Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/271567
march 2014 / the tasting panel / 77 and more precise than in 2009 and the sweet whites equally precise but less concentrated. Slight negative comments went to the middle-ranging Saint-Émilions as "trying too hard", while the equivalent Médocs could have had more charm at this point. Overall quality was high and the reputa- tion of the 2010s was confirmed, in contrast to their prices which have softened since being offered en primeur. Looking at the results, I see that I was marking slightly higher than the group on the "lesser" wines, but overall my preferences corresponded to theirs. In the first flight of Saint- Émilions these were Gracia, then Grandes Murailles; the second flight Couspaude and Virginie de Valandraud; third flight Chapelle d'Ausone and La Gaffelière, with the group preferring Valandraud and Canon; fourth flight my top mark was for Larcis-Ducasse, which the group put last and I gave 17.5 to Angélus, Troplong-Mondot, Figeac and Pavie, with Angélus coming top overall; fifth flight was top Pomerol, my votes going to La Conseillante, Le Gay and Trotanoy just ahead of Vieux Ch. Certan, which led the group's ranking over La Fleur Pétrus; for the "junior" Pomerols, I went for Nénin, Certan de May and Clos St Martin (a new wine for me), with this taking top ranking above La Croix de Gay; the two last flights of the day were "junior" St-Estèphe, with Le Crock, La Tour de Pez and Marquis de Calon showing well and a mix of Pauillac and St-Julien, led by La Croix de Beaucaillou, also my top wine. Thursday morning opened with some Pauillacs, with Pibran coming top and a strong showing from Croizet- Bages second; for the top St-Julien flight, I placed Léoville- Barton and Poyferré equal first, the group ranking being Leoville-Poyferré, Ducru-Beaucaillou and Saint-Pierre; Cos d'Estournel just nudged Montrose from top place in St-Estèphe (I had them equal) followed by Lafon-Rochet; in Pauillac my best mark went to Les Forts de Latour, which the group placed second, after Pichon-Baron de Longueville, then Petit-Mouton and Lynch-Bages; the final flight before lunch showed first growths from both banks, where I gave 19/20 to La Mission Haut-Brion (1st), Pétrus (2nd), Le Pin (5th) and Latour (6th), the group's 3rd and 4th places going to Lafleur and Mouton-Rothschild. First after lunch were Margaux and southern Médocs, with my choices being Dauzac, Kirwan and Angludet, while the group chose Dauzac, followed by Cantemerle and Marquis de Terme. The "senior" Margaux were led by Brane-Cantenac and Palmer, while I gave good marks to Giscours. Then came Pessac-Léognan, where I placed Smith-Haut-Lafitte (1st), Domaine de Chevalier (2nd), Pape-Clément (3rd) and Haut-Bailly (6th) equal with 17.5, all great wines. The following morning saw La Louvière leading the first flight of Pessac-Léognan whites, with Smith-Haut-Lafitte heading the second flight, followed by Larrivet Haut-Brion, Haut-Brion and Pape-Clément. Finally for Sauternes, Doisy- Daëne took the first flight, followed by Domaine de l'Alliance and Arche equal, the final flight going to Sigalas-Rabaud, Rieussec and La Tour Blanche equal second, followed by Suduiraut, Climens, Rayne Vigneau, d'Yquem and Coutet. We will all be back in January 2015 for the 2011s. by Anthony Dias Blue On this side of the pond, a slightly more plebian tasting put on by the Union des Grands Crus offered about half as many 2010 Bordeaux wines to sample. My impression was that this vintage provided some excellent wines, with most having good depth and balance. These are the wines that stood out for me: In Saint-Émilion I was impressed by the lush and elegant Château Canon but my favorite was Château Figeac, a wine of complexity, great depth and much finesse. Pauillac had a fine showing, with many wines demonstrating the characteristic graceful style of the appellation. My favorites were a classi- cally structured Château Lynch-Bages, an opulent Château Pichon-Longueville Baron and, best of all, a stunning Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande. Among Saint-Julien wines my favorites were Château Gloria, Château Gruaud Larose, Château Lagrange, Château Léoville Barton, Château Léoville Poyferré and Château Talbot. Best in a very distin- guished group was, for me, Château Beychevelle, a beautifully structured and elegant effort. Very few Saint-Estèphes braved the voyage to the West Coast. Among those that did, the stand- out was a bright and juicy Château Phélan Ségur. Margaux, on the other hand, had a good turn out and a fine showing. Best were Château Angludet, Château Kirwan, Château Lascombes, Château Rauzan-Ségla and Château du Tertre. Pessac-Léognan's top reds were Château La Louvière, Château Pape Clément and, best of all, Château Smith Haut Lafitte. The white wines from the region were excellent across the board with Château Olivier and Château Smith Haut Lafitte coming top. Somehow I missed the flight of first growths from both banks. Ah, well. A West Coast View THE UNION DES GRANDS CRUS DE BORDEAUX COMES TO LOS ANGELES