Bordeaux 2003

By Raymond Chan

Every year, our friends at Scenic Cellars in Taupo conduct a tasting of clarets from the newly landed shipments. It is the first serious look at the latest red Bordeaux wines in the country. The annual tasting is to be commended, as the price of these wines is becoming exorbitant, and the opportunity of tasting these great wines of the world is relatively uncommon. Ian, Cate and Sarah, the proprietors of Scenic Cellars are to be congratulated on this initiative, and it must be said they do it with style. A guest speaker of impeccable credentials is invited to lead the tasting, and a delicious lunch is served to attendees afterwards.

This year's tasting was of the 2003 clarets, a vintage that was as much unusual as it was touted for its high quality. The heat and dry conditions had never been seen in living history, and the resultant crop tiny, but of super concentrated wines. While over-ripeness or sur-maturité was the expected and more prevalent problem, many growers found the vines shut down due to the excessive heat, and this perversely resulted in fruit that was insufficiently ripe. The wines have received high praise for their concentration and ripeness to a level seldom ever seen, but detractors have cried ‘atypical', or ‘New World in style' for them. The guest speaker and leader for the tasting was Steve Smith MW, of Craggy Range winery in Hawke's Bay. One could not ask for a more qualified person in this role. Also, the Scenic Cellars selection was of a most high standard - four First Growths and a 2001 Chateau d'Yquem among others were to be served. The anticipation at the tasting in discovering for ourselves how the wines would appear was very high.

My notes on the wines follow:

Flight One: Right Bank and Second Growth Left Bank

90% Me, 7% CS, 3% CF, 23.6 ha, 2,100 cases

Dark, deep, ruby red with purple on edge. Full, ripe, dark, plum fruit on nose, quite plump, with dusty, fruit-cake Merlot. Excellent depth, ripe chocolate notes with some brettanomyces. Full, dense, fat and solid on palate, a little low on acidity. Plump plum and chocolate with bitter liquorice flavours. Dry and tannic, almost austere, but real density and concentration. Long and solid on finish. A chunky wine, that looks attractive. Some discussion on the level of brett and how it will shorten longevity. Some tasters saw unripe characters. My score 18.0-/20

50% Me, 47% CF, 3% CS, 22.75 ha, 5,800 cases

Very dark, deep ruby red with some purple hues, almost impenetrable. Fabulously ripe and sweet nose with richness and excellent depth. Plenty of new oak, charry and toasty, but all in balance. Hugely extracted and concentrated on palate, very dense with enormous depth. Ripe, sweet fruit and oak char flavours. Excellent acid balance, providing an elegance of style, real finesse and length. A wine of great concentration and elegance. Some tasters saw this as very expressive of Cabernet Franc. My score 19.-/20

72% CS, 20% Me, 8% CF, 46.7 ha, 22,000 cases

Dark, deep ruby red, almost impenetrable. Very full, dense and deep nose of blackcurranty fruit and oak in background. Some funky brett complexity. Good ripeness, very solid in expression. On the

palate, full and sweet with ripe blackcurranty fruit flavours, a little bitter dark chocolate and some animal brettanomyces. Huge, massively concentrated, dense and solid, with a long finish. A fulsome, solid wine, robust even, with some brettanomyces adding interest at this stage. 18.5-/20

65% CS, 25% Me, 8% CF, 2% PV. 66.6 ha, 16,600 cases

Very dark, deep ruby red with a blackish purple heart to the colour. Very sweet, perfumed and fine floral nose, violet finesse and lift, with beautifully fragrant interwoven oak. Very aromatic and elegant. Very fine and elegant on the palate, sumptuous with floral and red fruit and berry flavours. The extraction is exceptionally fine-grained, and the acidity is perfect. This has superb concentration and length. An outstanding wine with perfumes and great finesse. 19.5-/20

60% CS, 38% Me, 2% CF, 62.2 ha, 20,800 cases

Dark, deep, purple red with black hues, impenetrable. Very fine and very concentrated on the nose, with sweet, ripe berry fruits, fine floral lift and new oak toastiness. Very deep on fine, but very fine. Very fine-grained textures on the palate, with sumptuous fruit along with high toast charry oak. A little disjointed, closed even, at present. The acidity is excellent, providing balance freshness and length. The componentry is obvious, but the wine exudes quality and finesse. Needs time to come together. My score 19.0+/20

Flight Two: The First Growths

45% CS, 37% Me, 18% CF, 42.1 ha, 11,000 cases

Deepish ruby red colour with purple hues, a little lighter than some of the other wines. Very soft, elegant, but full on the nose with distinctive earthy bouquet, archetype Graves savoury fruit, a touch of brettanomyces even? Very fine on the nose with intense aromatics. Elegant and refined on the palate, exceptionally fine-grained. Fruit dominant with savoury dark berried, earthy, bricky flavours, along with a hint of meatiness and animal nuance. The acidity is a little low, but the palate has depth and length. A wine that would be easy to underestimate. 18.5+/20

75% CS, 20% Me, 5% CF and PV, 75.9 ha, 16,600 cases

Dark, deep ruby red colour. Beautifully perfumed on nose with fine berried fruits and florals along with classy, high char toasty oak. Very deep aromas, rich and intense, but with nuance and fineness. Palate is very, very fine grained in texture, but with a rich density and core of lusciously rich and sweet fruit matched by high toast charry oak. A subtle musky-musty animal complexity hinted in the flavours, possibly oak derived, adding interest, somewhat controversial. Excellent acidity and freshness. A wonderfully elegant, yet beautifully rich wine. 19.5-/20

70% CS, 25% Me, 3% CF, 2% PV, 97.2 ha, 17,500 cases

Very dark, deep black hued purple red co;our. Massive richness of sweet fruit aromas and oak backing. Exceptional balance with purity of berry fruits, great concentration and density, layers of aromatics and nuances unfold in the glass. Quite complete. Full, dense and solid on palate with a sumptuous richness of sweet fruits and high char toasty oak flavours. Perfect balance and proportion. Plump plum and berries, ripe with liquorice and hints of chocolate, complex aromatic nu