Bordeaux trip day 2: a crazy schedule

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We are doing our first day of primeur tasting today, and will be visiting 10 châteaux. It's a crazy schedule, and I wondered how our big group would be able to keep to it. There were, after all, 11 of us...

First stop is Cos d'Estournel up in St-Estèphe. They are undergoing renovation so it wasn't easy to get around to take pictures of the famed pagodas in front. Jean-Guillaume Prats, the General Manager whose family previously owned the property, took us on a tour of their new cellar. Everything was stainless steel and glass - very modern. These guys took gravity flow to the next level!

Wines tasted:
2008 Goulée - tart, with a minty, New World nose

2008 Les Pagodes de Cos - minty, perfumed nose with concentrated fruit and vanilla

2008 Cos d'Estournel - perfumed nose with coffee, vanilla and a bit of smoke. Much smoother on the palate than the others

We come back to Pauillac and visit Lynch-Bages. Jean-Charles Cazes, who took over from his father Jean-Michel Cazes, gave us a tasting.

2008 Les Ormes de Pez - smoky, minty nose with coffee. Grippy but ripe tannins

2008 Echo de Lynch-Bages - this is the rebranded Haut-Bages Averous, the second wine of Lynch-Bages. Nose of toffee and mint

2008 Lynch-Bages - fragrant nose of mint and red fruits

2008 Blanc de Lynch-Bages - beautiful perfumed nose with white flowers, orange, banana and pineapple notes

Pontet-Canet hosted us for lunch, which will be the subject of a later post.

After lunch we continued to Pichon Baron, one of the most beautiful properties in Bordeaux. I had woken up early in the morning and came to take some pictures. The new tasting room has a beautiful circular bar, and we took our places and enjoyed the wines.

2008 Les Tourelles de Longueville - very sweet and concentrated fruity nose, with vanilla and coconut notes. Body is a bit lighter thanks to the higher percentage of Merlot

2008 Pichon Baron - minty, alcoholic and fruit-forward with vanilla notes

2007 Pichon Baron - much more classic than the 2008, with smoky, vanilla and lead pencil notes

2004 Pichon Baron - farmy and a bit of stewed fruits with very smooth tannins

2008 S de Suduiraut - what a beautiful wine! Pear, honey, green apple, toasty oak, vanilla and mineral notes. I asked to buy some of this wine, but alas there were none for sale...

2008 Suduiraut - nose of honey, apricot and orange marmalade 

Going back up to Saint-Estèphe, we visit Montrose. We were warned about the grippiness of the new wines here, and it was dead on!

2008 Tronquoy de Sainte Anne - sharp nose with ripe fruits. Pretty tannic with a really spicy finish

2008 Tronquoy-Lalande - spicy and peppery nose, with red fruits and vanilla notes. Very tart and tannic

2008 La Dame de Montrose - peppery nose with grippy tannins

2008 Montrose - sooooo tannic! beautiful bouquet with very forward fruit with toasty oak and vanilla

Back to Pauillac on to the famed estate of Lafite-Rothschild, where we see Anthony Hanson MW in the tasting room with General Manager Charles Chevalier.

2008 Carruades de Lafite - vanilla and sweet fruit nose

2008 Duhart-Milon - a bit smoky

2008 Lafite-Rothschild - nose was not very open. A bit of smoke, mint but hard to get to the fruit. Very tannic. I have no doubt that the wine has loads of potential, but an amateur like myself just can't be a good judge right now

We move on to the distant cousins at Mouton-Rothschild, and again run into Anthony Hanson...

2008 d'Armailhac - floral and fruity, where tannins are not too bad

2008 Clerc-Milon - fruity nose with a bit of vanilla

2008 Le Petit Mouton de Mouton-Rothschild - a bit smoky, farmy and sweet fruits

2008 Mouton-Rothschild - there's that trademark soy sauce again...even a bit stinky...smoky, chocolate and a bit violet/floral on the finish

We drop the ladies off back at the hotel, and continue to Pichon-Lalande. Former owner May-Elaine de Lencquesaing has moved off the property after the sale, so the château is now unoccupied.

2008 Bernadotte - fruity and not much tannins

2008 Reserve de la Comtesse - fruity and minty

2008 Pichon Lalande - minty and tannins were relatively round

Going into Saint Julien, we hit our final stop before dinner - Léoville-Las Cases.

2008 La Chapelle de Potensac - red and tropical fruits on the nose. Tannins a little grippy on the finish

2008 Fugue de Nenin - alcoholic and fruity with a bit of smoke. Sweet on the palate

2008 Nenin - minty and alcoholic, with a bit of smoke. Not as forward as the others

2008 Potensac - not very open with only a bit of fruit

2008 Clos du Marquis - vanilla and sweet fruit nose with a bit of mint. A bit acidic

2008 Léoville-Las Cases - inky color showing the concentration, with vanilla, sweet fruit, a bit of smoked meats and a grippy finish

Finally we head to Latour, where we would be rejoined by the ladies for a tasting and dinner.