Cru Bourgeois 2014 tasting: savvy consumers take note
Office of the Alliance de Cru Bourgeois, downtown Bordeaux
Tasted Monday, October 31, 2016 by PanosKakaviatos with 769 views
Introduction
In a visit to Bordeaux late last year, I tried a sampling of cru bourgeois wines from the 2014 vintage. While not all of the wines I tried were to my liking, many proved good to very good and can provide bang for your wine buck. The tasting also reminds readers that 2015 is not a homogenous vintage and that rains in the northern Medoc did not help St Estephe, for example, and that 2014 can be a better vintage in the northern Medoc...
For more details, pics and video: http://wine-chronicles.com/blog/cru-bourgeois-bargains-2014/
Flight 1 (8 Notes)
Flight 2 (14 Notes)
Flight 3 (3 Notes)
Flight 4 (3 Notes)
Flight 5 (3 Notes)
Closing
For the past few years, I have been organizing tastings of the cru bourgeois wines: most recently a dinner tasting at the excellent Ripple Restaurant in Washington D.C. And I was not that surprised that blogger Isaac James Baker (Reading, Writing and Wine) rated some of the cru bourgeois from that tasting dinner quite highly (a few 90+ scores). The dinner tasting featured various vintages (including 2014) from some 16 producers.
2014 Château Amour 88 Points
France, Bordeaux, Médoc
Coming from the northern Médoc, where rain came at the wrong time in 2015, this is a case of a better 2014. Half Merlot, half Cabernet Sauvignon with 13% alcohol, this is a smooth – even easy going – wine which comes across as less aggressive than some northern Médocs with harder tannins. Made from rather high yields (over 50 hectolitres per hectare), yet very flavorful. Savvy consumers should seek this one out.
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2014 Château de Bensse Médoc 87 Points
France, Bordeaux, Médoc
Made from 17 hectoliters per hectare, with 70% Merlot, this feels more concentrated that the preceding wine - and even a touch warm on the finish, seeming like 14% even if the label says 13.5. A richer style that charms me less, but score higher if you want greater density and less charm.
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2014 Château Castera 87 Points
France, Bordeaux, Médoc
There is a smooth aspect to the texture and freshness, but I could not shake an impression of a hint of green that detracts. Mostly Merlot with 25% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% each of Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc.
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2014 Château Clément Saint-Jean 87 Points
France, Bordeaux, Médoc
A savory Medoc, red and black fruit, with 60% Merlot and 40% Cabernet. The tannins are just a touch rustic, but time should tame them.
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2014 Château Fontis 89 Points
France, Bordeaux, Médoc
Also from the north – in Ordonnac – where 2015 saw more rain at the wrong time, this 2014 is likely a better wine - and one of the best Médocs from this tasting, as it conveyed a suave and smooth aspect for its tannins, and an orange rind like freshness combined with the expected red and black fruits expected from the Cabernet and Merlot, evenly mixed in this wine that clocks in at 13% alcohol.
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2014 Famille Bouey Médoc Château Maison Blanche 87 Points
France, Bordeaux, Médoc
No, not the place where Mr. Trump now lives – at least part time. The nearly 80% Merlot makes this quite supple and plum like. Smooth as well. Perhaps I could do with a bit more length on the finish, but overall very nice.
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2014 Château Ricaudet
France, Bordeaux, Médoc
Nail polish on the nose, and rough on the palate.
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2014 Château Tour Prignac 88 Points
France, Bordeaux, Médoc
Here we have a rather serious wine, which has somewhat raw tannin, but a very agreeable nose and fine structure. One of those wines that just needs a couple of years in the cellar to “come around” as the tannins are not green, but just a bit raw. And there is ripeness, fruit and richness to balance the equation.
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