I was lucky enough to taste the 2003 Bordeaux last March/April and I compiled this list of my top 10 wines. I tried to include some good QPR (Quality Price Ratio) in the list.

Best Wines I tasted:

1. Ausone - Absolutely magical, the best wine I had during the trip bar none. I don't have enough superlatives in my vocabulary to describe it.
2. Calon Segur - This was the 3rd Chateau I visited on the 1st day of the trip, after Cos and Montrose, and until I tasted Ausone, it was my benchmark. I would have wrote a check on the spot for 500 cases if I could, perfect fruit, tannin, acid, and finish balance. Stunning, still reasonable in price.
3. Margaux - Always my favorite 1st Growth. Perfect in every way. I think Chateau Margaux has been the best 1st growth in the last 25 years, since Paul Pontillier has been the winemaker. It continues its streak this year.

Other Noteable Wines

4. Brainaire Ducru - The UGCB tasting for Pauillac, St. Julien, and St. Estephe was held at Brainaire Ducru; so maybe they had a home field advantage, but I was very happy with their wine. I guess that should not surprise me to much, they have been on a hot streak lately. This is one of those wines that should probably be purchased on futures. You can get it at a great price and it should sell out very quickly
5. Pichon Lalande- While walking into the Chateau, we ran into Jean Michel Cazes who was just leaving, he seemed very excited about the wine and we soon found out why. The wine was super ripe. Almost to the point of being sweet but it was in balance. That was the amazing part about the flavors. I will not lie, Pichon Lalande has always been a personal favorite, It is soft and seductive, the high % of Merlot is in complete contrast to the other Medoc wines from the area, almost a Right Bank Medoc.

Now the QPR. No particular order.

6. Pedesclaux - This property had fallen on hard time recently, but I was lucky enough to sit next to the proprietors at a dinner in Bordeaux in 2003 and tasted some of thier recent vintages. I must say that the quality is on the way up. In a land of high dollar wines (Pauillac), Pedesclaux is a bargain.
7. Croix Beaucaillou - I tasted this wine at about 5pm on the first day. I have never been a big fan of it, but it was very good, so good in fact, I had dinner with a negoiciant right after my visit and bought 25 cases. (I tried to buy 50 but he was sold out.)
8. Moulin Haut Larouque - I found an interesting theme kept running through my tasting notes, which I did not have an explanation for. I found I really enjoyed Fronsac and Canon Fronsac wines in this vintage. For the life of me, I have never bought more that 1 wine from that region in a year, and this year, almost a dozen. Toward the end of the tastings, someone gave me an explantion which made perfect sense. It seems that Canon Fronsac and Fronsac, as the neighboring appelations, are slightly cooler than the rest of Bordeaux. So in a year which had terribly high temperatures, it turned out perfect there. The wines from those regions never had the demand to inflate prices, so there is a plethura of great wines for excellent prices from Fronsac, Canon Fronsac, Cote de Blaye, Cote de Francs. It may be anti-business, but these wines do not need to be bought on futures, I would recommend buying a mixed case of these wines and as soon as they are delivered, try them and immediately go back and buy cases of the ones you like. This is everyday drinking wine, not cellar wine.
9. Cadet Piola - A tasting was held at Chateau Tour du Pin Figeac, I think, for some St. Emilion estates. This was one of the stars of the group. It was just plain good.
10. Cap de Faugeres - The Cote de Castillon was a great source for great value Bordeaux wines a few years ago, but it seems that everyone has jumped on the bandwagon and you know what that means; prices are going up. This wine is still a relative bargain, under $20 and great tasting. The American palate seems more geared toward the right bank wines, hence the popularity of Merlot.

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