Château Mondot
Château Smith Haut Lafitte
Le Petit Haut Lafitte Red Bordeaux Blend 2018
Again, not a wine that passed the drinkability test for me, but there are things that I liked about it, and some that I didn't. Right off the bat, it was way too heavy for me, both on the nose and palate. Heaps of oak aromas covering some sweet black fruits. The palate also came off as being quite sweet, almost syrupy, but here's where the balancing act comes in - just the right amount of acidity to keep it juicy. It's like biting into a very sweet, ripe, juicy plum with a peppering of cinnamon and vanilla. I enjoyed the tannins most, fine and directional, starting at the tip of the tongue, then swinging under before traveling down the inner walls of the gum. What a cool structure! And then there's the underlying minerality with air, which was pleasantly surprising. The finish took a turn for the worse - medium, rich, and oaky, yet bitter with hints of scorched earth character which I dislike. Also quite warm. Generally, more finessed than the 2011 Troplong Mondot, but less stacked and more stumbling blocks. Has potential. — 3 years ago
Château Larcis Ducasse
Saint-Émilion Red Bordeaux Blend 2003
I’m opening my last bottle of the 03 Larcis Ducasse after recently reading a couple of professional write ups about the wines fruit fading and to drink up. I did not find that to be the case w/ my last bottle. I found the wine to be around it’s peak form with another 5 years plus ahead. On the nose; menthol, eucalyptus, ripe; dark cherries, cherries, blackberries, plum, poached & candied strawberries, notes of blue fruits, black raspberries, cherry cola, touch herbaceous; sage & bay leaf, limestone & rich, moist, black, turned earth, crushed dry rocks, graphite, dry soil/clay with dry & fresh dark florals. The body is medium full. Tannins are 75-80% resolved. The length, structure, tension & balance are right where I’d expect them to be and are quite enjoyable. The palate is very similar to the nose. Menthol, eucalyptus, ripe; dark cherries, cherries, blackberries, plum, poached & candied strawberries, notes of blue fruits, black raspberries, cherry cola, touch herbaceous; sage & bay leaf, limestone & rich, moist, black, turned earth, crushed dry rocks, dry & very grippy, edgy minerals, Montecristo cigar, graphite, dry soil/clay with dry & fresh dark florals. The acidity is lovely and the long finish is well balanced with an even tug of war between fruit & earth with the dry earth dominate on the long set. Photos of; of their great southern exposed sunny hillside vineyard, the old craved stone entrance and Nicolas Thienpont & Stephane Derenoncourt. Producer notes & history...Chateau Larcis Ducasse began during the days of the ancient Romans, who valued the best hillside vineyards in the area. The early part of the modern era for Larcis Ducasse begins in 1893, when Henri Raba bought the Saint Emilion vineyard. After Henri Raba passed away in 1925, his wife and son Andre Raba continued managing Larcis Ducasse. His niece, Helene Gratiot Alphandery, inherited the property in 1941. She managed Chateau Larcis Ducasse until 1990. Then her son, Jacques-Olivier Gratiot took control of the property after she passed away and he remains in charge today. Chateau Larcis Ducasse remains the property of the Gratiot Alphandery family today. Prior to 2003, it had been years since the wines of Chateau Larcis Ducasse were prized by Bordeaux wine lovers. The wine had fallen out of favor, due to a lack of attention and effort. That changed in 2002 when they hired Saint Emilion consultants, Nicolas Thienpont and Stephane Derenoncourt to turn things around and manage the estate. One of the first improvements at the property suggested by them was to create a new drainage system. The next step was to change harvesting practices. Prior to 2002, the grapes were often picked too early and over a very short duration of 2 to 3 days. Now, the harvest takes place when the fruit is ripe and picking can take as long as 2 to 3 weeks. Starting with the 2005 vintage, all work in the vineyards moved to 100% organic farming methods. The 10.85 hectare St. Emilion vineyard of Larcis Ducasse is planted to 78% Merlot and 22% Cabernet Franc. This shows a slight change in the vineyard, as more Cabernet Franc has been added to the plantings since 2003. The vineyard is located just around the bend in the road from Chateau Pavie. In fact, their vines but up against each other. They are surrounded by more good producers. To the south, is Chateau Canon La Gaffeliere and La Gaffeliere, and as you move north, Chateau Troplong Mondot and Chateau Pavie. The terroir of Chateau Larcis Ducasse is a mixture of soils. The vines on the top of plateau and the slopes have a south facing exposure. At the higher elevations on the plateau, the terroir is limestone, clay and chalk soils. As you travel further down the slopes towards the terraces, the terroir is a blend of chalky limestone, marl, sand, silt and clay soil. At the base of the slopes, you find sand and clay soils. On average the vines are 35 years of age. While the older plantings were done at a vine density of 6,600 vines per hectare, as the vineyard continues to be slowly replanted, the vine density is increasing with each subsequent replanting. The new plantings are being done at 7,500 vines per hectare. They are also using budwood obtained through selection massale. The yields are kept low at Larcis Ducasse. In 2009, the effective yields were only 25 hectoliters per hectare.To produce the wine of Chateau Larcis Ducasse, the grapes are whole berry fermented. The fruit is transported by gravity flow into traditional, cement tanks for fermentation. Cuvaison takes between 25-28 days. There are no pump overs. Pigeages are conducted during fermentation. Malolactic fermentation takes place in barrel. The wine of Chateau Larcis Ducasse is then aged in 67% new, French oak barrels, which are mixed in size, between standard barrels and 500 liter French, oak casks. The wine is then aged for an average of 18 to 20 months in barrel before bottling. The production averages close to 4,000 cases depending on what the vintage gives. — 7 years ago
Château Troplong Mondot
St. Émilion Red Bordeaux Blend 2004
Brief , informal notes . Medium deep ruby garnet , quite narrow terracotta garnet rim . This was quite exuberant and fruit driven at first, with blackberry jam , cassis , touch of spice and wood smoke . After a while becomes a bit more serious , with mineral and a touch of coffee , seaweed notes . On the palate quite rich and dense , with dark fruits , chocolate , coffee and granite hints . Medium currant and coffee tinged finish, slightly warming alcohol . Balanced acidity and pretty gritty tannins . This is drinking well now last well a further 7- 10 years or so . — a month ago
Château Troplong Mondot
Un Amour de Mondot St. Émilion Red Bordeaux Blend 1990
Whoa, hedonistic bouquet. Creme de cassis, coconut creme, truffle. Soft and round. Incredible nose, but a little shy on the palate. Slightly past peak? Still my WOTN. 1990 vintage on 6/30/18 — 6 years ago
Château Troplong Mondot
Saint-Émilion 1er Grand Cru Classe Red Bordeaux Blend 2011
Gorgeous! Bk 30$ — 7 years ago
Clos Apalta
Valle de Apalta Red Blend 2016
Honestly, after the two massive Bordeaux’s, this was hard to palate. It’s an even bigger wine! Instantly stood out as being from the new world to me due to the fruit quality, which was sort of glossy when compared to the Bordeaux’s. On the nose, ripe black fruits, liquorice, vanilla, capsicum, mint, tobacco, and a whiff of volatile acidity. For me, the flavours on the palate seemed a little one dimensional when compared to the nose (just creamy cassis from start to end), but it may well have been just closed at the time of my tasting. Again, like the other big wines of the night, I enjoyed the tannin structure the most, which was quite distinct, starting at the edge of the tongue before enveloping the inner walls of the gums. The finish was warm and undeniably long, but it doesn’t compare to the length of the 11’ Troplong Mondot. A JS 99-pointer, but a no-no for me. Probably needs heaps of cellaring to be palatable for me, that is if the fruit doesn’t dry out first. — 3 years ago
Component Wine
La Pyramide Grand Vin De Bordeaux 2017
My review did not post previously for some reason. This is a very impressive wine. Even over several hours it was continuing to open up and show additional layers. I wish we had saved some for the following night but we couldn’t help but finish it! From a small lieu-dit on the right bank next to Pavie and Troplong-Mondot. I had specific thoughts last month but they will have to wait for the next bottle. But I HIGHLY recommend Component wines. Actually, I recommend anything by Michael Kennedy. He has a Napa and Bordeaux line, along with the newly announced Gagnon-Kennedy brand from historic Napa sources. Come along for the ride! — 4 years ago
Saint Helena Winery
Estate Cabernet Sauvignon 2012
On the nose, creamy dark & mid red fruits, fresh purple florals and loamy soils. Palate of lean ripe fruits of; blackberries, dark cherries, plum & raspberries. The tannins are dusty but grippy, raspberry cola, brown dusty soil, crushed rocks, fresh purple florals, leather, bramble, steeped fruit tea, good acidity but not a great finish. Astringent and dry. Wine is really tight at this point which is surprising for a 2012. Elizbeth Tangney is the Winemaker. She worked for L’Aventure in Paso Robles, Booker Vineyards, in St. Emillion and for Bryant before becoming their Winemaker. Aron Potts is their Consultanting Winemaker. He has his own label, Potts. He was previously the Assistant Winemaker at Kongsgaard and was the Winemaker at Château Troplong-Mondot in Bordeaux. Both shown in the photos as is their estate building and one of their vineyards. — 7 years ago
LM Segal
Milk chocolate and graphite more with just a whiff of cedar. Round and luscious, red plums and cherry compote. Rich, with light acidity still full of life but well in the background. Felt just bottled. Wow, this was singing. — 22 days ago