On October 3rd, 2009, Icon Wines partners lined-up early in the morning to be one of the first to purchase 2006 Bordeaux wines at the Westwood Centre BCLDB store. This was our first Bordeaux release purchase and it was a learning experience as we made a couple of rookie mistakes, but it all worked out in the end.
Arriving at 8:00 am Saturday morning, a full 1.5 hours before the doors were to open at 9:30 am at the Port Coquitlam store; we figured we had over done it due to the fact that there was no visible line. Therefore, we decided to go have a leisurely breakfast at the DeDutch restaurant in the adjoining plaza and go over our strategy for the day.
Our strategy was simple: focus on the wine we feel is the star of the vintage, Chateau Pontet-Canet (Pauillac, $129, 94pts WA), and then pick a few more wines with good points-to-price ratio for our cellar and to be used in future Icon Wine events.
After finishing breakfast around 9 am we decided to go line-up anyway and mingle with the small crowd that was beginning to form. Waiting at the door a BCLDB employee popped their head out to ask if we had already placed a “bottle order” earlier in the morning. Having no idea what he was referring to we were intrigued to learn that the store had been taking order forms for the hot 2006 wines since 5:30 am that morning. Quizzing him on what was left, we discovered that they were already out of the Pontet-Canet.
HC decided to go try the other PoCo BCLDB store (Nicola Station) to try and get the coveted Pontet-Canet and I would stay in line at Westwood to look looking for the points-to-price purchases. I picked-up:
Chateau Marsau (Cotes de Francs) $25 – 88pts WA
Chateau De Fonbel (Saint-Emilion) $29.00 – 89pts WA
Chateau Pavie Macqui (Saint-Emilion) $99.00 – 92+pts WA
Chateau Rolland-Maillet (Saint-Emilion) $29.00 - 90pts WS
As it turned out, the Nicola Station BCLDB had little to no crowd and no pre-orders snatching up the 2006 favourites. HC picked up the Pontet-Canet and returned to meet me at the Westwood store to complete our order. In the end we got the wines we wanted and learned what to do better next time around. Of course, the jury is still out on the purportedly weak 2007 vintage. We’ll do our research throughout the year and make up our minds if their will be a 2007 purchase or not. - LC
Showing posts with label 2006 Bordeaux. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 2006 Bordeaux. Show all posts
Monday, October 5, 2009
Sunday, September 13, 2009
2006 Bordeaux Tasting, Vancouver, BC
On September 13th, 2009 IconWines principles LC & HC participated in a tasting of select 2006 Bordeaux wines. The event was held at Marquis Wine Cellars in downtown Vancouver and timed to coincide with the store's first release of this above-average vintage to the public; a full three weeks prior to the government liquor board's release scheduled for Saturday, October 3rd.
Purchasing Bordeaux wines from a private store like Marquis helps to ensure the consumer can get a hold of the wines they most want as many of the top labels will sell-out quickly. However, this convenience does come at a cost as the prices are 15%-20% higher than the posted prices for the government liquor store's Bordeaux release.
The 2006 vintage is certainly above-average, but as it follows the much lauded 2005 juggernaut, it arrives with much less fanfare and lower expectations. This is reflected in the prices to a degree, however, will it be enough to get us all to buy? Reports and reviews from experts help us form an opinion and our own expectations but getting a chance to taste for yourself is invaluable.
We tasted (in order of lightest to heaviest):
Chateau La Tour Carnet, Haut-Medoc
Chateau Cantemerle, Haut-Medoc
Clos de l'Oratoire, St. Emilion
Clos du Marquis, St. Julien
Chateau Clinet, Pomerol
Chateau Lascombes, Margaux
Chateau Clerc Milon, Pauillac
Chateau Pichon-Baron, Pauillac
Chateau Montrose, St. Estephe
Chateau Pape Clement, Pessac
Chateau Coutet, Barsac
Chateau Rieussec, Sauternes
Overall the vintage shows good promise with good acidity and tannin structure which will age well. (Full tasting notes will be available on Icon Scores shortly.) One of the wines that we had great expectations for but were a bit underwhelmed with upon tasting was Chateau Montrose. This wine had been highly scored by the Wine Advocate at 95 points. Both HC and myself found the flavours a little too subtle. A quality wine nevertheless, but perhaps not the star of the vintage that we had hoped. A valuable lesson that the advice of others (including ours) must be considered for what it is, an opinion.
Let us know what you think of the 2006 Bordeaux vintage by contacting us at iconwines@shaw.ca. We hope to hear your opinions on the subject.
Happy tasting,
LC
Purchasing Bordeaux wines from a private store like Marquis helps to ensure the consumer can get a hold of the wines they most want as many of the top labels will sell-out quickly. However, this convenience does come at a cost as the prices are 15%-20% higher than the posted prices for the government liquor store's Bordeaux release.
The 2006 vintage is certainly above-average, but as it follows the much lauded 2005 juggernaut, it arrives with much less fanfare and lower expectations. This is reflected in the prices to a degree, however, will it be enough to get us all to buy? Reports and reviews from experts help us form an opinion and our own expectations but getting a chance to taste for yourself is invaluable.
We tasted (in order of lightest to heaviest):
Chateau La Tour Carnet, Haut-Medoc
Chateau Cantemerle, Haut-Medoc
Clos de l'Oratoire, St. Emilion
Clos du Marquis, St. Julien
Chateau Clinet, Pomerol
Chateau Lascombes, Margaux
Chateau Clerc Milon, Pauillac
Chateau Pichon-Baron, Pauillac
Chateau Montrose, St. Estephe
Chateau Pape Clement, Pessac
Chateau Coutet, Barsac
Chateau Rieussec, Sauternes
Overall the vintage shows good promise with good acidity and tannin structure which will age well. (Full tasting notes will be available on Icon Scores shortly.) One of the wines that we had great expectations for but were a bit underwhelmed with upon tasting was Chateau Montrose. This wine had been highly scored by the Wine Advocate at 95 points. Both HC and myself found the flavours a little too subtle. A quality wine nevertheless, but perhaps not the star of the vintage that we had hoped. A valuable lesson that the advice of others (including ours) must be considered for what it is, an opinion.
Let us know what you think of the 2006 Bordeaux vintage by contacting us at iconwines@shaw.ca. We hope to hear your opinions on the subject.
Happy tasting,
LC
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