Tatiarra 2006

Over to New World for a change - Australian Shiraz - a gift. Popped and poured. As expected, not difficult to like - strong, dense color & black fruits bouquet. High alcohol. Full bodied and very spicy. A very competent and enjoyable wine, but too "in-your-face" for those looking for subtle and complex naunces typical in good Bordeaux. Some Old World snobbishness I suppose. Guilty. (8.2/10)

Clinet 2004

AOC Pomerol. Good attack; great dense body of berries n liquorice in mid palate; v rounded mouthfeel, but finish could be longer...Overall quite balanced, lucious Pomerol. With substance (8.8/10)

Pichon Lalande 2004 & Clerc Milon 2006

Pichon Lalande 04 Pauillac 2GCC. Expected a ton from this blue chip, but what came was a pedestrian, rather light bodied left bank claret. Not much complexity or lushness to speak of, both in bouquet and mouthfeel. Very ordinary, supermarket quality to it. Perhaps in a dumb phase now? Only time will tell. Poor Price to Quality ratio for now (7.8/10)

Clerc Milon 06 Pauillac 5GCC. Again another Classed Growth that disappoints. A much denser, burly Pauillac that's neither subtle nor elegant. Just brute tannins and oak attacking your nose and palate. Too young? Perhaps (7.3/10)

Ironically, WOTN was an Argentine Malbec LUCA 08. Very open black fruits nose, dense, powerful, lucious mouthfeel and lingering finish. What's lacking is just a bit of old world complexity (8.7/10). One bottle of the PL04 can buy 3 bottles of this beauty- Superb PTQ ratio! Tonight, the New World teen shows the old men what good wine should be all about - Smell, Taste & Enjoyment- not labels, price or reputation.

Cos D'Estournel 1994

St Estephe 2GCC. A beauty. Slighted faded ruby rim, well aged look. Entry is elegent, not forceful, and mid palete throws up lots of compelxity - minty spices, and good medium finish. Excellent wine overall (9.0/10)

Olivier 2006

Graves GCC. Surpassed expectations - Fantastic Quality to Price ratio. V fragrant bouquet of ripe cherries. Elegent and thick, velvelty texture, almost Pomerol-like, with a hint of minerals giving a hint of its AOC. Good finish also (8.4/10)

Clos du Marquis 2007

Much touted "2nd wine" of Leoville Las Cases, although technically from different vines. Overall a balanced wine, with pleasant strong attack, mid palate with some substance and a reasonably long finish. Still very tannic at this age, but some black fruits are peeking. No fireworks, but v decent. Long life ahead (7.5/10)

Kicking Things Off.....

Despite what the Chinese insist, there is more to Bordeaux than Lafite. What is more enjoyable than exploring and tasting bottles of fine claret from all over Bordeaux and seeing what all the fuss is about. After all, with many top producers in Napa and Australia pricing their top wines @ Medoc 1st Growth levels, it just makes more sense to burn my cash on the originals instead of the pretenders. Let's begin our tasting adventure through many brilliant chateaux in the home of Fine Red Wine - where else but in Bordeaux.