2012 Pingus

Barrel samples.

2012 PSI:
Deep ruby. Liquorice, blueberries and vanilla nose. Fruity, fresh acidity, ripe tannins, fruit forward but fairly fresh. 88-90

2012 Flor de Pingus:
Deep ruby. Scented, blueberries and liquorice nose. Fresh acidity, ripe tannins, soft, fresh, fruity, good length. 88-90

2012 Pingus:
Deep ruby. Liquorice, scented and blueberries nose. Intense. Fruity, fairly compact but more elegant for me than other vintages I've tasted, rich and long. 91-93

01 Comtesse de Lalande

2004 Château La Confession:
Deep ruby. Ripe, fruity, blueberries, caprifolium nose. Fresh acidity, ripe tannins, sweet and ripe. 85

2001 Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande:
Ruby, garnet rim. Decanted for an hour. Scented, nuanced, layered, leather and cassis nose. Fresh acidity, ripe tannins, elegant and subdued, nuanced, evolving nicely, long finish. 93

3 2010's from Saint- Estèphe

2010 Château Lilian Ladouys:
Ruby. Fruity, vanilla and slightly scented nose. Fresh acidity, ripe tannins, fruity, a bit rich, good length. 87

2010 Château Meyney:
Ruby. Scented, red and darker berries, elegant and nuanced nose. Fresh acidity, ripe tannins, fruity, elegant and long. 90+

2010 Château Phélan Ségur:
Ruby. Scented, fruity, nuanced and elegant nose. Fresh acidity, ripe tannins, refreshing and fruity, a bit tight, structured and long. 93

08 and 10 Calon Ségur

2010 Château Calon Ségur:

Ruby. Fruity, intense, elegant, refined and nuanced nose. Fresh acidity, ripe tannins, lively, superb elegance, refreshing, lively and long, lovely. 95

2008 Château Calon Ségur:

Ruby. Fruity, nuanced, elegant, layered and complex nose. Fresh acidity, ripe tannins, fruity, layered, elegant, playful and long. 93

08 and 10 Château Montrose

2010 Château Montrose:

Deep ruby. Fruity, rich and layered nose, complex. Fresh acidity, ripe tannins, fruity and lively, seductive, refined, long and superb. 96

2008 Château Montrose:

Ruby. Scented, fruity, fresh, elegant nose, layered and complex. Fresh acidity, ripe tannins, fruity and lively palate, lovely balance, young and just lost the slight rawness last bottle had. Long. 93

2010 and 2006 Cos d'Estournel

2010 Château Cos d'Estournel:

Ruby. Fruity, scented, ripe, nuanced and layered nose. Fresh acidity, ripe tannins, fruity, ripe feel but also textured and structured. Feels like it's becomming tighter and more focused. Long. 95

2006 Château Cos d'Estournel:

Ruby. Fruity, cassis, leather, scented and complex nose. Fresh acidity, fruity, starting maturity which is a bit early, prunes, long finish. 93

Domaines Albert Bichot Grand Cru Tasting

2011 Long-Depaquit Chablis Grand Cru Moutonne:
Pale lemon yellow. Apples, smoky minerals, lemons, fairly rich and intense nose. Fresh acidity, elegant, lively and fruity. Fresh, complex, lovely citrus mineraly finish, almost creamy texture, long. 93

2010 Long-Depaquit Chablis Grand Cru Moutonne:
Pale lemon yellow. Apples, minerals, touch of yellow fruits and butter. Fresh acidity, fruity, elegant, refreshing, lovely balance, rounded texture, long. 93

2009 Long-Depaquit Chablis Grand Cru Moutonne:
Pale golden. Yellow apples and riper fruit, chalky minerals below. Fresh acidity, rounded, fruity, more concentrated, lobster bisque minerality, long. 91

2004 Long-Depaquit Chablis Grand Cru Moutonne:
(Magnum) Pale golden. Apples, minerals, quite intense nose, oysters and yellow fruits. Fresh acidity, minerals over some apples, very mineraly, fresh and lively, long. 92

2010 Domaine du Pavillon Corton Grand Cru Clos des Maréchaudes:
Bright ruby. Scented, fruity, some barrel notes and spices on the nose. Fresh acidity, ripe tannins, fruity and lively, elegant and refreshing, long. 93

2009 Domaine du Pavillon Corton Grand Cru Clos des Maréchaudes: 
Bright ruby. Scented, ripe strawberries, fruity, warmer feel to it. Fresh acidity, ripe tannins, playful, fruity with more structured backbone, long. 90

2005 Domaine du Pavillon Corton Grand Cru Clos des Maréchaudes: 
Bright ruby. Mint, eucalyptus, spicy, exotic and menthol nose. Fresh acidity, ripe tannins, fruity, lively, quite rich, long finish. 90

2001 Domaine du Pavillon Corton Grand Cru Clos des Maréchaudes: 
Bright ruby, brick rim. Plums, red berries, leather touch, maturing nose. Fresh acidity, ripe tannins, fruity, ripe, maturing, quite refreshing, lacks a bit of refinement and nuance, long. 91

2010 Domaine du Clos Frantin Clos-de-Vougeot: 
Bright ruby. Strawberries, scented, some spices and layered nose. Fresh acidity, ripe tannins, fruity, lively, elegant and quite refined, lovely texture, long. 93+

2009 Domaine du Clos Frantin Clos-de-Vougeot:
Bright ruby. Strawberries, scented, floral and elegant nose.Fresh acidity, ripe tannins, fruity, elegant, lively, rounded texture, long length. 93

2008 Domaine du Clos Frantin Clos-de-Vougeot:
Bright ruby. Ripe, maturing nose of strawberry jam, prunes and mint. Fresh acidity, ripe tannins, fruity, ripe feel, evolving, long. 90

2007 Domaine du Clos Frantin Clos-de-Vougeot:
Bright ruby, brick rim. Leaner nose, scented and unripe strawberries. Fresh acidity, ripe tannins, leaner, quite elegant and refreshing, maturing, good length. 88

27 Pomerol's tasted

Realizing a few years ago that I had been a bit of a Miles from Sideways and a "-I'm not drinking any fucking Merlot!" kind of guy myself, a 1998 Right Bank vertical tasting in Denmark changed my view completely. It wasn't that I hadn't tasted any great Pomerols or Saint-Emilions, it was rather that I hadn't tasted enough. I live in Norway where the Monopoly is biassed towards, and rather more fond of the Left Bank and accordingly not that much have been available in my local market. This is getting incresingly better, but this is another reason for lack of tasting experience with especially Pomerol's. Then another tasting of old vintages of Right Bank was held in Trondheim (Norway) by eminent wine collector Lars Wichstrøm and that was truly mindblowing with Ausone 1928 as an example, served blind! Later there have been increasingly more tastings, and more visits to estates in Pomerol. It's a very exciting and different part of Bordeaux to explore.

2009 Clos Rene:
Ruby. Fruity, scented and blueberries nose. Fresh acidity, ripe tannins, fruity, a bit rough now, slight phenolic unripeness touch behind, good length. 89

2010 Domaine du Rampart:
Ruby. Scented, floral and fruity nose. Fresh acidity, ripe tannins, fruity, quite elegant, good length. 88

2010 Château La Pointe:
Ruby. Scented, fruity and dark berries nose. fresh acidity, ripe tannins, again fruity palate, quite elegant, tannic backbone. 89

2010 Château Pierhem:
Ruby. Scented, floral and fruity nose. Fresh acidity, ripe tannins, quite refreshing palate, fruity and good length. 89

2009 Château Moulinet:
Deep ruby. Scented, ripe and extracted feel. Fresh acidity, ripe tannins, fruity, rounded and ripe, tannic finish. 87

2009 Château Montviel:
Ruby. Scented, ripe and fruity, liquorice. Fresh acidity, ripe tannins, a bit tight, good length. 87

2010 Château Mazeyres: 
Ruby. Scented, fruity and dark berries nose. Fresh acidity, ripe tannins, fruity and quite elegant body, long finish. 90

2010 Château Lécyer:
Ruby. Scented, fruity and extracted touch, ripe. Fresh acidity, ripe tannins, fruity and fresher palate than nose, more elegant, good length. 87

2010 Château Lafleur du Roy:
Ruby. Prunes, plums, fruity and minty. Mature for esuch a young age. Fresh acidity, ripe tannins, again a very mature feel. Drink soon. 86

2011 Château Grand Moulinet:
Ruby. Blue- and blackberries, scented and nuanced nose. Fresh acidity, ripe tannins, fruity, lively and refreshing. Good length. 88

2005 Château Guillot Clauzel:
Ruby. Intense, fruity and deep nose. Fresh acidity, ripe tannins, fruity and lively palate and texture, good length. 87

2010 Château Gouprie:
Ruby. Fruity, scented and blueberries nose. Fresh acidity, ripe tannins, fruity, a bit easy, good length. 86

2010 Château L'Excellence du Château Gouprie:
Ruby. Scented, blueberries and a more intense nose. Fresh acidity, ripe tannins, fruity, lively and quite refreshing, long. 88+

2006 Château Gombaude-Guillot:
Ruby. Fruity, nunaced and elegant nose, pure blueberries. Fresh acidity, ripe tannins, fruity, lively, elegant and long. 91+

2010 Château La Ganne:
Ruby. Scented, floral and liquorice nose. Fresh acidity, ripe tannins, fruity, elegant and good length. 86

2010 Château Feytit-Guillot:
Deep ruby. Rich, extracted and fruity nose. Freshish acidity, ripe tannins, intense, lacks finesse. 85

2010 Château Feytit-Clinet:
Deep ruby. Scented, liquorice and fruity nose, blueberries fruit. Fresh acidity, ripe tannins, ripe and fruity, but less so than last bottle about six months back. Good length. 87

2010 Château Fayat:
Ruby. Ripe, rich and fruity nose. Fresh acidity, ripe tannins, fruity, rich and good length. 85

2007 Château Enclos Haut Mazeyres:
Ruby. Oak, oak and oak. Might be some fruit behind there somewhere. ??

2009 Château Le Chemin:
Ruby. Fresh, elegant and nuanced nose. Fresh acidity, ripe tannins, fruity and livelypalate, good length. 89

2009 Château Bonalgue:
Ruby. Scented, fruity and elegant nose. Fresh acidity, ripe tannins, fruity, elegant and quite lively, long finish. 91

2007 Clos L'Eglise:
Ruby. Scented, blueberries, fruity and nuanced nose. Fresh acidity, ripe tannins, fruity and quite elegant, fairly nuanced, long. 90

2009 Château Beauregard:
Ruby. Scented, fruity, elegant and quite layered nose. Fresh acidity, ripe tannins, elegant texture, quite lively, long. 93

2010 Clos du Clocher:
Ruby. Scented, fruity and layered nose, elegant and quite seductive. Fresh acidity, ripe tannins, fruity, lively, elegant and refreshing, long. 93+

2006 Château Gazin:
Ruby. Fruity, scented and layered nose. Fresh acidity, ripe tannins, fruity, lively and elegant palate, long. Needs a few more years for me to round off a bit more. 93

2009 Château Certan de May:
Ruby. Elegant, fruity, nuanced and layered nose, floral and scented. Fresh acidity, ripe tannins, elegant if a bit ripe palate, refined and long. 95

2009 Château La Conseillante:
Ruby. Fresh, nuanced, elegant, complex and layered nose. Refined and seductive. Fresh acidity, ripe tannins, elegant, fruity, lively, long and again nuanced. Complex and layered, very long. 96

Diner Gold at Château Rayne Vigneau

Château Meyney was the wine that started my wine interest, thats why I look so smug.

2007 Château Rayne Vigneau:
Pale golden, apricots, vanilla and pineapples nose. Fresh acidity, elegant, nuanced, quite complex, long. 93

Sauternes works very well as an aperitif in my book!

2009 Château La Tour de Mons:
(Double magnum) Ruby. Scented, cassis and fruity nose. Fresh acidity, ripe tannins, a bit rough textured now even with decanting, almost barrel sample from this format, good length. 87

1990 Château Grand- Puy Ducasse:
(Imperial) Ruby. Scented, cassis, liquorice and some leather, layered nose. Fresh acidity, ripe tannins, frity, elegant, lovely balance, long but a touch dry on the finish. Long. 90

1986 Château Meyney:
(Imperial) Deep ruby. Scented, fruity, cassis, floral, anise, leather and quite seductive nose. Fresh acidity, ripe tannins, fresh, lively and elegantly fruity. A splendid vintage for Meyney as well as all the old Cordier estates. Long and refreshing, fruitier than last imperial of 86 Meyney. 92

2005 Gold de Rayne Vigneau:
We were told that only 478 bottles was made but according to the back label it was 450 bottles made. Maybe some are in larger formats. Anyhow, a very rare wine indeed and a pleassure to have been one of the few who will ever get to taste it. The grapes was picked on September 16th 2005 between 09.00 and 11.00 in the morning and thats it. This is the first vintage of this top of the range cuvee and only 2009 has been made since. Pale golden colour. Apricots, vanilla, tropical, pineapples, scented and floral nose. Fresh acidity, lively, elegant and fruity, refined. Lovely balance and long finish. 95

Fête de la Fleur 2013

 Traffic jam at the entrance caused by to much rain, so the parking lot could not be used.

2010 Château de Fieuzal Blanc:
Pale lemon yellow. Apples, minerals, citrus, floral and spicy nose. Fresh acidity, lively, quite elegant, rounded but also refreshing, a bit oak smoky now, long. 92

2003 Château Lafon-Rochet:
Deep ruby. Scented, floral, cassis and elegant nose, layered and fruity. Fresh acidity, ripe tannins fruity, lively for the vintage, slight herbal touch on the finish. Maybe not full phenolic ripeness, but that is probably what made it so refreshing for the vintage. Long. 90

1995 Château Lagrange:
(Magnum, ex-châteaux) Deep ruby. Scented, fruity, cassis, leather and tobacco nose. Fresh acidity, ripe tannins, elegant, fruity and refreshing, lovely balance, long. This has really smartened up lately. 92

At the table of Smith Haut Lafitte and the Cathiard's, together with Wine Spectator's Editor Thomas Matthews and his wife.

1990 Château Lafite Rothschild:
(Magnum, ex-château) Ruby, garnet rim. Layered, scented, fruity, cassis, leather, tobacco, complex, nuanced, astonishing nose but needed time in the glass to fully open. Gorgeous. Fresh acidity, ripe tannins, fruity, elegant, refined texture and structure, subtle but intense, seductive, refreshing, very long indeed. 97

2001 Château Suduiraut:
Golden. Quite a bit darker than the more pale golden bottle a year back, pineapples, apricots and tropical notes. Apples, pure, refined and elegant nose, layered and complex. Fresh acidity, again refined, playful and pure, nuanced, gorgeous texture, incredible length, all about finesse, nuances and balance. Superb. 98

Mini vertical of Château Lanessan

2010 Château Lanessan:
Ruby. Fruity, scented, cassis, blackberries and some vanilla on the nose. Fresh acidity, ripe tannins, fruity, elegant texture, quite refreshing, good length. 88

2003 Château Lanessan:
Ruby, garnet rim. Scented, blueberries, cassis, anise and a floral touch on the nose. Needed an hour or two to come through. Fresh acidity, ripe tannins, fresh and lively, especially for the vintage, elegant, somewhat rounded, fruity, good length. 89

2002 Château Lanessan:
Ruby, garnet rim. Scented, dark berries, leather and liquorice. Fresh acidity, ripe tannins, fruity, lively, needed an hour to open up, maturing but will last another five years or so easilly. Quite long. 87