Angelus and de Bouard consulting properties PLUS Cheval Blanc

 

 

(Hubert de Bouard on the 2008 vintage, ‘some unripe, some over extracted, and some truly excellent – the ones that are very good really are tremendously good’. He suggested that the wines were somewhere between 1998 and 2001.)

La Fleur du Bouard, AOC Lalande de Pomerol

80% merlot, 15% cabernet franc, 5% cabernet sauvignon. Beautiful colour, and very rich, deep and seductive nose. Clay and sand on gravel and gravelly hill crests. This is really very lovely. Very fresh, beautiful fruit, good acidity and a real intensity without the slightest hint of drying tannins. And for the first wine of the day, that is particularly impressive! 20 hectares of vines, run by Hubert de Bouard, but also Philippe Munis technical director, and Matthieu De Bouard, his son, who is now also working on the property on the technical side. 60% new oak, no filtration, no fining.. 92-93.

Le Plus de la Fleur du Bouard, AOC Lalande de Pomerol

The top cuvee of La Fleur du Bouard, produced since 2001. This has a slightly richer nose (if that’s possible,), and very slightly more intense colour. More extraction, for me this is not nearly as successful as La Fleur du Bouard, the tannins are slightly more forced. 98% merlot, 2% cabernet franc, 100% new oak (and will be kept in barrel for the next 33 months). Vines over 60 years old.Of course this is bigger and will soften over the ageing of next two years. But I prefer the charm of the first one. No filtration, no fining. 89-90.

Chateau Bellevue, Saint Emilion Grand Cru

50% owned by de Bouard since September 2007 (the rest by the de Levaux family). It starts slowly but comes into its own, and has a lovely charm on the mid palate. Again, this is 98% merlot, 2% cabernet franc. A very small vineyard at 6.2 hectares.  I like this very much, but it is not up there with the best of the vintage, and stops ever so slightly short. 89-90

Chateau Angelus, Saint Emilion Grand Cru Classe

A fairly large vineyard for Saint Emilion, at 23.4 hectares, on clay limestone and clay-sand-limestone. This year was 58% merlot and 42% cabernet franc. Beautiful rich colour with glass-staining vibrancy. Very, very nice. This is so juicy, so beautiful perfumed with strong notes of violet that you rarely get in such concentration. Mouth-watering finish, terribly elegant, tight tannins, and gorgeous acidity. This is a very successful wine, with no let-up in mid palate, and a very long, controlled finish. Excellent. Picking dates from Oct 6 until Oct 26. De Bouard on the vintage, ‘Had good ripeness, but not over-ripeness, especially on the skin. Ripe berries but very fruity and fresh skins.’ To maximise this, they worked on punching down, pumping over to work with the skin from the beginning until mid-fermentation, but they slow down to avoid over-extraction. With cold maceration below 10 degree, then very long maceration, but static, with no battonage. 94-95.

Chateau Daugay, Saint Emilion Grand Cru

Owned by a cousin of the de Bouard family, this is a 5.5 hectare property with 65% merlot, 28% cabernet franc, 7% cabernet sauvignon. Slightly less intense, and less vibrant in colour than the first four wines. Has a nice deft touch to it, and very good acidity. It lacks the plump fruit of Angelus and La Fleur, but those have both been stand-out wines. Still, this is elegant, and nice smoky cedar tones. 90.

Clos des Jacobins, Saint Emilion Grand Cru Classe

80% merlot, 20% cabernets franc and sauvignon. 8.5 hectares. Very ample on the nose. This has definite merit – a few of these are pleasant because the flavour kicks in after a few second, there is a definite pause when you first take a sip, which makes you take your time and think about it. I really like the depth of fruit, but it could have a little more freshness. 89.

Clos de Magdeleine

Hubert de Bouard has been consulting at this 2.19 hectare property, tiny for St Emilion, since 2006. 75% merlot, 25% cabernet franc. Very subtle and light, very elegant. There is a silky quality to the fruit here, and the tannins have been very well managed, no hint of over-extraction. Enjoying this tasting so far. Firm ripe plums, although it needs time for greater integration. 90.

Chateau La Pointe, Pomerol

De Bouard began consulting for this property last year, after it was taken over by insurance company Generali, with Eric Monneret as the new director. This is 22 hectares, a very large estate for Pomerol, with gravel, large stones, clay gravel, and some large parts of sandy gravel. 85% merlot, 15% cabernet franc. Beautifully deep crimson, violet colour and a rich, intense nose. They are beginning a lot of work with the soils, replanting vines and have already laid down an extensive drainage system. This wine is very rich, with pure fruit expression, and has lovely layers of flavour that reveal themselves very prettily as it stays in the mouth. More powerful than some years of La Pointe. Very good. 91.

Chateau de Chantegrive, AOC Graves

Very different nose from these right bank wines! 60% merlot, 40% cabernet sauvignon but a good example of how the terroir makes a more sober expression of the grape variety on the left bank. 70 hectares in red, 10 in white. Has some over-extraction, which has not even been hinted at yet in this tasting, and some drying tannins. Not an easy year for Graves! 87.

Chateau Fiuezal, AOC Pessac Leognan

Much nicer. Like the nose here, there is oak, but it is very nice indeed. Smooth, silky, some lovely coffee and mocha. 55% merlot, 45% cab sauvignon. Very rich. 91.

Chateau Fiuezal Blanc, AOC Pessac Leognan

Gorgeous nose. I like this better than many others from Pessac this year. Lovely sauvignon (de Bouard has upped the percentage considerably, and it has been a successful change).Really a very nice wine, great delicacy, and finesse. And lovely fruit aromas. 92.

Chateau Serilhan, AOC Saint Estephe

De Bouard has just taken this on, so he was not actually responsible for this vintage (Olivier Dauga was), although he did work on the blend, and made some stylistic changes that are already apparent. Very pretty, perfumed and charming wine. 65% cab sauv, 35% melot. Far more voluptuous than recent vintages for Serilhan, far more of a classic St Estephe also, because it has been a bit light in some years. Really like this, very good indeed. 90-91.