Prélude à Grand Puy Ducasse, 2000

People often press me for my favorite wine.  For a wine lover, this is a complicated question.  It raises so many questions.  Are we talking red or white?  What food is going to go with?  And are you talking about a specific wine, or are you talking about an area?

But if we want to keep the discussion really short.  Generally, I take reds more seriously than whites.  (I cannot justify that very well!)  And, if I am going to treat myself extra well, I head for Bordeaux.  And, I prefer Bordeaux reds that predominantly use Cabernet Sauvignon.  Finally, the area within Bordeaux that  I usually prefer is Pauillac.  Perhaps this is because it was a Pauillac wine, Château Batailley 1966, that got me started on this life long pursuit of good wine!

I am including this background because, for the wine we had on this occasion, I think my expectations were too high.  After all Grand Puy Ducasse has a reliable reputation and 2000 was a stellar year in Bordeaux. (Grand Puy Ducasse was classified as a fifth growth in the classification of 1855.) We also thought it would be completely ready to drink as Decanter described it as “Earthy, savoury, appealing, round, ripe, elegant. Some complexity, developing quite fast. Extremely drinkable. Drink up to 2009.”  Puy Ducasse also occupies a prime location with some land next to Lafite and Mouton, and another parcel adjacent to Château Batailley.

Prélude à Grand Puy Ducasse is one of the two second labels of this producer.  (The other is Château Artigues-Arnaud.)  A second label is often an excellent way of getting to taste wine from the greatest producers at a lower price that you pay for their flagship brand.

But something was wrong despite the fact that it had been stored impeccably.  There was no sign of cork damage either.  To me it certainly earthy but in a crude and unrefined way.  If you looked for it, you could find some good Cabernet fruit, but I found this wine rather unappealing and lacking in elegance.  There were the nice cedary bits that you look for in a Pauillac, but the finish was thin and even somewhat vegetal.  No more than an OK wine.  I hoped it would mark a rather special occasion, and it was a disappointment.