Clay and Sand: St-Émilion and Pomerol

From the Clay and Sand: St-Émilion and Pomerol tasting at Uncorked, Bishopsgate, London on 16/7/13.

Unlike Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot doesn’t mind getting its feet wet, which is why it dominates wine production in the right bank Bordeaux districts of St-Émilion and Pomerol, where water retentive clay soils are the norm. Using tannic Cabernet Sauvignon in only small quantities (and sometimes not at all) these wines are consequently likely to ripen faster than their left bank counterparts.

Grand Cru may sound like a great label, but it is given out with much profligacy in St-Émilion and is no absolute guide to quality; the label Premier Grand Cru Classé (whether A or B) is an indicator of the most prestigious wines. Pomerol has no official classification at all. It is a much smaller area than St-Émilion and, with a lot of prestige adhering to it, it is perhaps not the place to look for keen value for money.

Château Bellegrave – 2008 – Pomerol

Not exactly cassis on the nose; more cherried, and chalky. Ripens somewhat over the evening to show more leaf and black fruit and even suggests peach. Definite minerality, sharp acid, slightly astringent finish. A solid, good wine that could be from either bank of the Gironde Estuary. Perhaps not very exciting, though; it gets more breathing and swirling over the evening than any other wine, but doesn’t give the impression it’s on the way to anywhere special.

82/100

Château Beau-Séjour Bécot – 2008 – St-Émilion

Quite dark as Bordeaux goes, a still intensely purple rim. A powerful, complex, high-toned nose full of new oak that comes across as hot glue and leather; also floral, and plenty of dark fruit (blueberry). Still a little stemmy, with some heat and spice in the mix.

A lot of flavour churn over the evening makes this a fascinating wine to follow. The suggestion of malty, sweet marzipan makes me think of Speyside whisky.

92/100

Clos Fourtet – 2004 – St-Émilion

Dark too, but with a little bricking at the rim. The dominant impression on the nose is freshly ground coffee (new oak?) – also meaty, and herby. Still relatively closed and tannic, with a bitter, phenolic finish that should resolve in a few years, I’d never guess this was in fact 4 years older than the Beau-Séjour Bécot. Nevertheless, the tannins are very smooth. Probably needs quite a few years yet to achieve its full potential.

Both 2004 and 2008 were mixed vintages in which Merlot typically came out better than Cabernet Sauvignon, so overall, better right bank vintages.

91/100

Château Feytit-Clinet – 2007 – Pomerol

Exciting tastes: smoky, animalistic, and a touch of filter coffee – N1 thinks someone has spiked it with Laphroig. On the palate the fruit is classically Right Bank, sweet and ripe. Texturally less special, smooth, with acids and tannins working towards being in balance but not a massive, weighty wine – the effect of a weak vintage? Quite accessible now, not a long term keeper. 

90/100

Clos de L’Oratoire – 1998 – St-Émilion

Dark but bricking. Most of the primary aromas have disappeared and the nose is more tertiary; still sweet, though, says N1 with a wrinkled nose. Opens beautifully – probably drinking near its peak. Oaky, tertiary, acidic - mushrooms and underbrush.

Another vintage where Merlot did better than Cabernet, which was troubled by a wet harvest.

92/100

Château Monbousquet – 1996 – St-Émilion

Marked browning. Massively cigar box (seems more Médoc than St-Émilion), it still has the very oaky character of a younger wine. The fruit character is more plum liqueur than cassis, but it remains more primary than the slightly younger Clos de L’Oratoire. 

1996 was not a very good vintage anywhere in Bordeaux, and poorer vintages tend to call for earlier drinking, but this is a solid, structured wine that still needs time to come into balance.

92/100

Château Cheval Blanc – 2002 – St-Émilion

The only great wine that can be made predominantly from Cabernet Franc; while typically made from a blend of 50% Cabernet Franc and 50% Merlot, in some vintages the Cabernet Franc can rise much higher.

Dark, with the rim showing a little paling. The bouquet is not yet very giving, but is definitely more black fruit (i.e. Cabernet Franc) than Merlot plum. A tremendously silky, balanced, well-structured wine, but still far too young, from a vintage that I think is a little underrated across Bordeaux. Probably 100% new oak, but it is hardly perceptible, hidden away in the structure of the wine.

96/100

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

Château Grand-Puy-Lacoste – 2002

Cinquième Cru from Pauillac. 2002 was a difficult, cool year, with very low yields but some good quality results.

A classic Pauillac nose with leaf, gravel/tobacco and cedar showing through the cassis. Develops nice gamey notes. The cool vintage also shows, as the fruit is anything but baked. No sign of browning. Very good – seems to deserve more than Fifth Growth status.

92/100

Heavyweight Zinfandel – 2009

The name turns out to be something of a misnomer, as this Californian wine – presumed to be a bit of a monster – is much more Old World in style. It is made from old vine Zinfandel from the Lodi AVA (American Viticultural Area) in Central Valley. Very sweet fruit, a little oak, the suggestion of cinnamon. Not a great deal else and a wine to drink not keep, but an attractive everyday drinker. Although I tend to steer clear of the biggest, hottest, heaviest Zins, some, like this, can be very attractive in a less “heavyweight” style.

86/100

La Préceptoire de Centernach – Aurélie – 2009

This is fortified red wine from Maury, an AOC in Roussillon for vin doux naturel, that is, wine in which fortifying spirits are added to a wine mid-fermenatation, stopping fermentation and leaving residual sugars, essentially the same procedure used to make port. (Rather more of an unnaturel than a naturel process.) All Maury wines are made predominantly from Grenache.

Dark, even at the rim. It has the character of raspberry jam or berry compote with white pepper (the pepper being classic Grenache, of course). At 17% alcohol, it is rather like a hot, sweet ruby port although it does retain enough acid. Personally, if I’m going down the port road I’d prefer tawny or age; however, N1 is pleasantly surprised, and she normally prefers to steer clear of red dessert wines.

I used to have a friend who liked to pair unfortified red wines with chocolate; I would complain that this would wreck the wine, and he would say, “Neil, you sacrifice the wine on the altar of chocolate.” Maury is often paired with chocolate as it is supposed to stand up to it well. No doubt this would – there’s plenty of body, and not too much subtlety to wreck.

85/100

Torre de la Barreda – 2009

Spanish wine from the province of Castilla-La Mancha, falling within the VdT de Castilla category: Vino de la Tierra, that is, “country wine” – not necessarily low quality, but not conforming to stricter DO (Denominación de Origen) requirements.

This wine may be made from Tempranillo (or Cencibel under its local name), but it is utterly unlike Rioja. That may partly reflect the flat, relatively arid conditions extant on the Castilian plain where it is made, but many wines from the area are made much more in line with the traditional Tempranillo profile, so winemaking must be playing a large role here. I find this dark wine immediately reminds me more of Shiraz or Châteauneuf-du-Pape, with sweet, almost raisined black fruit, tar, tinned prunes, liquorice and a peppery finish.

Keenly priced; good structure in a wine that should age well.

87/100

Plavac Mali – 2011 – Pelješac

Croatian wine from the Pelješac peninsula (which projects from the mainland out into the Adriatic) in South Dalmatia. It is made from the Plavac Mali grape variety, which is an offshoot of ancestral Italian Primitivo (a.k.a. Zinfandel) and another local Croatian island variety, Dobričić. Plavac Mali is supposed to produce wine that sounds Primitivo/Zinfandel-like: blackberries, dark cherries, pepper, and spices.

Rustic, on the thin side, relatively low alcohol (11.9%) for a southern red. Redcurrant and peach, which is a note I would find more congruous in a white wine; also spiced, and quite oaky. An attractive blend of qualities in a simple sort of way. It rather reminded me of the Torres wine Sangre de Toro. A wine with no future but a pleasant present.

The stupidest thing about this bottle is that it carries no producer name or information, which makes me guess it may be from a co-operative. In any case, it has a mule on the label and we found it in Vinoteca, London.

82/100

Bacchus – Camel Valley – 2011

As a Scot, I carry no torch for English wines – to be honest, I tend to assume they are being oversold on patriotic grounds. But I found this a beautifully well-defined, floral, aromatic, grassy wine. It is described as being similar to Sancerre or a cool-climate Sauvignon, which I’m not sure quite captures it, but it is immensely attractive. It is very pale and light-bodied, and the value is in the aromatic freshness, so drink it young. 

It’s varietally named; Bacchus is a grape variety originally produced in Germany in the 1930s by crossing a Silvaner-Riesling cross with Müller-Thurgau. It can be powerfully flavoured, but as it has quite low acid levels it is unsuited to making varietal wines in its native Germany, where it will be blended (usually with Müller-Thurgau) to add flavour. It works better as a varietal wine in colder English growing conditions, where yields will be lower and more acid will be retained.

84/100

Manzanilla La Sanluqueña – Bodegas Teresa Rivero

Full-flavoured Manzanilla. Very distinct yeast / fresh dough character – the flor is showing through prominently. Also the classic brine and even apple. Nicely made. It comes in a bottle with a Klimt-does-flamenco label design.

Tabhlik – Marsanne – 2006

Tabhlik is an Australian winery from the Nagambie Lakes wine region in Victoria (the southernmost territory on mainland Australia). They plausibly claim to have the oldest Marsanne vines in the world.

An unwooded, unblended Marsanne, in what is for me a real Old World style. First impressions are very Riesling like; a blend of peach, lime, apples and the hint of petrol. There’s a waxiness too, that is quite Sémillon-esque. Quite a lot of acid. Aromatically evolved, this has had enough time to open out well (I am sure younger vintages would currently be less attractive) and it has enough character to continue aging towards that almost timeless South Rhône style. Not complex perhaps, but well-structured and pretty good bang for the buck.

85/100

Trie de Spéciale – Domaine des Baumard – Savennières – 2000

A late-harvested dry wine from Savennières, a small appellation in the Loire Valley, on the north bank of the River Loire, and just south of Angers. Savennières is made from Chenin Blanc, usually in a dry style, although in the past it tended to be sweet.

Golden, if with a slightly greenish glow. The bouquet has the gripping intensity of a dessert wine, a highly concentrated perfume of melons and nectarines. The palate initially seems watery by contrast, off dry, with a surprising hint of chili on the lips. Dense minerality; it evokes a rainy day on a mountain, or a damp cellar. The intensity of the aromas make it seem sweeter than it actually is. Chalky acidity rears up mid-palate, and the combination of perfume, sugar and acid leave a long aftertaste. I’m not sure one could combine this with anything other than goat’s cheese. All the hallmarks of classic Chenin Blanc: acid, honey, and long life.

92/100

Antonelli – Trebbiano Spoletino – 2010

Trebbiano - Italy’s great workhorse white grape variety – is the second most planted varietal in the world, by area under vine (the most planted of all being Spain’s white workhorse grape, Airén), responsible for up to 30% of Italian white grape plantings.  It is less well-known than it could be as it is blended into an ocean of mediocre table wine and typically fails to appear on bottle labellings. In France, it re-occurs as Ugni Blanc and is a key – and much valued – component in Cognac and Armagnac, while Trebbiano plantings have also followed Italian migrants around the world to Australia and Argentina, among other places. Within Italy itself, there is a huge diversity of local names for, and varieties of, Trebbiano. Most of the Trebbiano plantings in Umbria are of Trebbiano Toscana; this Antonelli wine comes from the more distinguished but very rare Trebbiano Spoletino variety, of which only 150 acres exist across all of Italy.

Straw yellow with green highlights – the colour suggests a wine that is still fresh. There is a surprisingly rich, fruit-driven nose, like ripening pear or melon (so different from the typically bland, unidentifiable bouquet of common-or-garden Trebbiano); as the wine opens, it tends towards the tropical (passion fruit) but on the palate retains the tartness of greengages or even grapefruit. There is no toastiness to the wine, but a definite vanilla from some (not all) of it having spent time in large oak barrels. Although my first impression of the wine was of an interesting alternative to New Zealand Sauvignon, with time, the vanilla and passion fruit dominate and it seems more Californian than anything else. Returning to this the following day, round waxy lemons have made a prominent arrival. While I feel no need to age this wine, it has the structure to support a good decade of aging. I’ve only come across Spoletino once before (see Adarmando, April 2013) and this is quite different, but both are much more interesting than the Trebbiano norm.  

84/100