The Beverly Hills Hotel was a perfect backdrop for a tasting of the latest Bordeaux, the release of the 2015 vintage. The chandelier that hung over the center of the room was dimmed only by the stellar wines served below it. Grateful to have a chance to taste through so many wines I quickly took up the task. These are my takeaways:
Reasonably Priced for All
While most Grand Crus Bordeaux can easily warrant a triple digit price tag, there were several that had very reasonable price points, making Bordeaux accessible to everyone. I ran into local winemaker Roman Weiser and then later, million-dollar-palate owner Mark Newman, who both commented on the fact. So if you are holding back on getting some Bordeaux – stop.
Bordeaux We Liked – And We Couldn’t Taste Them All
I have four grids of photos below showing at least 30+ wines that I found remarkable, but there were many more that we didn’t have the time to taste in our generous three-hour window allocated for press before the evening’s public tasting. Some of the standouts for me included:
Chateau Leoville Poyferre poured by Anne Cuvelier once again, Chateau Langoa Barton, Chateau Les Carmes Haut-Brion, Chateau de Chantegrive, Chateau LaGrange, Chateau Gruad Larose, Domaine de Chevalier, Chateau Pichon Baron, Chateau Smith Havt Lafitte, Chateau de France, Chateau Larrivet Haut-Brion, Chateau Pape Clement, Chateau Latour-Martillac, Chateau Pichon Longueville, Chateau Lynch Bages, Chateau Gazin, Chateau Coufran, Chateau Brane-Cantenac and Chateau Dauzac.
White Bordeaux we enjoyed were from Chateau de France, Chateau Smith Havt Lafitte, Chateau Larrivet Haut-Brion, Chateau Pape Clement, Chateau Malartic-Largraviere, Chateau Brane-Cantenac, Chateau Dauzac and Chateau Latour-Martillac. My takeaway on the White Bordeaux, most made with Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon, was that these seemed so much fresher and less acidic than our version of Sauvignon Blanc. (I commented on this to Weiser and he told me that even if we were to add Semillon to our Sauvignon Blanc stateside we still lacked the terroir to make it the way the French have mastered it.)
Every Sauterne poured may have made our list: Chateau Suduiraut, Chateau Lafaurie-Peyraguey, Chateau De Fargues, Chateau Guiraud, Chateau Clos Haut-Peyraguey and Chateau Coutet. My takeaway: The Sauternes stole the show again. Look for these in splits and enjoy liked we did: with a large hunk of sharp blue cheese.
About Union des Grands Crus de Bordeaux
Established in 1973, the Union des Grands Crus de Bordeaux is a group of 135 top Châteaux in the most prized appellations in the Gironde, Médoc, Graves, Pessac-Léognan, Sauternes and Barsac, Saint Émilion and Pomerol.
MEMBERS OF THE UNION DES GRANDS CRUS DE BORDEAUX
GRAVES Château de Chantegrive | Château Ferrande | Château Rahoul PESSAC – LÉOGNAN Château Bouscaut | Château Carbonnieux | Château Les Carmes Haut – Brion | Domaine de Chevalier | Château de Fieuzal | Château de France | Château Haut – Bailly | Château Haut – Bergey | Château Larrivet Haut – Brion | Château Latour – Martillac | Château La Louvière | Château Malartic – Lagravière | Château Olivier | Château Pape Clément | Château Picque Caillou | Château Smith Haut Lafitte SAINT – EMILION GRAND CRU Château Cheval Blanc | Château Balestard La Tonnelle | Château Beau – Séjour Bécot | Château Berliquet | Château Canon | Château Canon – La – Gaffelière | Château Cap de Mourlin | Château La Couspaude | Château Dassault | Château La Dominique | Château – Figeac | Clos Fourtet | Château Franc Mayne | Château La Gaffelière | Château Grand Mayne | Château Larcis Ducasse | Château Larmande | Château Pavie | Château Pavie Macquin | Château Soutard | Château La Tour Figeac | Château Troplong Mondot | Château Trotte Vieille | Château Valandraud | Château Villemaurine POMEROL Château Beauregard | Château Le Bon Pasteur | Château La Cabanne | Château Clinet | Château La Conseillante | Château La Croix de Gay | Château L’ Évangile | Château Gazin | Château Petit – Village | Château La Pointe | Château Rouget LISTRAC – MÉDOC Château Clarke | Château Fonréaud | Château Fourcas Dupré | Château Fourcas Hosten MOULIS – EN – MÉDOC Château Chasse – Spleen | Château Maucaillou | Château Poujeaux HAUT – MÉDOC Château Beaumont | Château Belgrave | Château de Camensac | Château Cantemerle | Château Citran | Château Coufran | Château La Lagune | Château de Lamarque | Château La Tour Carnet MÉDOC Château La Tour de By MARGAUX Château Angludet | Château Brane – Cantenac | Château Cantenac Brown | Château Dauzac | Château Desmirail | Château Durfort – Vivens | Château Ferrière | Château Giscours | Château Kirwan | Château Labégorce | Château Lascombes | Château Malescot Saint-Exupéry | Château Marquis de Terme | Château Monbrison | Château Prieuré – Lichine | Château Rauzan – Gassies | Château Rauzan – Ségla | Château Siran | Château du Tertre SAINT – JULIEN Château Beychevelle | Château Branaire – Ducru | Château Gloria | Château Gruaud Larose | Château Lagrange | Château Langoa Barton | Château Léoville Barton | Château Léoville Poyferré | Château Saint – Pierre | Château Talbot PAUILLAC Château Mouton Rothschild | Château d’ Armailhac | Château Batailley | Château Clerc Milon | Château Croizet – Bages | Château Grand – Puy Ducasse | Château Grand – Puy – Lacoste | Château Haut – Bages Libéral | Château Lynch – Bages | Château Lynch – Moussas | Château Pichon Baron | Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande SAINT – ESTÈPHE Château Cos Labory | Château Lafon – Rochet | Château Ormes De Pez | Château de Pez | Château Phélan Ségur SAUTERNES & BARSAC Château d’ Yquem | Château Bastor – Lamontagne | Château Broustet | Château Climens | Château Coutet | Château Doisy Daëne | Château Doisy – Védrines | Château de Fargues | Château Guiraud | Clos Haut – Peyraguey | Château Lafaurie – Peyraguey | Château de Malle | Château Nairac | Château de Rayne Vigneau | Château Sigalas Rabaud | Château Suduiraut | Château La Tour Blanche
Eve Bushman has a Level Two Intermediate Certification from the Wine and Spirits Education Trust (WSET), a “certification in first globally-recognized course” as an American Wine Specialist ® from the North American Sommelier Association (NASA), Level 1 Sake Award from WSET, was the subject of a 60-minute Wine Immersion video, authored “Wine Etiquette for Everyone” and has served as a judge for the Long Beach Grand Cru. You can email Eve@EveWine101.com to ask a question about wine or spirits.
