Dear friends,
The Bordeaux '09s from the blind tasting were ranked as follows:
- Château Giscours Troisièmes Cru Classé Margaux (3rd Growth)
- Château Bernadotte Cru Bourgeois Supérieur Haut-Médoc
- Château Croizet-Bages Cinquième Cru Classé Pauillac (5th Growth)
- Château Léoville Barton Deuxièmes Cru Classé Saint-Julien (2nd Growth)
- Château Siran Cru Bourgeois Exceptionnel Margaux
- Château Monbrison Cru Bourgeois Supérieur Margaux
- Château La Lagune Troisièmes Cru Classé Haut-Médoc (3rd Growth)
- Château Talbot Quatrièmes Cru Classé Saint-Julien (4th Growth)
- Château d'Agassac Cru Bourgeois Supérieur Haut-Médoc
- Château Lynch-Bages Cinquième Cru Classé Pauillac (5th Growth)
When our Wine Master, Bernie Sim, thought of this event, he said that "wines from this vintage have so much delicious fruit, with silky tannins and yet possess the structure to last a long time. This characteristic covers not only the classed growth Bordeaux, but even the Cru Bourgeois and straight Bordeaux appellation wines." It can be said that through this event, he wanted to show that the quality and drinkability of '09s permeate the vintage. And the difficulty of the participants to select their favorite wines seemed to validate that point.
However, when the results showed that not a single attendee chose Lynch-Bages for any of their three top spots, it shocked many and raised questions particularly since Robert Parker rated it 96 points when he tasted it from the barrel and then adjusted it to 98 after he tasted it from the bottle. The easy conclusion was that it was not ready for drinking -- its structure requiring more time to reach the point of drinkability that others in the pack have already started to show last night. This might also be said of some of the wines tasted.
23 members, 3 spouses, 19 guests including the French ambassador and his wife attended this event. The event was a great success - the wines were great, the food was superb, and the camaraderie wonderful.
Best regards,
Oscar
Please view the full invitation here.