2011 Bordeaux - Primeur Tasting:

Overall, I found the vintage to be surprisingly good!  These are not like the 2009s or 2010s where cellaring is a must, but they can be consumed while we wait for the previous two vintages to mature.  There were clear winners and they tend to be the ones that spent the time in the vineyards cropping back and vigorously selecting/sorting.  I also think that by waiting an extra week to go taste, it let the wines come together better than those that tasted 2-4 weeks earlier and reviewed accordingly.  I am compelled and will go back in June or July to re taste as I truly believe that in another few months these wines will continue to improve.  If there is a left bank appellation that outperformed it is St. Julien.  I think the right bank was better on the whole at this stage.  Without further ado, here are my notes:

Dame de Montrose - Not bad actually. A bit hard but not relentless. Should open up and be a nice drinking wine by delivery. Very lovely. 

Montrose - Beautiful floral nose. Very dry and hard on the pallet. Not thin in the least. Started to open up and show a bit with air. Will be interesting to see what the next 6-12 months bring, but I have hope for this one. This is very interesting. 

Petit Mouton - Nice nose. Very soft tannin. Petit Mouton keeps getting better. This will be a lovely drink on release. A little thin on fruit. 

D'Armaillhac - Almost Eucaliptessy on the nose. Builds on the pallet with okayfruit and has a surprising balance of tannin and acidity. Quite a long finish. Not a complicated wine but a very nice drink. Simple. 

Clerc Milon - Cherried nose. Bigger, rounder than D'Armailhac. More fruit (dark). Well balanced again. Nice finish but a little short at this stage. 

Mouton Rothschild - This has a deep complicated nose. This is a massive, rich wine. Solid but not over powering tannin. Lovely acidity. Has the Mouton meat to it. However, compared to its peers, this is a disappointing one to me. 

Gloria - Beautiful floral nose. Huge mouthful of fruit. Soft tannin beautiful acidity. This a very complete wine and another successful Gloria for sure.  As a side note, the Gloria wines have been getting better and better and represent an incredible value. 

St Pierre - This is quite big and currently reserved. That said, nothing wrong. Nice nose, great dark fruit. Bigger, rounder tannin and still the great acidity. This is quite good yet again. Like Gloria, the Triaud family is really on a roll.  St. Pierre might be the best classified value in the Medoc. Any collector and drinker must be buying these wines.

Moulin Riche (Poyferre) - Great fruit/tannin balance. Builds on the pallet long finish. Great value. No young vines. Will be a good, inexpensive drinking wine.

Leoville Poyferre - Whoa! Can't believe this is a 2011. Has it all. Power, integration, fruit, tannin, acidity. Long finish. Just complete. Winner again! 

On an absolute roll. This will be one of the longer lived 11s. Monstrous yet with the class of Poyferre.  I've said it before and must reiterate it again, this estate is now at the top of the game and it should be purchased in earnest before the prices catch up!

Pauillac (Latour) - Big open floral nose. Explosive fruit with very soft tannin and acidity. It is a pleasure but don't wait. Drink away with pleasure.

Les Forts de Latour - Much more complex florals on the nose. Big LFDL. Ripe fruit, ripe tannin nice acidity. Smokin'!

Latour - Tight on the nose but the essence is there. Big beast, complex and ripe on the pallet and long finish. This one needs time and should show more accordingly. Big buggar. This is a champion on the vintage.

Reserve de la Comtesse - Something very specific on the nose I can't peg. Good fruit and acidity with softer tannins. Pleasant and fine value but I think there are others for the money. 

Pichon Lalande - Dark spicy nose. Round dark fruit spice box pallet. Nice, not too soft but not huge tannin. Decent acidity. Given my disappointment relative to the vintage in 09 and 10, this is quite good. A bit short on the finish but that may change.  Very typical Lalande as far as elegance.

Ormes de Pez - Big surprise!  Big ripe, extracted wine with lush tannin and acidity. Good finish. I don't usually have any special feel for this wine but this stands out.  Very impressive.


Echo de Lynch Bages - A bit sour really. Not horrible but certainly nothing special.  I will taste again but am quite disappointed.

Lynch Bages - The best grapes went here. Big and rich. A bit tannin heavy but nice acidity and good finish. Dark fruit for sure. 

Lynch Bages blanc - Very tropical nose that explodes from the glass. Fresh and white peach like fruit and acidity. Delicious!


Day 2:



Alter Ego - Deep concentrated wine. Dark, dark fruit. Good balance. Quite tannic at this point against the fruit but just needs a bit of time. 

Palmer - Dark colour, purple ruby. Dark fruit nose. Reserved at this point on the nose. Beautiful, concentrated fruit which you can chew on. Again, heavy tannin but balances with acidity. This will be a great wine but require time for sure. I would say too tannic but every time I think it the fruit explodes through. Tiny yields. Lowest in 50 years. Clearly another champion of the vintage.  Shame there will be so little available.

Croix de Beaucaillou - Deep floral nose and follows through on the pallet. Not a massive wine and very fine tannin. A bit thin but nice early drink. 

Ducru Beaucaillou -  A bit thin on the start. Full of dark fruit and builds on the pallet. Plenty on tannin and acidity but totally balanced with the fruit. Only a couple of years to age and should be lovely to drink. Prefer Poyferre and St Pierre. Overall I'm disappointed, especially given that the St. Julien appelation was the best in the Medoc.

Pibran (Pichon Baron) - Rose nose. Nice wine again. Just a pleasant drinker. I've really come to enjoy this wine.

Pichon Baron - Big floral dark nose. Smells like Baron. Dark berry. Lovely, lovely wine. Has that Baron punch vs the Lalande elegance. Nice finish. Winning wine!

Pontet Canet - Has the rich Pontet nose. Lush dark berry fruit. Full and balanced with a nice finish. Truly Pontet. Not like 09/10 but a very good wine for 11. This will be an exciting wine for early consumption, but expect a much lighter version of the same profiles.

Cos d'Estournel - Big blackberry fruit pallet. NOT thin. Big rich lush. A little short on the finish. Very good actually. I'm very surprised.  This is one of my big surprise wines of the vintage.  As a side note the Pagodes and Goulee are also really good.

Haut Batailley - Nice but a bit light. Still nice fruit/tannin/acidity. Nice early drink.

Grand Puy Lacoste - Very nice ripe wine all around. As always, value for the money. GPL is consistently making great wine at a fraction of the cost of their contemporaries.

Pavillon Rouge - Nice rich nose. Deeply concentrated and powerful Pav. Layers of fruit with great balance. Nice finish. 

Margaux - Very strange (not skunky) nose. May blow off. Super concentrated fruit with soft/pleasant tannin and beautiful acidity/freshness. Black fruit. This is very good.


Day 3:



Clinet - Almost black in colour. Dark fruit, ripe plum nose. Huge bouquet and very serious. Big, ripe, rich, black fruit with round tannin and great freshness and acidity. Long, large finish yet the Clinet elegance. Very good again. 

Beausejour Becot - Spice box nose. Ripe fruit with that spicy punch from the cab franc with a nice sweetness. Very integrated tannin and real freshness on the finish. So dark and concentrated. 

Clos Fourtet - Super dark and concentrated. Big ripe, black fruit. Lovely minerality. Soft round tannin. Nice but not long finish. Very good overall.  I look forward to re tasting in a couple of months as I believe this will start to stand out. 

Troplong Mondot - Deep rose florals. Typical massive Troplong. Very very big but very together. Builds and builds as air draws. Ripe tannin and incredible freshness and acidity. 

Chapelle d'Ausone - Funky on nose to me. Powerful red fruits. Round tannin. Very fresh. 

Ausone - Almost a smoked meat with dark nose. Explosive red fruits and roses. Very rounded tannin but extremely elegant. Super finish and long. Very impressive and makes me think that the Chapelle will come along.

Canon - Plums and fig. Blackberry, goose berry. Berry in general with floral and and lovely floral finish. On the lighter side but elegant.  As a side note, the 2010 was opened for us after the 2011 and it was just amazing!  I literally started dancing in the Chateau (which I'm sure was quite a sight!).

La Mondotte - Floral. Sweet fruit and elegant. Very. Soft smooth tannin. Nice acidity.  A lovely wine. 

Canon La Gaffeliere - Violet nose. Beautiful florals and red fruit. Soft, elegant round tannin and a lovely finish. The spice of cab franc.  This is often over looked yet I have not been able to figure out why.  Try a bottle for yourself and decide would be my suggestion. 

Carillon Angelus - Floral/violet nose. Beautiful bouquet pallet and great finish. Cab Franc very evident. 

Bellevue - Sweet cherry/strawberry nose. Limestone shows through and red fruit follows. Really good overall. 

Angelus - Red roses. Spice box and dark fruit. Really lovely and layered. Elegant supple tannins. Very fresh.  Angelus keeps making their case to be upgraded in the forthcoming reclassifications in St. Emilion.