Pauillac

This is one of several years we’ve covered the Union Des Grands Cru (UGC) Bordeaux tasting. This year we were trying the latest 2016 releases at the Jeremy Hotel in West Hollywood, surrounded by many old friends – from the wineries and wine pals – in attendence. I covered as much ground as I could in the two hours I had (traffic and parking were not on my side, though we were given three hours for the press and distributor portion of event) most of which can be seen in these four photo grids.

There were two rooms for the tasting, and as I mentioned we were late, the first larger room was pretty crowded so we headed to the second smaller room behind it. There we found the usual long row of tables of sauternes – our dessert for last that we would return to – as well as wines from other appellations: Pauillac, Saint – Estephe and Saint – Julien if I remember correctly. The larger room held the remaining Bordeaux appellations.

The entire list of the wines that were expected to be sampled is below. The Chateaus that stood out for my palate, and in no particuclar order, included Brainaire – Ducru, Talbot, Clerc Melon, Lynch – Bages, De Pez, Grand Mayne, Cap de Mourlin, Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande, Villemaurine, Canon – La – Gaffeliere, Leoville Poyferre, Rauzan Gassies, Coufran, Franc Mayne, d’Armailhac, Phelan Segur, La Dour Figeac, Pavie MacQuin, La Couspaude, Balestard La Tonnelle, Smith Haut Lafitte, La Louviere, Giscours, Clinet, Gazin, Fonreaud, Suduiraut, Lafaurie – Peyraguey, Guiraud and de Fargues.

Note: When I got to the Saint – Emilion tables I was quite pleased with about 90% of the wines I tried, and many had a nice little sweetness to them. One gentleman, Julien Barth of Chateau Beau Sejour Becot, was quite earnest in how “serious” he felt the appellation was that I filmed him sharing his opinion – for about 30 seconds.

Of the pals I met up with, many were completely immersed in the tasting. There was not a consensus about this particular vintage year that I heard, and as I’ve stated in past coverage of this event, there is no way I would say all was good or all was bad – my palate, such that it is, always seeks out – and always finds – outstanding wines. If a Chateau that you normally like isn’t on my list it doesn’t mean I didn’t care for it, it could just mean that I didn’t have the time to taste everything that was available. And one last word to the winery reps and family that come to pour in this tour: we appreciate you traveling to so many of our U.S. cities to share your latest vintages year in and year out. Looking forward to seeing you all again in 2020, and enjoying these 2016s wherever I can find them.

MEMBERS OF THE UNION DES GRANDS CRUS DE BORDEAUX

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 (over 16k views), authored “Wine Etiquette for Everyone” and has served as a judge for the Long Beach Grand Cru and the Global Wine Awards. You can email Eve@EveWine101.com to ask a question about wine or spirits. You can also seek her marketing advice via Eve@EveBushmanConsulting.com

I am now on bottle three of the six 2000 Bordeaux that we’ve pulled from our cellar to drink. At this point I have a current favorite, and it’s this one, the 2000 Chateau Pontet-Canet from the Pauillac region of Bordeaux, France. Looks like we paid about $55 and it’s doubled in price at auction, like all of the others I researched.

Photo credit: Millesima USA

So why did I like this one, the least expensive of the bunch so far? See my notes, it may guide you to try and find it too!

2000 CHÂTEAU PONTET-CANET

Tasting Notes

Color: Dark garnet with a brown edge (indicative of age), a cross between a ruby and tawny port.

Bouquet: Stewed prunes, worn suede, earth, cigar, black cherry, crushed dry leaves, blackberry, sage, grilled mushrooms.

Flavor: Blueberry, blackberry, black pepper, raisin, very lush mouthfeel – gave me the sense of a rich pulp – tannic, dry, long finish.

Pairing: We had this with a Porterhouse steak made Oscar style which means it was topped with crab, asparagus and Béarnaise, and on the side was a twice-baked potato and cole slaw. The pal that created the dinner admitted that it all was deli bought except for the steak.

It helped to know this as…it didn’t matter what we paired this wine with, in my humble opinion it was a stand-alone wine. The kind of wine we like to have without a big to-do about what to pair it with. So for me, it was all about the wine once I had that first taste of it.

97 Eve pts.

Wine Spectator magazine notes

CHÂTEAU PONTET-CANET

Pauillac 2000

Score: 92

Release Price $55

Current Auction Price $103

Country France

Region Bordeaux

Issue Web Only – 2016

Tasting Note

A lovely lead-in of singed cedar and vanilla notes gives way to slightly taut, racy red and black currant fruit flavors that drive nicely through an iron-edged finish. Rather sleek and tightly focused, relying more on minerality than power.
–Blind 2000 Bordeaux retrospective (December 2015). Drink now through 2023. 22,917 cases made.

–JM

Tasting 2016 Bordeaux via Union Des Grands Cru Bordeaux 2019 Tour

One Bottle Post: 2000 CHÂTEAU PONTET-CANET