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| Drinking Windows and Values |
| Community Tasting History |
| Community Tasting Notes (average 87.1 pts. and median of 87 pts. in 24 notes) - hiding notes with no text | | | Tasted by JovAe on 4/19/2021 & rated 90 points: Very pleasant wine, lots of black fruit, soft tannins and balanced on acidity, long, lingering finish. (1017 views) | | | Tasted by MichielH on 11/18/2017: Sadly a bit of cork. (2716 views) | | | Tasted by Verhagen on 9/17/2013 & rated 88 points: Dark fruit hint of leather. Taste not as exciting as the nose. But it has length, very nice wine. (7364 views) | | | Tasted by yeastbeast on 1/3/2012 & rated 84 points: Decanted for an hour then had with chicken and collard "spanakopita." Somewhat light red color. Nose was initially a bit tinny, but it aired out quickly enough. Bright, tart fruit with a light body, mild spice and a hint of tobacco. Quite nice for a cheap Tuesday wine. Drinking very nicely now, unlikely to improve. Would buy again at under $10. (10539 views) | | | Tasted by midai on 10/7/2011: very dark , decanted 2 hours and still lots of tannins, it is not very expressive paired with a grilled steak, if I had another bottle would age a couple more years. (10612 views) | | | Tasted by grayfont on 5/29/2011 & rated 85 points: stored since purchase (Feb 2010) in 55 degree wine cabinet and decanted approximately one hour before serving with grilled tri-tip steak. This is quintessentially old world with its restrained fruit and nuance of earth tones. Would not buy it again, even at $12, but I like trying new wines so I'm glad I had it once. (10288 views) | | | Tasted by JoshA on 11/23/2010 & rated 89 points: Big ripe and juicy dark fruit and light tannins. Long, delicious finish. (9647 views) | | | Tasted by cannym on 9/4/2010 & rated 86 points: Lovely deep ruby. Some blackberry fruit, some wood and leather too. Medium weight, fresh and nicely balanced. Clean. Very pleasant, great QPR and could have benefited from more time. (6060 views) | | | Tasted by Jakebo14 on 8/12/2010 & rated 86 points: Muted at first, but after an hour opened up nicely. For the money, a great buy. (5214 views) | | | Tasted by icrworldnu on 5/22/2010 & rated 88 points: Beautiful notes of berry and cocoa on the front dissapating in to slight hints of eucalyptus and a thin wire spice of cherble. Delicate on the finish with a long linger. (5403 views) | | | Tasted by bformanek on 5/21/2010 & rated 88 points: Very "green" after the third night was much calmer. Will need to age for awhile. All intentions of being a good Bordeaux especially for the price. Let this one sit, or at least decant for a few hours! (5429 views) | | | Tasted by armchairsommelier on 2/19/2010 & rated 84 points: I have tasted this wine over two nights . . . this is an uptight, tightly wound wine that needs some time to relax. Considerably better on the second night. Nose is tight - green currant and a hint of cedar. Flavors of sour plum and unripe cherry. It's trying to come out, but it's not there yet. There is a bitter component on the finish that pulls my focus. Overall, this has potential, but I'd wait another year or two before popping open another bottle. Salud! (5867 views) | | | Tasted by maxmanx on 6/8/2009 & rated 89 points: Would be interested to see if this gets better after a few years in the cellar. (6521 views) | | | Tasted by maxmanx on 5/20/2009 & rated 88 points: Very reasonable Bordeaux for the price. Not spectacular, but good QPR. (6568 views) | | | Tasted by Cliff A on 12/30/2008 & rated 88 points: An excellent everyday Bordeax with good fruit on the nose and palate with soft tannins. Great QPR for a Bordeaxu from the outstanding 2005 vintage. (6695 views) | | | Tasted by winolee on 12/12/2008 & rated 90 points: Difficult nose, slight cherry. Tannic, but not hot. Not sure if it just needs more time in the bottle. Very tart cherries. (5696 views) |
| Red 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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