Cru Bourgeois 2014 tasting: savvy consumers take note
Office of the Alliance de Cru Bourgeois, downtown Bordeaux
Tasted October 31, 2016 by PanosKakaviatos with 757 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)
Red
2014 Château Amour
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.
Red
2014 Château de Bensse Médoc
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.
Red
2014 Château Castera
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.
Red
2014 Château Clément Saint-Jean
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.
Red
2014 Château Fontis
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.
Red
2014 Famille Bouey Médoc Château Maison Blanche
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.
Red
2014 Château Tour Prignac
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.
Flight 2 (14 notes)
Red
2014 Château Arnauld
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Haut-Médoc
Not really my style as the wine comes across as heavy and over extracted. When tasted again at a dinner in Washington D.C. more recently, it got high scores from some participants. A question of style.
Red
2014 Château Barthez
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Haut-Médoc
Oh, what a relief! This comes across as sheer refreshment after the Arnauld. Smooth and elegant, and certainly rich from the 66% Merlot, but far more balanced.
Red
2014 Château Beaumont
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Haut-Médoc
Here we have a “go-to” Haut Medoc, which is fairly consistent year-in, year out. Not quite as rich and soyeux (silky) as the Barthez, but serious and balanced, with fine structure and an overall smooth texture.
Red
2014 Château Cissac
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Haut-Médoc
A lovely cru bourgeois, with very smooth tannin, savory richness and a freshness on the long finish. Bravo.
Red
2014 Château Haut-Bellevue Haut-Médoc
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Haut-Médoc
Delicious, fun and easy. Maybe not the most structured among the wines tasted today, but a pleasure to drink! I like a spicy aspect that could come from the 10% Petit Verdot.
Red
2014 Château Larose Perganson
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Haut-Médoc
Nearly half each of Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon plus 4% of Petit Verdot, this wine comes across as very youthful in color and has both a smooth and structured palate with a long finish. Lovely. I had a less favorable impression over a dinner tasting in January 2017, so let me be somewhat cautious on the score.
Red
2014 Château Larose-Trintaudon
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Haut-Médoc
At nearly 50 hectoliters per hectare, this is quite lovely and savory. The palate is smooth if not quite as structured as the Perganson, and the finish is shorter, but a fine enough wine at a decent price.
Red
2014 Barton & Guestier Château Magnol
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Haut-Médoc
Have had a soft spot for this wine ever since first encountered back in 2003. There is a sense of greater completeness to this wine just after the Trintaudon. A longer finish. A more spherical aspect, with smooth tannin as well as richness, and more character. Certainly tasty and has been a “go to” cru bourgeois for me for some time.
Red
2014 Château Maucamps
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Haut-Médoc
Well, well! One of the best of the tasting, with greater nuance than the two preceding wines. And at 14% alcohol does not come across as heavy handed or overly oaked as is Arnauld. In the top 5 of this tasting.
Red
2014 Château Meyre
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Haut-Médoc
Quite a pure fruit aspect, focused and lovely. A charming wine if not among the deepest or longest.
Red
2014 Château Réal
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Haut-Médoc
Actually this is somewhat diluted and, unlike its moniker, comes across as less real in vinous terms as compared to many others from this tasting…
Flight 3 (3 notes)
Red
2014 Château Donissan
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Listrac-Médoc
Candied fruit aromatics but lacking nuance or substance on the palate.
Flight 4 (3 notes)
Red
2014 Château Caroline
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Moulis en Médoc
Just a bit more Merlot than Cabernet, this wine conveys mid-palate plum like richness, but a touch hard on the finish, as some 2014s can be. Give it time in bottle…
Red
2014 Château Bellevue de Tayac
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux
Very smooth yet nuanced. Nearly 70% Merlot gives it richness but it is not like a Pomerol of the Medoc. There is a structure that reassures for some cellar aging. Nice!
Flight 5 (3 notes)
Red
2014 Château Laffitte-Carcasset
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe
Hard, Old School Saint Estephe, yet there is a sumptuous aspect on the mid palate that reassures. Could it be the 32% Merlot? I take a wait and see approach, as the tannins are not unripe.
Red
2014 Château Lilian Ladouys
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe
More fruit forward aspects on the nose and palate as compared to preceding wine, but also displays Saint Estephe power. A fine showing indeed.
Red
2014 Château Serilhan
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe
This had been taken from cask 9 days earlier. And yet very smooth and subtle overall, even if the tannins are just a touch raw. But this shows much promise! Bravo.
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.
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