The 96 Bordeaux are highly regarded in France.  It is a vintage which will be long-lived (some of the wines having 20-30 years of life (well-stored).  Monsieurs Bettane and Desseauve put it on a level with 1961, 1982, 1989 and 1990. 

I have tasted some of these wines previously and was very impressed by the power of Lafite-Rothschild and the richness of Beychevelle, a property whose wines I like, but am not crazy about.  I was surprised by the Beychevelle at a trade tasting earlier in the year.  So here we've put it to the test.

These wines are, of course, generally dominated by Cabernet Sauvignon.  In a warm year, one expects deep colors and firm tannins.  That is exactly what we found.

The group last place wine (something has to finish in last place, even if it's a wine which will win other tastings--keep that in mind when your read tasting assessments, please).  Some tasters found Talbot to be stinky and vegetal, while other tasters described it as having a green tea character.  Some found it earthy while another characterized it as being velvety.  It was, perhaps, a shade out of its league on this occasion.  I thought the flavors were cedary, verging on pencil shavings and that it had a plummy, correct Cabernet flavor. 

The 7th place wine was the Branaire-Ducru.  Some said it had "not much aroma."  One taster found a "grassy" character, while another felt it had hints of "roasted vegetables."  Some found it "very dry,"  while others felt it was "very tannic."    One taster said  it had "not too much aroma."  Yet I found lots of sweet fruit, ripe plums and an ample amount of sweet oak!  This, for me, was a terrific wine.

Lafite-Rothschild placed sixth.  One taster felt it had a slight "chemical" note, while another described it as having a fragrance reminiscent of "pineapple...exotic...star anise."  Another taster felt the aromas recalled lavendar and blue fruits rather than red fruit aromas.  It was described as lower in acidity and having a short finish.  I felt it was a 2-star wine (on a scale of three), showing deep red fruit, lovely oak and being nicely framed.  My notes indicate "big, rich, built-to-last with lovely fruit and balanced tannins."  

Chateau Beychevelle finished in 5th place.  It was desrcibed as being of an "international style," having lots of sweet oak.  Descriptors such as "open-knit," "coffee," "band-aid," "tobacco" and "pencil shavings" were employed by some tasters.   One asked "Where's the beef?", while another found it to have a long and lingering finish.  I found cedary, creamy, woodsy, sweet notes to its nose and a vanillin and mildly leathery character in the mouth. 

Lynch-Bages finished in fourth place.  The panel found "vegetal," "sweet oak," "velevety",  "chocolate and caramel," notes along with "hints of coffee," "roasted plums," "milk chocolate" and cedar.  While I found some red fruit notes along with a mildly herbal character, it seemed a bit shallow compared to the competition.

Cos d'Estournel was the third place wine.  "Exploding, extremely aromatic..." was how one taster described the wine.  Another felt it had "...the most expansive palate."  "Sweet oak."   "Tobacco."  Others felt the wine had "brittle tannins" and was "light on fruit."  I found lots of cedar, pencil shavings, violets and layers of complexity.  This will probably develop over the next 15-25 years!

Pichon-Lalande was the second place wine.  It was "different...Rhone-like" to some, while others felt it had the "strongest oak."  Some found herbal or vegetal notes, as this was described as having hints of "olives and ripe green peppers."  Pichon was further described as "harmonious...complete...intense and concentrated..."  I felt the wine was, at this stage, deeper on the palate than on the nose.