Cercle de Rive Droite
This was one of the first tastings of the week, on the Sunday afternoon at Chateau de Carles in Fronsac. It was also one of the most instructive, because it quickly became apparent that the 2009 wines were not quite as straightforward as imagined. Personally, I was surprised by the quality of the Bordeaux/Bordeaux Superieur wines, and it was only as you headed up the scale that things became more varied. It seemed that as chateaux got better quality raw materials, the temptation to push them too far became tougher to resist. Stephen Spurrier, Decanter’s consultant editor, commented that the lesser wines in this tasting were ‘really fun to drink’, and I would definitely agree. I didn’t taste these blind by the way – there were over 130 wines, and would have found it tough to be fair to quite so many wines in one three hour afternoon session. I tasted around 90 of them in total.
RED WINES
Chateau Penin, Bordeaux Superieur
This is a great start to the tasting. Really a delicious wine, really full of rich purple fruits, good flesh, nice acidity, well balanced. A seriously good wine from owner Patrick Carteyron, one of the best I have tasted from this already very good estate. Tastes more expensive than it will inevitably be when on the market. 100% Merlot. 91+.
Chateau Pey la Tour Reserve, Bordeaux Superieur
This is good stuff from a very reliable property, owned by Dourthe negociant house. A little less exuberant than the some on display here, but still very accomplished. 90% Merlot, 5% Cab Sauvignon, 3% Petit Verdot, 2% Cabernet Franc. 90.
Chateau Sainte Barbe, Bordeaux Superieur
Again, very impressive from this Bordeaux Superieur property owned by Antoine Touton. Lovely weight of fruit, and nice fresh finish. Ever ever so slightly drying tannins at the very end, but enough fruit that this should soften nicely, and an attractive touch of liquorice root. 80% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Cabernet Franc. 91.
Chateau Sainte Marie, Entre deux Mers (but this red wine AOC Bordeaux Superieur)
More gooseberry, less successful because the fruit is slightly more withdrawn, more of a typical Bordeaux Sup really, but again, a nice fruity finish. 86% Merlot, 27% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Petit Verdot. 88-89.
Lucullus, Saint Foy Bordeaux
The top cuvee of Chateau Hostens-Picant, owned by Yves Hostens-Picant. This is the first one where the extraction is a little over the top, but having said that, there is a lovely wall of fruit supporting it, and a nice lift at the end. In fact, very good, once it has had time to settle. 91. (The main chateau wine, the Hosten-Picant itself, is not as good, a little hollow in the mid palate and generally less impressive. 87.).
Chateau Clos Chaumont, Cadillac Cotes de Bordeaux
Interesting wine, with very much with its own personality. Owned by Pieter Verbeek, this has a lovely charm, and good redcurrant fruits (60% merlot, 22% cabernet franc, 18% cabernet sauvignon), with a nice tingle of freshness. It doesn’t have enormous complexity, but you would be very happy with this in your glass. Hubert de Bouard is consultant here. 91.
Chateau Le Doyenne, Cadillac Cotes de Bordeaux
Slightly less interesting against the (stiff) competition on display here. A little too extracted, which has dried things out. The fruit is fresh but not overwhelmingly seductive. 70% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon. 88.
Chateau Mont Perat, Cadillac Cotes de Bordeaux
A big wine from the Despagne family, an injection of fruit and tannins, but a good precise finish, everything comes together on a well defined point. Perhaps a little too hot in alcohol, which throws things a little out of balance. 70% Merlot, 10% Cab Franc, 20% cab Sauvignon. 90+.
Alix de Chateau Plaisance, Cadillac Cotes de Bordeaux
I like this wine, from Philippe Magrez (son of Bernard Magrez. He also does the PR for his father’s wine in the Asian market) Again, it is fairly intense, fairly extracted, but here this is all held together by a very nice burst of freshness. 70% Merlot, 25% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Cabernet Franc. As an aside, Robert Joseph recently asked Bernard if his son would take over the family business. To which Magrez replied ‘s’il a des tripes– If he has the guts’. 90
Chateau Reynon, Cadillac Cotes de Bordeaux
Surprising how good all these wines are. This is very good value, and lovely dense fruit, easily one of the best wines I have ever tasted from this estate (owned by Denis and Florence Dubourdieu), without a doubt. 92.
Chateau Haut Bertinerie, Blaye Cotes de Bordeaux
A reliable Blaye estate owned by the Bantegnies family. More subdued on the fruit than many in this tasting, but that gives it an elegance and a touch of softness that is very appealing. It really sits with you for a while, and is very charming. 90+.
Chateau Cotes Montpezat, Castillon Cotes de Bordeaux
From the Castillon region, this is too high in alcohol for me, without the balance of many, and has overworked the vintage. 70% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon. 87-88.
Chateau Cap de Faugeres, Castillon Cotes de bordeaux
Another Castillon wine that for me just has too much extraction. A shame, because I often like the wines from this estate (owned by Silvio Denz, and the site of a beautiful new winery). The fruit is dense, but the oak is too insistent. May just need some time, but up against this highly impressive tasting, it falls down. 89+.
Chateau Joanin Becot, Castillon Cotes de Bordeaux
A good 12 hectare estate owned by Juliette Becot. This is really a lovely wine, showing that not everyone in Castillon pushed things too far. Silky, rich red fruits, it really slips down terribly easily, but has an elegant fresh finish. 75% Merlot, 25% Cabernet Franc. 92.
Chateau de Laussac, Castillon Cotes de Bordeaux
Different flavour palate, more gooseberries and loganberries than cherries and damsons. But this has a strangely hollow mid-palate, and the tannins are less well integrated. 75% Merlot, 25% Cabernet Franc. 87-88.
Clos Puy Arnaud, Castillon Cotes de Bordeaux
Wonderfully rich colour, very joyful. And this has a delicacy and a purity that is really remarkable. 65% Merlot, 30% cabernet Franc, 3% Cab Sauvignon, 2% Carmanere. Biodynamic. 93.
Chateau de Franc, Les Cerisiers, Francs Cotes de Bordeaux
Leading estate of this tiny appellation, owned by Hubert de Bouard and Dominique Hebrard. Coffee, mocha, good fruit, all in all very pleasurable. 80% Merlot, 10% cab Franc, 10% Cab Sauvignon. 91-92.
Chateau Dalem, Fronsac
Very extracted, heading towards over extracted, and this is big in alcohol. But all in all, this holds things together, and has good layers of coffee and rich dark chocolate. A big wine, making full use of its 90% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc. 90-91.
Chateau Marsau, Francs Cotes de Bordeaux
Owned by Jean Marie Chadronnier, this is 100% Merlot, but it has been quite heavily worked, and deliver impact without enough freshness for me. It’s good, but not my favourite here. 89.
Chateau de la Dauphine, Fronsac
Lovely nose, crisp and fairly restrained. Good length, and very suave. Not perhaps as good as the 2005 from this estate, but still enormously impressive value for money. 80% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc. 91+.
Chateau Fontenil, Fronsac
A Michel Rolland wine, a fact that is clearly marked all over the label. Good start to the wine, but somehow the finish falls too short, and the extraction gets the better of the fruit. 90% Merlot, 10% Cab Sauvignon. 88+.
Chateau Haut Ballet, Fronsac
A good wine from the increasingly high profile Olivier Decelle. This is also 100% Merlot, and is very soft, you kind of melt into it. It doesn’t quite stand up to some of the others on display, but there is a lot of charm, and this will offer easy-drinking pleasure. 89.
Chateau Haut Carles, Fronsac
A property that has seen serious investment in recent years – this is the top cuvee of Chateau Carles, where the tasting is taking place. The wine has power, and is full of tight tannins (consultant is Jean Luc Thunevin). Needs a long time to soften, and clearly aimed at ageing and a long life, but it does have the elements to stack up. Liquorice and coffee abound. But for me it lacks some charm. 90% Merlot, 5% Cab Franc, 5% Malbec. 90-91.
Chateau de La Riviere, Fronsac
Owned by James Gregoire, who now also owns Vintex wine merchants. 82% Merlot, 13% Cab Sauvignon, 4% Cab Franc, 1% Malbec. Nice length, and very good build up in the mouth. I like this. Doesn’t have as much lift on the finish as some (despite the wonderful limestone terroir that Gregoire, has, so that’s a shame). Having said that, this is accomplished, with very silky and well worked red fruits. Good length, no harsh edges, and very enjoyable. 91.
Chateau du Gaby, Fronsac
Pretty, charming, you’d be very happy to be drinking this, but it has less depth than some others on offer in this tasting. 85% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Cabernet Franc. 89-90.
Chateau La Vieille Cure, Fronsac
Good powerful fruits, nice lift on the finish, slightly over-intrusive tannins but it keeps everything together, and you can feel this will develop nicely over the coming year. Good. 90-91.
Chateau de Chambrun, Lalande de Pomerol
Very different from the Fronsacs. This is deeper, more solid, slightly brooding. Less of a fun experience, but this is certainly impressive in scope, with good layers of black fruits, at good ripeness. Again a Silvio Denz property. 94% Melot, 6% Cab Franc. 90.
Chateau La Fleur de Bouard, Lalande de Pomerol
85% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc, 5% Cab Sauvignon. Lovely, lovely fruit, that gently insists, in the manner of a Jackie Collin’s hero in Lace. Really a nice wine, very very enjoyable. I tasted this again at Angelus, and found it just as enjoyable. 93.
Chateau Jean de Gue, Lalande de Pomerol
Charming crisp fruit and very strong roasted coffee beans, you could be spooning a butterscotch angel delight into your mouth here. Lovely wine, from the Aubert family of Ch La Couspaude in Saint Emilion – and no doubt far more keenly priced. 75% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc, 5% Cabernet Sauvignon. 91.
Ch Perron la fleur, Lalande de Pomerol
This is more structured, more held together than others in the tasting. Owner Bertrand Massonie has planted 80% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc, 10% Cab Sauvignon over his small 5 hectare vineyard. As with many of these wines, you are looking for the faults. The alcohol and tannin level is high, that is sure, but it’s well balanced. 90.
Chateau La Sergue, Lalande de Pomerol
85% Merlot, 5% Malbec, 5% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Cabernet Franc, owned by Pascal Chatonnet. This is a very intense wine, the fruit is like pure, very intense, like the filling of a hot blueberry pie. It may whack everything else out a little – you have fruit, alcohol, oh and fruit and alcohol. But it’s got ambition. 90.
Chateau Siaurac, Lalande de Pomerol
I like the fruit expression on this, which flirts with you a little before fully revealing itself. There is a nice play of red fruits, redcurrants and cherries, with a crisper gooseberry underneath. Good length Full disclosure here, my husband is third cousins with owner Paul Goldsmidt, but they only discovered that fact 12 months ago and I was giving this wine good points way before! Good value – this is not one of the most expensive Lalande de Pomerols. 91-92.
Chateau Tournefeuille, Lalande de Pomerol
70% Merlot, 30% Cab Franc. This veers into slightly candy territory, a bit overmade. Sorry Emeric Petit, I think it will have definite admirers, and it’s a popular style, but it’s a little sweet for me. 70% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Franc. 88.
Chateau de Viaud, Lalande de Pomerol
Philippe Raoux’s property (owner of Chateau d’Arsac over in the Medoc), with 67% Merlot, 27% Cabernet Franc, 6% Cabernet Sauvignon. The classic crushed violet nose is there if you look closely, but this somehow manages to be more clunky, less interesting than the others on display here. I have tasted better vintages from this estate. 87.
Chateau Beau Soleil, Pomerol
Owner Thierry Rustman work 3.5 hectares of vines, and makes this 100% Merlot. It’s got very ripe fruit (the sunshine in the name clearly is referring to a microclimate), but in fact is a bit flat overall, needs more of a lift on the finish to avoid the feeling of over-extraction. Shame. 89.
Chateau Bellegrave, Pomerol
This has more body, and more lift on the finish. Incredibly dense fruit, black cherries, damsons, good grip and a lovely minty lift of the finish. Gorgeous effort from owner Jean-Marie Bouldy. 75% Merlot, 25% Cabernet Franc. 93-94.
Chateau Bonalgue, Pomerol
This is good, nice weight of fruit, it builds nicely and is quite understated, unlike some years where this is a very flamboyant wine. But this is very good, with great potential. Owned by Pierre and Jean-Baptiste Bourotte, with 95% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc. 92+.
Chateau le Bon Pasteur, Pomerol
So ripe as to be very hot, high in alcohol and lacking balance. This is not a good calling card for Rolland this year, and I preferred to 2008 at this estate. Yes there is fruit there, and there is certainly extraction and power, but where is the elegance? 80% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc. 89.
Chateau Bourgneuf Vayron, Pomerol
Lovely. Lots of layers, plenty of complexity, some gently toasted almonds and coffee beans. Slightly too sweet on the finish for me, I prefer a bit of a minty lift, but this is good stuff. 90% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc. 91.
Chateau La Clemence, Pomerol
I love the nose, there is a definite tang of juicy fruit and cherry blossom. A touch over-worked on the palate though, with some over-intrusive oak that needs to settle down over the next year. Good, but no cigar. 85% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Franc. 90-91.
Chateau Clos de Clocher, Pomerol
Another Pomerol estate from Pierre and Jean Baptiste Bourotte. This is fleshy and voluptuous, more of a style that I find in Bonalgue normally. But really very successful. Delicately floral nose from the cabernet franc, no harsh tannins, good length, very seductive. 70% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Franc. 93.
Chateau La Croix, Pomerol
Redcurrant and gooseberry on the nose, a flavour that I have found on a number of good Pomerols this year. Love that flavour. This is gorgeous. A Janoueix wine – increasingly a name to look out for on the Right Bank, at all price levels. 60% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon – this gives it more gravitas, but a little less flirtatious fun. Only drawback for me is that this is evidently high in alcohol. 93-94.
Clos de l’Eglise, Pomerol
Chewy, concentrated tannins. This has lovely backbone, very good freshness, and a lot of power. Good coffee beans and dark, bitter chocolate. This is awesomely good, easily one of the best in the tasting. Owned by Sylviane Garcin-Cathiard and Helene Garcin-Leveuque (owners also of Haut Bergey in Pessac Leognan, with Alain Raynaud as consultant here). 80% Melrot, 20% Cabernet Franc. 95+.
Domaine de l’Eglise, Pomerol
Again very good, nice coffee aromas, but not the punch of the Clos L’Eglise. Owned by Philippe Casteja, this has 95% Merlot and 5% Cabernet Franc. 92.
Chateau Fayat, Pomerol
Clement Fayat, owner of La Dominique in Saint Emilion also. That is extracted to within an inch of its life. It does finally soften out with the fruit, but the extraction is distracting. 60% Merlot, 40% Cabernet Franc. 91.
Chateau Feytit Clinet, Pomerol
Owned by Jeremy Chasseuil. Not a well known Pomerol wine, but charming, and I really like it. Good coffee, nice freshness, interesting complexity. 91.
Chateau La Fleur de Gay, Pomerol
Lovely nose, toasted oak, roasted coffee beans, percolating coffee, yum. Really nice, very exciting wine, plenty of balance, it head towards over alcohol, but pulls itself back. A very big wine, but full of swagger. 100% Merlot from Alain Reynaud and his wife Chantal Lebreton. 94-95.
Chateau Mazeyres, Pomerol
A reliable, unflashy wine from Alain Moueix. It’s not quite as enjoyable as I’d hoped from this estate – there is good weight of fruit, nice freshness, but doesn’t quite deliver the sexiness that the best Pomerols seem to have this year. 91.
Chateau Montviel, Pomerol
Big, concentrated, very good wine from Catherine Pere Verge and consultant Michel Rolland. These are wines that you have to pay attention to. I like this, but don’t love it - all the component parts to be a solid performer is here, but it isn’t yet taking off. However, I just tasted a number of older vintages of Montviel, and it certain seems to reach greatness more often than not, so I am definitely prepared to give it time. 80% Merlot, 20% Cab Franc. 91.
Chateau le Moulin, Pomerol
Good, sweet oak, lots of plump fruits, very modern in style, very crowd pleasing, could have a little more elegance and a little more terroir. But still, this is flashy and exuberant and very good quality. 80% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc from owner Michel Querre. Very nice finish, it sits in the mouth for a while, and builds to a rousing finish. Good. 93.
Chateau Rouget, Pomerol
Owned by Jean Pierre Labrueyere and his son Edouard, a Burgundy family who have vineyards both in Burgundy and Bordeaux (and follow a Burgundian philosophy to a large extent, with everything very small scale, natural and precise – often the malo hasn’t even finished by the primeurs, although this year it seems to have done). The grapes mix is 85% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Franc. Good crisp fruit, it still needs some time to soften up, but this is really very successful. Bright purple fruits, very tight, very held together, enormously pleasurable, and far from being ready to approach. 94.
Chateau Taillefer, Pomerol
Owned by Catherine Moueix. 75% Merlot, 25% Cabernet Franc. Smoky oak, slightly sweet blackcurrant fruits. This is less cohesive for me than some of the samples of display. It’s good, but there is stiff competition. 75% Melrot, 25% Cabernet Franc. 90.
Chateau Vieux Mallet, Pomerol
90% Merlot, 10% Cab Franc from Herve Laviale of Franc Mayne in Saint Emilion, and right now investing seriously in this estate. It’s a bit over-oaked (but no surprise there, this is often a signature of this family of wines), and a touch over-pedalled on the extraction. But there is good stuff underneath, enough plump fruits, to carry it through, and an excellent lift on the finish. 91+.
Chateau Vray Croix de Gay, Pomerol
75% Merlot, 25% Cabernet Franc. This is a lovely from the Goldscmidt family (and incidentally one of the wines that will be affected by the Pomerol ruling that says all estates must vinify in the appellation by 2018). There is a l.o.t of alcohol, but good balance, incredibly well toasted coffee beans, and really very charming. Very nice finish, a good lift on the finish. 93.
Chateau de Pressac, Saint Emilion Grand Cru
Good quality, lots of understated elegance at first, but actually quite a showy wine once it starts to assert itself. Quiet confidence from Jean Francois Quenin, like it – will need some time to fully reveal itself. 72% Merlot, 13% Cab Franc, 12% Cab Sasuvignon, 1% Pressac, 2% Carmanere. 92.
Chateau Quinault, Saint Emilion Grand Cru
Very slick, very well made, full of smooth, rich coffee. New owners Alberet Frere and Bernard Arnault showing their intentions here. This is impressive, but it is ever so slightly a+b=c, not as interesting as it could have been, and the 05 was better for me. 91.
Chateau Jean Faure, Saint Emilion Grand Cru
Tastebuds losing the will to live by this stage of the tasting, but this lovely wine from Olivier Decelle has picked them back up again. This is good, full of flavour, very rich, good extraction, nice solid finish, with a touch of lift. 50% Cabernet Franc, 45% Merlot, 5% Malbec. 92
Chateau Peby Faugeres
Silvio Denz here works a 100% Merlot. Richly coffee and chocolate, very modern, and I imagine will please a number of critics. It’s good, but fiercely rich and high in alcohol. Needs to soften. 91.
Chateau La Couronne, Montagne st emilion
100% Merlot, Thomas Thiou (president of the satellites I think, correct me if I’m wrong!). This is full on alcohol, very rich in fruit and tannins, it does manage to have some balance, but your tongue is left with alcohol, so for me it falls short a little. 89-90.
Chateau de Lussac, Lussac st emilion
I really like this. Plenty of extraction and rich fruit (this is a Herve Laviale estate), but this one has elegance also, and a really lovely core of fruit. Great value for money. 91+.
Chatea Patris, St Emilion Grand Cru
The vineyards here touché the southern tip of Angelus. This is great value for money from owner Michel Querre (of Le Moulin in Pomerol). Like this a lot, a bit high on alcohol, but nice fruits and some good tannic backbone. 91+.
Chateau Girolate, Bordeaux
This Despagne family star, from 6 hectares of 100% low yielding Merlot vines, is really gorgeous this year. Very smooth, very classy, rich well worked black fruits. Would I mistake it for a classified growth? Probably not (okay, maybe for Lascombes which I love but is similarly flashy), but unquestionably it is a very good wine, very accomplished, and I know that in 10 years it will be delightful. 94.
WHITE WINES
Girolate blanc
This is 50/50 sauvignon semillon This is very grassy, but at the same time very sweet and round, and lacks some acidity. Nowhere near as successful as the red. 89-90.
Tour de Mirambeau white, Bordeaux Blanc
Much better, also from the Despagne family. This has a lovely freshness to the glass, and great mix of pineapple, apricot and some fresh green apple. 70% sauvignon blanc, 30% Semillon. 91.
Chateau Haut Bertinerie, Blaye Cotes de Bordeaux
Good freshness, some lovely rich mouthfeel but it stays delicate. 91-92.
Cuvee Madlys, Chateau Sainte-Marie, Entre deux Mers
For me, a little too low in acidity. Has very rich apricot and mangoes, and really very good mouthfeel, Should be very successful, just not with me. 90.
Chateau Sainte Marie, Vielle Vignes
Apricot, lemons, full of richness, again this is not my kind of white wines, not anywhere near enough acidity for my clearly boringly European palate. But I can’t deny that it is seductive, and will have fans. 90.
Chateau Reynon, Cotes de Bordeaux
Thank god for Dubourdieu. He manages to get acidity out of even the hottest years. This is lovely, very delicate, great balance and lovely juicy fruit. 88% Sauvignon, 12% Semillon. 92.