2009 Château Cantemerle
Community Tasting Note
forceberry wrote:
Thursday, January 14, 2016 - A blend of Cabernet Sauvignon (49%), Merlot (38%), Petit Verdot (7%) and Cabernet Franc (6%). Macerated with the skins for 28-30 days. Aged for 12 months in French oak barriques (50% new). Tasted blind.
Translucent dark cherry red color. Very rich, noticeably sweet-toned and even rather jammy nose with noticeable oak influence and aromas of sweet red cherries, licorice, succulent dark plums, some espresso tones, a little bit of strawberry jam and a hint of mocha. The wine is rich, full-bodied and very round on the palate with silky smooth flavors of ripe dark fruits, crunchy redcurrants, some tart cranberry tones, a little bit of coffee tones and light mocha oak, a hint of marmaladey black cherry and a touch of extracted woody bitterness. The wine is very high in acidity, which lends it good sense of intensity and sets of some of the sweeter tones. The tannins, on the other hand, feel remarkably soft, gentle and their grip borderline nonexistent. The medium-long finish is round, soft and sweet-toned with flavors of juicy black cherries, some toasty oak spice, a little bit of mocha, light plum jam tones, a hint of cocoa oak and a touch of blackcurrant jam.
Tasting the wine blind, I though this was a modern Bordeaux imitation from a very warm new world wine country like Argentina or Australia. Little did I know that this was a "classic" Bordeaux from the Left Bank! Overall the wine didn't taste anything like classic Bordeaux to me: the soft tannins made the wine lack the tough structure the wines are known for, the fruit was very sweet-toned and jammy for the most part and the overall taste was dominated by rather obfuscating, chocolatey mocha oak character that distracted me quite a bit from enjoying the wine. I must say that the wine is remarkably high in acidity for a 2009 Bordeaux, but that might be the only positive thing I can come up with. Overall a big disappointment and although still very young, I doubt it will get much better in a cellar with its soft and polished tannins.
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2 comments have been posted
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Comment posted by Portland Seth:
2/16/2019 9:54:00 AM - A year ago I drank a bottle and found the tannins to be very drying and the wine to be overall more savory than sweet. How long did you decant for?
Comment posted by forceberry:
2/16/2019 10:04:00 AM - The wine was opened some 30 minutes before tasting and it was tasted over a period of an hour or so. In a blind flight of four wines (two Bdx, two Chinese Bdx blends) it felt the softest one, tannin-wise.