Wednesday began with a very early roll call leaving Bordeaux Lac at 6:30am to pick up Yorkshire Post Wine Writer, Christine Austin, en route to our 8am breakfast meeting at Château Calon Ségur. We were about ten minutes ahead of schedule, so we stopped for a quick coffee on the Pauillac quayside to make sure we were raring to go for the marathon day ahead! Tasting through their portfolio starting with sister estate: Château Capbern, followed by Marquis de Calon Ségur (Calon Ségur second wine), as well as the Grand Vin… no surprises here and a good effort from Vincent and the team. We also had the opportunity to sample Chateau Croix de Gay in Pomerol; a recently acquired 3.67-hectare property that has produced a nice, bright, and charming addition to their portfolio.
Just a stone’s throw away in the heart of Saint-Estèphe was our 8:45am appointment at Château Phélan Ségur. Véronique Dausse (General Director) and Fabrice Bacquey (Cellar Master) led a very informative tasting; noting a 50% yield loss as their Cabernet Sauvignon parcels were hit severely by hail resulting in a higher proportion of Merlot (56% in this years’ blend). A different style for sure, almost their first Right Bank influenced wine.
We drove back towards the Pauillac border for our next visit at Château Cos d’Estournel where their Grand Vin was the clear winner. I feel like their portfolio wines all carry the d’Estournel hallmark, especially Goulée by Cos d’Estournel, which is located 30km north of the estate; showed very well.
We made haste for Château Lynch-Bages who were hosting the UGC Pauillac event, as well as showcasing some Saint-Julien and Haut-Médoc wines. The host’s wine was superb as was Château Batailley. Both Chateaux Pichon Baron, and Pichon Comtesse were first rate; if I had to choose one it would be Pichon Baron for its depth, concentration, and power. It is worth mentioning that Château Les Ormes de Pez was a firm favourite, and I’m sure will be one of our Star Value Buys.
Afterwards we headed to Château Grand Puy Lacoste where we had a fascinating chat first with Emeline Borie (Marketing Manager), who declared 2022 a “unique vintage… it’s so fresh, and so well balanced”. Upon leaving the estate we also had the chance to speak to Francois-Xavier Borie (Emeline’s father, and Director) who stated, “it’s a unique vintage and hard to compare, however, in terms of quality it would be in the top 5 vintages from over last 40 years”. High praise indeed.
With a spare half an hour before we were due at Château Pontet-Canet, we decided to quickly call into Château Beychevelle for the UGC Saint-Julien tasting. We thought the overall quality was excellent and that Saint-Julien could be the most consistent commune in 2022. It was hard to pick a favourite, nonetheless, Châteaux Gloria, Talbot, Gruaud-Larose, Branaire-Ducru as well as Léoville, and Langoa-Barton were all singing harmoniously.
It was now time for Château Pontet-Canet and we were fortunate enough to taste with the great man himself, Alfred Tesseron, who was naturally all smiles for his gorgeous 2022. Alfred doesn’t believe in making a second wine, and so concentrates on doing additional work in the vineyards to make sure all grapes received at the sorting table are of premium quality. A big thank you to Alfred for providing us with a delicious lunch to sustain us for the remainder of the day: merci beaucoup!
The afternoon continued at Château Montrose where tried La Dame de Montrose (second wine) and their Grand Vin, as well as sister estate: Château Tronquoy (formerly known as Tronquoy-Lalande, however, they’ve dropped Lalande as Charlotte Bouygues’s mother struggled with the pronunciation!). A trio of brilliant wines have been produced here and I found the Montrose to be excellent.
Our next appointment was with the Baron (Pichon that is) where we tasted through their portfolio of estates from Château Pibran, Les Griffons de Pichon Baron, Château Pichon Baron, as well as a few sweet wines from their Sauternes property: Château Suduiraut. The Mouton Rothschild collection tasting was held at Château Clerc Milon this year, due to ongoing renovations at Chateau Mouton Rothschild. A good line up with Châteaux Clerc Milon and d’Armailhac both showing well.
We darted back into Saint-Julien and proceeded to Château Ducru-Beaucaillou to taste some new wines including Madame de Beaucaillou (Haut-Médoc) and Le Petit Ducru (formerly known as Château Lalande-Borie). The Grand Vin has good power, tension, and structure.
There were three wines to taste at Château Pichon Comtesse Lalande: commencing with their sister estate, Château De Pez, that we struggled with a bit. La Réserve de Comtesse (Pichon Comtesse’s second wine) was a serious contender for the best second wine of the vintage and easily comparable to the Grand Vin from a lesser vintage. The Grand Vin was naturally a heavenly wine.
Our day was almost complete, however, with half an hour before our 6:30 tasting with Lilian Barton at Chateau Léoville Barton we decided to go back to the UGC Beychevelle tasting to sample a couple of wines that we didn’t have time for earlier in the day.
It was great to see Lilian again and her new Chais for the first time, which I must say is stunning. It is so sad that the late, great Anthony Barton didn’t get to see it finished. Château Mauvesin Barton (Moulis-en-Medoc) is beautifully crafted by Mélanie Barton-Sartorius, Lillian’s daughter who has also recently made Lilian a proud grand-mère… felicitations! We then tasted the Barton Grand Vins; I think it could possibly be amongst the best Langoa’s I have tasted to date. Bravo, Lilian!
The final stop of the day was Château Gruaud-Larose, which was followed by a generous soirée. Their second wine and favourite of many UK customers, Sarget de Grurard Larose, had wonderful concentration and purity. The Grand Vin was dense and complex with superb energy leading into a precise finish. A big thank you to the team for the vertical tasting (some in magnum) of 1981, 1990, 2001, 2009 Chateau Gruaud-Larose… quelle chance!
Tonight we said au revoir to Christine, Wine Writer at the Yorkshire Post, who has accompanied us for the last two days. Christine, we hope you enjoyed it! We’ve now broken the back of the UGC week, and as someone in the office pointed out, we do in one day what many people would struggle to achieve in three. However, it is most rewarding and with that, bonne nuit!
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