Saturday, January 27, 2007
Château Haut-Bages Libéral 2001
It is not often that we have an opportunity to taste two vintages in one evening. Tonight is such a night. By chance we stopped at the local wine shop, hungry for a meaty bourdeaux and came away with the 2003 vintage. After rambling through this spicy morsel, we were not done for the evening. As luck would have it, we had a bottle of 2001 in the basement, left over from a set of three purchased for our 06 holiday festivities.
On a head to head comparison, the 2001 just knocks the legs out of the 2003. The bold, rich flavor of the 2001 trumps the budding sharpness of the 2003. Now the ultimate question is which of these vintages will prove to be the better wine after suffering through the commonality of the test of time.
2001 -- The nose - peppery beyond standard cracked black peppercorns that adorn a glass - this moves into a jalapeñesque flair mixed with strong oaky tannins. French oak as expected. The spicy peppers are there to greet the tongue along side the buttery flavor of rich caramel. The bold oak continues well past the initial jabs of sweet and spice.
2003 -- A nose of smooth, well treated oak. Rich but ultimately limited in its breadth. The spice of the vintage is not to be trifled with. Sharp and acidic -- enough to grab your attention. The sharpness settles into the fluid oak flavor and rests easy on the pallet. In fact, the flavor lasts longer with the 2003 than the finishes of the 2001.
With the clear strength of the 2003, the punch, once softened will exceed the 2001 in potential. We are still in awe today at the robust nature of the spicy pepper of this 01 Pauillac gem. No doubt that Libéral will be a Bourdeaux worth buying and storing for years to come.
On a head to head comparison, the 2001 just knocks the legs out of the 2003. The bold, rich flavor of the 2001 trumps the budding sharpness of the 2003. Now the ultimate question is which of these vintages will prove to be the better wine after suffering through the commonality of the test of time.
2001 -- The nose - peppery beyond standard cracked black peppercorns that adorn a glass - this moves into a jalapeñesque flair mixed with strong oaky tannins. French oak as expected. The spicy peppers are there to greet the tongue along side the buttery flavor of rich caramel. The bold oak continues well past the initial jabs of sweet and spice.
2003 -- A nose of smooth, well treated oak. Rich but ultimately limited in its breadth. The spice of the vintage is not to be trifled with. Sharp and acidic -- enough to grab your attention. The sharpness settles into the fluid oak flavor and rests easy on the pallet. In fact, the flavor lasts longer with the 2003 than the finishes of the 2001.
With the clear strength of the 2003, the punch, once softened will exceed the 2001 in potential. We are still in awe today at the robust nature of the spicy pepper of this 01 Pauillac gem. No doubt that Libéral will be a Bourdeaux worth buying and storing for years to come.
