2001 CHEVAL-BLANC

Saint Emilion - Bordeaux France

Very dense dark ruby color. Reticent nose that gradually gave up notes of subtle floral flavours, berry and cedar wood. Precise and sharp attack. Excellent persistence on a beautiful and pure fruit. Expressive texture with slightly drying tannins on the finish. This Cheval Blanc must wait a couple more years to see if it can gain in balance.  89/100 

2001 CANON LA GAFFELIERE

Saint Emilion - Bordeaux France

Fresh and fruity nose of bilberries, light smoke - tobacco and vanilla. With air this is gaining sweetness on the attack showing a tight texture and soft tannins. Ripe fruit and long finish. Faint barnyard notes on the nose balanced with a light acidic taste. A pleasant wine, although its rustic character may not please to everyone. 86/100

2001 VIEUX CHÂTEAU CERTAN Pomerol - Bordeaux France 

Light garnet. Creamy nose well defined by red fruit flavours - raspberry, cherry and cocoa. The mouth develops gradually to a beautiful ripe fruit, well balanced and fresh. Lacks a bit of fat and density. It's smooth texture seems somewhat atypical to the usual style of the appellation. 87/100

2001 EGLISE-CLINET

Pomerol - Bordeaux France 

Beautiful crimson color. Spices, tobacco, balsamic aromas. Oak with a fugacious sweet pepper recall. Large volume dominated by a beautiful crunching fruit. Light bitterness of tannins on the finish. Excellent density. Wine of character. Another appealing and classical Eglise-Clinet proposed by Denis Durantou. Needs another 10 years to better reveal itself. 89/100 

2001 MISSION HAUT-BRION

Pessac-Leognan-Graves - Bordeaux France

Dark ruby red. Elegant berries and Havana nose underlined by lacteous notes. Beautiful texture and remarkable precision on the palate. Spicy notes and great persistence. Splendid and rigorous finish. Another solid success after the legendary 
Mission Haut-Brion 2000 !  89/100 

2001 PAPE CLEMENT

Pessac-Leognan-Graves - Bordeaux France

The fist bottle was flawed. Dark ruby red to purple. Explosive fruit, blackcurrant, wild strawberry, raspberry, a little bit earthy and still marked by wood. Exuberant palate, phenomenal volume coupled with a tight texture and an exceptional fruit purity. Splendid minerality on which the soil leaves a beautiful print. A wine entirely carried by its fruit. This is the result of a rigorous picking process done at the time of the harvest. A wine for hedonists and probably one of the 
best price to quality choice for the vintage. 91/100 

2001 LEOVILLE-BARTON

Saint-Julien - Bordeaux  France

Deep garnet. Charming, smooth and complex nose combining cherry, cigar, lead pencil and spices. Pulpy mouth wonderfully well balanced between firm and soft tannins. Ripe fruit of very beautiful quality. Its natural elegance will once again charm the most demanding taster. 90/100 

2001 HAUT-BRION

Pessac-Leognan-Graves - Bordeaux France

Dark ruby red to purple. From the start the nose is astonishingly complex: berries, ripe red fruit, smooth balsamic spices. Wonderful structure with a high level of accuracy. Dynamic balanced body with a rich finish characterized by a splendid ripe fruit. A bottle of great class.  93/100

2001 MOUTON-ROTHSCHILD

Pauillac - Bordeaux, France

Dark ruby colour. Spicy nose, oak and cedar. Crystallized fruit and light blond tobacco. Impressing development on the palate, while preserving a great freshness and a tightened texture, the wine is characterized by tasty tannins and elegance. Complex, long and opulent finish. A success for Mouton! 91/100 

2001 LAFITE-ROTHSCHILD

Pauillac - Bordeaux, France

Tasty flavours of raspberry, blackcurrant and roasted meat. The texture is absolutely remarkable; a perfect grip, gaining gradually up in power. Excellent medium to fully body and nicely balanced extraction of dark fruit. Very pure and concentrated. A benchmark for the Pauillac area. 92/100

 2001 LATOUR

Pauillac - Bordeaux, France

Dark garnet. Initially, a very reticent nose that gradually gave up notes of blackcurrant, spices, havana, cocoa and leather. Huge complexity. The fruit is really tasty. The grain of the tannins come close to perfection. Dense and tight, the structure is also incredibly soft and round in an almost perfect balance. Luminous! Long finish which proceeds in total harmony. Oh happiness! In my view, the wine of the evening. 95/100 

 2001 MARGAUX

Margaux - Bordeaux France

Compared to the other First Growths, Margaux 2001 offers the most expressive fragrances. Splendid ripe fruit, soft spices, 
soft oak, cinnamon, vanilla. A real treat! On the other hand, the structure seems softer than for Lafite or Latour. However, the body is fleshy with a beautiful volume. Fugacious impression of green pepper at the end of the mouth but overall, the wine remains intense and promissing.  91/100

  In short, I was positively surprised by the presented wine's high level of quality given the vintage's muted reputation. Admittedly, these samples were the best possible picks. Nevertheless, the quality of the fruit as well as their well balanced structures, curently give high expectations to those who purchased the best labels. I evaluate their maturity peak within a 15 to 25 years range for the very best.

Alain Bringolf - for ccvo-bg.org