First time Bordeaux drinker. My family compared these two wines tonight with some steaks. Both were opened about an hour before dinner and drank over the course of 2-3 hours. Both were purchased from fineliquor and stored in a wine fridge for a few years.
I was really excited to drink the 1990, and both were very good, but we all actually enjoyed the 2021 more. I’m not one for fancy tasting notes, but briefly:
1990- much more aromatic (violet/floral), garnet in color, soft tannins that added just enough body, red berries in taste with some secondary flavors/smells like leather and tobacco, fairly short finish.
2021- nose was muted, dark purple in color, med tannins that gave this wine much more body in a pleasant way. Way more fruit forward than the 1990 with a longer finish.
Overall- the 1990 smelled great and was smoother, but the 2021 had more flavor.
Question – Do we just not like/appreciate Bordeaux or is there a better one to try?
We generally drink Cali cabs. Our favorite is Joseph Phelps Insignia with some age on it. We’ve got several bottles of 2002 left that are absolutely delicious- like drinking dark berry jam.
Thanks in advance for your time and thoughts!
by FadedDorado
3 Comments
Not appreciating Bordeaux is fair, taste is personal but jumping from a 2021 to a 1990 is maybe not the best introduction. try something with like 10-15 years age next time to find middle ground between fruit and development
Since you prefer Cali cabs, you seem to prefer riper, more jammy fruit and more extraction. Bordeaux tends to steer to just ripe fruit (Imagine Blueberry jam vs just ripe individual berry) and less extraction (now that Parker’s regime is done for).
Maybe try right bank wines since they are merlot based (usually upwards 70%) and tend to be quite plush in their style, especially in hot years. Look for in the label Saint-Emilion Grand Cru.
Look for Chateaux such as: Pressac, Pavie Mcquin, Troplong-mondot and Fleur Cardinale.
Don’t give up on Bordeaux yet! Such fantastic wines from great wineries are available for a very good price right now.
Pontet Canet is a great proxy for Napa drinkers