is a small commune on the left bank with the smallest production of the four well-known areas of the Médoc, three-quarters of which is produced by classified Château. It has the highest proportion of classified growths. The only thing dragging this area down is that it boasts not one first growth. Even so, it’s excellent land for wine grapes, it seems.
Being an older wine, it was dark brick. On the nose it smelled of dried cherries, fig, cloves and anise. A very pleasant nose. It was still quite acidic and VERY earthy. I could taste the wood, but the earth and leather were prominent. There also was none of the bacon taste I’d gotten from other older Bordeaux. (Bacon only for unclassified wine?). It had a light body and went well with food. Unfortunately, I wasn’t bowled over. I still liked it, but I’m no Bordeaux convert.The Score: ★★★½
There’s certainly been a lot to learn about Bordeaux and undoubtedly there’s a lot of really great wine there (much of which I’ll probably never get to drink!). But, perhaps the biggest thing I’ve learned about Bordeaux is that while I appreciate its food-friendliness, low alcohol and the subtle nuances of each individual appellation, and I didn’t dislike any of the wines I tried, in the future I’m likely to choose a California Cabernet over Bordeaux. I’m not into fruit bombs or super high alcohol so there’s a lot of wine from California that I just don’t like. But, I'm going to continue to go out of my way to find those wines that are more of an old-world style. And you just can't beat being able to buy wine that's local, from the tasting room you visited at the winery. In the end, if I’m choosing a red wine to drink with my food I probably won’t choose cabernet (or merlot) at all.
Bet you can't guess which French region I'll do next!
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