2010 Bordeaux kicks 2009 Bordeaux's butt

-
Big-time tasting at K&L yesterday - serious 2009 and 2010 heavyweights. This was the first time I had the opportunity to taste 2009's and 2010's side by side. A month ago at the Union des Grands Crus de Bordeaux tasting in San Francisco, I was super-impressed by the quality of the 2010 vintage in Bordeaux, and at the tasting yesterday it was all the more clear next to the super highly heralded 2009 (which I also like). IMO there is no comparison - 2010's are more precise, fresher, more structured and muscular, with tremendous depth. The funny thing - I didn't even like the 2010 Leoville Barton a month ago next to the other 2010's, but yesterday it tasted awesome!

Here is the mouth-watering line-up:





d'Yquem "Y" 2010 Bordeaux blanc dry white Sauternes (good white of tremendous intensity, $159.99), Angelus 2009 (underwhelming, especially for the money $399.99), Palmer 2009 (best of the 2009's, $349.99), Lynch Bages 2009 and 2010 ($219.99 and $189.99 -- 2010 blows the 2009 away and is a better deal), Pontet-Canet 2009 ($299.99), Les Forts De Latour 2009 ($299.99), Leoville Barton 2010 (very good, but so are most 2010's!, $134.99 a relative bargain), Montrose 2010 (powerhouse wine, $249.99).

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Shaoxing rice wine - learning the taste

-
Image
This is part 2 of the Shaoxing rice wine series. Click here for Part 1. Determined to investigate taste differences between different grades and producers of Shaoxing rice wine, the Yangs and I scoured the Bay Area for 5 bottles ranging from low-end $2.99 to the highest-end we could find 20-year-aged at $21.99: 1. Shaohsing Huadiao Rice Wine by Kuaijishan Shaoxing Wine Co, 17% alc, $2.99. 2. Nu Er Hong Rice Wine, Yuequan brand, 17% alc, $4.99. 3. Aged Shao Xing Rice Wine, Pagoda Brand by Zhejiang Celeals, Oils & Foodstuffs I/E Co., 17% alc., 8-year-aged, $5.99. 4. Shaoxing Rice Wine by Zhejiang Gu Yue Long Shan Shaoxing Wine Co, 18% alc, 8 year-aged, $5.89 for 500ml. 5. Kuaijishan Shaoxing Rice-Wheat Wine with Caramel color added, specially designed for state banquet, aged in china jar for 20 years, 15% alc, $21.99 for 500ml. We then opened all of them at once and tried them at room temperature in 3 different ways: with a Chinese meal, by themselves without food, and blind. Our me...
Read more

Aged Meursault - how old is too old?

-
Image
Most wines don't age well - they just decline, especially white. White Burgundy, on the other hand, particularly 1er and Grand Cru actually needs a few years to hit its stride. Meursault, one of the great Chardonnay villages in the world, one whose grandeur and style was the target of the legendary pioneers of California wine industry in the 1970's, such as Mike Grgich and Chateau Montelena, gives greater pleasure as it gains in maturity. But how long should you wait? And how long is too long? From the mailer by Ross Bott, the organizer: Meursault is in the geographic center of the Cotes du Beaune region of Burgundy, with Pommard two kilometers to the north and Puligny Montrachet two kilometers to the south. It totals just under a thousand acres of planted vines, almost all Chardonnay. About 200,000 cases of wines are produced each year, of which 98% are white. The vineyards of Meursault itself surround the town, with the premier cru vineyards just to the southwest and the re...
Read more

Rajun Cajun - when only a beer will do

-
Image
I thought I'd never say this... but sometimes, wine just doesn't seem to make sense. Or perhaps my wine courage has found its limit, 'cause I just don't know what wine would stand up to this food. In the middle of mostly Vietnamese area in San Jose is a hole-in-the-wall most awesome seafood joint, called The Boiling Crab . Combining Asian with Cajun sure makes for one hell of a blissful and unbridled foodie experience. Well, apparently this is no secret for the crowds standing in line for hours to get in. Even at 2pm on a Sunday, we had to wait for well over an hour. Oh, but the smell that hits you when you just open the door is so deliciously haunting! Their shrimp/corn/sausage combo delivered in a giant plastic bag packed in a "rajun cajun" hot, tangy, garlicky sauce is shockingly strong and flavorful, awakening the farthest, most dormant zones of your taste buds that you didn't even know existed! Taking part in the zesty symphony are the most succulent...
Read more