2001 Bordeaux Revisited, Sept. 20/16

2001 is considered a classic Bordeaux vintage, producing aromatic, fresh and well-balanced wines, not as heavy and concentrated as 2000 but significantly better that the vintages of the late 1990s (if you’re fortunate enough to be able to compare). The strong and rustic tannins are also a reminder of the more classic Bordeaux vintages. 

We tasted these wines back in 2012 and had some left over so back into storage they went for another four years of cellaring. According to E. Robert Parker, most of the wines in our line-up should be peaking now. They’re 15 years old now and we’ll be able to see how they have evolved.  If you attended our tasting in 2012, try to find your notes. It will be interesting to compare them to four years later.

Seven of our wines are from the Left Bank of the Gironde River while one is from the Right. What’s the difference? While red Bordeaux wines are blended together from Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Malbec, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot grapes, Left Bank vineyards are dominated by Cabernet Sauvignon, while the Right Bank ones focus more on Merlot. This means that the Cabernet-based Left Bank wines tend to be a bit more tannic, while the Merlot-based Right Bank wines tend to have more restrained tannins. From the Left Bank, we have four wines from Pauillac, two from St. Julien and one from Pessac-Leognan. Our one Right Bank wine comes from Pomerol. Pichon Baron from Pauillac earned a score of 94 points for its fruity, superbly concentrated and strong vintage.

For a detailed list and description of the wines we'll be tasting, please click here. 

Theme:  2001 (Red) Bordeaux, Revisited

Date:  Tuesday September 2, 2016

Time:  6 PM for reception wine; 6:20 PM for formal tasting

Location:  Faculty Club, Univ. of Toronto, 41 Willcocks Street, Toronto, Ontario, M5S 1C7  - Map 

Fees:  TVC Members $82 ; Guests / Non-Members  $107  (includes reception wine, bread & light appetizers)

Note:  All ticket sales are final and cannot be refunded unless we are sold out and have a wait list.

Our guest speaker for the evening is Paul Sturgess of the Institute of Wines and Spirits.

Seating is very limited for this event.