is forced to ask of the wine: why? (6/10)

You can count on her

Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande 1988 Pauillac (Bordeaux) – Tobacco ash and gravel with a light dusting of pepper and the scent of dried roses. Still quite structured, of course, but showing really fine balance and just enough suggestions of maturity that it’s worth an experimental sampling. (5/10)

Haut what a tangled web

Larose-Trintaudon 2001 Haut-Médoc (Bordeaux) – Wretched and tired. This is certainly “past it,” but its past can’t have been any good either. (8/09)

In-Grave-ings

Dubourdieu “Château Graville-Lacoste” 2008 Graves Blanc (Bordeaux) – Green and almost minty, but turning more to lemon curd and salt on the palate. The wine’s a bit of a helix right now, and probably needs some time to screw itself together. (7/09)

Poyferré godmother

Léoville Poyferré 1990 Saint-Julien (Bordeaux) –Tobacco, cassis, dark black fruit, and still-immense but balanced structure. Rather fantastic at the moment, though obviously well short of maturity. (9/08)

Couhindl

Couhins-Lurton 2001 Pessac-Léognan Blanc (Bordeaux) – Stones and grass with a deft grace note of oak. Fuller-bodied than this note suggests, though the finish is short. (9/08)

Mad Larose

Cordier “Château Gruaud Larose” 1988 Saint-Julien (Bordeaux) – A touch surly at uncorking, its fist clenched around an angry little core of hard fruit. Over the course of about an hour (undecanted), it unfolds to somewhere a bit shy of full expression, uncovering layers of tobacco, fresh oak ash, fired rosemary, the darkest cassis powder, and other assorted blackish aromas, along with the expected low-toned funk. At the peak of its evolution, it’s really quite attractive, though I would by no means call it an entirely complete or balanced wine (the tannin’s too prominent, the fruit’s a little charred, and the complexities are more at odds than harmonic). And then, the fist re-clenches and the wine turns to charcoal. While I find this a most enjoyable wine when caught at the right moment, I would be very wary of its future; it most certainly has a long one, but it will likely be filled with unresolved bitterness. (4/09)

Axton

Aubert “Chateau Hoyt” 2005 Côtes de Castillon “Cuvée Prestige” (Bordeaux) – Corked. (1/09)

Matt

Dillon “Les Plantiers du Haut-Brion” 1974 Graves Blanc (Bordeaux) – Molten aluminum, creamy, and very long. A touch of brown sugar hints at the age, but this has held up extremely well. Very, very good wine, but drink up. (12/08)

Louvière blinds

Lurton “Château La Louvière” 1979 Graves Blanc (Bordeaux) – Young-tasting, believe it or not. Lime with hints of Sprite – the wine’s a bit slurpy – but this eventually resolves to tonic and sorbet. Filaments of metal drift through the finish. Precise. Very good, but almost excellent. (12/08)

Pessac-New Jersey

Lurton “Château de Rochemorin” 2005 Pessac-Léognan (Bordeaux) – Totally innocuous. Everything here’s big, but to little effect. (12/08)

Payral tax

Daulhiac “Chateau Le Payral” 2005 Bergerac Sec (Bordeaux) – This wine tastes like bones. Bare, dry-surfaced, white and cracked bones. (8/08)