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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
88 points
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
87 points
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
87 points
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
87 points
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
89 points
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
87 points
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.
1 person found this helpful Comments (1)
Red
2014 Château Ricaudet France, Bordeaux, Médoc
Nail polish on the nose, and rough on the palate.
Red
2014 Château Tour Prignac France, Bordeaux, Médoc
88 points
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
87 points
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
87 points
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.
1 person found this helpful Comment
Red
2014 Château Bel Air Gloria France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Haut-Médoc
84 points
Somewhat clumsy and a bit heavy.
Red
2014 Château Cissac France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Haut-Médoc
90 points
A lovely cru bourgeois, with very smooth tannin, savory richness and a freshness on the long finish. Bravo.
2 people found this helpful Comment
Red
2014 Château Dasvin-Bel-Air France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Haut-Médoc
84 points
A wine to avoid, as it comes across as far too hard.
Red
2014 Château Haut-Bellevue Haut-Médoc France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Haut-Médoc
87 points
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.
1 person found this helpful Comment
Red
2014 Château Larose Perganson France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Haut-Médoc
87 points
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.
1 person found this helpful Comment
Red
2014 Château Larose-Trintaudon France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Haut-Médoc
86 points
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
88 points
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.
1 person found this helpful Comment
Red
2014 Château Maucamps France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Haut-Médoc
90 points
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
87 points
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…
Red
2014 Château Saint-Paul Haut-Médoc France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Haut-Médoc
85 points
An improvement over the Real, but more ho-hum flat than engaging.

Flight 3 (3 notes)

Red
2014 Château Donissan France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Listrac-Médoc
Candied fruit aromatics but lacking nuance or substance on the palate.
Red
2014 Château Liouner France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Listrac-Médoc
Ah, greet the wet dog. Or perhaps the wet socks!
Red
2014 Château Vieux Moulin France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Listrac-Médoc
87 points
Agreeable, supple and smooth.

Flight 4 (3 notes)

Red
2014 Château Caroline France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Moulis en Médoc
86 points
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 Chemin Royal France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Moulis en Médoc
85 points
Smooth enough but no great shakes, either.
Red
2014 Château Bellevue de Tayac France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux
88 points
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
87 points
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
88 points
More fruit forward aspects on the nose and palate as compared to preceding wine, but also displays Saint Estephe power. A fine showing indeed.
2 people found this helpful Comment
Red
2014 Château Serilhan France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe
89 points
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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