Château Carignan Grand Vin Cadillac Premières Côtes De (Red) 2010 Bordeaux, $16.11-$24.99, 89 points, begins in the glass as a deep purple red color that mergers with the leggy glass wall with a transparent rim.
A pleasant aroma of red and black cherry with floral notes and a hint of alcohol (14.5%) wafts rather intense.
Full bodied with good acidity and richly approachable tannin support a balanced flavor profile of plum, boysenberry, cedar, and coffee notes.
Finishes fair on a trailing palate with a touch of spice and heat.
When my friend with the "Escalade" drops over for lunch, I'll be sure to grace the table with a bottle of Grand Vin Cadillac 8-)
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Dennis,
ReplyDeleteI am long out of the Bordeaux game. Years ago, I found an astonishing amount of variability in lower end Bordeaux. Underripe tannins, green flavors - nasty things like peppers and asparagus. I realized then that in order for me to enjoy Bordeaux, it had to be from a top house and it had to be old.
I've got quite a bit of 3rd and 2nd Growth Bordeaux from 1995, 1996 and 2000 stashed away under those pretenses.
My question is - are you seeing this sort of variability in the lower end wines? For a converse example - the lower end wines in Napa are not nearly as poor compared to the same estates top tier wine as they are in Bordeaux.
What do you think?
John, I'm seeing a very consistent 2009 and 2010 red wine offering from Bordeaux, wines that are priced from $15-$50 almost without exception are worth the price that I'm paying; great fruit, nuanced flavors, great food friendly acidity, approachable tannin with enough to cellar for years, clean and almost always with long-lasting finishes. This is the short of it:-)
DeleteI understand that France had issues in the 1960 and 70s, that was before my time, and I can only tell you what I'm experiencing, and many of these Bordeaux red wines are on the same level as many of the best Brunello I've been tasting.
Thx for making me think about this,
Dennis
Well, while we're both thinking :) , let me add another layer here. Do you see wines in your area such as Monbousquet, Clerc Milon, d'Armailhac - what are they selling for? Have you tried any of these?
ReplyDeleteJohn said: "I like Monbousquet - always got that coffee thing with that wine. And with 30% Cab Franc, I'm not surprised you found some flowers in there." This was your comment from my post of this wine, but as for the other wines, I have not yet tasted them. I wish I could find the 2010 Monbousquet, but I buy them as I find them, and that is why I'm telling people who might be interested in Red Bordeaux to get them while they can, because we've been fortunate that the NHLSs have done such a great job in making them available, though a bit over priced as a rule.
ReplyDelete