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Chateau Potensac 2009


Medium ruby, tight rim. Complete notes from cassis, tobacco, cedar, leather, mineral, and graphite. The palate reflects the nose and gives a silky finish now. Elegant for the class. Moderate ABV for the standard. Good length. Best time to crack a bottle now.

Consistent comments from international tasters: 92RP, 92 Derek Smedley, 92 JS:

The 2009 Potensac has an attractive bouquet with blackberry, melted tar, black tea and graphite scents. Nicely defined, it may be slightly conservative, given the growing season. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannin and crisp acidity. Classic in style with fine graphite and cedar notes towards the finish, it is enjoyable now and over the next decade. 2021 - 2035. 92NM(for RP). Edited.

Sweet upfront black fruits give some weight to both nose and palate, refreshed by the fresher bilberry and black cherry at the back. The tannins are well-handled and provide support but not aggression. Drink 2016-2040. 92 Derek Smedley MW, April 20. Edited.

Maybe this isn't quite as stunning as the brilliant 2010 Potensac, but it's a ripe and classic Médoc with great cassis fruit, medium body and supple tannins making for a very flexible food wine. Drink or hold. (Horizontal Tasting, London, 2019). 92JS. Edited.

Chateau Branaire Ducru 2011 Revisited

Updated: Jul 10, 2024


The following are the latest notes from William Kelley, who is now writing for Wine Advocate. He describes the 2011 Branaire-Ducru as an underrated wine that has matured past its initial austerity and offers exceptional enjoyment. Priced at $500 to $700 in the current Hong Kong market, this wine presents aromas of sweet cassis, earthy soil, cigar wrapper, and elegant new oak. It is medium to full-bodied, with layered and concentrated flavours balanced by powdery tannins and lively acidity. Despite initial doubts, in a blind tasting, it was mistaken for the estate's 2010 vintage. It is recommended for enjoyment between 2021 and 2045, receiving a rating of 92+ from RP.


Earning a rating of 94, Wine Enthusiast describes this as not just a good wine but one of the best from the chateau. It features a dense fruit profile, a robust and complex structure, blackberry and plum notes, a rich and generous character, and fine tannins. In 2018, Wine Enthusiast acknowledged its exceptional quality with the 94WE rating, testifying to its excellence and instilling confidence in its selection.


The French palate VindeVert awarded 94 points, inviting consumers to savour the wine's fruity and mineral nose with a deep concentration. It uncovers ripe strawberry and blackberry notes with hints of other black fruits, cornflower, and small blue fruits. The wine offers a harmonious balance of fruitiness, freshness, and minerality, with a precise and acidic frame. On the palate, it expresses fleshy blackberry and ripe wild raspberry notes and ripe small berries, dry violet, rose, and hints of minerality, mushroom, tobacco, and cardamom. The wine's elegant, well-built tannins contribute to its overall experience, confirming its outstanding taste and engaging qualities, earning a 94VertdeVin rating.


Falstaff awarded this wine 94 points, describing it as an intense ruby garnet with violet reflections and a delicate ocher rim. It exudes ripe plums, hints of herbs and spices, and a delicate animal scent. Medium-bodied, with subtle blackberry confit, integrated, spicy tannins, mineral notes, and a hint of sweet fruit on the finish. Its versatility as a food accompaniment, acknowledged by its 92Falstaff rating, promises to open up a world of culinary possibilities.

Camensac 2006

Updated: Nov 6, 2022

These are the spices that emerge from this Château de Camensac 2006. This is a nice Haut Médoc Cru Classé with fresh cassis fruit, roasted aromas, and peppery notes, which is delightful on the palate and has a typical character. of the region. It will be enjoyed with beautiful red meat to sublimate it even more. Thanks to the oenologists Michel Rolland and Eric Boissenot, this Haut Médoc is a wine that gives cru quality and excellent value. It is persistent in the mouth. Medium-bodied; with reasonably long length. The best score is 91 from Gilbert & Gaillard


This is a consolidation of the tasting and papers

written from 2006 to 2013. These write-ups had been with the orginal site Wine and Beyond, Yahoo, until the service stopped by Yahoo in September 2013.

 

For years I have been working with wines, either buying it, selling it to wine companies, lecturing and writing about it, and, not unimportantly, enjoying it with friends. If any of the articles on this site are worth reading it is due to my teachers, my mentors, my peers and friends, my students, and in particularly my editors who ignite in me a desire to communicate in wines.

 

Clinging to the trellis of wine, I started to get more and more involved with estates and winemakers, by supporting them with consultancy in communication and marketing. The more I spend my time outside Hong Kong, the more I sense a desire to be part of the international wine family.

 

Writing about wine represents a moment of reflection, curiosity, atitudes and a desire to analyse often hidden structures and history, in an effort to make the wealth of wine accessible to a targetted, and hopefully larger audience.

 

I am not sure if I can wine proivde more accessible to all through this blog. But I am sure to write in wine means being involved in wine and  to remain as impartial and objective as possible.

 

Kevin Tang.

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