It was fascinating to taste such a wide range of 2002 red bordeaux so soon after looking at so many of the same 2004s about which I was enthusiastic. (See overview and tasting notes on about 90 2004s.) I’m afraid that this tasting of 2002s, organised in London by the Institute of Masters of Wine, was much less inspiring than the UGC tasting of 2004s. The wines in general seemed very stolid. Like the 2004s, they displayed high levels of acidity but many of them seemed to lack lift, zest and fruity core to counterbalance this, and the tannins were...