One of my favourite tastings of the year is the annual "Ten Years On" review of the Bordeaux First Growths. This event has taken place every year since the early 1980's (at least) and used to be held in the Cotswolds home of the late Edmund Penning-Rowsell. His successor as Financial Times wine correspondent, Jancis Robinson, now hosts it at her home in North London in conjunction with Paulo Pong of Altaya Wines in Hong Kong. Best of all, as far as I’m concerned, is that I am invited to take part!
The 2003 First Growths line up to be tasted.
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In the old days the wines were not served blind but now we like to serve them in a completely random order to ensure totally objective scores and tasting notes. Thomas Parker of Farr Vintners was drafted in this year to decant and pour the bottles and he was the only person at the table who knew which was which. The "reveal" did not take place until after we'd discussed and judged the quality of the wines.
The eight wines (the five left bank first growths and three from the right bank - Pétrus, Cheval Blanc and Ausone) were served, unbeknown to us, in the following order:
Wine #1) This has a maturing colour as can be typical of the vintage. There is a very sexy, seductive, opulent and inviting nose. Ripe cassis dominates the palate with a creamy mouth-feel and a smooth texture. This wine combines the ripeness of Pomerol with the balance of a top quality Médoc. Left bank backbone with right bank fruit! A fabulously decadent example of super-ripe Cabernet Sauvignon. Almost Californian in style. Smooth, creamy, and lovely to drink now. There's no point in waiting any longer as it offers pure unadulterated pleasure. Lovely stuff. 18 points. Margaux
Wine #2) This has the most developed colour of all the eight wines presented here tonight. There are sweet red cherries on the nose with some hints of vanilla and Asian spices. On the palate it is quite light and a bit simple really. It tails off at the end. This is a very pleasant sweetish red wine but it has little depth, length or complexity. Short and easy, it’s an attractive drink but that's all that it has going for it. A nice glass of Merlot but not a wine for which you’d be happy paying £500 plus in a restaurant. Coming back to it later on, it was really outclassed in this company. I’m sure that it would be very nice indeed if served in isolation. 16 points. Cheval Blanc
Wine #3) There is a medium/deep colour here and it seems more reserved and serious on the nose than #2. There is certainly more depth and structure here. Good grip for a 2003. This tastes more like a top class Bordeaux than it does a 2003 (and that’s a good thing!). France not California. Good weight of fruit, earthy black berries, tar and spice. A good, if not really great, First Growth that was helped by being served after the Cheval Blanc. 17 points. Haut Brion.
Mouton 2003 - featuring the 150th anniversary label.
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Wine #4) This has a significantly deeper colour than the previous three wines. Wow, just on the nose you can tell that this is a sexy beast! A huge, soaring bouquet of exotic spice, pencil shavings and dark black fruit. This is huge on the palate too with masses of black, cassis fruit and an intense ripeness. Decadently sweet but it has some structure too. Deep and powerful yet seductive and inviting with toasted brioche and exotic spices balancing the ripe blackberry fruit. Gorgeous and exotic. Very hard to guess what this is because the character of the vintage is so strong. It’s got to be a Pomerol or Pauillac. Sensational wine. I got it wrong and guessed Petrus! 19+ points. Mouton Rothschild.
Wine #5) A Medium-deep colour showing a little more development than #4. This has a wonderful nose of cigar box, lead pencil, sweet black fruit and vanilla. On the palate it is full-bodied but creamy and opulent. Despite the decadence it is packed with ripe Cabernet Sauvignon fruit. Serious depth but very welcoming and easy to drink. Caressing, silky, with a cashmere mouth-feel and cream. Bordeaux, but sexy Bordeaux. 19 points. Lafite Rothschild
Pétrus 2003
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Wine #6) A black colour and an extraordinary nose here. There are cloves, anise and other exotic spices. This is very different from the other seven wines. Deep and dense with powerful black fruit. Incredibly sexy, with more than a touch of liquorice. Clearly not Médoc. This is something else and it stands apart from the crowd. 18.5 points. Pétrus
Ausone 2003
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Wine #7) This has a very deep colour. There is soy sauce and some Asian spice on the nose. Exotic and powerful. This is a modern-style wine with impressive depth of very ripe black fruit, but it’s not exactly classic Bordeaux. Dense and jam-packed, black and chewy. Quite tannic at the finish, this must be the only 2003 Bordeaux that's maybe not quite ready to drink yet. Lots of alcohol, quite heady. Not much delicacy in this bruiser! 18.5 points. Ausone.
Wine #8) Another intensely black colour. This has a sensational nose of deep, super-powerful, intense, black cassis fruit, smoke and tar. This is awesome! Great, powerful, ripe crème-de-cassis Cabernet Sauvignon fruit. This is the ultimate in concentration, yet it has grip and freshness. It is undeniably massive but it’s not clumsy or heavy. Supremely classy, really monumental and the outright winner of a great flight. 20 points. Latour.
Unusually for a blind tasting there seemed to be little dispute about the merits of the eight wines in this tasting. It was a pretty unanimous decision that the three Pauillacs were the real stars of the show. This supports the widely held view that the Northern Médoc (expecially those Chateaux with a high percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon in the blend) made Bordeaux’s best wines in the record-breaking heat of 2003. For those who look for backbone, structure and “grip” in their claret, this is a vintage to avoid but for hedonists and pleasure-seekers this is as sexy as Bordeaux gets. These are stunning wines. The great thing is that, at 10 years of age, they are all ready to drink and enjoy yet should remain so for many years to come. Compare these with the 2005’s that continue to develop at a snail’s pace and the top 2000’s that have still not opened up after a slow maturation.
Thanks to Jancis (and chef Nick) for a great evening and to Paulo for providing most of the bottles.
