Saint Emilion
As ever, Saint Emilion was up and down, the least consistent of the 2009s appellations (but much has been written about this, and you don’t need me to add to it!). The big problem was alcohol, and how to control it – those who went too far really stood out.
I started with Chateau Ausone the week before the en primeurs, which gave a good benchmark of course for what could be achieved (only slightly spoiled by the new paint smell in the tasting room).
Chateau de Fonbel, Saint Emilion Grand Cru
This has those wonderful gooseberry and elderflower notes on the nose that I found in some of the Pomerols also. Lovely fresh flavours, crisp fruit and well balanced. 65% merlot, 25% cab sauvignon, 7% petit verdot, 3% carmanere (you’ll increasingly find this grape variety appearing in tiny quantities on Right Bank labels). 30% new oak. Average age of vines 20 years. Fermentation in stainless steel. 100,000 bottles. 91.
Chateau Simard, Saint Emilion Grand Cru
65% Merlot, 35% cabernet franc. Slightly richer, less immediately exuberant than the Fonbel. Rich, well textured smoothed-out tannins, that are nevertheless insistent in the mouth. Feel this will go for the long term, and usually good value. The vines extend over the plain at the bottom of the village. 40ha in total. Lovely finish. 91+.
Chateau Haut Simard, Saint Emilion Grand Cru
These are the best plots of Simard, vinified in the same chai but as a separate estate, and bottled separately. This comes from 5ha of 70% merlot, 30% cabernet franc vines opposite Canon la Gaffeliere. Aged in 50% new oak after stainless steel vinification, this is a big hitter and will age very well. Needs time, the tannin are very knitted together at the moment. 26,000 bottles. 92.
Chateau Moulin St Georges, Saint Emilion Grand Cru
80% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc. I always love this wine; it’s so well made, such lovely deep fruit and almost always well priced. Stainless steel vinification, then 18 months in 100% new barrels. Average age of vines 26 years. The tannins levels are high, and this has perhaps less immediate pleasure than some years of this estate, but it really will be worth the wait. 94.
La Chapelle d’Ausone, Saint Emilion
70% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Franc. After the recent plantings at Ausone, this is the second year that the new young vines have gone into the second wine. It has tingling, delicate tannins that are so well worked, just so utterly gorgeous. There are rich raw materials on show here, plenty of potential for reaching just unbelievable heights for a second wine. 6,000 bottles made. 94+
Chateau Ausone, Saint Emilion Premier Cru Classe A.
Rich colour, pure fruit nose, the precision is already clear, and it fully takes hold on you on the palate. This has it all - first rich plum, then deeply knitted tannins, then a powerful reach upwards on the finish, this really does grip hold of you, but with the gentlest of touches. 55% cabernet franc, 45% merlot. The wine spends time in large-size wooden vats for winemaking, then will spend 20 months in 100% new oak. Seriously good, gourmet fare. 16,000 bottles. 98-100.
and two others from the team at Ausone...
Val de Roc (Bordeaux Superieur)
Just northeast of Fronsac, this has elderflower and some good juicy fruits. A pleasant wine with good fruit, that manages to avoid the tannins being overworked or over-extracted. 89.
Clos des Baies, Saint Emilion Grand Cru
Look out for this wine, with a production of just 1,500 bottles (single plot, just 30 arres of 100% Melrot vines), from Philippe Baillarguet, the winemaker/cellar master of Ausone. It’s located at the same level of Canon-la-Gaffeliere, at the foot of the Pavie slopes, and this is Baillarguet’s third vinrtage. This is clearly precise winemaking, with a good density of the tannins, but lovely fruit that is brought to the fore by being vinified in stainless steel, then moved into barrels. 91-92
Chateau Angelus, Saint Emilion (Premier Grand Cru Classé B)
This puts its 50% merlot, 3% cabernet sauvignon and very high 47% cabernet franc to brilliant effect. It’s very powerful, with rich but silky tannins and a grip of fragrant redcurrant and gentle tobacco. About 10% of the harvest was manually destalked this year, which further softened tannins. Alcohol at 14.5 (average, a few of the early merlots up to 15.5%!), but the quality of the year kept the freshness, and they were careful with the vinification to not extract too much. This is very smooth, very accomplished. 96-98
La Confession, St Emilion Grand Cru
A Janoueix wine. This is lovely. Great freshness on the finish, but an intensity of fruit that keeps jogging alongside the structure all the way through. There are some big tannins, does need some wading through, but very enjoyable, and things soften out at the finish. 93.
Ch Puy-Blanquet, Saint Emilion Grand Cru
This chateau has been an exclusivity with Moueix for almost 40 years, just past the village of St Christophe des Bardes in St Emilion, where vinification is also done by the Moueix team. North facing vineyard, lovely freshness to the fruit, very elegant. It’s a good wine – and often offers good value. 90.
Chateau La Serre, Saint Emilion Grand Cru Classe
La Serre is distributed by Ets JP Moueix, but owned by the d’Arfeuille family (previous owners of La Pointe in Pomerol). I always love this wine. Perhaps I liked the 2008 a little more, but it may have been the comparison with other far less good wines that made the difference. Good plump fruit, deep black cherries and a good freshness. 80% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc. 94.
Chateau Magdeleine, Saint Emilion Grand Cru Classe
Very gourmet, again quite flashy in the new style of Magdeleine since Berrouet retired, but this has more elegance and freshness than last year (surprising I know, but that’s how it feels to me), and it seems to have settled in to the whole experience very well, so the glamorous fruits feel more Ava Gardener than Marilyn Monroe (to shamelessly borrow a Parker quote on an entirely different wine). 94-95.
Chateau Belair-Monange, Saint Emilion Grand Cru Classe
Dense, and ever so slightly flat fruit. Clearly good substance, and big tannins, but seems strangely flat. Need to retaste...
PERSE WINES
These are wines which I didn’t even begin to understand until I had tasted older vintages, and only then did they start to really make sense. I fully understand the division that they cause, because no-one can taste them without forming a strong opinion on them one way or the other - definitely not wines to ignore. But I am very happy that there are winemakers like Perse in Bordeaux, who are prepared to try new techniques, and not bow down to public opinion.
Clos les Lunelles, Castillon Cotes de Bordeaux
60% new oak barrels, 40% one year old. 80% merlot, 10% cab franc, 10% cab sauvignon. This is a big wine. I’m not sure for me that this is 100% successful. It is rich, keep, very tannic, very extracted. Does the terroir live up to the work that is performed on it? The winemaker, Laurent Lusseau, is the same across all of them, and was at Monbusquet before Perse bought it, then kept working along with all of them. Harvested 13-14 Oct (for me, this was about a week over what was needed). 88-89.
Chateau de Lusseau, Saint Emilion
This is the personal property of the winemaker of Chateau Pavie (Laurent Lusseau). It still has the extraction of Clos des Lunelles, but is lighter on its feet, has better balance and overall some very attractive complexity. Vinified in stainless steel, then aged in oak as with all these wines (except for Pavie and Pavie-Decesse which are both vinified in oak barrels). 90.
Chateau Pavie Decesse, Saint Emilion Grand Cru Classe
That is absolutely gorgeous. 28 hl/h, so well balanced. Incredibly fresh but very deep fruits, from a blend of 90% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc. One of the best Perse wines that I have tasted an en primeur stage – there is Fantastic depth of flavour, but a true lightness of touch, which is suprising considering harvesting didn’t even begin until 12th October. That might explain the 14.5% alcohol, but overall it is well balanced. 97-98.
Chateau Monbusquet, Saint Emilion Grand Cru Classe
Harvesting 1-10 Oct. 60% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Franc, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon. Very extracted, the tannins have a death grip on you, and just don’t let go. Some good rich red fruits, lots of depth, but as ever with Monbusquet, I find it so tough as to be impenetrable, and certainly takes an entirely different approach to many 2009. 91.
Chateau Bellevue Mondotte, Saint Emilion Grand Cru Classe
Again, a tiny estate of 2 hectares. Delicious, rich ripe fruit, an unmistakably Perse touch. Vinified in large wooden vats, then fermented in barrels, and aged also in 100% new oak. The new sorting machines made a difference, added the extra touch of finesse and finish to the wines. Alcohol is at 14.3, but again there is the lovely balance that was found in Pavie-Decesse. 94.
Chateau Pavie, Saint Emilion Grand Cru Classe B
Wonderfully rich aromas. 14.5% alcohol, yield 28 hl/h, blend 70% merlot, 20% cabernet franc, 10% cabernet sauvignon. It is very tight, very high in tannins and alcohol, and you can’t go anywhere near it for fifteen years minimum. It’s like sucking on a piece of granite. But the top left banks are often applauded for this and why shouldn’t a particularly good right bank be similarly? Perse is very clear in his belief that Pavie is the best terroir in Saint Emilion, and it is certainly true that tasting a 10 year old Pavie is a rather wonderful experience. Part of me thinks that he has missed the point of the best 2009s, but the other part says just bury this wine, don’t think about it until at least 2025... and then have a really fun night making sense of it. 95.
Chateau Le Tour de Pin, Saint Emilion Grand Cru
This is quite tight and extracted, and seems to be settling in to the new regime of vinification under the Cheval Blanc umbrella. Some rich tannins, and good bristling fruits. 90
Le Petit Cheval, Saint Emilion Grand Cru
Another very good Petit Cheval, continuing the excellent performance with the 2008. This is smooth, dense, rich, but also very pretty and even a touch of elegance on the finish. A good lift on the finish, this has great potential. A little closed, but then it is cold (and very rainy!) outside. We need the Top Gear (W) marker for tasted when Wet. 92-93.
Chateau Cheval Blanc, Saint Emilion Premier Grand Cru Classe A
This is a tightly wound, big and dense Cheval Blanc, tightly controlled extraction, wet stones, very polished tannins. It’s not especially exuberant in the way that Cheval Blanc can be, but is supremely confident, and with enormous reach and length. Builds slowly in the mouth, as many of the best 2009s have done, and just keeps on going. A very good wine. 97-98.
Chateau Figeac, Saint Emilion Premier Grand Cru Classe B
1/3 merlot (22 sept-28 sept), 1/3 cabernet franc and 1/3 cab sauvignon (5-19 oct for the both cabernets). 35 hl/h normally, in 2009 went up to 40 hl/h (because they were not affected by the hail). It has plenty of good grip and defined tannins, but lacks a little on the ample fruit. It’s reserved and elegant, but not the best I have ever tasted from this estate. The 2005 is for me a better balance. 100% new oak. Gilles Pauquet is the consultant winemaker here. 94.
Chateau Bellefont Belcier, Saint Emilion Grand Cru Classe
I like this, quite frisky compared to many in this vintage, very charming red fruit with a nice shot of espresso coming in on the finish, and good acidity. Very attractive. 93.
Chateau Chauvin, Saint Emilion Grand Cru Classe
Good depth of fruit, nice intensity, slightly pinched, not particularly expansive, but still a very good wine. 92.
Clos St Martin
Gooseberry, but really pinched tannins, not enough length, doesn’t work for me. 88.
Chateau Guadet, Saint Emilion Grand Cru Classe
This is better than the 2008. It does have some fresh fruit, and the overall acidity level is high, but lacks complexity of flavours. Still, a definite improvement, a good sign that Stephane Derenoncourt is doing a good job as consultant on this property. 92.
Chateau Grand Corbin Despagne, Saint Emilion Grand Cru Classe
Francois Despagne continues to get the best out of his grapes at this organic (heading towards biodynamic) estaate. Great purity of fruit, really lovely tangy blackcurrant and redcurrant. Good smoky coffee underneath also, and all pinned together by a lovely freshness. Delicious. 95.
Chateau La Tour Figeac, Saint Emilion Grand Cru Classe
Precise, nicely placed fruit. It doesn’t blow you away in this vintage, but it is good, smoky mocha, soft red fruits, good balance of freshness and tannins, nothing is wrong with this. Just lacks a wow factor. 93.
Chateau Yon Figeac, Saint Emilion Grand Cru Classe
Tight, gooseberry and redcurrant flavours again (this has 20% Cabernet Franc, to 80% Merlot). But doesn’t have a really big finish, and although I think it's charming, it’s not one of the most impressive here. 91-92.
Chateau Le Prieure, Saint Emilion Grand Cru Classe
It’s flashy and exuberant. This does at least feel like an espensive wine, and in price terms it offers better value than many other of the classified Saint Emilions. But a little overworked in my opinion, in comparison to the excellent Pomerols from the owners this year. However, this does deliver fleshy red fruits, and an enjoyable silky texture - the full production. 92.
Chateau Larcis Ducasse, Saint Emilion Grand Cru Classe
Very ‘elegant’, tastes like all the fruit has been through the juicer, and this is what was left behind. There are gentle coffee aromas, and some very nice balance and soft ripe flavours. But strangley lacking a focus. I’m not sure about this, in the context of the vintage. Either ballsily elegant or just a little strange. 89
Chateau Laroque, Saint Emilion Grand Cru Classe
Over-extracted, very tough on the finish. But still, there is fruit underneath, and reasonable quality for what is one of the cheapest classified wines. 90.
Chateau Fonroque, Saint Emilion Grand Cru Classe
Alain Moueix's biodynamic estate. Good depth of fruit, and a lovely coffee and smoky toast finish. Really nice, I like this a lot, one of the best examples of this chateau that I have tasted en primeur. 94-95.
Chateau Fonplegade, Saint Emilion Grand Cru Classe
This is very deep in colour. Step forward Michel Rolland... how did I guess!! There is so much extraction here. Although also some very nice plump fruit in fact, and a good softness on the finish. He has somehow pulled this off!! 91.
Chateau La Fleur Cardinale, Saint Emilion Grand Cru Classe
Owned by the Decoster’s family, formerly of Limoges pottery company Haviland, since 2001. Smooth, silky, very soft black fruits, tastes quite well worked (there is 100% new oak), but this has real elegance and a lovely fresh finish. Really good. 93.
Chateau Trottevielle, Premier Grand Cru Classe B
This has a fairly hot attack, but it quickly corrects itself, and is full of utterly lovely redcurrant flavours, and a touch of liquorice root and slippery wet stones. Lovely. Almost 50/50 Merlot and Cabernet Franc, owned by wine merchants Borie-Manoux. 93
Clos Fourtet, Premier Grand Cru Classe B
Some lovely blue cheese on the nose, and a good punch of pure fruit that has been well worked and is very slick. The foot is definitely on the extraction pedal, but a nice burst of freshness on the very last furlong keeps things interesting. A good wine, well made and definitely with ambition for a long life. This is a classic St Emilion also, with good, intense red fruits. Alcohol is high though, could do with a little less heat on the finish. 93-94.
Ch Beausejour-Becot, Premier Grand Cru Classe B
Again this lovely blue cheese-soft brie nose, and I like the greater depth of fruit that is apparent on this one, with the blue cheese keeping things savoury rather than too sweet. Nice plump tannins, well integrated, very nice lift on the finish. Good. 94-95
Château Beauséjour Duffau-Lagarosse
I like this. There is a good backbrone of freshness that floats the whole wine upon it. Doesn’t really have enormous impact or definition, but at the same time this is elegant, unmistakably Right Bank, with lovely minerality of Saint Emilion. Very different from many of the wines on display here. 94.
Chateau Canon, Saint Emilion Grand Cru Classe B
Good nose. If I had to make a choice, I might say I preferred the wonderful 2008 at this property, but it’s a close run thing. This is owned by the Wertheimer brothers of Rauzan Segla, and John Kolasa is again director – you can feel the same drive towards pure and precisely placed fruit. Grapes planted at the estate (not sure of the exact blend of this year) are 75% Merlot, 25% Cabernet Franc. 93.
Chateau Troplong Mondot, Saint Emilion Grand Cru Classe
Christine Valette proves once again that she is not afraid of taking a chance. This is big, brash, sumptuous, in your face, all the things that I often don’t like in a wine – but there is such a pleasurable side to this, and it has freshness that keeps it just on the right side of over-the-top. Brambly black fruits, intense tannins and a sweet fruit finish. A great wine, despite a – wait for it – 15.5% ABV. 95.
Chateau La Gaffeliere, Saint Emilion Grand Cru Classe
I really like this – tasted twice, blind at GCC and at UGC. Very good, rich fruits, well defined, plenty of grip, plenty of bite. This has a real depth, it reaches right in and grabs you. Tannins ever so slightly drying on the finish, but there is a lovely minty freshness, and a very powerful grip to the structure. A big, ambitious wine that just about pulls it off, thanks in no smll part to its great length and hint of sweet black cherry finish. Oak very evident at this stage though. 93-94.
Chateau Pavie Maquin, Saint Emilion Grand Cru Classe
A touch too high in alcohol on this showing. Clearly a monstrous beast, very very concentrated, pure rich black fruits, turbo charged, long life ahead of it. Alcohol is high, extraction is full, saliva exits stage-left, but it’s an experience. But boy it is going to need time, and doesn’t display the steely side that (for example) Pavie has to take it all the way through in my opinion. But this is clearly a blockbuster. 94.
Chateau Tetre Daugay, Saint Emilion Grand Cru Classe
Owned by the Malet Roquefort family. This sample is just starting to be over-tired (barrel samples at this stage don’t last for much more than four days), but can still feel the lovely rich fruits and soft tannins. Clearly a good wine, look forward to restasting. 91
Chateau Larmande, St Emilion Grand Cru Classe
Some nice menthol, but this is slightly pinched and too tight. The tannins are very present, and this will of course soften up over the next (ten) years, but the tannins are slightly puckering. Having said that, I very much like how it finishes, so there is definite potential. 90
Chateau Larcis Ducasse, St Emilion Grand Cru
Here again there is a touch of over-extraction, and frankly a touch of over-hot alcohol. The fruit is there, good intensity of flavours, but it has been thrown out of whack by the alcohol. 90
Chateau La Tour Figeac, Saint Emilion Grand Cru Classe
Good level of rich purple lovely polyphenol extraction without being too much. The nose has more redcurrant aromas from the 40% of cabernet franc. The palate is more reserved, it doesn’t have the depth of fruit, although it does have some subtle charm, and is very gentle. Feels like it wants to say more, but hasn't quite got there yet. 92.
Ch Cap de Mourlin, Saint Emilion Grand Cu Classe
This is a more obviously seductive wine. Very polished, lots of new oak and some rich black fruit that has been coaxed fully out of its skin. It’s a little international in style, but that doesn’t detract from its clear success, and I’d be happy to drink this. Lovely silky texture, and some good freshness. 93+.
Chateau Grand Mayne, Saint Emilion Grand Cru Classe
A little subdued, but another successful wine for me. It doesn’t offer immediate seduction, but a balanced amount of acidity, and very fine, well integrated tannins. The finish is a little dry, so perhaps the fruit lacks a big of punch, but charming. 91.
Ch Franc Mayne, Saint Emilion Grand Cru Classe
Some good bakery aromas in here, lovely nose. On the palate, the fruit takes a moment to kick in, and there is a definite pause while the wine gathers some weight. The acidity is quite puckering at first, but then the fruit and the tannins come in to catch it, and the whole thing integrates quite nicely. I think this one is going to age very well and has plenty of time to knit down before being put in bottle. Great potential. 93.
Chateau Balestard la Tonnelle, Saint Emilion Grand Cru Classe
Deep brambly purple in colour. Seriously big on the palate, this has flashy, exuberant fruit, and the tannins suck all the moisture right out of your mouth, like a Dyson vacuum. An ambitious wine, and a very successful one – some acidity comes back in at the end, and the saliva makes a welcome return, preparing your palate for another sip. Then almost imperceptibly, rich blackcurrant fruits are there waiting at the end. A wine that you have to think about, frankly, and enjoyable for it. 94-95.
Chateau Berliquet, Saint Emilion Grand Cru Classe
Oh, I like this one a lot. This has a gorgeous amount of fruit, beautifully succulent, whole blackberry with a touch of baker’s yeast – a wholewheat muffin with melted blackberries, I’m thinking Magnolia Bakery on Bleaker! Lovely acidity, great tannic structure, the whole things floats along but delivers a killer punch. Gorgeous – got to be the best I have ever tasted from this chateau. 95.
Chateau Dessault, Saint Emilion Grand Cru Classe
Some definite charm here. There is a good fruit mid-palate, some well formed (slightly chalky) tannins, and a good length. Here are those slightly brambly, undergrowth flavours, this feels almost rustic, in a charming way that tells you it is not overworked, but has a real sense of place and terroir. It’s good. 93.
Ch Canon La Gaffeliere, Saint Emilion Grand Cru Classe
A slick affair. A good attack, nice fruit burst, but strangely lacking in mid-palate. It doesn’t have the layers of fruit that build up in some of the best of these, and the finish is a touch dry. 90+
Chateau La Dominique, Saint Emilion Grand Cru Classe
This one is very hot, for me just too out of balance with the alcohol. It is putting me off going any further to be honest. There are black fruits and of course a wall of tannin that tries to balance things out, but it falls far short of any elegance. 89.
Chateau Beausejour Becot, Saint Emilion Grand Cru Classe
Incredibly dense colour, lots of smooth coffee and vanilla on the nose, and rich blackberry fruits. Smells very suave. This is good in fact, very accomplished, very professional. High alcohol, but kept in balance by the tannins and acidity to a very good level. Touch hot on the finish, but otherwise this is a cohesive wine. 94.
Chateau La Couspaude, Saint Emilion Grand Cru Classe
Never difficult to identify blind, because there are some clear Michel Rolland touches - not unenjoyable, just buyer beware. Plenty of mocha, butterscotch and chocolate here, but I feel there is some over-extraction that keeps it from being great, and although there is some lovely weight, it needs more freshness. A modern style, quite international. 91-92.
Jonathan Maltus tasting...
As ever, this was an enjoyable tasting. For the first time this year, Maltus will be putting a proportion of his wines through merchants on the Place de Bordeaux. He explained that they have always sold on an exclusivity basis, 'but if someone doesn’t take their exclusivity, it becomes very difficult' - and as many Maltus wines are sold in the US, it is easy to imagine that this has become an issue.
Chateau Pezat, AOC Bordeaux
85% merlot, 15% cab franc – a lot from the low-lying terroir near to the river Dordogne. There is some crisp purple fruit and good soft tannins. Ever so slightly pinched on the end (picking was Oct 1-7 for merlot, Oct 16 for cab franc, was that a touch too late?), but overall there is lovely freshness and this is a charming wine. 89.
Chateau Teyssier, Saint Emilion Grand Cru
This is denser, richer and more meaty. They have improved the grapes for this wine by including some good plots from near Chateau Monbusquet, but the aim is to make a wine that is approachable, and drinkable within a year of purchase (although this year I would say it may take a little longer to fully soften up). 85% merlot, 15% Cabernet Sauvignon. 15,000 cases. 90-91.
Chateau La Forge, Saint Emilion Grand Cru
90% Merlot - the highest amount of Merlot that they do in any of the wines, as Maltus is definitely a believer in Cabernet Franc. This comes from a dispersed five hectares around St emilion – party by Grand Pontet (clay limestone), partly by Le Dome (sand), and partly by Monbusquet (gravel). Silky fruits. Vinification temp reached maximum of 28 (around 2 degrees lower than in 2008), with less time on skins at the end. Beautiful length, the tannins are quite insistent, but smoothed out. 92.
Le Carre, Saint Emilion Grand Cru
Small 1 hectare plot, 350 cases. 80% Merlot/20% Cabernet Franc. Cold soaks up to nine days to get the colour and fruit without harsh tannins. The new installations at Maltus can get the temperature down from 30 degrees down to 4 in less than 10 minutes. Thick clay over soft limestone. Plump rich, feminine, ‘American’. 94.
Les Asturies, Saint Emilion Grand Cru
As with Le Carre, this is a small 1 hectare plot, 350 cases. 80% Merlot/20% Cab Franc, vinified by same team, in same way, so the difference is terroir. Slightly richer, more textured tannins in this one. This is the more masculine version of Le Carre. Damson richness comes through clearly, but it is more mineral, tighter, more precise than its brother. More ‘European’ in style. 95.
Vieux Chateau Mazerat, Saint Emilion Grand Cru
4 hectare plot. 3 hectares on the right of Angelus, one hectare on the left, each touching Angelus. This has such tingling tannins, incredibly well integrated. A stunning wine, this has wonderful length, gathering strength as it goes but without ever tipping over into over-extraction. Delicate finish. This has unbelievable balance. All alcohol levels around 14-14.5 for the reds this year. Blend here of 40% cabernet franc, 60% merlot. The extra parcel of merlot over sand and crasse de fer gives a gentle rendition of the Merlot grape that softens the whole wine. Beautiful texture. 97-98.
Le Dome, Saint Emilion Grand Cru
80% cabernet franc, 20% merlot. The nose is pretty closed on this one, a hint of just how brooding this is. Big, big wine. It has been described as 'lunch', with reason! The tannins are very rich, textured, very present. It’s a wonderful wine, but this is a wine for the boys. A wine for the long-haul, with full-on glass staining purple, and one that needs to be opened and breathed for a good while before drinking (I'm sure that will remain true for most of its long life). For my own personal taste, I would go with the Vieux Chateaux Mazerat. 95
Clos Nardian
40% Semillon, 40% Sauvignon, 20% Muscadelle. This has a rich and round mouthfeel – again, as many of the whites in 2009 - with juicy finish. Vinification temperature for the white was kept cool at around 20-22 (and entirely vinified in barrel), with skin contact for the first night. This was really the first ‘cult’ Right Bank white of Bordeaux, and with just 350 cases, it disappears pretty fast. Alcohol 13.7%. Accomplished and successful, if you like a richer style of white. 90