Wine Words & Video Tape

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Posts Tagged ‘Chateau Belgrave’

Bordeaux 2010 Revisited

Written by JW. Posted in Bordeaux

IMG_6252The MW Institute’s Annual Claret tasting of over one hundred top chateaux held last November was a good opportunity to assess how the 2010 Bordeaux vintage is developing. There is no doubt that this is a great vintage for many reds. It has been pretty consistent from cask to bottle, a vintage generally much more classical than the precocious and forward 2009, but of similarly prodigious quality. Taken together these two vintages make an exceptional back-to-back duo for Bordeaux, especially so on the Left Bank and in Pessac-Léognan. The same can also be said for Sauternes and Barsac. Pomerol and St Emilion once again have made many excellent wines in 2010, often extremely well endowed and big framed, though sometimes too much so in St Emilion when they nudge sixteen degrees.

Bordeaux 2012 In Bottle: Haut-Médoc

Written by JW. Posted in Bordeaux

Cantemerle label cu - CopyNow they are in bottle 2012 Haut-Médoc’s look to be light to medium weight wines with some vigour and style. Overall the vintage feels rounder and more harmonious than both 2013 and 2011, though there is not the power here of 2010 or the extraordinary succulence of 2009. Still many are drinking nicely already and should prove sufficiently attractive and rewarding in the short to medium term. The standouts will come as no surprise – Château Cantemerle, Château Citran [a gutsy effort], Château La Lagune and Château La Tour Carnet were the most complete for me.

Bordeaux Primeurs 2013: Haut-Médoc

Written by JW. Posted in Bordeaux

Cantemerle label cuFor me the wines of the Haut-Médoc performed much better than  I feared during primeurs 2013. Expecting the worst, I was generally encouraged and came away feeling that many had made the best of the poor hand the growing season had dealt them. There were casualties though. Château Malescasse and Château La Lagune will not release 2013s. Nevertheless Château Cantemerle [as ever], Château Belle-Vue and Château La Tour Carnet have produced good wines. Château Cissac, Château Belgrave, Château de Camensac and Château Larose-Trintaudon were also encouraging and should offer good value.

Bordeaux 2009 Revisited: Haut-Médoc

Written by JW. Posted in Bordeaux

Cantemerle label cu - CopyGenerally the further up the Haut-Médoc you go, the increasingly exciting things get in 2009. This excitement perhaps reaches its apogee in St Julien, Pauillac and St Estèphe. The four Haut-Médoc properties shown at the MW Institute tasting last November come from very different ends of the left bank and perhaps contradict this pattern slightly. Château La Lagune and Château Cantemerle border the Margaux appellation in the south, while Château Belgrave and Château de Camensac are further north and neighbour St Julien inland. All look extremely good in 2009 but Cantermerle and La Lagune are utterly brilliant.

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