Pebbles and drainage: Graves and the South

From the Pebbles and drainage: Graves and the South Bordeaux tasting at Uncorked, Bishopsgate, London, on 9/7/13.

Château de Fieuzal – Blanc – 2009

In Bordeaux Blanc blends of Sauvignon and Sémillon, I find the Sauvignon tends to be dominant when the wine is young and the Sémillon becomes dominant in maturity; however, while the Fieuzal is still very young, it is also a wine with a very pronounced Sémillon character, doubly surprising because there is more Sauvignon in the blend.

Oaky candlewax on the nose, with a little honey. Rich but also a racy acidity, and a very dry lemon pith finish. With time, the lemon quality ripens towards orange, and the suggestion of tinned fruit juice emerges, a sign of the ripe 2009 vintage? In any case it is more than held in check by the acidity. Plenty of new oak character. Shows signs of a lot of richening ahead. Needs a good 5-10 years to reach its prime.

91/100

Château Biac – 2009

From the AOC Cadillac Côtes de Bordeaux (as opposed to AOC Cadillac, exclusively for sweet wines) on the right bank of the Garonne, so within Entre-Deux-Mers. It is made with more or less equal amounts of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot.

Impenetrably dark wine, the colour calls to mind some over-extracted monsters, but that’s not quite what this is. However, it is still too young to be very accessible, the wine is dominated by crunchy green fruit and big (but knitted) tannins, the creamy character from malolactic fermentation, and a slightly hot, slightly spicy finish. Quite a heavy style. Needs a lot of time.

89/100

Clos Floridene – 2006

From AOC Graves, from a Château better known for white wines.

Significantly lighter than the Biac it follows, and with a slightly maturing rim, it has an enormously attractive, complex bouquet. Gentle tobacco, game and pencil shavings, and primary fruit going secondary. As is not atypical with wines starting to mature, the palate remains more youthful than the bouquet. Still fresh, lovely acidity, silky texture. A more traditional style than the Biac. Already very accessible, this is not a long-term ager, but would nevertheless benefit from 3-4 more years of aging. A delicious Bordeaux bargain.

91/100

Château Les Carmes Haut-Brion – 2008

From AOC Pessac-Léognan; the name harks back to the origins of the vineyards, originally part of the Haut-Brion estate, then donated to the Carmelite order in the 16^th century. Despite being from Graves, it is a very right-bank style blend of 50% Merlot, 40% Cabernet Franc and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon.

Sweet, plummy, very Merlot-driven fruit, an almost spiritous nose with just a touch of volatile acidity emerging, and plenty of oak-and-cigar-box. Smooth, serious palate still relatively closed, still a bit green and leafy. At least give it the benefit of the rule of ten and hold till 2018, but I suspect it will want longer.

91/100

Domaine de Chevalier – 2008

From AOC Pessac-Léognan; one of the very few Bordeaux estates to be called Domaine and not Château. In the 1959 Classification of Graves wine (which, confusingly, produces some overlapping classifications with the more famous 1855 Official Classification of Bordeaux, which itself only covered wines from the Médoc and Graves regions) it is listed as Grand Cru Classé.

Made from a more typically left-bank blend of 66% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot and 9% Petit Verdot. It shows: a relatively closed but very Cabernet-cassis dominated bouquet. Extremely classy, beautiful mouthfeel, but still very ungiving. With time and breathing, a very elegant mix of toast and leaf becomes apparent, but it is clear this still has a long way to go.

93/100

The reds as a whole

All a bit on the young side, the Clos Floridene least so. For most of the evening, the Clos Floridene was the most immediately attractive red; it was only later when the Domaine de Chevalier and the Carmes Haut-Brion had had time to open out that the Clos Floridene moved into the shade. The Biac remained big but inscrutable, not convincing me it had great places to go to. The Floridene is a lovely, accessible bargain.

Château Climens – 2004

From AOC Barsac, a sub-area (and sub-AOC) of AOC Sauternes. (In Barsac, one can choose whether to classify one’s sweet wine as either Barsac or Sauternes). Climens is a Premier Cru, which puts it on the second tier: but the very top tier, Premier Cru Superieur, exists exclusively for Château d’Yquem. Climens is made from 100% Sémillon (the preponderant variety in Sauternes).

Going amber now (not yet orange and eventually brown as it will do in future years). An intensely aromatic nose of lemon marmalade and barley sugar. Rich flavours, lovely tension between sugar and acidity.

90/100