Delicious Bordeaux wines at wallet-friendly prices

Transcription

1 bkwine.co m m/features/tastings/delicio us-bo rdeaux-wines-wallet-friendly-prices/ Delicious Bordeaux wines at wallet-friendly prices Carl-Erik Kanne Grand Cercle des Vins de Bordeaux at the Grand Hôtel The vast majority of wine producers in Bordeaux make wines at very reasonable prices, and often of very good quality. Unfortunately on tends too easily to only think of the now very expensive classified chateaux in the Medoc, Graves and Saint Emilion and their un-classified but equally famous cousins in Pomerol. It is a mistake to believe that all of Bordeaux is at this exalted level of prices. Unfortunately, the chateau in the medium price range, say between 10 and 25 euro have difficulties getting noticed (not least in Sweden where there is a big monopoly buyer). But now Le Grand Cercle has decided to change this. T hey came in force to Stockholm and presented their wines. BKWine s Carl-Erik Kanne was there and tasted. He gathered a lot of recommendations on excellent Bordeaux wines for reasonable monies! Grand Cercle des vins de Bordeaux, is the imposing title of a new association of wine producers in Bordeaux with the intention to promote wines f rom both the lef t and the right bank of the Gironde / Garonne. T he association has been created thank to the enthusiast Alain Raynaud who wanted to bring together the ef f orts made by the Cercle Rive Droite and Cercle Rive Gauche. Cercle Rive Droite was established in July 2002 and represents a sample of about 140 estates whose keyword is excellence. The sister organization Cercle Rive Gauche was f ormed in 2013 and currently includes some 50 estates specially selected f or their high quality wines.

2 This, the younger the Chate au Thie ule y, Entre -d e ux-me rs, Bo rd e aux, co p yrig ht BKWine Pho to g rap hy organization, is supposed to be able to take advantage of the work already done in the older one to promote good wines f rom Medoc, Graves, Sauternes and Barsac. The tasting intended to showcase many high quality Bordeaux wines available at af f ordable prices. It can perhaps be seen as a reaction against the increasingly expensive prestige wines f rom the more wellknown chateaux. Grand Cercle des Vins de Bordeaux thus consists of the entire 188 properties in 31 dif f erent appellations! It illustrates well that even in Bordeaux a lot has happened in recent years f or example by f ormer volume f ocussed areas raising quality and now classif ied in their own smaller AOC areas. The best example is the f ormer big Entre-Deux-Mers between the rivers Garonne and Dordogne, which now contains a large number of small appellations. Producers in le Grand Cercle have a shared vision of excellence and a desire to express their wines unique personalities. Members also have a common ethical approach to the handling of grapes and wines and how wines are marketed. The wines are quality assured by a tasting twice a year and receive a special stamp that may be placed on a wine label. The tasters are independent and the tastings are blind. So f ar, the GJE (Grand Jury Européen) has done the tastings. T hey have adopted the Parker 100-point scale f or comparability. Anyone who is interested in more details about the Cercle Rive Droite can f ind it here: Cercle Rive Droite and le Grand cercle is so young that they are not yet online. The Circle comes to Stockholm

3 Some 40 producers had responded f avourably to the invitation to exhibit in the Hall of Mirrors at the Grand Hotel in Stockholm, and more than 100 wines were available to taste. A veritable challenge as very much was very good. But if I take the reds f irst and start f rom the southeast on the right bank so I come to Bordeaux côtes In Sainte-Foy Bordeaux we have Château Hostens- Picant: their 2010 has lovely f ruit and good f reshness and length in the f inish that bode well f or the next years. This wine is 56 % merlot and 44 % cabernet f ranc which are organically grown. It also produces white wines (see below). Straight to the west bef ore we reach the Garonne, we f ind Cadillac Côtes de Bordeaux and Château Clos Chamont f rom the years 2011, 2010 and 2009, and 2004, all with a blend of merlot and cabernet sauvignon. Interesting contrasts between vintages and stages of development cooler character compared against the hot vintages 2009 and I f ound the 2009 more elegant, while the 2010 had a lot of power and good balance to f or a good f uture development. Chate au Ho ste ns-picant,, Sainte -Fo y, Bo rd e aux, co p yrig ht BKWine Pho to g rap hy Chate au Cad illac in e ve ning sunlig ht, Bo rd e aux, co p yrig ht BKWine Pho to g rap hy Fronsac, once more prestigious than Pomerol

4 Turning the nose to the northeast, we see the small Fronsac area and the even smaller Canon-Fronsac on the other side of the Dordogne. Here I f irst f ound Chateau Dalem whose 2010 contained very dark f ruit and nice barrel character, good structure and a long smooth f inish. 90% merlot, 10% cabernet f ranc f rom 45 year old vines. Fermentation in cement tanks f or 3-4 weeks. 18 months of ageing in a mixture of new and old barriques. Also exciting f rom Fronsac was the property Haut Carles where the new owners of a f ew years, Constance and Stéphane Droulers, try to restore the reputation of Fronsac wines as better than Pomerol. As was the prestige ranking of the two regions during much of the 1800s! Both Jean-Luc T hunevin and Alain Raynaud have been involved in this project. The wine, Haut Carles Fronsac, made f rom 90% merlot, 5% cabernet f ranc and 5% malbec did not disappoint. Very good f ruit concentration, strong tannins and high acidity. An impressive wine, especially af ter a f ew more years in the cellar. Brig itte Rullie r-lo usse rt, o wne r o f Chate au Dale m, Fro nsac, Bo rd e aux, co p yrig ht BKWine Pho to g rap hy From the very small Canon Fronsac appellation came Château Les Roches Gaby 2010 which may be regarded as belonging to the modern-style Bordeaux wines with a sof t, f ruity style at a great price (around 15 euros in Sweden). Chate au Dale m, Fro nsac, Bo rd e aux, co p yrig ht BKWine Pho to g rap hy Pomerol and its satellites

5 Next door to Fronsac, to the east, lies f irst Pomerol, perhaps best known f or its Chateau Pétrus. But there is f ortunately much more than that to choose f rom. For example, the Château Siaurac whose 2010 had great promises of good years ahead. The property has the same owner as Le Prieuré in St. Emilion (see below), Aline Guichard. If we continue in Pomerol we f ind Clos Vieux Taillefer, whose 2010 was promising with good structure and a f ine long taste. The Château Fayat 2010 f elt very approachable already now which is not so strange when you consider that Jean Luc Thunevin has been a partner and is now a consultant to the property. He is very f ond of f resh f ruit! In the neighbouring commune of Lalande de Pomerol I f ound Château Perron La Fleur 2009: a bottle with concentrated dark f ruit f rom 100 % merlot f rom 65-year-old vines. It needs a f ew more years in the cellar to be really enjoyable. Saint Emilion Af ter Pomerol we move on to St. Emilion. It may be worth recalling that the classif ication here dif f ers f rom that in the Medoc. From 1954 it was divided into three groups, unlike the 5 Médoc groups of The three in St. Emilion (last updated 2012) are 1er Grand Cru Classé (with 18 chateau, with the variants A and B ), Grand Cru Classé (64 chx), and Grand Cru. Others are ref erred to as simply St. Emilion AOC. There were several Grand Cru Classés to taste, such as Château La Marzelle with a variety of vintages. 2003an was wonderf ul to drink now. T he estates Château La Commanderie and Clos des Jacobins have the same owners / winemakers, T hibault and Magali Decoster. Since they bought the properties they have completed thorough renovations of the f acilities to improve quality. The Commanderies 2009 with 80 % merlot and 20 % cabernet f ranc is delicious to drink young with lots of sof t f ruit and balanced tannins. Jacobin presented a 2006 which was f ull of dark f ruit, a very well-balanced wine enjoyable now and f or years to come. Another well-made wine of the 2009 vintage came f rom Château Fleur Cardinale (45 euro in Sweden): 70 % merlot and 15 % each of cabernet f ranc and cabernet sauvignon. Clo s d e s Jaco b ins, Saint Emilio n, Bo rd e aux, co p yrig ht BKWine Pho to g rap hy Also deserving mention was Clos Les Grand Verse Annes in 2008, made f rom grapes f rom 50-year-old vines. A wine with lots of concentration; Château La Grangère 2009; and last but not least, the second wine of Château Le Prieuré, Délice du Prieuré f rom 2011, delicious to drink now in his youth.

6 West, Mag ali and Thib aut De co ste r o f Clo s d e s Jaco b ins, Saint Emilio n, Bo rd e aux, co p yrig ht BKWine Pho to g rap hy towards the left bank of the river Af ter this excursion on the Right Bank with merlot dominating in the cuvées it was time to visit the producers of reds on the Lef t Bank, notably Medoc and its surroundings. The wines are mostly dominated by cabernet sauvignon and they f elt generally tighter and less approachable now compared to their cousins on the other side. Although none of the classif ied grand cru wines were represented in this collection I still f elt that the quality level of those represented was high and promising well f or the f uture. Along the Médoc and Pessac-Léognan If I have to select a f ew it will be Chateau d Agassac f rom Haut-Médoc; the wines were f rom 2010, 2009, and 2007 where the 2007 impressed already today, with almost 50% merlot. Fruity, well balanced with sof t tannins, to be enjoyed now and in the f uture. Both the 2009 and the 2010 promised more pleasures in the f uture. Another property that departed f rom the traditional Médoc was Château Rollan de By, unusual in that it uses a high proportion of merlot. But this is less surprising when considering that Alain Raynaud is a consultant. The 2010 contains 70 % merlot and f elt like a good companion to a rare entrecote today. But it also has great f uture potential in the cellar. (Available f or around 20 euro in Sweden.) The owner, the architect Jean Guyon, also owns several other estates in the Médoc in what is called the Domaines de Rollan de By, including Chateau Haut Condissas who was represented by both a 2008 (45-50 euro in Sweden) and a Both glorious examples of a young Bordeaux. The 2009 in particular with great aging potential. From Moulis in central Medoc, I f ound a nice wine in the f orm of Château Brillette and their 2009 with 50/50 merlot/cabernet sauvignon.

7 T he Lurton f amily was represented by three estates in Pessac-Léognan (see more below) where I thought the Château Cruzeau 2010 f elt to give most value f or money, but it is unf ortunately not available in Sweden yet. What could then be more appropriate than to f inish the red part of the tasting with yet one more wine f rom Margaux, namely Chateau d Arsac 2011 showing great potential with power and concentration of f ruit today? Would be interesting serve it with a red piece of meat. But it will probably be even more into its own af ter a f ew years in the cellar. A White Afternoon The dry white wines were pretty sparse, but a f ew deserve mention here. I start with Château T hieuley Cuvée Francis Courselle 2010 made f rom 50/50 sauvignon blanc and sémillon giving good f resh acidity and also body with nice hint of vanilla f rom the oak barrels. A beautif ul f ood wine in traditional Bordeaux style. Back to where our red exploration, started in the appellation Sainte-Foy- Bordeaux, I return to the producer Château Hostens-Picant who also of f ered a well-made wine f rom semillon / sauvignon blanc with a little muscadelle. Fresh, f ruity with a good round mouth-f eel f rom caref ul use of oak. Château Le Sartre in Pessac-Léognan presented a small white gem f rom (Approx. 20 euro in Sweden.) Sylvie Co urce lle o f Chate au Thie ule y, Entre -d e ux-me rs, Bo rd e aux, co p yrig ht BKWine Pho to g rap hy

8 From the larger Graves region we are af ter all spoiled with many great white f ood wines. Chateau Brondelle Grand Vin 2011 was no exception. From the same area, AOC Graves, the Lurton f amily was well represented with three producers in dif f erent price and quality ranges where Château de Rochemorin started at the lowest level and Chateau Couhins-Lurton was the highest. In between, there was the Château de Cruzeau whose 2010 was a very typical sauvignon blanc wine. (Rochemorin blanc 2009 available f or around 16 euro and Couhins-Lurton blanc f or some 30 euro in Sweden.) Sweets in Sauternes With the palate well-exercised by all the tannins f rom the many red goodies, it f elt nice to rinse out and take on the sweets f rom Sauternes. Here were both Château Raymond Lafon and Chateau Closiot represented, both with 2009s and although the latter def ended the colours of Sauternes very well the f ormer had more of everything and above all a lovely tension between high acidity and sweetness accompanied by botrytis aromas! Je an No e l Be llo c, Chate au Bro nd e lle, G rave s, co p yrig ht BKWine Pho to g rap hy Buy and f orget in the cellar!

9 The circle Chate au Raymo nd Lafo n, Me slie r family, Saute rne s, Bo rd e aux, co p yrig ht BKWine Pho to g rap hy closes In conclusion, it is interesting to note how the pendulum swings between lef t and right, not just in politics. Interest in the right river bank increases as the prices on the lef t go up, af ter having lived f or a long time in the shadows of their more f amous lef t bank neighbour. If we go back to the 14th century and just over a century onwards, when the British practically owned Bordeaux, all production was concentrated on the right bank and its hinterland upstream. Medoc was not even on the map as a wine region. Carl-Erik Kanne is a long time wine enthusiast and fervent wine taster. He reports from wine tastings and wine events in Stockholm for BKWine Magazine. Delving deeper in Bordeaux Perhaps the best way to discover all these goodies, and similar wines, available in Bordeaux is to go there yourself and visit the vineyards. On a wine tour with BKWine to Bordeaux you will experience many visits to highly skilled winemakers! You will have unique opportunities to meet the winemakers and taste the wines. Travel to the wine country with the experts on wine and the specialist in wine travel! The of f icial video f rom the event: The full list of participants in the tasting From the lef t bank: Medoc Château Haut Condissas Château Greysac Château Patache d Aux

10 Château Rollan de By Château Tour Séran Moulis Château Brillette Margaux Château d Arsac Haut-Médoc Château d Agassac Château Clément Pichon Château Liversan Graves Château Brondelle Pessac-Léognan Château Couhins Lurton Château de Cruzeau Château Haut Lagrange Château de Rochemorin Château Le Sartre Sauternes Château Closiot Château Raymond Laf on Barsac Château de Myrat From the right bank: Bordeaux Château T hieuley Bordeaux Supérieur Grand Vin de Reignac & Balthus Sainte Foy de Bordeaux Château Hostens-Picant Cadillac Côtes de Bordeaux Château Clos Chaumont Castillon Côtes de Bordeaux

11 Château de Laussac Fronsac Château Dalem Château Fontenil Haut Carles Canon Fronsac Château Gaby Pomerol Château Fayat Clos Vieux Taillef er Château Vray Croix de Gay Lalande de Pomerol Château Jean de Gué Château Perron la Fleur Château Siaurac Saint Emilion Grand Cru Clos Dubreuil Château Godeau Château Grand Corbin Manuel Clos les Grandes Versannes Château La Grangère Château du Parc Château Rol Valentin Saint Emilion Grand Cru Classé Château La Commanderie Château Fleur Cardinale Clos des Jacobins Château La Marzelle Château Le Prieuré Montagne Saint Emilion Château Faizeau Château Messile Aubert Lussac Saint Emilion Château La Rose Perrière

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