Community Tasting Note

Mario Peña Likes this wine:

Friday, November 25, 2016 - Wines have common threads both in how they taste and what purpose they serve to wine drinkers. Côtes du Rhone, Montepulciano d'Abruzzo and Spanish Garnachas can all be great go to wines any day of the week for wine drinkers because of their versatility in various situations. These wines have varying degrees of generosity of fruit on the palate while all convey welcoming tastes, all have flexible structures that allow enjoyment with or without food and can serve as great introductions to old world wine styles for those looking to expand their horizons. Furthermore these wines are great value.



With confidence I put this relatively generous and simple to the point Bordeaux Superior by Chateau Grand-Portail from the great 2010 vintage with the aforementioned wines. Of course this Bordeaux lacks the pedigree of Cru Classe Bordeaux but brings the honest charm of a country cousin, not a whiff of pretension here. On the lovely nose there's dark and red berries, baking spice and violets. Continuing there are raspberries, dark cherry and cassis that show well on a creamy palate with hints of graphite and soft cherry wood. The tannins are soft and well rounded after half a dozen years in bottle and similarly the acidity is integrated and serves its purpose to help lift the delicious berry notes. Chateau Grand-Portail has made a wine that is drinking perfectly well right now and which would be a great entry level introduction to Bordeaux Superior or just perfect any night of the week for a seasoned palete.

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