Union des Grands Crus de Bordeaux 1999 Vintage Tasting San Francisco, January 2002

Pessac-Leognan
Saint Emilion Grand Cru
Pomerol
Moulis en Medoc
Listrac-Medoc
Haut-Medoc
Medoc
Margaux
Saint-Julien
Pauillac
Saint-Estephe
Sauternes


Pessac-Leognan

Chateau Bouscaut
The wine is a purplish red color in the glass. On the nose, the wine is a little tight and does not come out with much fruit, but there's some stalkiness. The palate is decent, but lacks depth and the finish is quite thin.


Chateau Carbonnieux
The wine is very deep cherry red in the glass. On the nose, there is good berry fruit, oak and some toasted characteristics. In the mouth, the wine is young with forward fruit, tannins are smooth and the finish is long.


Domaine de Chevalier
Very deep red color in the glass with purplish rim. Very elegant fruit on the nose with good depth and complex notes. In the mouth, the wine is very rounded in taste with good fruit definition and great length on the palate.


Chateau Haut-Bailly
Deep ruby red color in the glass with slight purplish rim. Nose has lots of fruit, smoke and quite a good toasty oak quality with vanilla. Firm in structure, with decent complexity and good length.


Chateau La Louviere
Good deep red and clean in the glass. Nose is somewhat closed with not much fruit showing. The palate is rather diluted with some unbalanced characteristics and not much else. Finish is pretty meek.


Chateau Latour-Martillac
The color is a firm dark red with no rim variation. The nose has nice forward fruit with some cassis coming through. In the mouth, there is good fruit and quite a bit of oak, but has length on palate.


Chateau Les Carmes Haut-Brion
Deep reddish black in color. Nose is very oaky at first, but has tons of black fruit with excellent underlying complexity. Palate is also interesting with good upfront fruit, but the finish is a little shortish. Altogether a not bad wine.


Chateau Malartic-Lagraviere
Quite a deep dense red color in the glass. Nose is good forward, slightly oaky black fruit with some vanilla. In the mouth, the wine is young with unripe tannins, but good fruit and nice finish.


Chateau Smith Haut Lafitte
The wine is very dark red, almost inky black. Nose is tremendously attractive with vanilla from oak, black and red berries and cassis. On the palate, the wine has a creamy texture with ripe crème de cassis and immense complexity and structure. Very nice wine indeed.



Saint Emilion Grand Cru


Chateau Angelus
Monster blackish red color in the glass. The nose is huge with intense black fruit, some meaty flashy undertones and solid complexity. In the mouth, the wine bursts out with massive structured black cherry and cassis. Great depth and length on palate; excellent!


Chateau Beau-Sejour Becot
Dark fuchsia red color in the glass. The nose is forward black fruit with excellent complex characteristics and layered oaky bouquet. Very rounded on the palate with quite firm tannins showing through the middle and easy finish.


Chateau Canon La-Gaffeliere
Deep dark brooding red color. Nose is solid and fragrant fruit driven, with very good depth in the fruit notes. Rounded palate with great definition and structure, loads of fruit through the very long finish, lasting 30+ seconds.


Chateau Dassault
Deep intense red color in the glass. Very new world/California nose with bold upfront black fruit, new oak, extraction and berries. In the mouth, it is also very nouveau with extracted black fruit and oak and not a lot else. Short through the middle and finish.


Chateau Figeac
Dark intense red color with purplish rim. Nose is tremendously smoky with new toasted oak, roasted meat, stewed black fruit and even brie cheese. Palate is immediately very smoked as well with good fruit, fat, glycerin, cheese and BBQ spices. Very long finish.


Chateau Clos Fourtet
Rich dark black-red color. Nose is very tight at the moment with some new oak showing through; little fruit. Palate however is very fruity at first, but lacks balance. It goes through the mid-palate quite lightly and finishes slightly weak.


Chateau Grand-Mayne
Super deep blackish red color in the glass. The nose is quite interesting with soft fleshy black fruit. The palate is very massive upfront with tons of tannin and structure. Nice solid wine with good finish and long life ahead.


Chateau La Couspade
Quite firm dark red color. Very meaty fleshy and slightly stalky nose with underlying young oak and greenness. The palate is defined, but somewhat disjointed and the finish is rather thin and short.


Chateau La Dominique
Very firm dark red color in the glass. Nose is gorgeous forward black and red berry fruit with loads of cassis and cherry. In the mouth, the wine is charming right from the start with lovely fruit definition and supple tannins. The finish is excellent and very long.


Chateau La Gaffeliere
Dark ruby red color in the glass. The nose is dominated by good forward merlot fruit with solid layered cherry, cassis and blackberry. Powerful mouth filling wine with great structure, tannin levels and age-worthiness.


Chateau La Tour Figeac
Dark even red color in the glass. The nose has lots of spicy fruit with cardamom, vanilla and oak. Lovely balanced fruit driven palate with excellent finish and great structure. Very nice wine indeed!



Pomerol


Chateau Beauregard
Dark dense red color in the glass. Good purplish red rim definition and high viscosity. Nose is full of oaky fruit with some mineral, but genuine merlot dominated fruit all around. Palate has lots of vanilla fruit and some measured balance. Well made wine!


Chateau Gazin
Super black inky wine with huge levels of viscosity. The nose explodes with ripe fruit and black cherries. In the mouth, there is a virtual orgy of crème de cassis, blueberry and black fruit with an awesome mid-palate, wonderful complexity and very long finish.


Chateau La Cabanne
The wine is purplish red and very young looking in the glass. The nose is quite green with oak and slight stalkiness. Stewed green bell peppers also abound. The palate is young quite unripe fruit with some berries, oak and not very structured finish.


Chateau Petit-Village
Very deep dense red color in the glass. The nose has good levels of black fruit showing with some vanilla from oak and loganberry. In the mouth, the wine is nicely rounded with good fruit, flavorful soft middle and supple tannins with mid-long finish.



Moulis en Medoc


Chateau Poujeaux
Good blackish red color in the glass. The nose is very forward with lovely warm black fruit, cassis and vanilla. In the mouth, there is excellent fruit definition, cassis and the solid mid-palate is balanced going into a structured superb finish that lasts 20+ seconds.



Listrac-Medoc


Chateau Fonreaud
Dark red in color with purple rim. Solid nose with some fruit, but shows little complexity or depth. It is quite nice on the palate, but lacks middle and has a decent enough finish.


Chateau Fourcas-Hosten
Solid dark red color in the glass. The nose is very fruit forward with lovely cherry, cassis and other black berries. The palate is nicely balanced with some good fruit and nice definition. Altogether a very nice wine. Should be great value as well.



Haut-Medoc


Chateau Beaumont
Good ripe red color with purple tinge on the rim. The nose is quite tight and little green with stalky notes and not much fruit showing. Quite thin and rather insipid on the palate, it does not follow through and finishes very diluted.


Chateau Cantemerle
Very dark cherry red color. A wonderful forward nose with layres of black fruit, tons of complexity and some wood notes. Very chewy and filling in the mouth with serious mid-palate and great fruit driven finish. Great wine and good value too.


Chateau Coufran
Deep red color in the glass. Quite stalky nose with fresh oak, a little fruit and somewhat tight. Palate however has good fruit with elements of crème de cassis and blueberries. It has a very surprising finish, but is tasting like a great wine with longevity on it.


Chateau La Lagune
Good even red color and clarity in the glass. The nose has fresh oaky red fruit but is otherwise pretty one-dimensional. The palate is fruity at first, but has not much by way of follow-up and finishes short.



Medoc


Chateau Greysac
Dark red color in the glass with good rim definition. The nose has some very gravely, stony and mineral characteristics and is quite green with some amount of stalkiness. Palate is reasonably well balanced, although the wine seems slightly thin and ok finish.



Margaux


Chateau Brane-Cantenac
Solid deep red color with fuchsia rim. Nose is very forward with classic black fruit and cassis. The palate explodes with more cassis and has superb complexity through the middle and excellent length on the finish.


Chateau Cantenac-Brown
The wine is a deep garnet red in the glass. On the nose there is immediate and balanced fruit and oak with some fleshy undertones. On the palate, there is plenty of black fruit dominated by cherry and brambleberry and the finish is very respectable and long.


Chateau Dauzac
Dark purplish red with fuchsia rim and looking young. The nose is full of fruit and berries. There is copious amounts of fat and glycerin on the palate with powerful fruit and excellent length on the palate. Very nicely made wine and great value proposal as well.


Chateau du Tertre
Nice ripe red color in the glass. The nose is slightly tight with some measure of fruit showing and minerals. Not very big on the palate, but there is some rather disjointed fruit characteristics. Lean on the finish as well.


Chateau Giscours
Very dark brooding ruby red color. The nose is quite closed with little or no fruit coming through, but has a mineral character dominating. Very austere in the mouth with little showing on the palate, but decent middle and through the finish there is length.


Chateau Prieure-Lichine
Good clear deep red with solid rim definition. Nice forward nose with loads of cassis, buttery oak and some vanilla. On the palate there is good fruit showing, but not much else. Slightly hollow mid-palate and lean finish.



Saint-Julien


Chateau Beychevelle
Nice dark red color in the glass with good clarity. The nose is very fruit forward with berries and black cherry. The palate is rich and quite tannic with a very solid middle, showing good structure and balance with a great finish.


Chateau Branaire-Ducru
Very brooding dark red color in the glass and quite dense. On the nose there is nice firm black fruit notes with underlying wood and minerals. In the mouth, the wine is very big with rounded cassis and soft supple tannins and very nice lengthy finish.


Chateau Gruaud Larose
Extremely dense blackish red in color. The nose is quite perfumed with stewed black fruit, loganberries and cherry skins. On the palate, there is wonderful forward fruit extraction with some notes of earthy minerals and firm tannins. Long lived wine here.


Chateau Lagrange
Very lovely cherry red color in the glass with good rim definition and medium-high viscosity. On the nose the wine is slightly tight, but there's good fruit and life. In the mouth, the wine is very velvety and rounded with decent fruit and tannin structure.


Chateau Leoville Poyferre
Intense blackish red color in the glass with massive viscosity. On the nose, the wine bombards the senses with black fruit, especially wild cherries and oak. In the mouth, there is big tannins up front, but then great amounts of fruit and complexity. Nice.


Chateau Talbot
Very deep inky black wine with streaks of fuchsia in the glass and on the rim. Massive fruit bomb on the nose with tons of cassis and wood. In the mouth, the wine eats your palate in one go, but has enormous structure, balance and long long finish.



Pauillac


Chateau Lynch-Bages
Deep crimson red color in the glass. On the nose, the wine opens up with lovely balanced notes of cassis, eucalyptus and wood notes with underlying minerals. In the mouth, the wine feels soft and supple with elegance and nice rounded tannins, fruit and finish.


Chateau Pichon -Longueville Baron
Very deep ruby red color. Slightly closed nose at first, but then opens up to reveal wonderful fruit with cassis, brambleberry and wood notes. In the mouth, the wine is clearly young, but has good structure and promising balance with fruit and tannins.


Chateau Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande
Very deep garnet red with clear rim definition and high viscosity. On the nose there is a harmony of black fruit notes dominated by cassis, then layers of mint, fresh wood and minerals. Very soft and rounded on the palate with superb structure and longevity.


Chateau Grand-Puy Ducasse
Deep dark red color in the glass. On the nose, there is not much showing at the moment, but slight bits of fruit and wood. The wine is clearly very young on the palate with some slightly unbalanced green tannins and slightly hollow mid-palate, short finish.


Chateau Pontet-Canet
Deep crimson red color with brilliant clarity and high viscosity. On the nose, there is pure black fruit extraction with cassis, black cherry and some earthy undertones. In the mouth, the wine is wonderful on the palate with fruit and harmonious balance with tannins.



Saint-Estephe


Chateau Cos Labory
Very inky blackish red color in the glass. Nose is stewed black fruit on the front, then leather, tar and earthy wooden notes. In the mouth, the wine is surprisingly rounded and shows great structure with somewhat lean mid-palate and decent finish.


Chateau Lafon-Rochet
Very dark deep garnet red in color. The nose is quite tight, but has nice quantities of fruit and berry extraction with some minerals. In the mouth, the wine is quite well balanced and shows flavorful berry fruit and some oak tannins with very good structure and finish.


Chateau Les Ormes de Pez
Super dark red color in the glass. Nose is pure earth driven black fruit with major cassis overtones and tar and toast underneath. In the mouth, there is an almost smoky woody fruit flavor with crushed blackberry dominating. Good balance and complexity though.


Chateau Phelan Segur
Very deep blackish red color in the glass. Nose is quite forward with black cherry fruit, cassis and some tobacco leaf, minerals. In the mouth, the wine is big on the palate with solid structure, tannins in check and lengthy fruit driven finish that lingers.



Sauternes


Chateau Bastor Lamontagne
Beautiful golden straw yellow in the glass; quite advanced for such young Sauternes. Nose is honeydew melon, citrus peel and honeysuckle with lemon rind and apricot. In the mouth, the wine's sweetness is balanced out nicely with moderate acidity and finish.


Chateau de Rayne Vigneau
Good deep lemon yellow color in the glass. Nose is quite attractive with floral notes of honey and peach skins. In the mouth, the wine is soft and rounded with sweet citrus and apricots, then honeysuckle. Nicely balanced wine with moderate acidity and finish.


Chateau Guiraud
Quite light ochre yellow in the glass with dense viscosity. Nose is pure extracted melon, mandarin and honey with some floral undertones. In the mouth, the wine is richly sweet with wonderful botrytis fruit and supple acidity, making it really long on the finish.


Chateau Suduiraut
Very rich light golden yellow in color with high viscosity. On the nose, the wine is full of charming floral notes of peach, apricot, almond pits and lemon rind. In the mouth, there is layers of superbly balanced sweetness from fruit and honeysuckle. Huge finish++