This was one of the bi-monthly tasting events organized by Switzerland’s most prolific Bordeaux collector at his personal Carnozet. As usual, all wines were served blind. Present during this tasting was Jean-Marc Quarin (www.quarin.com), the leading French wine journalist from Bordeaux who guided through the tasting. A ringer was included in each flight to see how they compare to these uber-expensive Pomerols.
Key take aways from the tasting:
- 2000 as the undisputed star vintage
- 2002 surprisingly strong showing of this below par vintage
- 2001 showing good potential
- Chateau Palmer and Margaux did well as pirates
- Le Pin and Pétrus still cost a fortune in mediocre years, so if you want to try them once, may be better to bett to out a little more money and have a good once in a lifetime experience
Tasting Notes
Flight 1
1996 Pétrus, 86 Points
Nose of earth and with a bit of a funky musty tone. On the palate medium bodied with soft tannins but pronounced acidity. Lacks weight and lift.
1996 Château Le Pin, 86 Points
Nose of dark fruits with a metallic, alcoholic to note, some truffles. On the palate wood and acidity dominate the fruit. I guess I sign of the difficult 96 right bank vintage
1996 Vieux Château Certan, 86 Points
Nose of dark fruits with some wood and herbs. A bit lean on the palate, quite conservative on the fruit.
Flight 2
1997 Pétrus, 87 Points
Earthy nose with some bretty tones, cedar box. Medium bodied with soft mid palate but a bit light weight. Not very long
1997 Château Le Pin, 88 Points
Quite complex nose of dark fruits, cassis and toast. The palate cannot match though and is a bit thin. Aromatically more attractive than structurally.
1997 Château Lafleur, 84 Points
Nose dominated by oak, some dark fruits with green peppers. On the palate quite lean with dominating oak
The Pétrus winery
Flight 3
1998 Pétrus, 93 Points
Expressive nose of chocolate, vanilla, cherry, full and ripe. On the palate dense and soft but with a bit overripe notes. Good but did not hit me as great as it should be tonight.
1998 Château Le Pin, 95 Points
Deep nose of dark fruits, chocolate and oak, very Merlot. On the palate full bodied with ripe fruit and complex aromas, good balance and length.
1998 Vieux Château Certan, 88 Points
Nose remenicent of CabSav dominated by quite some wood. On the palate medium bodied with not a lot of lift and lengh.
Flight 4
1999 Pétrus, 91 Points
Nose of earth, wood and cedar, quite complex but not a lot of fruit. On the palate medium bodied with good balance. Good but not great, may add a point or two with age though.
1999 Château Le Pin, 87 Points
Expressive nose of dark fruits, chocolate and cherry, again very Merlot. On the palate not as strong with quite and alcoholic finish.
1999 Château L’Eglise-Clinet, 86 Points
Closed nose revealing hints of dark fruit and some wood, very reductive. On the palate medium bodied with some granular tannins. Needs more time but will probably never be a good wine.
Flight 5
2000 Pétrus, 100 Points
Expressive nose of dark fruit, chocolate, and dried fruit, very charming despite being young. On the palate a true bombshell of aromas, soft and full bodied with fruit dominating, conspicuously Merlot (dark fruit, plum, smoke, chocolate), not CabSav. This is clearly in the “as good as it gets” category.
2000 Château Le Pin, 96 Points
Expressive nose of black fruits, ink, with exotic spices. On the palate soft and full bodied with good fruit. Very nice but aromatically not nearly as complex as the other two wines in the flight (Chateau Petrus, Chateau Margaux).
2000 Château Margaux, 100 Points
Expressive nose of red and black fruit with exotic spices and meat. On the palate medium-full bodied with great balance, freshness and grip. Exploding aromas, complex with extraordinary length. Wine of the flight of the flight of the night!
The Chateau Le Pin winery
Flight 6
2001 Pétrus, 94 Points
Very primary nose still. Dense and reductive on the palate with black fruits, cherry, almost new worldly. Complex. This can go places once mature. 94+
2001 Château Le Pin, 90 Points
Nose of dark fruits with quite some alcohol noticeable. On the palate medium-full bodied with good fruit but only medium lengh.
2002 Château Palmer, 95 Points
Expressive nose of dark fruits, cloves and bread/toast, complex and seductive. On the palate medium bodied with good balance, soft tannins and complex earthy, smoky notes, looks like a wine with some CabSav. Very strong showing.
Flight 7
2002 Pétrus, 93 Points
Nose of cherry with a touch of wood. Very good entry on the palate with good volume and mouth feel, slightly strong tannins.
2002 Château Le Pin, 94 Points
Expressive nose of dark fruit with creme de cassis, very appealing. On the palate quite full with great mouth feel, hints of cherry. A very strong showing for 02.
2001 Château La Conseillante, 90 Points
Very closed nose of dark fruits, quite closed. On the palate, again tight, medium bodied. I guess this is a wait.
Author: Christian Raubach
March 2017