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me, enjoying the fine wines of Bordeaux is a little like enjoying
the classic jazz of trumpet legend Miles Davis.
Each has a broad, distinct character that is unmistakable, even to the
casual fan, and yet, the more you explore these seemingly unrelated
sensual pleasures, the more you find previously unrealized depths of
complexity and nuance.
Recently, we tasted through ten 2000 and 2001 Right Bank
Bordeaux; Right Bank, of course refers to the properties east of the
Gironde River, particularly those of Pomerol and Saint –
Émilion, and there, the heavy emphasis is usually on Merlot,
and to a lesser extent, Cabernet Franc (Cheval
Blanc and
Ausone
being the most notable exceptions), unlike the predominantly Cabernet
Sauvignon based wines from across the river. We
flirted with some of these briefly a few years back, and something
must have subconsciously taken hold, because here we are again. Here are
our impressions of those wines, most of which are drinkable now (and all
still readily available in our neck of the woods), but all show great
promise for future development.
2000 Clos
René Pomerol, $36.99, 13% alc.: Find this wine Inky garnet in color, showing
leathery cassis and black currant on the nose, with old wood in the
background and “mineral underneath,” according to
Alan Kerr. Flavors generally
echo on a full bodied frame, and a subtle sweet perfume does emerge, but
this is pretty tight these days, though the concentration and intensity
is obvious. This is approachable, and even enjoyable with extended air
and some fine grilled, medium rare lamb chops, but ultimately, the wine
is all about promise, so give it another five years and see where it’s
at then. |
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2000 Château Moulin Saint
– Georges Saint – Émilion, $37.99, 11.5 – 13.5% alc.: Find this wine Kim uttered,
“Delicious” upon her first sip of this, and I couldn't agree more. Dark
garnet, fading to pink at the rim, with tobacco, forest floor and dark
chocolate accenting the lovely black currant and berry character; medium
full bodied, with good structure and a nice finish, where the tannins
show the most. Air accentuates the tobacco, but not to the exclusion of
the fruit, and if it’ll probably be at its best from 2010 – 2015, it’s
still pretty nice right now, especially with a good cut of grilled or
roasted red meat.
2001 Château Bellisle Mondotte Saint – Émilion,
$28.99, 13.5% alc.: Find this wine An inky garnet, fading to pink at the rim; the
nose shows a certain green streak that doesn’t follow through in the
silky black currant, tobacco, grilled meat and smoke flavors. Not
as big as the Moulin Saint – Georges, which was tasted directly
beforehand, but almost as fine in its own way. It has good structure,
which bodes well for further development and improvement, but it’s
drinking quite well already.
 2000
La Fleur de Boüard Lalande de Pomerol, $39.99, 14% alc.: Find this wine Deep, dark
and intense, in color, flavor and aroma; not quite opaque, giving up
plenty of earthy black currants and plums, along with overtones of
tobacco – cigar box, and shades of bitter
chocolate, coffee and iodine as it opens. The big structure gives this a
bit of a burry quality on the back end, and it needs at least another 10
years to show its best, but that’s not to say that it’s not approachable
already, with some time in a decanter. Kim loves this wine, and I'm
rather fond of it myself.
2000 Château Yon-Figeac Saint – Émilion, $36.99,
13.5% alc.: Find this wine Deep, dark garnet in color, showing more finesse and
less in – your – face character than the La Fleur de Boüard (the two
were tasted on the same occasion); offers perfumed black currant, with
shades of tobacco, subtle, creamy oak and a solid, earthy core. Well
proportioned and well structured, needing 5-8 years to show its best.
2000 Château Destieux Saint – Émilion, $37.99,
13% alc.: Find this wine Deep, dark garnet color, with dry black currant and black
coffee (“No cream, no sugar,” Kim pointed out…) flavors and aromas;
showing considerable structure and density, with drying, astringent
tannins that linger on the finish. Opens nicely with air, but still
needs 5-8 years to come into its own.
 2001
Château Fombrauge Saint – Émilion, $27.99, 14% alc.: Find this wine This wine may
be my favorite of the bunch reviewed here, for sheer power without being
really over the top. Inky garnet in color, fading to pink at the rim,
this exudes an effusive cassis, black currant and blackberry bouquet,
accented by subtle dark chocolate, cigar box and compost that follow
through beautifully on the palate. Somewhat dense and extracted, with
excellent structure, this is sure to improve for several years, and yet
it is more than just approachable at this point in time. With air, the
wine opens more and more, with the dark chocolate becoming increasingly
accentuated, and while the latter quality and the extraction may be
cause for some raised eyebrows among certain “purists” (and you know who
you are), I find this wine impossible not to lust after already, and it
will only improve; it should be best between 2011 - 2016 and perhaps
even beyond.
2000 Château Corbin - Despagne Saint – Émilion,
$26.99, 13% alc.: Find this wine Dark garnet in color, with a little leather and
earth over black currant on a stingy nose that opens with air to display
a nice perfume, gaining some added blackberry, tobacco and a little sea
air. Flavors echo with an added note of rich, new leather, being a
little deeper, and showing more presence than the Du Cauze (noted
directly below), but with less silk to its texture. Deceptively smooth
structure, and fairly long on the finish, this is clearly the better of
these two wines tasted on this occasion, and promises to improve over the
next five to ten years.
2000 Château Du Cauze Saint – Émilion, $19.99,
12.5% alc.: Find this wine Dark garnet in color, offering black currants and
berries, earth, tobacco and a hint of old wood; very dry, yet fairly
rich, with moderate tannins, decent acidity and a smooth,
silky texture, all on a medium full bodied frame. The only small
complaint here is that it could finish a bit longer, but all – in – all,
this is a solid, middleweight claret.
2001 Château Rocher Bellevue Figeac Saint –
Émilion, $24.99, 13.5% alc.: Find this wine Dark garnet, fading to pink at the rim;
a pretty kiss of oak graces a nicely perfumed black currant – cassis and
blackberry bouquet that follows through nicely on the palate.
Silky and harmonious, with mild tannins that show mostly on the fairly
long finish, this might show a little too much oak for hardcore Bordeaux
purists, but Kim and I like it just fine.
As one would expect, all of these wines pair well with a variety of red meats;
my favorite match is with a grilled, medium rare rib eye steak, but
then, I’ve been known to enjoy a glass or two of fine claret while
listening to the classic jazz of Miles Davis, too.
Reporting from Day-twah,
Bastardo
Other Recent Wine Explorations
All Pig Dinner at Five
Lakes Grill
Red Wings and Red
Rhones 2006
Cassoulet Fest with
Wines From the Languedoc
Not
Just Flotsam & Jetsam
Some New World Clarets and
a Single Sauvignon
Francophilia 2005
Back to
March '06 Index
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Underground
Index
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© George Heritier March 2006
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