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| Drinking Windows and Values |
| Drinking window: Drink between 2012 and 2018 (based on 15 user opinions) |
| Community Tasting History |
| Community Tasting Notes (average 88.2 pts. and median of 89 pts. in 35 notes) - hiding notes with no text | | | Tasted by Bordeaux Lady on 12/7/2019 & rated 90 points: Enjoyed at Iowa room temperature (1279 views) | | | Tasted by Bordeaux Lady on 11/12/2019 & rated 90 points: Tasted first from bottle then decanted 2 hours in cellar before serving with dinner. Decanting lost the subtle fruit flavors & vibrancy so it was better before decanting. Neighbor loved it. Solid wine at fair price. (1297 views) | | | Tasted by JeremyBernton on 3/31/2018 & rated 87 points: Beautiful classic Bordeaux nose. Palate a bit one dimensional and acidic, but nice red fruit and few tannins at this stage. (1970 views) | | | Tasted by all4ya on 11/29/2015 & rated 81 points: Drank w Grampy weekend of LSU and A&M (3967 views) | | | Tasted by jcsf420 on 2/24/2013 & rated 88 points: This is not coming around as I hoped. It could be in a shut down phase or its fading fast. I'll take a chance and hold my remaining 2. (6194 views) | | | Tasted by jcsf420 on 12/21/2012 & rated 89 points: Still needs some more time but drinking well enough now. Nice mix of fruit, funk and finesse. (5840 views) | | | Tasted by jcsf420 on 6/22/2012 & rated 89 points: Over a year since my last bottle and this one is starting to come around. Still needs more time or a couple of hour decant if you must. (6098 views) | | | Tasted by cbporter on 3/18/2012 & rated 90 points: while watching NCAA tourney, March 17, 2012 (5044 views) | | | Tasted by tcufletch on 1/12/2012 flawed bottle: Second bottle from Costo this year that was corked and I've been suspicious on a couple of other occassions.
Upon opening, inside neck of bottle was very musty/wet dog. Poured and gave the glass 30 minutes. Some of the funk blew off, but highly astringent. (4123 views) | | | Tasted by WG198 on 10/25/2011 & rated 88 points: - Garnet color and aromas of black currant and cherry. It's balanced and has flavours of raspberry, black currant and cherry with a medium body. Smooth texture with a medium finish. (3386 views) | | | Tasted by PDavisMarble on 6/12/2011 & rated 87 points: Drinking well - only had a few sips -- with food. Excellent accompaniment. (3882 views) | | | Tasted by ToniTony on 4/12/2011 & rated 84 points: Good bouquet but lacks body (3879 views) | | | Tasted by jcsf420 on 2/5/2011 & rated 88 points: This is a well made wine. I could tell there was more here then what was showing upon opening. This is young, could be closed at this time. I let half of it sit a day and it really opened up on day 2. The fruit started to shine through. Dark fruit and dark red color, firm tannins, a slight barnyard funk, cedar. I'm looking forward to this one in a year or so. (4289 views) | | | Tasted by pgb67 on 1/26/2011 & rated 87 points: An acceptable bordeaux blend, esp given the modest price - neverthless, the flavors are a tad muted and the fruit doesn't shine. Nice entry taste of berries but the finish is short and undistinctive. (4378 views) | | | Tasted by grayfont on 10/11/2010 & rated 89 points: dark/deep purple in color. perhaps a bit thin for a BDX but otherwise very good in every way. dry and tannic but in a manner that highlights the evolving flavors rather than assaulting your palate. pleasant and intriguing. wish I'd bought more than one bottle. (5115 views) | | | Tasted by LopedeAguirre on 8/24/2010 & rated 90 points: This is an extraordinary wine for the price. Sharp bright dark red, with beautiful structure and balance, dark fruit but also nice subtle wood.Very long finish. A classic youthful Haut-Medoc, buy as much as you can to drink today. (5492 views) | | | Tasted by Mark Brandon on 6/27/2010 & rated 87 points: Not Bad... fair value (5799 views) | | | Tasted by jeremy_ross on 6/20/2010 & rated 88 points: NOTE: If you like this wine and its low price tag, stock up now. All but 2ha of the vines were upgraded from Haut Medoc to Margaux in 2007.
Decanted for a couple of hours, continued to improve for hours. Dark reddish purple. Subtle candy/fruity nose. Tart cherry, basil, powdery tannins. Nice value. (5707 views) | | | Tasted by Hazeo on 5/10/2010: Classically styled left banker, with dark fruit, cedar, some earthy funk. I found it a bit light and thin but perfect for a weekday or general party wine. QPR is great especially since I found it for $6 at Costco. (6190 views) | | | Tasted by THA on 3/21/2010 & rated 88 points: At $12, this is the best QPR I've found in Bordeaux. This is a winner, exhibiting everything one expects from a left bank. Remarkable focused complexity. I can't tell you how many Bordeaux wines I've had costing four or five times as much but that don't deliver on the level of this wine. (6311 views) | | | Tasted by jszczerb on 3/10/2010: Earthy, currants, blackberries... alcohol is not noticeable. Nice amount of tannins. First few sips were very intense. Next seem to melllow out a bit. Not bad for $13 (6302 views) | | | Tasted by Sauvyfan on 2/6/2010 & rated 84 points: Dusty cherry and strawberries on the nose. Some woodiness as well as a little cassis and oak. Equal parts fruit and terroir on the nose. Palate was a bit medicinal with little fruit. What fruit that is there is darker than the nose lets on. The tannins are still biting as to be expected. The mid-palate is kind of "watery". It is light to medium bodied with a short finish. Price for this Bordeaux doesn't lie. (6533 views) | | | Tasted by drgrape on 1/28/2010 & rated 86 points: Just an Ok wine. There was a little brett. I wasn't in the barnyard, but I could see it. (6623 views) | | | Tasted by Cliff A on 1/17/2010 & rated 90 points: BillyT says it all in his tasting note. All the characteristics of a left bank Bordeaux in this wine. At $12.99 this one has a great QPR. I have poured this guy blind to three differencent groups and all have had the same reaction - "really good wine". It is time to stock up on this everyday Bordeaux and see how it develops. It is clear from the lable that Chateau d'Issan is proud of their 4th wine. (6982 views) | | | Tasted by sonofabacchus on 1/14/2010 & rated 90 points: Nice wine. Oddly, this tasted incredibly much like the '06 Naiara Malbec Riserva, as I recall -- which at about 30% less money is the superior deal. This needed a little time to open up but was fine in a half hour or so. Didn't have a long finish, but this is an under $15 bottle. All in all, we have been spoiled by so many excellent wines form this region lately, but this could go (in a typical year) toe to toe with wines costing double and triple. (7106 views) | | | Only displaying the 25 most recent notes - click to see all notes for this wine... |
| Le Haut-Médoc d'Issan Producer websiteRed Bordeaux BlendRed Bordeaux is generally made from a blend of grapes. Permitted grapes are Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Petit Verdot, Malbec and rarely Carménère.Today Carménère is rarely used, with Château Clerc Milon, a fifth growth Bordeaux, being one of the few to still retain Carménère vines. As of July 2019, Bordeaux wineries authorized the use of four new red grapes to combat temperature increases in Bordeaux. These newly approved grapes are Marselan, Touriga Nacional, Castets, and Arinarnoa.
Wineries all over the world aspire to making wines in a Bordeaux style. In 1988, a group of American vintners formed The Meritage Association to identify wines made in this way. Although most Meritage wines come from California, there are members of the Meritage Association in 18 states and five other countries, including Argentina, Australia, Canada, Israel, and Mexico.France Vins de France (Office National Interprofessionnel des Vins ) | Pages Vins, Directory of French Winegrowers | French Wine (Wikipedia)
Wine Scholar Guild vintage ratings
2018 vintage: "marked by a wet spring, a superb summer and a good harvest"
2019 vintage reports
2021: "From a general standpoint, whether for white, rosé or red wines, 2021 is a year marked by quality in the Rhône Valley Vineyards. Structured, elegant, fresh and fruity will be the main keywords for this new vintage."
2022 harvest: idealwine.info | wine-searcher.comBordeaux Bordeaux Wine Guide
Vins Bordeaux (Conseil Interprofessionnel du Vin de Bordeaux)
History of Bordeaux
History of 1855 Bordeaux Classification
"2009 is all about ripeness, with wines impressively packed with ripe fruit and high alcohol levels. They are showy, in-your-face, and full of pleasure. The 2010s have the fruit and alcohol levels of the 2009s, but with a compelling freshness on the finish that balances the fruit and provides a perfect sense of structure." - Ben Nelson
"2016 is a landmark vintage in certain spots of Bordeaux and it should be remembered as one of the most inspired campaigns of the last 40-50+ years." -Jon Rimmerman
"The quality of red Bordeaux in 2016 was universally lauded – although the response to the en primeur campaign was muted. Quantity was high too, with the equivalent of 770 million bottles of wine produced. An exceptionally dry summer with cool nights eventually, thanks to mid September rain, resulted in small, thick-skinned, ripe grapes, and the wines are marked by high tannin and acidity, with superb aromatic fragrance." - Jancis Robinson
"2017 was complicated, but there are some excellent wines. Expect plenty of freshness and drinkability from wines that will offer excellent value, and others that will rival 2016 in terms of ripeness and ageability. But they are likely to be the exception not the rule, making careful selection key." - Jane Anson
"In the past, a vintage such as 2022 may have been overripe, raisined and low in acidity but 2022 had a sneaky little reservoir in its back pocket - a near perfect marriage of cool/cold/rain the previous winter and the previous vintage that literally soaked the soils (a key to why 2022 is not 2003...or 1893)." - Jon RimmermanMédoc Vins du Médoc (Conseil des Vins du Médoc) - Read More about the Medoc
VdB
The eight precisely defined appellations of the whole of the Médoc (from Blanquefort Brook to the north of the Bordeaux built-up area, almost to the Pointe de Grave) may claim the Médoc appellation. But there is also a specific territory in the north of the peninsula which produces exclusively wines with this appellation. In the great majority, the Médocs come from the north of the peninsula. The great individuality of this region is that the number of vines has increased more recently here than elsewhere, apart from a few isolated spots where vines have grown for many years. Today, the size of the small estate has brought about the development of a powerful co-operative movement. Four co-operatives out of five belong to the group called Unimédoc which ensures aging, bottling and marketing a large proportion of their wines.Haut-Médoc Read more about Haut Medoc and its wines Long-standing fame The legally created division into Médoc and Haut-Médoc dates from 1935. But as long ago as 1815 a Chartrons broker, whose word carried weight, spoke of great red wines in the Haut-Médoc, so recognizing the high quality successfully achieved by this region's growers in the eighteenth century. The same Bordeaux broker revealed that the business world of the Chartrons and the great Bordeaux proprietors had established a sort of league-table of the parishes in which the vine-growing communes of today's Haut-Médoc appellation showed up well.
The Haut-Médoc appellation stretches over some thirty seven miles from north to south, from Saint-Seurin de Cadourne to Blanquefort. Within this area, certain zones produce wines exclusively with the Haut-Médoc appellation. It has terroirs of remarkable quality. And although we may note a certain predominance of layers of gravel (essentially Garonne gravel) from the Quaternary, all these sites are characterized by their wide diversity. Today in the southernmost communes of the appellation, the suburbs of Bordeaux, numerous vineyards which existed at the beginning of the twentieth century have disappeared, victims of urban expansion. But the vines live on... because man has retained his devotion to them.
The astonishing variety of different terroirs, the result of the very extent of the area, explains the diversity of Haut-Médoc wines, a fact which is rare within one and the same appellation.
But, over and above the differences, linked to this mosaic of climatic and geological influence, all these wines have the same family traits of character.
Alert and lively, full-bodied without being too powerful, and harmoniously balanced, they acquire a rare bouquet over the years.
In order to have the right to the Haut-Médoc appellation of controlled origin, red wines must:
- come from the communes of Blanquefort, Le Taillan, Parempuyre, Le Pian, Ludon, Macau, Arsac, Labarde, Cantenac, Margaux, Avensan, Castelnau, Soussans, Arcins, Moulis, Listrac, Lamarque, Cussac, Saint-Laurent de Médoc, Saint-Julien, Pauillac, Saint-Sauveur, Cissac, Saint-Estèphe, Vertheuil, Saint-Seurin de Cadourne "excluding all the parcels situated on recent alluvium and sand on impermeable subsoils",
- satisfy precise production conditions : grape-varieties (Cabernet-Sauvignon, Cabernet-Franc, Carmenère, Merlot Noir, Petit Verdot, Cot or Malbec), minimum of sugar (178 grammes - 6.27 oz. - per litre of must) degree (an acquired 10°5) base yield (48 hectolitres per hectare).
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