For his birthday, a former Maitre of the Commanderie de Bordeaux and a few more friends and members staged this wine dinner in which we wanted to compare the best of Californian Bdx blends with Bordeaux wines itself. The wines were therefore served in pairs. Naturally, as in the original judgement of Paris, we also added a Chardonnay flight at the beginning. All wine lovers know today that there are great wines on either side, often it is just a matter of taste which ones you like more. Napa typically being a richer and fruitier self while Bordeaux are more earthy, leaner, but when you throw in the recent warmer Bordeaux vintages even that may be not be true anymore. Hence, tonight’s exercise was not about “who is better” but celebrating the wineries who produce such high quality wines. A splendid dinner in Singapore, thank you David.
Flight 1 – Aperitiv wines
1976 Pétrus, 94 Points
A generous friend brought this gem along as a starter wine, commemorating that the judgment of Paris took place in 1976. Smokey, tobacco nose, mushroom, red fruit compote, oxidative notes. Smells like so many CabSav/Merlot/Rioja once they are past peak. A mix of wine and Sherry. Not bad but I prefer it younger and fresher with lively fruit. Hard to score as it depends on your acceptance of this late stage aroma profile.
1975 Château Trotanoy, 98 Points
This wine had it all. Wonderful aromas of earthy notes with Christmas cake, dark fruit. Soft mouthfeel, supporting bitterness at the end to buffer the richness. A very impressive aged Bordeaux. Confirms Trotanoy as my favorite Pomerol wine.
1997 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Richebourg, 96 Points
Then, all of a sudden, someone pored and passed a glass of this from the room next door where they were doing a Burg tasting. DRC, sure any day. Lovely nose of game, touch of tobacco, red fruit, earth. The palate was soft and on the lighter side for a Rich but very good overall and nice balance. Excellent length as well. Impressive for the vintage. Mature.
Pair 1 – Chardonnay
2006 Domaine de Montille Corton-Charlemagne, 95 Points
Great nose of flowers, white fruit, vanilla. Very good balance, lighter than the Marcassin right next to it.
2006 Marcassin Chardonnay Marcassin Vineyard, 96 Points
A very intense white wine both on nose an palate. Aromas of white fruit, anise seeds, minerals, citrus. Very concentrated palate but with great acidity too. A more of everything package but it worked. Had a slight edge over the Montille Corton Charlemagne next it it.
Pair 2
1990 Château Haut-Brion, 98 Points
Easy to spot as the Bordeaux in this flight. Very classic Left bank nose with all the forest aromas mixed with dark fruit. Wonderfully complete and soft palate. A grand, mature Claret.
1994 Dominus Estate Napanook Vineyard, 94 Points
Easy to identify as the Napa wine. Very intense, some heat on the palate too. Lots of dark fruit, high acidity. Too intense, lacks a bit of balance and elegance but still good, just not great.
Pair 3
1994 Shafer Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select, 99 Points
Expressive nose. More dark fruit, eucalyptus, earthy notes, clearly Napa from the Eucalyptus note it has. Most impressive palate combining the richness of California with freshness and structure. For me ne of the WOTN and the best USA wine tonight. A great showing against an equally impressive Angelus. What an awesome flight this was.
1990 Château Angélus, 98 Points
Wow, did this wine well. First it showed the best of what Bordeaux can do in the nose with earth, smoke, meat. Rich palate but with good balance and structure. Fully mature. A fantastic showing against an equally impressive Shafer Hillside select. What a great flight this was.
Pair 4
2003 Château Latour Grand Vin, 99 Points
I have been bringing this wine to CabSav tastings many time now and it always delivers. Here it was interesting whether the richness and warmth of 2003 would make people confuse this as Napa. Some did but others could see from the Bordeaux aroma profile that still shines through that we are in Medoc. A grand Latour this 2003 is.
2002 Araujo Estate Cabernet Sauvignon Eisele Vineyard, 94 Points
Clearly identifiable as California.I am usually a big fan of this wine but the poor 2002 vintage cannot be fully hidden. It was too dry and hot. The wine is sweeter than usual, very intense and a bit hot on the finish. Good but not great.
Pair 5
1982 Château Léoville Las Cases, 99 Points
Typical mature Medoc here in the nose, no question in which region we are. Wonderfully complex, silky palate, long finish. This is texbook Bordeaux. Another great flight.
1987 Chateau Montelena Cabernet Sauvignon The Montelena Estate, 98 Points
From Magnum. Of course you can’t do a Judgement of Paris without a Chateau Montelena and boy did this bottle perform. Rich, ripe nose, dark fruit, looked very young from the color, no way we would have guessed 1987. The palate was still intense with lively acidity and great energy. Another truly outstanding USA wine. 98+
Pair 6
2001 Harlan Estate, 97 Points
In this flight it was hard to tell which one was Bordeaux and which one Napa. Both wines were very round, rich and mature. More blue fruit in the Harlan and more chocolate in the Beausejour. The Harlan also had a bit more structure and bitter extract on the finish which helped with the richness and therefore had the slight edge. Both showed really well, albeit not as classic as I like my Bdx blends. Great wines nevertheless and a wonderful way to finish this awesome tasting.
1990 Château Beausejour (Duffau Lagarrosse), 96 Points
In this flight it was hard to tell which one was Bordeaux and which one Napa. Both wines were very round, rich and mature. More blue fruit in the Harlan and more chocolate in the Beausejour. The Harlan also had a bit more structure and bitter extract on the finish which helped with the richness and therefore had the slight edge. Both showed really well, albeit not as classic as I like my Bdx blends. Great wines nevertheless and a wonderful way to finish this awesome tasting.
Closing
Stellar wines in great company – a wonderful evening it sure was. Technically it was 4:3 for Bordeaux but who cares when you are dinking such great wines from both sides of the Atlantic.
Author: Christian Raubach, WSET III, FWS, WSG Champagne Master
October 2017