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Bordeaux 1996: Tasting, July 2001
Bordeaux 1996
Towards Maturity
Tasting, July 2001
This tasting looked at only a small selection of wines, Cru Bourgeois and classed growth, at five years of age. Many of the wines showed the classic, pure, left bank fruit that characterises the vintage.
Wines like estates such as Caronne Ste-Gemme and du Tertre show the potential of the vintage, but it wast he trio of classed growth wines that really shone. Duhart Milon was perhaps the weaker of the three, by a slight margin, but still a very good wine nevertheless. Showing very well indeed were Pontet-Canet and Calon-Ségur, both lovely wines in need of cellar time. This is clearly a vintage which is going to provide fans of Bordeaux with many years of happy drinking in the future. (12/7/01)
Bordeaux 1996 - Tasting Notes
Tasted in July 2001. Click
to locate stockists.
Chateau Caronne Ste Gemme (Haut-Médoc) 1996: Good,
richly coloured red wine. Very young nose, loaded with
toasted marshmallow oak aromas. Creamily textured palate
apparent on entry, with layers of cassis fruit and new
oak though the midpalate. Tannic. Maintains its
attractive texture through to the big, spicy finish.
Although approachable now, this wine will continue to
improve for a few years. 16+/20
Chateau Poujeaux (Moulis) 1996:
A fantastic colour, unsurprisingly leading to a quite open nose laden with ripe
blackcurrant fruit. Likewise the palate is loaded with fruit, with a good
balance of acidity and ripe tannins for structure. More forward than other wines
in this line-up. 17+/20
Chateau Calon-Ségur
(St-Estèphe) 1996: Gorgeous colour. Fresh coffee
grounds on the nose, with some rich, inky fruit. Fat and
richly textured on the palate, which is loaded with
fruit. Another wine with a delicious mineral and stone
edge to the luscious fruit. A very nicely crafted wine. 17.5+/20
Chateau Duhart-Milon
(Pauillac) 1996: Lovely colour. Somewhat hard and austere on the
nose. Minerals, wet stones, ink and notes of violets sit with
some crunchy fruit. Very balanced on the palate, and
quite an elegant stance for such a young wine. Lots of
stony, blackcurrant fruit, ripe tannins and correct
acidity. Give it another five years. 17+/20
Chateau Pontet-Canet (Pauillac) 1996: Again a young, rich, red-purple hue.
A little more approachable on the nose, with the
blackcurrant fruit sitting alongside notes of curry
spices. A fat, round yet elegant and stylish palate.
Mineral fruit, with good balance and underlying
structure. Clean finish. 18+/20
Chateau du Tertre
(Margaux) 1996: Delicious looking, glossy sheen to
this wine. A serious, stylish nose, with notes of
graphite. Slightly hard and austere tannins on the
palate, but these underpin a luscious, creamily textured
body of fruit. Good acidity completes the picture. Should
age nicely. 17+/20
