The Union des Grand Crus de Bordeaux held their annual grand tasting in Beijing, the last in a leg of an Asia-wide tour also comprising Tokyo (22nd Nov), Osaka (24th Nov), Seoul (26th Nov), Shanghai (28th Nov) and Guangzhou (29th Nov).

We have already posted our notes on the dry and sweeter whites (see Featured Tasting: Union des Grand Crus de Bordeaux in Beijing, Parts I and II). Here is the beginning of Part III which is devoted to the reds in all their different appellations. In fact, we have had to subdivide our posts into Part IIIa-d to cover everything we tasted (see below).

Tasting multiple samples of young red Bordeaux effectively takes stamina and experience. High-end red Bordeaux made in a traditional style should keep for decades; along with Vintage Port and some German Rieslings, these are wines that can have considerable longevity and often have to be left for some time to show their complexity and subtlety.

The only thing harder than assessing extremely young wines destined for a long life is barrel-tasting of unfinished wines (i.e. those still undergoing fermentation). This is something we’ve done in Burgundy, but not in Bordeaux; although we did once get to taste barrel samples of the 2003 Ports (the fermentation may have been stopped with brandy, but it was precisely the brandy and powerful young fruit that made for hard work!).

But what about the 2004 reds? Generally speaking, the 2004 vintage is not as concentrated as years like 2005, 2000 and 1990, although it will obviously have ageing-potential (much more of a ‘classic’ year than the atypical 2003). To cope with the number of wines, our notes are necessarily condensed. They should also be seen as provisional. Although we have tasted significant numbers of wines at various competitions and wine challenges before, it is always best to re-taste wines that promise significant evolution (there's also the bottle variation that will naturally occur, even with top wines). Despite these provisos, 2004 can we seen as a reliable vintage for the medium term, although some wines will go for much longer.

We have arranged our notes around each Bordeaux appellation and grouped them into a series of posts:

Part IIIa: Pessac-Léognan and Margaux

Part IIIb: St. Julien

Part IIIc: Pauillac, St. Estèphe, Haut-Médoc and Moulis-en-Médoc

Part IIId: St. Emilion and Pomerol

Sadly, there was not much of a presence for St. Estèphe at the Beijing tasting and we didn’t get to taste as many Pauillacs or Pomerols as we wanted (despite what was on offer). In some cases, we made a point of not revisiting old favourites that have been established as good value (e.g. Châteaux Batailley, Angludet, Talbot), but couldn’t resist sampling Léoville and Langoa Barton.

Part IIIa: Pessac-Léognan and Margaux

2004 Domaine de Chevalier, Pessac-Léognan

Appearance: deepish purple-red.

Nose: lovely fruit, good oak, very attractive nose.

Palate: excellent concentration for the vintage, lovely tannins, strong fruit and impressive length.

Conclusion: 50% Merlot and 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, this wine spent some 21 months in oak (50% of which was new). It has the fruit and structure to age gracefully. Lovely Pessac.

Rating: 18.5/20

2004 Château Pape Clément, Pessac-Léognan

Appearance: medium-dark purple-red.

Nose: pleasant fruit, good use of oak here and good concentration.

Palate: big, chewy tannins, good acidity and decent length. The fruit has decent concentration too.

Conclusion: 60% Cabernet Sauvignon and 40% Merlot, this wine usually spends around 18-22 months in barrel (100% new oak). Another impressive Pessac. Has a different tannic structure from the Domaine de Chevalier; but both have their charms and should age well.

Rating: 18/20

2004 Château Giscours, Margaux

Appearance: medium purple-red.

Nose: beautiful savoury nose with red and black fruits and even some mineral notes. Non-intrusive oak.

Palate: lovely semi-chewy medium tannins, vibrant acidity and more ‘minerality’. Good fruit and impressive length.

Conclusion: 55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot and the remaining 5% a mixture of Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot, this wine spends some 15-18 months in oak (50% new). This is very stylish Margaux with a considerable future ahead of it.

Rating: 18.5/20

2004 Château du Terte, Margaux

Appearance: medium purple-red.

Nose: very attractive black fruits with some spice and green pepper notes (there’s more Cabernet Franc and marginally more Petit Verdot than on the Ch. Giscours). Good use of oak.

Palate: decent structure, good acidity, pleasant fruit and good length with chunkier tannins than the Giscours.

Conclusion: 40% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc and 5% Petit Verdot, this wine spends similar time in oak to the Ch. Giscours (they come from the same stable under General Manager, Alexander Van Beek). This is clearly very good, but the Giscours is better in this vintage.

Rating: 18/20

2004 Château Dufort-Vivens, Margaux

Appearance: deep purple-red.

Nose: stalky first nose, but this gives way to dark fruits and subtle oak.

Palate: nice acidity, ripe chunky tannins, good fruit and promising length.

Conclusion: 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 24% Merlot and 6% Cabernet Franc, this wine sees some 16-20 months in oak (ranging from 35-45% new, depending on vintage). There’s more Cabernet Sauvignon here than on most Margaux – in fact Dufort-Vivens actually decided to graft some Cabernet Sauvignon on to some of their old Merlot vines. This gives a bigger Margaux.

Rating: 18/20

2004 Château Kirwan, Margaux

Appearance: medium purple-red.

Nose: toasty first nose, mineral notes, but also lovely fruit coming through. Complex.

Palate: gripping, ripe medium tannins, excellent fruit, good acidity and more harmonious on palate than on nose at present.

Conclusion: 40% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc and 10% Petit Verdot, this wine saw about 35% new oak, but we’re not sure for how long. What is clear is that Kirwan is in very good shape with the 2004 vintage. Very good Margaux.

Rating: 18.5/20

2004 Château Lascombes, Margaux

Appearance: medium purple-red.

Nose: plenty of oak, but there is more than ample fruit coming through here as well. Some spice and has a lot to give yet.

Palate: big chunky tannins, large structure, good fruit, pleasant acidity and decent length.

Conclusion: 50% Merlot, 45% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Petit Verdot, this wine varies in treatment but does get to see a lot of new oak (usually 80-100%). However, there is more than enough fruit to match. This Margaux is in the larger style also favoured by Dufort-Vivens. Needs time.

Rating: 18/20

Of this group, Domaine de Chevalier, Giscours and Kirwan particularly stood out. But there were some good all round 2004s here.

Labels: 2004, Bordeaux, Domaine de Chevalier, du Terte, Dufort-Vivens, Featured Tastings, France, Giscours, Kirwan, Lascombes, Margaux, Pape Clement, Pessac-Leognan, red, Union des Grand Crus de Bordeaux

The Union des Grand Crus de Bordeaux held their annual grand tasting in Beijing, the last in a leg of an Asia-wide tour also comprising Tokyo (22nd Nov), Osaka (24th Nov), Seoul (26th Nov), Shanghai (28th Nov) and Guangzhou (29th Nov).

Many chateaux owners were then going on to Singapore and India, en route back to France. Several commented that the turn-out at Beijing’s Sofitel Hotel was better than in previous years; and were happy both with the volume here as well as in Shanghai and Guangzhou in particular. We spoke with several owners about their perceptions of the China and wider Asia markets and although no single property has obvious ‘brand’ recognition within China – apart, perhaps, from Château Lafite – they were cautiously optimistic about the future in Beijing and further a field.

This year the UGC showcased the 2004 vintage, still under-appreciated and under-valued, at least alongside 2000 and 2005. The hype surrounding 2003 may still exist, but most people should recognize the vintage had atypical weather conditions that resulted in some strange wines from some quarters as well as over-activity in the market. Recall 1997: different weather conditions, but similar hype. The 1997s drunk much sooner than some expected; clearly a different vintage from the likes of 1995 and 1996.

With so many wines to taste, the notes we offer here are condensed, beginning with dry whites (Part I), then the sweeter ones (Part II) - the Sauternes and Barsac wines were particularly strong - followed by reds from the various appellations (Part III).

2004 Domaine de Chevalier (Blanc), Péssac-Leognan

Appearance: medium green gold.

Nose: attractive nose with marked Sauvignon notes – here slightly aromatic and peachy (not the clone that is used in Sancerre or for other Sauvignons in the Loire Valley) – but with lemon and slight wax coming through from the Semillon. Good use of oak.

Palate: integrated fruit, fresh acidity, good length and pleasant oak. Not heavy. Elegant.

Conclusion: decent white Pessac, this wine is 70% Sauvignon Blanc and 30% Semillon and spends 18 months in oak (a third of which is new). Very good.

Rating: 18.5/20

2004 Château La Louvière (Blanc), Pessac-Léognan

Appearance: medium green gold.

Nose: lovely oak which is currently predominant backed by citrus (the fruit should come out later).

Palate: very balanced, considerable toasty oak, but the fruit is there with very good acidity.

Conclusion: this wine is 85% Sauvignon Blanc and 15% Semillon and is a lovely example of dry white Bordeaux.

Rating: 18.5/20

2004 Château Malartic-Lagravière (Blanc), Pessac-Léognan

Appearance: lightish green-gold.

Nose: made in a light savoury style with some green notes but also peach from the Sauvignon Blanc. Oak is non-intrusive.

Palate: good acidity, with light apple and peach fruit. Quite good length.

Conclusion: a blend of 80% Sauvignon Blanc and 20% Semillon, this much more of an aperitif dry white Bordeaux than a so-called ‘first course wine’, but some may like the light style and the fact the oaking is on the light side here too.

Rating: 17/20

2004 Château Olivier (Blanc), Pessac-Léognan

Appearance: medium green-gold.

Nose: nice intensity of lemon fruit here with good oak and even some minerality.

Palate: good fruit, nice acidity and good length. Oak is balanced.

Conclusion: this spends 10 months in oak (of which 20% is new) and is well put together. Should age well too.

Rating: 17.5/20

Labels: 2004, Bordeaux, Domaine de Chevalier, Featured Tastings, France, La Louviere, Malartic-Lagraviere, Olivier, Pessac-Leognan, Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon, Union des Grand Crus de Bordeaux, white

Top Cellar offered another free tasting at their Amigo delicatessen and shop shared with Bento & Berries in the Kerry Centre. The wines were from various producers and were intended to be European Classics. All were imported by Top Cellar directly.

Sébastien Lézier of Winpact gave a short introduction to the wine accessories his company has put together for Top Cellar: two types of corkscrew (both ‘waiter’s friend’ design), two wine-pourers, Champagne stopper and the usual coolers and freezer cooler packs.

Wines tasted:

2004 Schloss Gobelsburg Riesling Urgestein, Kamptal, Austria

Appearance: medium gold yellow.

Nose: intense lime fruit, some minerality, hints of kerosene.

Palate: generous lime, pleasant acidity and good length.

Conclusion: we haven’t drunk much Austrian Riesling – Grüner Veltliner seems to have stolen some of the limelight internationally – but this has always been a very important and noble Austrian grape. This seemed to be a good expression, at least of Riesling.

Rating: 17/20

2004 Schloss Gobelsburg Zweigelt, Kamptal, Austria

Appearance: light to medium red-purple.

Nose: mostly red cherry fruit, possibly raspberry too.

Palate: light red cherry fruit, very low tannin, pleasant medium acidity, shortish length.

Conclusion: Zweigelt was created in the 1920s by Fritz Zweigelt, a hybrid of Blaufränkisch and St. Laurent. It ripens early and can withstand winter frost, so it’s easy to see why it might be popular with winemakers in Canada as well as Austria. Generally speaking, Zweigelt (Austria’s most planted red grape) is going to make light reds for quaffing. This was that, although no doubt someone is making more serious Zweigelt somewhere.

Rating: 15/20

1999 Vina Amezola Rioja Reserva

Appearance: medium purple-red, orange rim.

Nose: classic American oak nose but in an obviously aged and mellowed state with raspberry, strawberry and red cherry fruits.

Palate: pleasant fruit, decent oak, tannins slightly coarse, pretty good length.

Conclusion: certainly characteristic Rioja, but a bit disappointing at Reserva level.

Rating: 16/20

2003 Château Ducluzeau, Listrac

What used to be a called a ‘Cru Bourgeois’, this property is owned by the Borie family.

Appearance: medium purplre-red colour, clear rim.

Nose: warm red and black fruits from the 2003 heat, French oak.

Palate: mixture of red and black fruits, slightly coarse tannins, medium acidity, okay length.

Conclusion: not bad Claret if red Bordeaux at this level is your cup of tea. Not exciting.

Rating: 16/20

2003 Il Volano, Toscana IGT (Il Molino di Grace)

Appearance: medium purple-red, clear rim.

Nose: appealing tart red cherry fruit with touch of spice.

Palate: nice plucky Sangiovese tannins, the acidity you’d also expect, cherry fruit.

Conclusion: we couldn’t actually find this wine on the Il Molino di Grace website, but apparently it is 65% Sangiovese with the remainder a range of other grape varieties. Pleasant, easy-drinking Tuscan IGT.

Rating: 16.5/20

2003 Chianti Classico, Il Molino di Grace

Appearance: deep purple, clear rim.

Nose: ripe black cherry fruit, discernible but integrated oak, some clove and cinnamon spice.

Palate: lovely chewy not too astringent tannins, pretty good acidity for the difficult 2003 vintage in which the sheer warmth made attaining decent acidity a problem, lovely fruit and good length.

Conclusion: impressive Chianti Classico. Very drinkable. Approachable now, but will age.

Rating: 17.5/20

Labels: 1999, 2003, 2004, Austria, Bordeaux, Chianti, Featured Tastings, Italy, Kamptal, red, Riesling, Rioja, Sangiovese, Tempranillo, Top Cellar, Tuscany, white, Zweigelt

1964 Château Le Gay, Pomerol, Bordeaux

Appearance: medium purple-red, orange rim.

Nose: decaying black fruits, black plum, blackberry, some ‘greenness’, perhaps from the Cabernet Franc (unlikely to be from under-ripe grapes), very savoury with leather, mushroom and other vegetal aromas, but these are supported by quite a lot of fruit still.

Palate: still some fruit here which balances very well with the leather and chutney-like aromas, mellowed medium grainy tannins, pleasant acidity and very good length.

Conclusion: a very high-quality aged Pomerol from a great year. We're not sure of the exact assemblage (blend) here, at least for the 1964 vintage. But this was superb.

Rating: 19/20

Labels: 1964, Bordeaux, Cabernet Franc, France, Le Gay, Merlot, Pomerol, red

Château Loudenne Dinner at Le Bistrot Parisien, Beijing

ASC invited Florence Lafragette of Château Loudenne to present her wines accompanied by a decent menu from Beijing's Le Bistrot Parisien. We chatted with Ms Lafragette about Loudenne and our visit there in 2004 when taking part in the Vingt sur vin competition organized by Jean-Michel Cazes of Château Lynch-Bages. Like Cazes, she is a strong ambassador for the region.

It was a fun evening and the food was well-prepared and well-presented (it was certainly all a good deal at 200RMB per head as there was copious wine). The only thing that didn’t work was the first red with the bream (in fact, the Loudenne White would have been much better!). It's certainly worth experimenting with reds with various fish - particularly meatier types of fish - but red Bordeaux with a vanilla sauce (see below) is not to be recommended:

Tartare de Thon et de Concombre à la Crème Ciboulette

2003 Château Loudenne Blanc, Médoc

Appearance: pleasant gold yellow colour.

Nose: citrus fruit with marked oak and some waxy aromas. Complex.

Palate: strong fruit, good oak, some fresh acidity (the wine does not actually go through malolactic) and lovely length.

Conclusion: this is 75% Sauvignon Blanc and 25% Semillon and was really well put together despite the problems of the 2003 vintage. Impressive dry white Bordeaux and refreshing to find this kind of thing in the Medoc rather than just in Graves or Pessac-Leognan.

Rating: 18/20

Filet de Dorade Rose Rotie, Sauce Vanille, Julienne de Légumes Croquantes

2003 Pavillon de Loudenne (the 2nd wine)

Appearance: medium purple-red, clear rim.

Nose: we both picked up green tints and possibly unripe notes on more than one of the bottles which suggests that the grapes had to be picked with the highish sugar levels that the 2003 heat would have created but without their being physiologically/phenolically ripe (hence the unripe green nose).

Palate: more 'green' notes, but with some red and black fruits underneath. Tannins are not so unripe here, so maybe this wine has a better future than the nose suggests. Quite good length.

Conclusion: this wine is 76% Cabernet and 24% Merlot. You cannot, therefore, say the green notes are traceable to Cabernet Franc (which can show that green pepper nose). But they may not be unripe Cabernet Sauvignon either. Other bottles would have to be tried.

Rating: 17/20

Medaillon de Fillet de Boeuf, Sauce Porto, Pommes Forestieres

2002 Château Loudenne Rouge, Cru Bourgeois Supérieur

Appearance: purple-red, clear rim.

Nose: pleasant nose of blackcurrant fruit and French oak (although the fruit has the restraint of the 2002 vintage).

Palate: has refreshing medium acidity on the palate which makes it very drinkable at this stage, medium slightly chewy tannins (although not that pronounced) and agreeable fruit. Pretty balanced and with promising length.

Conclusion: 46% Cabernet Sauvignon, 48% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc and 1% Malbec, this is a pleasant blend and was well assembled. We liked it, although the 2003 Château Loudenne Blanc carried the day.

Rating: 17.5/20

Labels: 2002, 2003, ASC, Bordeaux, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Featured Tastings, France, Jean-Michel Cazes, Loudenne, Malbec, Merlot, red, Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon, Vingt sur vin, white

1959 Sainte-Croix-du-Mont, A. Lahon

Appearance: deep orange-brown colour.

Nose: savoury, botrytis nose, some raisined fruit still there, quite honeyed, slightly oxidized.

Palate: very good palate with surprisingly supple acidity and good length. Still some raisined fruit there.

Conclusion: This wine has survived remarkably for its age and would go really well with cheese (rather than a dessert). There was just a whiff of oxidation reminiscent of Madeira. A. Lahon is probabaly a negociant as this does not appear to be a chateau or domaine bottling. It's probably made from Semillon and Sauvignon Blanc (as with Sauternes or Barsac), but it might be 100% Semillon (or could even include some Muscadelle). However, we cannot find any information on this wine for the moment. Fascinating.

Rating: 18.5/20

Labels: 1959, Bordeaux, France, Sainte-Croix-du-Mont, Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon, sweet white

1983 Château d’Yquem, Sauternes, Bordeaux

Appearance: deep orange gold.

Nose: very complex nose with honeyed orange and marmalade fruit, slight spice and overt but integrated botrytis.

Palate: incredibly harmonious blend of fine acidity, balanced residual sugar and great concentration of flavour (almost the intensity of Icewine without the high sugar). Superb length.

Conclusion: a privilege to taste. Whilst Yquem sets the bar very high in being set apart both in terms of price and classed category, this was undeniably very, very good. The best Sauternes we've drunk is probably 1967 Rieussec, but this was hardly far behind!

Rating: 19/20

Labels: 1983, Bordeaux, France, Sauternes, Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon, sweet white, Yquem

This wine was tasted at Château Lafite during the 2004 Vingt sur Vin competition, organized by Jean Michel-Cazes of Château Lynch-Bages and hosted by the Commanderie du Bontemps for the Medoc, Graves and Sauternes regions.

We are grateful to the Commanderie and to Jean Michel-Cazes, Baron Eric Rothschild and Francois Guillot de Suduiraut personally.

1967 Château Rieussec, Sauternes

Appearance: medium amber-gold.

Nose: beautiful nose of candied dried fruits (orange, peach, apricot) with great botrytis and some other savoury aromas that are hard to describe.

Palate: fantastic fruit, excellent balance of very fine high acidity and mellowed but marked residual sugar. Outstanding length.

Conclusion: we weren't really aware that Sauternes of this age, even from such great vintages, could possess such development and refreshing acidity (none of the ‘over-marmalade’ nose that some older wines can show). Served from magnums it had aged gracefully. Stupendous. The best Sauternes we've ever drunk and one of the greatest wines we've ever been fortunate to taste.

Rating: 19.5/20

Labels: 1967, Baron Eric Rothschild, Bordeaux, Commanderie du Bontemps, France, Francois Guillot de Suduiraut, Jean-Michel Cazes, Rieussec, Sauternes, Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon, sweet white, Vingt sur vin

1990 Château Léoville Barton, Saint-Julien, Bordeaux

Appearance: red purple, orange brick rim.

Nose: 'indescribable' was the first note, but the wine had everything on the nose that could be associated with sophisticated red Bordeaux, particularly from the Medoc: cassis, blackcurrants, pencil shavings, tobacco, spices (derived probably from aged French oak rather than the blend of grapes), beautiful oak. Amazing.

Palate: medium softened tannins, astonishing length, good acidity, medium-high alcohol, power and poise (maybe the alcohol seems higher than 12.5% because you are bombarded with so much sensation in approaching this wine - although labelling laws allow some latitude).

Conclusion: this was the first time we’d tried Léoville Barton and could easily see why just about every significant wine writer or journalist points to Léoville (and Langoa) Barton as a source of fairly priced fantastic claret: Michael Broadbent, Hugh Johnson, Jancis Robinson, Clive Coates, Andrew Jefford, Charles Metcalfe, Robert Joseph etc. If other bottles of the 1990 are like this they can be enjoyed now and for the next decade. Amazing.

Rating: 19/20

1986 Château Léoville Barton, Saint-Julien, Bordeaux

Appearance: red purple, some fading of the rim but still strong in colour (actually darker than the bottle of the 1990).

Nose: a little closed at first, dusty and requiring a good deal of aeration in the glass, but it showed through with strong cassis, maturing French oak (though by no means mature), spice and a general stylistic similarity to the 1990, although with less obvious fruit (and it was very different in weight and structure on the palate).

Palate: more tannic than the 1990, big structure, good acid, robust, chewy and showing potential for further ageing (apparently a lot of 1986s are like this). Very, very long.

Conclusion: utterly brilliant but requiring more time. In all honesty – although we've tasted red Bordeaux of this ilk and quality before – it takes a little getting used to the idea that this wine will mature for another 20 years or longer.

Rating: 18.5/20 [could be higher with time]

Labels: 1986, 1990, Bordeaux, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, France, Leoville Barton, Medoc, Merlot, red, Saint-Julien