Château Ramage la Batisse – 2003

Cru Bourgeois (or in the classification current when it was made, Cru Bourgeois Supérieur) from the Haut-Médoc (in this case, not far outside Pauillac) and the very ripe summer of 2003.

Big-bodied, integrating tannins, not overwhelmingly acidic; only a decade old, but very dominant secondary flavours, spicy and animalistic - scores 3 out of 10 on the hamster cage scale (that’s a blend of sawdust and volatile gaminess for those not brought up by an animal breeder). Drinking very well now, I’d be curious to see how it ages. The proximity to Pauillac shows through; it reminds me of a less grand Grand Puy Lacoste.

86/100