We had in Paris recently the tasting of the Union des Grands Crus de Bordeaux where the wines of 2019 were poured to the invited professionals. The event took place like usual now in the magnificient setting of the Carreau du Temple.
The event was initially scheduled to take place early february but the rebound of the pandemic
resulted in the postponing to the 3rd week of march, and when we received the invitations by mail in mid-february we were noticed to show a vaccination document (or passe sanitaire) but in between the rules had been lifted. Anyway things seem to go back to normal with spring tastings resuming. This was a monday of course so that sommeliers and restaurateurs could come during their day off. There was a queue at the door at opening time but not that long compared to a few years ago.
For your information, the UGCB is a group created in the early 1970s with the goal to put in the spotlight the 14 Bordeaux appelations with Grands Crus : Pessac-Léognan, Graves, Saint-Emilion Grand Cru, Pomerol, Listrac-Médoc, Moulis-en-Médoc, Haut-Médoc, Médoc, Margaux, Saint-Julien, Pauillac, Saint-Estèphe, Sauternes and Barsac. The group orgnizes tasting and promotion events not only in France but abroad, including North America, Asia and Europe.
The Bordeaux things are very serious looking, especially when we deal with Grands Crus, but just taste the wines without preconceived idea, like anywhere else, you have nice wines and poorly fairing ones. I'll begin with what I really liked and recognized as great wines, and will sum up the not-so-exciting stuff as well.
I began with tasting the Pomerols (it was convenient because the Chateaus were grouped by Appellations), and my first pick was a nice one. I came back after tasting a few other chateaus to be sure this impression was not twisted by the fact my mouth and palate were virgin, and the first impression was indeed right. The young woman pouring was a young American named Paris Pierce. You can see here a few pictures of the cellars and vat rooms at Beauregard. This photo op doesn't work well on me, and if I hadn't tasted the wines first this horse show-up among the barrels and spotless cement tanks would have put me off, poor horses ! [Culturally, I'm really not a Bordeaux guy]...
__ Chateau Beauregard Pomerol 2019. Nice tannins, good length, you don't spit here, it's onctuous and voluptuous !
__ Chateau Petit Village Pomerol 2019. Un peu raide like we say in France, better spit here...
My second pick was even more fortunate, with this Chateau Gazin's Pomerol
2019 making my day. And to make things better, Christophe de Bailliencourt [here pictured a bit off-focus, sorry], co-owner and manager of the domaine was doing the job of pouring and explaining the wine. I like when even these prestigious domaine keep doing the groundwork and don't delegate these tasks to commercials or house sommeliers. Gazin is a 5th-generation domaine, that makes sense.
__ The mouth is complex, developping in several strats in the mouth. A real pleasure already today. Mr de Bailliencourt says they never do overmaturity and never overextract. Great job, a valeur sûre if you're looking for a Pomerol.
Having moved to Saint Emilion, I stopped at the table of Chateau Franc Mayne, manned by its directeur d'exploitation Pierre Arnald.
__ Saint Emilion Grand Cru 2019. Inspiting nose ! Waouh, that's a majestic wine, and powerful, but in a way that awakes you... Nice wine, very classy. Pierre Arnald says that in 2018 they changed the vinification style, in the years before they were working with Michel Rolland and now they work with Thomas Duclos who looks for wines more on-the-fruit. I read that several other chateaus are switching to Thomas Duclos after having worked with Rolland for years, I understand the trend in the region is less on maturity now. I met Thomas Duclos a few years ago during a dinner-event centered on the oenology consulting firm Oenoteam of which he is a partner (mid-scroll on this story).
Here is this Saint Emilion Premier Grand Cru Classé 2019 from Canon La Gaffelière. Stephan von Neipperg was pouring and doing the presentation of the vintage himself in a very elegant way. His father the Count Joseph-Hubert von Neipperg had bought the chateau in 1971 among others and passed away in 2020 at the age of 102. Drinking [good] Bordeaux does make you live longer... The domaine has a vineyard surface of about 20 hectares with clay/limestone/sand soils.
I took no notes on this wine, except for its angular character, still young maybe.
Véronique Corporandy is in charge of the vinification at Chateau Larmande. The grapes for the wine come from a north-exposed slope. This Saint Emilion Grand Cru Classé 2019 had beautiful notes of sweet spices in the mouth, very onctuous and harmonious wine ! They use 50 % new barrels plus 2 amphorae with a capacity of 1,7 and 3 hectoliters (also useful for the topping up). They take great care of the picking dates, with the chef de culture (vineyard manager) Olivier tasting the berries every day.
I met or caught sight of several wine people in this event, like a taster-partner of Le Rouge & Le Blanc, wine writer Maryse Sargis, celebrity sommelier Philippe Faure-Brac and here Japanese sommelier Bunpei Someya whom I met here and there along the years including a few years ago in Burgundy...
__ Saint Emilion Grand Cru Classé 2019 from Chateau La Dominique : Nice, chiseled and precise mouth with silky tanninsq. Very enjoyable chew, you just ask for more of it and you don't spit !
Blandine de Brier Manoncourt, co-owner of Chateau Figeac was pouring the wine along with Alexa Boulton. This Saint Emilion Premier Grand Cru Classé 2019 had its vinification completed in oak barrels along with stainless steel tanks. The wine is quite magnificent with a mouth at the same time delicate and powerful. The nose was not that exprezssive but the bottle had just been operned, the wine needed to breath a bit I guess.
I switched to Pessac-Léognan with this Chateau Haut-Bergey Pessac-Léognan 2019. The domaine which has a vineyard surface of 42 hectares in production (including 2 hectares of white) is farmed biodynamic with both certifications, Demeter & Biodyvin, the only property farmed biodynamic in the appellation.
Nice mouth with tannins still on the front seat. Promising wine.
__I tasted Chateau Picque Caillou Pessac-Léognan 2019 but failed to take a picture of the bottle. I feel the wine is cold through the glass, so I warm it up a bit in my palms before tasting : Not bad, pretty nice wine, well balanced with integrated tannins and freshness. 13,5 % alcohol.
__ Chateau Balestard La Tonelle Saint Emilion Grand Cru Classé 2019. 10 hectares in surfce, soil with limestone bed rock. Pas terrible, I'd say, not very interesting.
__ Chateau Cap de Mourlin Saint Emilion Grand Cru Classé 2019. Parcels on the north side, on clay/silica. 10 hectare property. Quite interesting wine in the mouth, aromas on the mokka side, quite a good drinkability.
Chateau Larrivet Haut-Brion Pessac-Léognan 2019, a wine with sweet spices feel in the mouth, powerful but flows easy down the throat. Elevage in 2/3 new oak for 14 to 18 months, they use 8 different cooperages. 2019 was a very nice vintage for the chateau, the red got a 94 at Decanter recently. I'm told also by the woman on the picture (sorry for the blurred portrait) that they are having workshops on pairing with chocolate (as it goes very well along it) and do other gastronomy/oenotourism things on the property.
Chateau Malartic-Lagravière Pessac-Léognan (red) 2019. A rather well made wine, with chalky tannins and enjoyable mouthfeel.
Chateau Pape Clément Pessac-Léognan 2019. The chateau is owned by wine tycoon Bernard Magrez, one of 42 domaines he owns in France and abroad. Nice attack, good length too for this Pessac-Léognan. Nothing to say, nice job with freshness and the right style of tannins.
He I am at the table of Chateau Smith haut Lafitte, I'm told that this winter was very dry and there are worries about the water deficit deep under. This Pessac-Léognan 2019 has a vibrant mouth that awakes you, the wine is both powerful in the throat [but not that high in alcohol, 14,5 %) and acidulous in the mouth. But at the end my feel was that there was no excitement in the tasting expereience, no magic.
The wines here were poured by Cyril Forget who is the commercial/communication director of the property. This Chateau Maucaillou Moulis-en-Médoc 2019 is all in discretion, but my feel is that this wine has a great potential in store, keep an eye on it !
The wines of Chateau Chasse-Spleen were poured by Céline Villars-Foubet who with her husband Jean-Pierre Foubet manage this family domaine. She says 2019 was asuper vintage, even though at the beginning sales were sluggish because of the pandemic. This Moulis-en-Médoc 2019 shows at this stage a noticeable astringency on the sides of the mouth but overall I trust that it will be fine after a couple of years from now. Moderate alcohol (13,5 %).
The wine of Chateau Kirwan was poured by Stanislas Thierry, who has been appointed development director there since last january. The domaine has a vineyard surface of 37 hectares which translates into 37 separate vinifications/fermenters in the facility, but at the end the chateau produces 2 cuvées yearly.
__ This Margaux 2019 is pretty magnifient in the mouth, it is silky, onctuous and vibrant at the same time. Varirty proportions are 59 % Cabernet Sauvignon, 28 % Merlot, 6 % Cabernet Franc, 6 % Petit Verdot, 1 % Carmenere. Elevage 20 months, 50 % new oak (light toasting), 50 % one-year old (all from 10 different cooperages). He says they're trying to pick at maturity, they use tulip-shaped cement tanks (Italian made) with integrated cooling system. He says thgey changed course in 2016 at Kirwan in their vinification style, going towards a velvety side in the wines.
This Saint Julien 2019 by Chateau Léoville Poyferré has an enjoyable intensity in the mouth with balanced, integrated tannins. Good resonance or length, well made wine.
This Chateau Pichon Baron Pauillac 2019 was quite fresh with chalky tannins, in short a beautiful young Pauillac, to grab now in order to drink it in a few years.
Here we are now at Chateau Lynch Bages with their Pauillac 2019, the table was manned by Charles Thuillier who is the hospitality director at the chateau : Dust notes on the nose subtle and evocative wine in the mouth feel that awakes you; majestic wine with chalky tannins that are perfectly harmonious if still noticeable ! 75 % new barrels, the rest are one-year old and the whole made by 7 cooperages. Must be great to eat with.
I tasted also the Ormes de Pez Saint Estèphe 2019 at this table (same owners) but took no notes.
Here is Chateau Giscours with their Margaux 2019. Dust notes on the nose, here is a very very nice Margaux, ready to drink already although I guess it will offer even more splendor in the years to come. The label is bland [in the scale of my tastes of course] but man, what's in the bottle is what counts, no spit, all this finesse, this chalky touch and freshness, Giscours rocks ! I'm told they do routinely 2 passes for the picking, a first one to pick the young vines (there has been replantings here and there to replace dead vines). They also take care to do rackings without oxidating the wines.
Chateau Beychevelle, Saint Julien 2019 : inspiring nose, the wine still feels young in the mouth but promising, you have concentration, freshness (very marqued !) and enjoyable chalky tannins.
You may wonder how I could stand tasting all these wines (given that I usually swallow a bit each time) ? Happily there was a cheese stand in a corner near the Pomerols, and there was also the bakery Chez Meunier that had displayed large plates full of chunks from their whole breads, so delicious I'd come back to the table now and then...
I taste here the Chateau Dassault Saint Emilion Grand Cru Classé 2019, it is quite demonstrative in the mouth and down the throat, and in a good way. There is power here (14,5 %) but it is fresh as well. I'm told they studied the variety share in regard to the alcohol level in the wines and changed their planted variety ratio accordingly (to lower it of course).
A few notes about wines I liked less or didn't like at all (but there are plenty of chateaus I didn't have time to taste, I certainly missed good stuff) :
The Chateau Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande Pauillac 2019 was a bit high-alcohol it seemed to me.
Chateau Haut-Bailly Pessac-Léognan 2019 : exciting nose, the mouth/swallow is more neutral and bland.
Chateau Latour-Martillac Pessac-Léognan 2019 : a bit too extracted, too much liquorice, and tannins are forward.
Chateau La Louvière Pessac-Léognan 2019 : Tannic mouth, beyond this astringency, not much else I think.
Chateau Canon, Saint Emilion Grand Cru 2019. Mouais... like we say in French, nondescript, high alcohol...
Clos Fourtet Saint Emilion Grand Cru 2019, Mouais... not exciting.
Chateau Le Bon Pasteur, Pomerol 20149. Still young, I spit here.
__ Chateau la Croix de Gay, Pomerol 2019, tasted it juste after eating some Comté cheese, the 1st mouth was so-so, then 2nd pour I enjoyed the refined texture but on the whole no excitement here.
Chateau Rouget Pomerol 2019. Burning feel in the mouth, really not good.
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