I can’t believe that this is my 500th post.  Time flies and the wines have been amazing.  I planned this post out as I just had a birthday and was going to open this bottle that night.  Turns out that Moxie had other plans and we went out to dinner where I ordered the amazing Barboursville Octagon 2009.  The Pichon was left to settle itself properly after a decade long slumber, to be paired with some serious slabs of beef and some spicy little sausages.

As I poured this wine I was trying to remember what it was like several years ago.  Young and immature?  Tannic and flabby?  Bordeaux from 2001 was overshadowed by the great 2000 vintage but many are proponents of its elegance and are amazed by its power.  This wine originally scored 92 or better from the pros and went for about $75.  It now retails at $125 or so and is nearly mature.  The colors of the initial pour surprised me a bit, a little bricking on the edges and slightly orange-purple in the glass.  Textbook Paulliac nose though, how I love it.  Cassis, leather, tobacco.  You name it, all rolled up in there.  The first sip was slightly thin for me unfortunately.  The fruit is fading whilst the tannins are in full force.  I let it sit for a while and started to enjoy the nuances of age a little more.  Plums, black currants, that telltale cassis and leather.  Heaven.  The wine is very juicy with a strong acidic streak to go with the fine grained tannins.  I can only hope and pray that this wine is in evolution, shedding the fruit and picking up the mature nuances we yearn for in an aged Classed Growth Bordeaux.  I am getting excited just thinking about the possibilities of the remaining 10 bottles I have.  If indeed the fruit is fading and nothing comes of the secondary flavors I will be devastated.  Perhaps I shall open a bottle every 6 months to gauge the progress?  5 stars from me and a 92 point effort, good luck finding some!  Salut….