Wine Words & Video Tape

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Posts Tagged ‘Fronsac’

Bordeaux 2014: Fronsac and Canon-Fronsac

Written by JW. Posted in Bordeaux

DSC02924There are good wines to be had in Fronsac and Canon-Fronsac in 2014. Eleven wines tasted blind shown by the Grand Cercle last month in St Emilion had attractive fruit tones, freshness and a fair bit of ambition. These wines appear to have early to medium term prospects but are probably best enjoyed in their youth when they are vibrant and full of fruit. That said several have the structure to age for up to a decade. The picks for me were Château Dalem, Haut-Carles, Château La Vielle Cure and Château Les Trois Croix in Fronsac and Château Moulin Pey-Labrie and Château Gaby in Canon-Fronsac.

Bordeaux 2014: Primeurs week begins

Written by JW. Posted in Bordeaux

DSC02924Primeurs week begins today in Bordeaux and the first signs are that 2014 looks to be a good vintage. After a string of comparatively mediocre years, culminating in the disappointing 2013 vintage, it is likely that 2014, after an exceptional September, has produced the most promising wines the region has seen since 2010. Much is left to be discovered and I’ve only been tasting in St Emilion this weekend but first indications are good. Still the success of the forthcoming en primeur campaign surely rests as much on price as it does upon quality [though a good quality vintage will be a relief]. After three missed opportunities by and large, can Bordeaux’s proprietors finally judge market sentiment correctly and release 2014 at prices cheaper than currently available vintages? While the weakness of the euro already guarantees a price cut in the UK and US markets, a drop in price in real terms would surely galvanise interest once more in Bordeaux in what looks to be an extremely promising vintage.

Bordeaux Primeurs 2013: Fronsac and Canon-Fronsac

Written by JW. Posted in Bordeaux

IMG_5609A dozen or so wines tasted from Canon-Fronsac and Fronsac were generally a rather lean bunch last month. There’s structure here and serious intent in some but not a huge amount of joy. The picks would have to be from Fronsac and include Château Les Trois Croix, Château Fontenil, Château de Carlmagnus and Château Dalem. Château La Vieille Cure is chewy and needs to settle while Château de La Dauphine, often excellent, has made something elegant, if rather light.

Bordeaux Primeurs 2012: Fronsac & Canon-Fronsac

Written by JW. Posted in Bordeaux

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These appellations have produced a serious set of wines in 2012. There is plenty of fruit, complexity in many cases and no shortage of style. I’d expect these to be well priced and should prove good buys, better bets frankly than many of their similarly priced counterparts on the Haut-Médoc in this vintage. As you’d expect of Fronsac/Canon-Fronsac the wines are more structured than many of those in the Côtes de Bordeaux, less lush, more intellectual. Having just said that Chateau de la Dauphine looks an absolute treat. It is really seductive.

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