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2002 tasting notes of disappointing red wines

French best red wines? Unfortunately no. The reputations or the prices of the wines reviewed below had me expect much tasting pleasure, which I did not get. The wines appeared pretentious or boring. In other words, I am more interested in the multitude of characterful wines you can get for half the price. Featured crus include six Bordeaux.

The below wines were tasted in France, in 2002 (between April and December). The tasting notes are listed by increasing prices, with the following format:

Appellation – producer – plot or brand – variety

Approximate price — vintage — general impression – on nose – on palate – after swallowing

Coteaux du languedoc — Abbaye de Valmagne — Cuvée de Turenne

10 € — 1996 — this wine is basically a solution of oak chips (which is not only unpleasurable but also not allowed for an AOC) - a nose of tar, sawdust, and roastiness - a disgusting taste

Haut médoc — — Le Moulin de Citran

— 1999 — the nose is dominated by tyre - the palate carries a plant note - the aftertaste is short, with tyre again

Montagne saint émilion — Château des Tours

11 € — 1995 — notes of leather and of sulphur - tannins are dry, the wine is rough and light on the palate - something is shining in the aftertaste

Bellet — Domaine de Teasc

14 € — 2000 — the wine is in a complete reducted state - a nose of rotten egg (mercaptan in French) which marks reduction - a foul taste

Saint julien — Château Gruaud-Larose — Sarget de Gruaud-Larose

16 € — 1999 — a nose with chocolate and a burnt note - the wine is juicier than the Gloria, fleshier too - an oaky finale

Saint julien — Château Gloria

18 € — 1999 — this is standard modern Bordeaux, technically correct but overbuilt, with the oenologist playing the prominent role (using reverse osmosis notably), very difficult for me to drink - a nose dominated by plank - a plant palate, oaky, hard, less juicy than the Sarget de Gruaud-Larose, with fruit barely showing - a clumsy, creamy aftertaste

Saint émilion grand cru — Château Fonplégade

22 € — 1998 — oaky nose - balanced palate - green/unripe aftertaste

Clos de la roche — Ponsot — Vieilles Vignes

103 € — 1995 — a delicate and meager flower - the nose is dull, with hints of beef and leaf - the palate lacks stuff, it is lean yet juicy and smooth, with a note of raspberry

Pessac léognan — Château Haut-Brion

130 € — 1973 — difficult on day 1, no pleasure here - an oxydized nose with tyre, toffee, and plum - hollow on the palate - an aftertaste dominated by tyre -
- on day 2: pleasant - a bouquet of chocolate and toffee - onctuous, old wood, a note of plant, lacks acidity and structure - no interest on the finish

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