Pauillac Red Bordeaux Blend

This time with a better cork. A treat.

The estate once belonged to the famous Lynch family, of Irish origin, acquired by Jean-Charles Cazes in 1934. His grandson, Jean-Michel Cazes restructured the estate in 1974, with state-of-the-art winemaking equipment. Primarily Cab Sauv, with Merlot, Cab Franc & Petit Verdot in the blend. Deep Ruby, complex nose, aged well, round berry fruit flavors, blackberry and plum with an oak character, elegant with soft tannins, a delicious wine ending with delicate fruit, oak and mineral notes. Great!

Sadly very slightly corked. Bummer. Ripe plums. Leather. Very developed.

Mid to deep Ruby in colour. Some maturity in evidence on the rim. Cedar/cigar box aromas with black currant and cassis - classic Pauillac descriptors Only medium bodied - lacked some intensity for the vintage. Restrained - 20 years might be its limit. It will sit on the plateau but won’t improve. In summary a lovely old claret and has been better than its 5th Growth status for decades. “Lunch Bags” as old poms used to refer to it as.

From a great looking bottle with a VTS fill. Slow ox’d for 2 hours then decanted an hour before drinking. Amber tawny color. Ethereal nose. Notes of black cherries, roses, cola, rhubarb, barnyard, gravel and some menthol. Still has a good core of fruit. Some tobacco notes develop and the cola thing becomes stronger with air in a glass. Impactful finish. After about 90 min this started a decline. At its peak this was ethereal and amazing. The key is to time the opening, air time and consumption to find it at its best.

Old scarlet color with amber rims, mostly translucent. Has a perfume that I covet. Notes of black fruit and some raspberries, freshly cut cigar, Provençal herbs, some gravel and pepper, and a hint of barnyard earth. Still has good fruit and structure, with tannins fully integrated. Velvet glove finish. I’ve had this maybe 15 times and it never seems to disappoint.

Exquisite and impressive. Firm color loaded with kirsch, red and dark currant flavors and the presence of horse sweat, horse blanket and leather. Even a red rose aroma. Tannin is light and impressively balanced. Holds its presence two hours plus decanted. With soft tannins that eventually fell into the glass. I predict this wine would hold well 15-20 years

Wednesday Wine Committee from this past week. A fantastic hosting by @joe leatherwood . 1 sparkler, 2 whites, 5 reds, 1 dessert wine. All tasted blind as usual.

En mag. Another wine that I had in the last year, and I also found it tasting different than my last experience. This bottle seemed to have more in reserve and was a bit more coy. Lots of cassis, currant, graphite, bayleaf and scorched black cherries on the nose. Very compact on the palate...dates, mocha, more black cherries and some purple fruit too. May be gearing up for a big display in the coming year or two. I called this right bank Bordeaux.

2001 BDX is incredibly underrated

Dark red tawny. Not as deep in color as the 90 LB next to it. Earthy and herbal nose. Notes of tobacco leaf, red and black fruit, gravel stone. Becomes more vegetal with more air. Not as good of a showing as other experiences with this wine.