Bordeaux 2010 - Part II

by Tom Cannavan

Graves and Pessac-Léognan

Pessac-Léognan Rouge

Château Haut-Brion 2010
(AR) Dense in colour, fabulously invitingly, richly fruited and intense aromatic power wafts from the glass here and puts a huge smile on your face before you've even tasted it; there's a lovely density and purity of ripe, dark berry fruitiness here bringing seductive opulence in its wake with dark chocolate to the mid-palate but all reined in and restrained by a firm yet elegant backbone of tannin and fresh acidity that bring great length, balance and finesse. This is very fine and beautifully balanced. 98/100

Château La Mission Haut-Brion 2010
(AR) Very dense and vivid ruby to the rim of the glass, invitingly rich sweet nose of dark fruits and a hint of underlying pepper and liquorice spiciness; Wow, it's quite lovely on the palate, absolutely silky textured and plush with delicious black cherry and dark fruits flavours and a glycerol richness of texture encased in a firm spine of fresh acidity, which you notice before the tannins, and then the tannins creep up on you, but they're fine and beautifully resolved. Hard to believe it's 15.1% alcohol, but it is. 96-98/100

Château Brown 2010
Has a rich, ripe berry fruit. A certain meatiness and touch of ashy, more refined raspberry fruit comes through. Fantastic fruit sweetness here. It turns positively silky, with suppleness to the big tannins and good balance. 90/100

Domaine de Chevalier 2010
Fine, quite racy appeal, a touch of smoke and of dusty gravel. The palate has a chocolate and berry fullness, with ripe but juicy tannins and acidity, and a terrifically vital edge. Delicious, structured and long. 93/100

Château de Fieuzal 2010
Lovely cherry ripeness here, lots more of that smoky, gravel depth and cedary refinement too. Big dry tannins swamp the palate, but this has lovely sinewy structure and grip, the balanced fruit and acidity is delicious. 93/100

Château des Fougeres, Clos Montesquieu 2010
A nicely gravelly, ash and lightly earthy aspect to this. Big, concentrated fruit. Quite dry on the palate, composed but lacking a little length. 86-87/100

Château de France 2010
Black fruit is juicy and pert, but fairly straightforward with a hint of cedar and vanilla. There's a raft of bittersweet cherry and plum fruit and plum skin grip, the tannins pretty decisive, but this has fairly good balance overall, finishing with some spice. 88-89/100

Château Haut-Bailly 2010
Inky black depth of colour and body, with a really meaty character. There is big extraction here, the depth of savoury concentration, tannin and acidity will need time to soften. 91-92/100

Château Haut Nouchet 2010
A touch leathery and dense perhaps, but a nice, raspberry-licked fruit quality too. The sweetness of the fruit is matched by big, dry tannins that kick in with brutal force at this stage, but this has length and could come good. 87/100

Château Larrivet-Haut-Brion 2010
A touch of charcoally minerality here, and refined, ripe black fruit beneath. The palate is a little on the dry side. 87/100

Château Latour-Martillac 2010
Lovely Graves smoke and gravel here, a racy red fruit that is brighter, more raspberry-like than some. But the palate has masses of structure and density. Big tannins here giving a massively dry finish, but the fruit sweetness and freshening acidity is very good. 92/100

Château Malartic-Lagravière 2010
Firm, dark, savoury and vinous with a certain meatiness and glimpses of more fresh cherry fruit. The palate has huge extract, and at this stage, it creates a slightly brutal onslaught on the finish. 91/100

Château Olivier 2010
Meaty, dense, a tiny bit reductive, but solidly black fruited and savoury beneath. The palate has a wonderfully plush, dense weight. Here, the tannins of this vintage don't let up, but it already shows signs of having the plummy, fleshy density of fruit and acid balance. 92-93/100

Château Pape Clément 2010
Almost New Worldy in its coffee and high, toasty oak and ripe blackcurrant fruit profile. There's a trace of Graves smokiness, but only a trace. The palate has superb fruit weight, richness, sweetness and length. It is undoubtedly the most modern, international style here, but fabulously full and confident. 94-95/100

Pessac-Léognan Blanc

Château Brown Blanc 2010
Fresh, citrusy, a little background nuttiness but focused on the fruit that becomes quite peachy. More peach and nectarine on the palate, with an almond touch and very nice, clean and lengthening acidity. 90/100

Château Carbonnieux Blanc 2010
Quite plush and ripe fruit here, a weighty suggestion of ripe stone fruits and gently creamy oak. The palate has masses of juicy fruit and an orangey squeeze of acidity. 91/100

Domaine de Chevalier Blanc 2010
Quite mineral and juicy, only a background hint of vanilla. On the palate quite peachy and delicate, a lovely quality of soft, tropical ripeness against that nectarine juice sweetness but mouth-watering acidity, in a long, gossamer-like finish. 93/100

Château de Fieuzal Blanc 2010
Lots of fresh, lightly leafy but juicy stone fruit freshness here. The palate has real intensity: a piercingly vivid shock of grapefruit and lime, then a subtle oatmeal richness beneath. 93/100

Château Latour-Martillac Blanc 2010
I like the hint of smokiness to ripe, exotic lychee fruit here that is very expressive. The palate has a grippy, grapefruit pith acidity, but it cuts through the orange and peach ripeness very nicely into a long, focused finish. 92/100

Château Larrivet-Haut-Brion Blanc 2010
Seems to be lots of creamy, opulent vanillin oak here, as well as tropically sweet and full fruit, hinting at pineapple and ripe melon. The palate has plenty of acidity, plenty of juicy fruit, thought not quite the finesse of some perhaps. 91/100

Château Malartic-Lagravière Blanc 2010
Lightly creamy, relatively subdued style, with citrusy aromas and a touch of vanilla in the background. Tight and racy on the palate, this is a focused, lean style With fine mineral intensity. 91/100

Château Olivier Blanc 2010
Orange and stone fruit aromas, with a really punchy, juicy vibrancy. The palate has equally decisive flavour - an assault of vivid acidity and mouth-wateringly crisp fruit. A little vanillin support in the finish. 91/100

Château Pape Clément Blanc 2010
Powerful nose, a creamy, quite leesy character, some buttery Brazil nut notes too. There's a great shock of decisive acidity, the weight and texture of fruit filling the mouth. Big, decisive stuff. 92/100

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