- Location
- London and Connecticut
Thanks to Paul D for organizing this very, very enjoyable evening at Piccolino. It was good to be back in the private room after two years where it is easy to converse and we're left to do our own thing. Also, only being nine people gave us slightly more generous pours which was nice. The wines were of a very high quality and very difficult to rate and rank. We started at very good and went higher, especially with the reds. There was a good spread of vintages too, reaching back to 1982.
Château Carbonnieux Pessac-Leognan blanc 2017 ***½
40% semillon, 60% sauvignon blanc
Initially a nose marked by semillon, crisp with a hint of fresh underripe hazelnut and later a hint of Meyer lemon custard tart. Some white flower notes on the palate, finishes crisply with a mineral twist. Enjoyable.
Château la Louvière Pessac-Léognan blanc 2015 ***
100% sauvignon blanc
A little reductive initially with struck match and phosphorous notes. This took a while to subside, but it did improve to give hints of quince and other stone fruit on the nose. Modern and young tasting, easy-going on the palate, finishes quite broadly with a sense of glycerol. Possibly in an awkward phase.
Domaine de Chevalier Pessac-Léognan 2014 blanc ***½
25% semillon, 75% sauvignon blanc
Lemon, lime, and grapefruit on the nose tending towards a touch of wet wool and baked apple after time. Crisp and yet fullish on the palate with a touch of oak noticeable on the finish. There was debate as to whether this is on an accelerated evolutionary path, but I was not sure either way.
Château Pape-Clement Pessac-Léognan 1982 ***½
This had a much darker colour than the SHL of the same vintage. Initially I thought that there might be just a touch of TCA on the nose, but this turned out to be only a bit of persistent funk. Notes of milk chocolate emerge on the nose and palate after time hinting at a highish merlot component. Deep, tobacco-y fruit on the palate. Fully evolved but no sense of tiredness. Cool-fruited, savoury and elegant. On the night I preferred the middle aged wines that had a little more energy to them, but these two 1982s were a treat.
Château Smith-Haut-Lafitte Pessac-Léognan 1982 ***½
A very light colour here. Very much in the ethereal category and tasting of an era now well and truly in the past. On the nose there is a touch of brown sugar as well as an undertow of liquorice. Cool, elegant, and very light-footed on the palate. Decent length here. A gentle wine just avoiding tipping over into fragility.
Château La Tour Haut Brion Pessac-Léognan 1996 ***(*)
This on the other hand, was a very vigorous and energetic 1996 with a strongly cedar and tobacco nose; green tobacco in fact. Leafy, fresh and drives on over the palate; a lovely texture here. Cool 1996 fruit. There is still some tannin on the finish and this will improve over the next few years. Better than I was expecting to be honest.
Château Pape-Clement Pessac-Léognan 1996 ***½
Sharing plenty of characteristics with its 1982 brother this displays milk chocolate on the nose leading to dusty red fruit on the palate. Fully resolved compared to the LTHB. Persistent fruit – finishes well.
Château Les Carmes Haut Brion Pessac-Léognan 2000 ****
This is a wine I’d been looking forward to trying. There is graphite on the nose together with clean, dark red fruit. Very fragrant. This is ripe and quite full on the palate with the tannins melting away. Hedonistic and yet still reined in enough for this to be correct. Generous. Finishes well. Plenty of time in hand, but this is drinking now.
Domaine de Chevalier Pessac-Léognan 2000 *****
I’ve been lucky enough to drink two really exciting DdCs recently, this and the 1996 at Bordeaux WIMPS. This is everything you want from DdC. The nose is darkly red fruited with a hint of minerality, warm brick and even a hint of smoke. It pulls off that famous DdC trick of being deeply fruited while being beautifully, precise and detailed all the way through to the finish. Packed with positive energy. Just entering the drinking window. Perfect Graves for me.
Domaine de Chevalier Pessac-Léognan 2005 ***½
This is definitely a more modern rendition of DdC, albeit a very good one. Openly ripe on the nose with a hint of milk chocolate. Ripe and broad on the mid-palate, with an embonpoint that strains the corset a little. A little less defined and detailed than DdCs of old. I didn’t notice this level of ripeness in the 2006 and 2008 though. Very good.
Château La Tour Haut Brion Pessac-Léognan 2001****
The first bottle was not correct. A back-up was very generously opened, and it turned out to be excellent. There’s a fresh lifted nose here with cranberry and redcurrant intertwined with green tobacco notes. Long, fresh, cool, and delicious. I really loved this wine.
Château Haut Brion Pessac-Léognan 2002 *****
Thanks to David Pope for very generously bringing his only bottle of HB 2002 to share with us. This is a lovely wine and very much in the mould of 2002. There are notes of tobacco and cigar box on the nose leading to a wine with deliciously cool fruit. Elegant, restrained and long with first growth weight. It has that savouriness which I so like. Not yet at its peak I guess, but so delicious to drink now. A little tannin bursts from cover at the finish. If you are lucky enough to own any, perhaps best to wait another 5-8 years. A proper first growth experience here.
Château Carbonnieux Pessac-Leognan blanc 2017 ***½
40% semillon, 60% sauvignon blanc
Initially a nose marked by semillon, crisp with a hint of fresh underripe hazelnut and later a hint of Meyer lemon custard tart. Some white flower notes on the palate, finishes crisply with a mineral twist. Enjoyable.
Château la Louvière Pessac-Léognan blanc 2015 ***
100% sauvignon blanc
A little reductive initially with struck match and phosphorous notes. This took a while to subside, but it did improve to give hints of quince and other stone fruit on the nose. Modern and young tasting, easy-going on the palate, finishes quite broadly with a sense of glycerol. Possibly in an awkward phase.
Domaine de Chevalier Pessac-Léognan 2014 blanc ***½
25% semillon, 75% sauvignon blanc
Lemon, lime, and grapefruit on the nose tending towards a touch of wet wool and baked apple after time. Crisp and yet fullish on the palate with a touch of oak noticeable on the finish. There was debate as to whether this is on an accelerated evolutionary path, but I was not sure either way.
Château Pape-Clement Pessac-Léognan 1982 ***½
This had a much darker colour than the SHL of the same vintage. Initially I thought that there might be just a touch of TCA on the nose, but this turned out to be only a bit of persistent funk. Notes of milk chocolate emerge on the nose and palate after time hinting at a highish merlot component. Deep, tobacco-y fruit on the palate. Fully evolved but no sense of tiredness. Cool-fruited, savoury and elegant. On the night I preferred the middle aged wines that had a little more energy to them, but these two 1982s were a treat.
Château Smith-Haut-Lafitte Pessac-Léognan 1982 ***½
A very light colour here. Very much in the ethereal category and tasting of an era now well and truly in the past. On the nose there is a touch of brown sugar as well as an undertow of liquorice. Cool, elegant, and very light-footed on the palate. Decent length here. A gentle wine just avoiding tipping over into fragility.
Château La Tour Haut Brion Pessac-Léognan 1996 ***(*)
This on the other hand, was a very vigorous and energetic 1996 with a strongly cedar and tobacco nose; green tobacco in fact. Leafy, fresh and drives on over the palate; a lovely texture here. Cool 1996 fruit. There is still some tannin on the finish and this will improve over the next few years. Better than I was expecting to be honest.
Château Pape-Clement Pessac-Léognan 1996 ***½
Sharing plenty of characteristics with its 1982 brother this displays milk chocolate on the nose leading to dusty red fruit on the palate. Fully resolved compared to the LTHB. Persistent fruit – finishes well.
Château Les Carmes Haut Brion Pessac-Léognan 2000 ****
This is a wine I’d been looking forward to trying. There is graphite on the nose together with clean, dark red fruit. Very fragrant. This is ripe and quite full on the palate with the tannins melting away. Hedonistic and yet still reined in enough for this to be correct. Generous. Finishes well. Plenty of time in hand, but this is drinking now.
Domaine de Chevalier Pessac-Léognan 2000 *****
I’ve been lucky enough to drink two really exciting DdCs recently, this and the 1996 at Bordeaux WIMPS. This is everything you want from DdC. The nose is darkly red fruited with a hint of minerality, warm brick and even a hint of smoke. It pulls off that famous DdC trick of being deeply fruited while being beautifully, precise and detailed all the way through to the finish. Packed with positive energy. Just entering the drinking window. Perfect Graves for me.
Domaine de Chevalier Pessac-Léognan 2005 ***½
This is definitely a more modern rendition of DdC, albeit a very good one. Openly ripe on the nose with a hint of milk chocolate. Ripe and broad on the mid-palate, with an embonpoint that strains the corset a little. A little less defined and detailed than DdCs of old. I didn’t notice this level of ripeness in the 2006 and 2008 though. Very good.
Château La Tour Haut Brion Pessac-Léognan 2001****
The first bottle was not correct. A back-up was very generously opened, and it turned out to be excellent. There’s a fresh lifted nose here with cranberry and redcurrant intertwined with green tobacco notes. Long, fresh, cool, and delicious. I really loved this wine.
Château Haut Brion Pessac-Léognan 2002 *****
Thanks to David Pope for very generously bringing his only bottle of HB 2002 to share with us. This is a lovely wine and very much in the mould of 2002. There are notes of tobacco and cigar box on the nose leading to a wine with deliciously cool fruit. Elegant, restrained and long with first growth weight. It has that savouriness which I so like. Not yet at its peak I guess, but so delicious to drink now. A little tannin bursts from cover at the finish. If you are lucky enough to own any, perhaps best to wait another 5-8 years. A proper first growth experience here.
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