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Here is a little technical tasting done at Jean-Philippe’s home, who warmly welcomed us on his barge to celebrate the end of the lockdown. We compared several mature vintages of Château Haut-Marbuzet, one of the best Saint-Estèphe. Château Haut-Marbuzet, the most “Pomerol of Saint-Estèphe” with its generous proportions of Merlot (40%) and Cabernet Franc (10%) grapes, is regularly placed on the podium of the Saint-Estèphe appellation. Out of the vintages tested, it thus arrived 1^st in 1997, 2^nd in 1998, 2001 and 2004. Not tested in 2000 and 2006 as these vintages were not the subject of a horizontal tasting of the Grands Crus of Bordeaux. It should be noted that this château benefits from one of the best terroirs of the Appellation, since it is quite simply located between Château Montrose and Cos d´Estournel, on the edge of the Pauillac appellation.

An intruder was added to make the tasting more complex … but it was very easily unmasked! Well done, in any case, to Brane Cantenac 2003 which delights with its notes of blackcurrant and citrus fruits and its proverbial roundness.

Here are the results of the tasting:

The 2000 vintage won the votes without too many surprises, apart from perhaps its astonishing nose of green pepper. The 1997 vintage with notes of violet so characteristic of Cabernet Franc at maturity, comes in fourth place. He not only won the Appellation final, but also finished third in the 1997 A final, narrowly beaten by a certain Château Lafite, his close neighbor. An incredible success for this château, which nevertheless waited until 2003 to become an Exceptional Cru Bourgeois : It would certainly have deserved to go straight to the rank of 4^th classified growths in Médoc!

This final took place in February 2020 at Pascale and Luc’s home in Sucy en Brie.

Here is the list of the ten wines tested:

• Brane Cantenac
• D’Issan
• Durfort Vivens
• Du Tertre
• Ferrière
• Giscours
• Lascombes
• Malescot St Exupéry
• Palmer
• Rauzan-Ségla

We witnessed a very tight game between Lascombes and D’Issan. All in power and concentration. Did the final licorice notes of Lascombes make the “little” difference? Malescot St Exupéry completes the podium, perhaps penalized by a little too much wood.

Here are the results of the tasting:

The final A of the Grands Crus Classés de Bordeaux for the 1998 vintage took place in October 2019 on the shores of Lake of Annecy. Thank you Ella and Jean-Philippe for your welcome in Veyrier du Lac!

Here are the results (top six) from the Final A, which included the top four from the Final B, as well as the eight Super Grand Cru Classés (First Growth):

When at the end of the 70’s, Daniel Lamare decided to surround himself with a few friends to create the UAIO, who would have believed that, almost half a century later and in spite of its sad demise, the association would continue to exist and that its members, old and new, would meet, more motivated than ever, on the shores of Lake Annecy to taste and classify, in a perpetuated tradition, the best wines of Bordeaux.

So here we are in October 2019 in Veyrier du Lac on the shores of the Annecy Lake in the superb house with a view of the lake of Ella and Jean Philippe, delighted with a welcome still as well organized and friendly as the one realized by the same family two years earlier in Les Baux de Provence.

This opportunity to meet between Parisians and provincials for these magical moments around the best wines of the world, we would not miss it at any price.

During this tasting, the very first classified great growths of Bordeaux 1998 were, as our tradition requires, compared, blind, to other great châteaux of Bordeaux selected during the tastings of the year.

Château Latour came out on top (rated 16.50), but was almost dethroned by a stunning Clos de L’Oratoire (rated 16.29). This Merlot, with Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon, seduced us with its hint of candied strawberry and blueberry and its spicy aftertaste.

We look forward to the next final, perhaps in Montpellier, when our troops have chased the English virus!”

Régine and Francis

Régine and Francis