2001 vs 2002 Claret at Hawksmoor, 26th July

Neil Holland

Neil Holland

Location
London, England
A top evening around the single round table in the corner. The George Society will soon see its rather feeble honours board overshadowed by some serious letraset action from the Cannavan Club.

The Lazy Susan came into her own and centripetal upsets to the wine were avoided.

We started with a lovely 2002 Pol Roger from Mr Dellar who has left himself champagne-less in the process. On pouring there was a lovely bready, grapenutty yeastiness. Freshly cut red apple on the palate and great line. Very good start.

We then moved on to a mixed trio of Graves and Right Bank. A DdC '02 had a classic graves like tobacco entry with some agreeable leafiness. Some cocoa dusted berries too. Palate was tight initially suggesting time ahead this is but a well-made wine. The Eglise Clinet '02 was not quite right for me, a little rubberiness to the nose and something a tad medicinal. The '01 Conseillante whilst not flawed was not quite as good as other bottles I've enjoyed. There was a really purple fruited character to the nose and a subtle mintiness as well.

We then moved to three direct comparisons of '01 vs '02

Langoa Barton: The '02 comes quickly out of the blocks and is a strong '02 with an open red-fruited profile with an agreeable lift and a balanced and mid length finish. The '01 had a lovely green capsicum nose with some tomato leaf and just a bit more precision. Palate also lovely and last longer in the mouth. On pouring perhaps neck and neck but I prefer the '01 after some time in the glass

Leoville Barton: The '01 is the wine I know better in this flight and here it's very consistent with what I've had before. A beguiling savoury nose that has a subtle beef consommé quality, something redolent of marzipan emerges with time. The '02 is also a great wine, there is an exotic tea quality to the nose and almost a blood orange citrus character to the palate. Some smoke emerges and once again something a little Bakewell tarty. Love these both. Think again the great precision puts the '01 ahead

Pichon Baron: The '01 is the first of only two of these I own. The nose is just as good on pouring as when I double decanted at 17:00. A rich fruitcakey character with some banana leaf. Palate is so well balanced and longest we've encountered tonight. With time that cinnamon and incense edge to the nose reveals itself more and more. Love this. The '02 is also a very fine wine with a slightly more red-fruited profile, palate has good length and poise but is not quite as composed as it's elder sibling

Coutet '01 to finish was cracking - great passion fruit quality to it with gorgeous mouth feel and length

Thanks to all for their wines.

The food was also on song and we were helped with decanting by a good team.

To many more of these!

Cheers

Neil
 
Andrew Blunsden said:
How long do you think these vintages will be at their peak (assuming that they are)?
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It's hard to say definitively, but 2001 has more gas in the tank generally than 2002. Some 2001s have only just entered their drinking window. I don't think I've had a recalcitrant 2001 recently though. I'd say at least another ten years for 2001, possibly a fair bit longer for the very top wines. 2002 is more mixed - some are at their apogee now. I'd be interested in other opinions.
 
Truly wonderful evening, huge thanks to Neil and Gareth for organising, and to my fellow diners for sharing their company and wine.

The 02 Pol was lovely.

The Graves / Left Bank flight - not much to add to Neil's excellent notes - the Clinet seemed to be heat damaged. The Conseillante I think I enjoyed a little more than some - a certain glossiness to it, but not unattractive.

The Langoas - 01 clearly showed better to my taste, although they were both great - just as claret should be.
The Leovilles - I preferred the 02, but not by as much...
The Barons - a real treat. Both drinking lovely and very well put together. The 01 edged it but they were my top 2 wines of the evening (assuming I haven't forgotten my votes...)

Monday night corkage at Hawksmoor works really well for this - we each chose a starter, a steak and a style of chips...and then one side of greens between two, and a cheese between two to finish. Total cost 75ish.
 
Richard Zambuni said:
It's hard to say definitively, but 2001 has more gas in the tank generally than 2002. Some 2001s have only just entered their drinking window. I don't think I've had a recalcitrant 2001 recently though. I'd say at least another ten years for 2001, possibly a fair bit longer for the very top wines. 2002 is more mixed - some are at their apogee now. I'd be interested in other opinions.
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I agree with Richard. I don’t know of any 2002s which are not ready to drink today, but there are one or two 2001s that need more time, Lafite and Leoville-Lascases among them (not tried Latour 01). Otherwise I don’t think there is much between them on the left bank. On the right bank 2001 is clearly the better vintage, and competes on equal terms with 1998 and 2000. From Neil‘s and Leon’s notes I was surprised that La Conseillante did not show better, but it has also been slow to mature. Overall I think 2002 on the left bank is under-rated and overlooked. A bit of a Cinderella vintage. If you cherish mature, classically-styled claret, then this is a vintage for you. Pichon Baron and Leoville-Barton are two of my favourite 2002s, but they were both very strong in 2001 as well as the notes attest. The Baron 02 has been drinking well for a decade.
 
I think Gareth (post WIMPS blurry typing almost made him Garth) did some price comparisons and the 01's were broadly priced at the same level as the 02's.

I'm also long on '02 claret and am not at all concerned about the future. Will try a Lafon Rochet in the next month or so.

Cheers
 
Very interesting tasting especially seeing the same house side by side for 01 and 02. Overall I thought 01 had more than the edge though the 02s were still all very enjoyable. The Conseillante just didn't seem to do much and had none of the joyful abundance on the nose which it usually has and I think this was just a stubborn slightly variable bottle. Pricing wise I am just not sure the 02s are worth it. The Leoville 02 is £66 all in vs 01 at £77 all in. The Langoa 01 is £55 the 02 is £59! For the Baron the 01 is about £130 vs £110 for the 02. Not really much difference which given the quality difference suggests the 02s are at current prices not really worth it.
 
Richard Zambuni said:
It's hard to say definitively, but 2001 has more gas in the tank generally than 2002. Some 2001s have only just entered their drinking window. I don't think I've had a recalcitrant 2001 recently though. I'd say at least another ten years for 2001, possibly a fair bit longer for the very top wines. 2002 is more mixed - some are at their apogee now. I'd be interested in other opinions.
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Thank you Richard. No rush to drink mine then.:)
 
It sounds like it was a good do. I'm half way through a case each of the Leoville Barton 2001 and 2002 (I'm very happy to have both). Two bottles of the 2001 have been sublime, the others have been OK, whereas every bottle of the 2002 has been spot on. I do prefer it, not simply because of its consistency but also on stylistic grounds. It has more tannic grip, and is deeply satisfying.

The Langoa 2002 seems to illustrate the importance of terroir in more difficult vintages. For me it is noticeably more austere than the Leoville, whereas in the great vintages the two seem to be closer together. I've only tasted the 2001 Langoa once and it was lovely.

I am nearing the end of my case of 2002 DdC and for my palate it has been in decline for the last 3 years or so. This is one of the rare instances where the TWS drinking window has aligned with my own experience.
 
Christopher Edwards said:
It sounds like it was a good do. I'm half way through a case each of the Leoville Barton 2001 and 2002 (I'm very happy to have both). Two bottles of the 2001 have been sublime, the others have been OK, whereas every bottle of the 2002 has been spot on. I do prefer it, not simply because of its consistency but also on stylistic grounds. It has more tannic grip, and is deeply satisfying.
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I think that is spot on. The 2001 is a brilliant wine, and rarely fails to impress, but it is atypically smooth and round for a Leoville Barton, whereas the 2002 has that thrilling tension and nervosity, which ultimately makes it the more satisfying wine, which is why I slightly prefer it to the 2001, but we are splitting hairs here really.
 
Sorry - late to this having been away on holiday, but as others have said a really enjoyable evening with many thanks to Neil for pulling it all together. As it was now more than 2 weeks ago my notes (below) are even more scratchy than usual and it seems I'd lost the ability to write altogether by the time Neil's (excellent) Coutet was poured (with nothing noted for the Pol either!). Looking forward to the next one :)

2001/2002 BORDEAUX AT HAWKSMOOR - Hawksmoor, Guildhall, London (26/07/2021)

  • 2002 Domaine de Chevalier - France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan
    Cedar, cool, dark fruit. Touch of mineral, slight herbal edge. Medium bodied, dark fruit, cedar, fine but firm tannins. Savoury, slightly meaty. Decent length. (90 pts.)
  • 2002 Château L'Eglise-Clinet - France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol
    Odd, rubbery nose. Something not quite right here. NR (flawed)
  • 2001 Château La Conseillante - France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol
    Plummy, dark fruit. Quite restrained and not overly complex. Medium bodied, bilberry fruit, soft tannins, good length. Decent but not overly profound, not sure about this bottle (89 pts.)
  • 2001 Château Langoa Barton - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien
    Lovely minerally, lightly smoky, dark fruited nose. medium bodied, savoury, lightly minerally, dark fruited, cedar, firm but fine tannins, fresh acidity, quite long. Excellent (91 pts.)
  • 2002 Château Langoa Barton - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien
    Showing as slighty softer, plummier nose compared to the 01 (served alongside). Medium bodied, attractive without huge intensity or depth, soft tannins, medium/good length finish. (89 pts.)
  • 2001 Château Léoville Barton - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien
    5/12, Lovely aromatic, cedary, dark fruited nose with a gravelly edge. Medium bodied, cedar, dark fruit, some richness and roundness here, vibrant acidity, really good length finish. Delicious. (94 pts.)
  • 2002 Château Léoville Barton - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien
    Initially more aromatic than the 01 (served alongside). Blackcurrant fruit, cedar, touch of mineral. Medium bodied, linear, a touch firm but with lots of lovely dark fruit, cedar notes, vibrant acidity, good length finish. Excellent (92 pts.)
  • 2002 Château Pichon-Longueville Baron - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
    Cedary dark fruit, medium/full bodied, dark fruit, touch of vanilla, hint of green pepper maybe. Delicious if not quite with the richness and depth of the 01. (92 pts.)
  • 2001 Château Pichon-Longueville Baron - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
    Rich, dark fruit. Cassis, vanilla, touch of cedar. Medium/full bodied, round and rich, touch of chocolate even, but with lovely balancing acidity. This is outstanding and is drinking well. (95 pts.)
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