Tasting notes, reviews, and ratings of the 2010 Bordeaux primeur campaign, by Jeff Leve of The Wine Cellar Insider. You can read more by Jeff Leve on 2010 Bordeaux on The Wine Cellar Insider.
2010 Le Petit Bocq
Situated on gravel based soils not far from Calon Segur, this blend of 58% Merlot, 29% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Petit Verdot and the remainder Cabernet Franc is a powerful Cru Bourgeois Bordeaux wine that offers a chewy bite of black fruit, cassis and tannins. 88-90 Pts
2010 Chateau Cos D’Estournel
Was produced from 78% Cabernet Sauvignon, 19% Merlot, 2% Cabernet Franc and the remainder Petit Verdot. This Bordeaux wine reached 14.5 % alcohol which is a little lower than they achieved in 2009. Representing 55% of the harvest, the wine looks as dark as a midnight sky, with coaxing the wine offers smoke, Asian spice, cassis, boysenberry, stone and minerality in the complex nose. Powerful, dense, pure and packed with tannins as well as a wall of fruit, this wine requires serious aging. Long, fresh and mouth filling, while the tannin levels are less than they were in 2009, due to the higher levels of acidity, (which shaped the wines character) the wine feels more tannic. This broad shouldered, muscular Bordeaux wine will not be fun to drink in its youth. In time, it may become the perfect blend of tradition and modern. Tasters who were not happy with 2009 Cos should love this wine, as it’s closer in style to 2005, with a dash of 1986 blended in, than it is to 2009. 96-98 Pts
Prats thinks 2010 Cos is a perfect definition of what Bordeaux does at its best, mixing austerity, power and elegance. While he loves the 2009 for its glamorous style, he considers it a unique vintage for the chateau.
With the new gravity cellars at Cos d’Estournel, it appears like Prats is seeking perfection in wine. Is he? We discussed optical sorters, a technique that is not used at the chateau. Prats is not using the machine because he likes a little of the character that a small amount of stems adds to the wine. Provided they are ripe and brown in color, which can add acidity along with tannin and character if included in a very small quantity.
2010 Les Pagodes de Cos
From an assemblage of 62% Cabernet Sauvignon, 38% Merlot, this is a brawny, focused and straight forward style of wine. In the mouth, the wine is tannic, fresh and filled with dark berries. Prats called this vintage a severe style of Pagodes that requires time. 90-92 Pts
2010 Chateau Le Crock
A blend of 47% Cabernet Sauvignon, 33% Merlot and 7% Petit Verdot, the wine offers coco powder, cassis and black raspberry aromas. Medium bodied and round textured, this wine packs a lot of punch more the money. This Bordeaux wine ends with a fresh cassis finish. 90-91 Pts
2010 Chateau Haut Beausejour
With 53% Merlot and 47% Cabernet Sauvignon in the blend, this well-priced St. Estephe wine combines smoke, espresso bean, red and black fruit and hints of spice for a Bordeaux wine with freshness, backbone and a fair price. A top value Bordeaux wine pick from St. Estephe. 89-91 Pts
2010 Haut Marbuzet
Medium boded, cassis filled, correctly made, beefy Bordeaux wine that should drink well shortly after release. 87-89 Pts
2010 Chateau Lilian Ladouys
Located close to Lafon Rochet on sand and gravel soils, this vintage was produced from a 52% Cabernet Sauvignon, 43% Merlot and 5% Cabernet Franc. The wine opens with stone, oak and blackberry aromas. Medium bodied with light cassis flavors and dusty tannins are found in the finish. 89-91 Pts
2010 Chateau Montrose
From a blend of 53% Cabernet Sauvignon, 37% Merlot, 9% Cabernet Franc and a smidgen of Petit Verdot, this represents 64% of the production. Opaque in color, with a nose of coffee, blackberry liqueur, cassis and spice, this is a powerful, dense, massive, tannic wine. Firm and structured, the wine coats your palate with a wall of fruit, tannin and acidity. This big, structured Bordeaux wine will require decades to develop. 95-96 Pts
2010 Le Dame de Montrose
From 64% Cabernet Sauvignon and 36% Merlot 89-91 Pts
2010 Chateau Ormes de Pez
From the seam technical team as Chateau Lynch Bages in Pauillac, blending 57% Cabernet Sauvignon, 34% Merlot, 7% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot produced a deeply colored wine with scents of stone, cassis and coffee bean. With round tannins and a soft entry, this Bordeaux wine finishes with sweet cassis and black cherry flavors, supple textures and freshness. 90-92 Pts
2010 Chateau de Pez
From a blend of 52.5% Cabernet Sauvignon paired with 47.5 Merlot,( which is almost the exact assemblage as they used in Haut Beausejour,) the wine shows fresh blackberry, licorice, stone and spice aromas. Full bodied with fresh dark berry flavors on the palate, the wine ends with a cassis filled finish. 90-92 Pts
2010 Chateau Tronquoy Lalande
Produced from a blend of 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot and 10% Petit Verdot, this likable, easy to understand Bordeaux wine offers blackberry and earth aromas, finishing with a mélange of sweet, red and dark berries. 90-92 Pts
