What Happens When You Buy Cheap Bordeaux?

 What is the experience of buying a cheap bottle of Bordeaux? When I say cheap, I do not mean real cheap, but, say, under $100 per bottle. Yesterday, I tried the 2016 Château Clos de Boüard. Depending where you live, this wine can be found for under $50 per bottle. The owners also own Château L'Angélus, one of the top right bank producers.

This is a right bank wine, so unsurprisingly, the dominant grape is Merlot with 85%, then 10% Cabernet Franc and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon.

This is quite a dark wine, and the fruit is quite concentrated. Mainly blackcurrant, but also licorice and tobacco. The mouthfeel is quite complex and attractive. Unfortunately, the tannins are somewhat coarse, and the finish is a bit harsh. Overall, a good wine, in particular with protein food.

If you go for this kind of strategy, looking at the right bank makes sense. In contrast to the Cabernet Sauvignon dominated left bank, Merlot at the lower price point would be less astringent, generally speaking. The Clos de Boüard comes from Montagne, a satellite of St. Emilion. This explains the lower price point.

I found this quite an acceptable value for money proposition. Is it better than a similarly priced local wine. I think this depends; sometimes yes, sometimes no.

Score: 90/++

Chateau Magdelaine

 Collecting Bordeaux is not that easy. It takes 10 years for a wine to show its true colours (flavours), and then you can no longer stock up. You can collect well known wines without tasting, but that will cost you. Or you base decisions on an early tasting, if you get the opportunity.

I decided to buy a number of different wines at attractive prices from the highly regarded 2009 vintage. The results were mixed, but I am in luck today, as I taste the 2009 Chateau Magdelaine.

In Australia, left bank wines are much more common than right bank, partly a result of relative volumes, but also partly because of the mixed reputation of Merlot, which is the dominant right bank grape.

This Merlot blend opens with huge aromas of blackcurrant and forest berries, some raspberry even.

On the palate, black fruited flavours come to the fore; there are earthy notes and mild spice as well. This is a ripe wine, but very balanced, with oak in the background. There is some development in this wine. At this point, it delivers a satisfying sweet/savoury mouthfeel. The tannins are firm and ripe, well integrated. And the finish lasts and lasts.

I think I am drinking this wine at its sweet spot. It is ripe, but has a decent structure. While it delivers a good package now, it may fall apart sooner than other wines from this vintage.

Score: 94/++ 

  

De Salis Merlot Blend

Sometimes you come across something astonishing, unexpected, and utterly delightful. So it was with this wine.

The 2012 De Salis St. EM M is a wine I enjoyed when I visited Orange a few years back, and I took a few bottles home. The name is a bit tough, which is why I think this label has been discontinued. St. EM is meant to stand for St. Emilion, M for Merlot. This wine is in fact a blend with some Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc, but it does not taste anything like a right bank blockbuster Bordeaux.

This is a light- to medium-bodied wine, but it fills the mouth nicely. The wine is still fresh and vibrant, brimming with redcurrant, raspberry fruit and white pepper. Fine tannins help with the balance. While this is a lighter wine, more like a Pinot Noir, it has good depth as well. This Merlot blend is intriguing and fabulous to drink.

Score: 95/+++   

Blue Poles Allouran

When I did my review on four leading 2007 Margaret River Cabernets, one of my readers suggested I could have included the Blue Poles Allouran. I must admit, I had never heard of this wine, so I was intrigued. I could only manage to buy the 2011 Blue Poles Allouran, but here is my review of this interesting wine.

In contrast to most Margaret River Cabernets, which are either straight Cabernet Sauvignon or Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot blends, this wine is 76% Merlot, 24% Cabernet Franc. This composition resembles the right bank of Bordeaux, for example Pomerol, whereas the other wines are 'left bank' wines. This is a clever differentiation.

The different composition is responsible for the different colour. This wine is ruby in colour, the others were darker. The nose of this wine is very appealing, with wild berry notes rising from the glass. On the palate, the wine is a little lean. The influence of the Cabernet Franc is strong, with raspberry and savoury tobacco flavours dominating. The wine is well made, with more of an emphasis on structure than fruit flavours. There is fresh acidity on the mid palate, and dry tannins on the finish. While the mouthfeel does not quite match the wines of my 2007 tasting, it should be noted that the price is one half to one third of those wines. This wine offers good value for money and the label will be one to watch.

Score: 92/++

Pomerol And St. Emilion

On the Right Bank, I visited the small, but important subregions of Pomerol and St Emilion. The first stop was at Chateau Gazin, the fourth largest estate in Pomerol (which means it is quite small). As a nice gesture, they had raised the Australian flag for us. The soil here is clay, which means the waterholding capacity of the soil is much higher than on the Left Bank. The 2012 Chateau Gazin is 100% Merlot. Blackcurrant and plum flavours dominate on the palate. The wine has medium concentration and is a bit harsh on the finish. The tannins are firm, but quite fine. This is a wine which one should start drinking in a couple of years (89 points).

Not far away is Chateau Angelus, the famous St. Emilion estate. Another nice gesture: the bells in the tower were playing 'Advance Australia Fair' as a welcome. The family also bought the property across the road. So I first tasted the 2011 Chateau Bellevue. There are several wineries called 'Bellevue' in France, naturally. This one is quite small. The wine is 100% Merlot, with a deep purple colour. The wine tasted similar to the last one, but the dark fruit was more elegant. Not a very complex wine, but with pleasant soft tannins (91 points). The 2011 Chateau Angelus is quite different, although the winemaking style is the same. To start with, it has 40% Cabernet Franc included. The wine is full-bodied, but with lifted aromas. The Cabernet Franc adds spice to the flavour. The tannins are firm. Overall, I find the wine a bit dense and meaty, a surprise for 2011 (93 points).

The Bell Tower

Later in the afternoon, I tasted a few more Right Bank wines:

-  2010 Haut-Segottes (St-Emilion): redcurrant with lifted aromas. Elegant and the fruit strong enough to match the 14.5% alcohol. Soft tannins, medium finish (92 points).
-  2010 Chateau de Foubel (St-Emilion): full-bodied, with complex blackcurrant and mushroom flavours. Good length, but alcoholic and tannic finish (92 points).
-  2012 Chateau Canon (Pomerol): concentrated, but somewhat harsh and unbalanced (88 points).
-  2009 Le Bon Pasteur (Pomerol): weak palate, quite acidic with dry tannins (88 points).
-  2005 Chateau Pavie Macquin (St-Emilion): lifted and aromatic, cherry flavours, nice linear shape down the palate, with a fresh finish (94 points).

Bordeaux 2010 Vintage

The Institute of Masters of Wine brought their annual Bordeaux tasting to Sydney this year. It was an opportunity to taste and compare 60 wines from the 2010 vintage.

The 2010 vintage was unusual in that acidity and sugar levels were generally high at the same time. One would be hoping for freshness of flavour despite high levels of alcohol. It is a highly regarded

vintage and compared to 2005. My main interest was to see how the differences between the subregions compared to the differences in winemaking. This was made easier, as the wines were grouped by subregion.

My main conclusions:

1) The overall quality of  the wines is high, in particular on the left bank and where Cabernet Sauvignon dominates the blend. Many Merlot based wines were not as impressive.

2) Quite a few wines were quite closed, many very tannic and definitely built to last.

3) In terms of my special interest: I would call it a 50/50 outcome: subregions definitely had different characteristics, but there were also major differences between chateaux's in most subregions.

In terms of the major subregions:

Margaux:
The wines are more ruby than purple. Some are
quite concentrated, but still feminine in character. Overall quality is strong. I liked Chateau d'Issan, Kirwan, Lascombes, Rauzan-Segla.

Saint-Estephe:
Very high quality, but variation. Black fruited, but very elegant top wines, high alcohol. Cos d'Estournel was wine of the night, with pure berry fruit, elegant, balanced acidity and rounded tannins. Montrose almost as good. Quite masculine, but not as big mouthfeel. Calon-Segur not nearly as good.
                                                                                Saint-Julien:
Earthy aromas in these wines. I did not rate these wines as high as Saint-Estephe. Some lacked structure, some fruit intensity. Tasted wines: Beychevelle, Lagrange, Langoa-Barton, Leoville-Barton, Leoville-Las Cases (disappointing!)

Pauillac:
Darkest coloured wines, blackcurrant flavours, strong region.  Wines represented were from top producers: Lynch-Bages, Pichon-Longueville-Barton, Pontet-Canet. Despite the high alcohol, these wines were balanced and elegant.

Saint-Emilion:
Softer wines, chocolate flavours. Chateau Angelus and Figeac were great, with dark fruit and some softness. Close to new world style. Cheval Blanc and Canon disappointing, in particular on the finish.

The representation for Pomerol was poor, therefore I am not forming any views.  

Overall a great tasting, which gave good insight into this significant vintage.                                                                                                                                                                                      

Chateau Fombrauge

In many ways, the 2009 Chateau Fombrauge is a similar wine to the Chateau Villars, reviewed before. It has the same grape variety mix, it is from the right bank, and the flavour profile is similar. However, this wine hails from St. Emilion, one of the two prestigious regions there. Therefore it is twice as expensive ($70 per bottle).  Black plum flavours come to the fore a bit more than in the Villars. Overall, the frame of the wine is bigger, with stronger oak and alcohol influences. This wine needs to settle down a bit more and requires further cellaring in order to soften on the palate.

Score: 93/+

Chateau Villars

I have reviewed the 2009 Chateau Villars in an overview on Bordeaux before, but as it is such a good find, and I drank it again last night, I thought it is worth while to write a separate note.

This Merlot/Cabernet Franc blend is from Fronsac, one of the less prestigious subregions on the right bank of Bordeaux. But in 2009, everybody could make a good wine, and this is certainly one. The wine has a deep ruby colour. It is medium to full-bodied with a medium fruit intensity. This means it is possible to enjoy the wine now. The blackcurrant and black cherry flavours are very expressive, supported by spice and vanilla flavours from oak. Firm tannins provide a good structure for this wine leading to a long finish. I enjoyed the mouthfeel of this wine, although it is not elegant-perfect. This is a great value buy from an expensive vintage.

Score: 93/++

Craggy Range Sophia

Sophia is a Merlot/Cabernet Franc blend and therefore Craggy Range's take on the right bank Bordeaux wines.The 2007 Craggy Range Sophia still displays a ruby colour with deep intensity. This medium to full-bodied wine has attractive blueberry and blackberry notes on the nose and it starts like that on the palate. The wine has developed quite a lot since I tasted it in 2009. This is a wine that should be drunk now. It is nicely balanced, but the fruit intensity starts to drop off at the back palate.

Score: 92/++

2010 Bordeaux from St. Emilion

The 2010s from St. Emilion are not easy to taste right now. These Merlot/Cabernet Franc wines are very tannic, with high acidity. The fruit is concentrated and will dominate oak and tannins over time, but as a general rule, they will need many years before being a good drink. I tasted a number of Grand Crus which are quite reasonably priced.

Chateau La Confession shows very dark colour. The concentrated flavours are of dark berries with a good length on the palate and  firm tannins (93 points). I found Chateau La Serre less appealing. The flavours were similar, but the wine a little harsh and not as well balanced (90 points). The Clos l'Oratoire was a softer and more open wine. It was different from the rest and could be drunk earlier, say in a year or two. The palate was very Merlot-like, but with good intensity. There were spicy and earthy flavours as well (93 points). Chateau Saint Georges Cote Pavie was more in line with the first two wines, but displayed less depth of flavour (91 points). Chateau La Dominique was the most closed wine of all. It will probably last the longest, but I found the acidity in this wine too much (92 points).

The verdict: 2010 Clos l'Oratoire for early drinking and the 2010 Chateau La Confession to put away.

Chateau La Conseillante

This Chateau in Pomerol is perhaps not all that fashionable. It has been under the ownership of the Nicolas family for five generations who have been committed to make the best wine they can.

The 2000 Chateau La Conseillante has a drinking window of 2014-2044 according to Robert Parker. 44 years, right? The wine shows a deep ruby colour. The strong bouquet is of red fruits, and this follows through to the palate. Red cherry and raspberry flavours deliver an attractive mouthfeel. Primary characteristics are still dominant. The key feature of this wine is the elegance combined with purity of fruit and an intense linearity, underwritten by silky tannins, before it finishes quite long. This is not a blockbuster, rather a somewhat understated wine which opens up beautifully. The wine is 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc.

Score: 95/+++