Bordeaux 2006 at Two Years: St Emilion & Pomerol
The view of the right bank afforded by the wines presented at the annual UGC tasting is akin to tunnel vision; from St Emilion, at approximately 5400 hectares the most sizeable of the major appellations of Bordeaux, there are never more than two handfuls of wines. And with so many wines available to taste on the day, it is likely that not even this small sample will be exhausted; it is impossible to taste everything. And from Pomerol, admittedly a much smaller region, the number of wines presented is even smaller.
It is thus not wise to generalise about entire appellations based on such small tastings, although of course this is just as true of my notes for Pauillac, St Julien, Graves or any other Bordeaux commune as for these. I should limit my comments to the wines on show. Starting with those from St Emilion, these were a mixed bunch, although some were very good, and with some that I found less appealing I think it was largely a matter of style rather than effort. I enjoyed the wines of Canon-la-Gaffelière, Figeac and Troplong-Mondot more than many others; these wines certainly represent a variety of St Emilion styles, and I find it impossible to pick one out that I would choose to drink over any other. I think it would depend very much what mood I was in on the day. With Larcis Ducasse and Pavie-Macquin, however, I found the style too hard and extracted, but I am sure there are many palates out there who will just love these wines.
With Pomerol the prime cut is more easily seen; here La Conseillante was without doubt the success of the tasting, a wine with substance and depth, but also elegance and balance. Clinet was also excellent, although without that extra dimension that pushed La Conseillante to the fore in this arena. Most surprising wine, however, was Gazin, which I rated poorly in April 2007. That barrel sample, which I slighted with an underwhelming score of 14-15, bore no resemblance to the wine tasted here, which although not quite of the quality provided by La Conseillante and Clinet, certainly trumped the remaining wines presented on the day.
The notes and scores presented below are as written at the UGC tasting, and as usual I present the wines from St Emilion first, before moving on to Pomerol. (4/11/08)
