Red Bordeaux Blend
Château Civrac
Médoc Red Bordeaux Blend 2007
This is a delicious 13 year old Bordeaux. Showing red and black fruits with earth, wood, spices, light vegetables, pencil lead, peppercorn, leather, tobacco leaf, cola, coffee and wet leaves.
Medium plus in body with medium plus acidity.
Nicely balanced with a nice mouthfeel. Nice and complex with a spicy finish and fine grained tannins. I also loved the nose here.
I was a little hesitant about decanting it, but I did so to remove the sediments, and then followed its progression. Always a great experience.
Needs an hour to open up properly and show more complexity, tannins and structure. Peaking now.
Very enjoyable by itself or with food.
I paired it with Brie cheese.
12.5% alcohol by volume.
91 points. — 8 days ago
Château Cos d'Estournel
Saint-Estèphe Red Bordeaux Blend 1995
A well reviewed vintage after several poor years.
1.5 hour decant (some chunky sediment). A thrilling dark ruby red with little bricking. On the nose: green veggie, eucalyptus, earth, smoke, plum, and a little of that aged Bordeaux sweetness thrown in there too. Taste: leather, cedar, little raspberry, and gravel. Low acidity, a medium graphite finish with some slightly bitter tannins.
Lean and mean....where's the elegance and character???..........drink em if you got em, don't think more age will help. Careful with Bordeaux 95....from my experience, don't believe some have aged well. My last 95 is a Margaux and I am going to pop in a hurry. — 9 days ago
Château Léoville-Las Cases
Grand Vin de Leoville du Marquis de las Cases Saint-Julien Red Bordeaux Blend 1986
I thought I would open another LLC tonight. The 86 is one of my favorite drinking vintages. This was classic & old school that has a burly, muscular style & is starting to enter its drinking window with many years ahead displaying black fruits, cassis, graphite, iron, leather, forest floor, brown spices & tobacco. This btl was in perfect shape showing how monumental this wine can be. — 5 days ago
Château Féret-Lambert
Red Bordeaux Blend 2016
Fruitier cherry for this earthy Bordeaux. Maintains true to terroir while speaking to the American palate. — 8 days ago
Château L'Eglise-Clinet
Pomerol Red Bordeaux Blend 2003
A bottle that took a long time to open. The rim in the glass is almost unicolor ... no signs of aging. The warmth of the vintage is detectable with fairly ripe fruit aromas but the wine retains a certain acidity which refreshes the whole. Much more beautiful on the second day. A very good pomerol but which still needs 5 to 10 years to be more approachable. The 2003 clinet is currently a better alternative. — a day ago
Château Cantemerle
Haut-Médoc Red Bordeaux Blend 2012
One of the best BDX QPR killers, never disappoints. The 2012 isn't quite there yet, quite linear and still tight, but the cassis / blackberry backbone is there, as well as an herbal scrub midpalate and pencil lead finish. Maybe not the deepest or broadest vintage, but quite enjoyable nonetheless, and at less than €20, tough to find a better true expression of old school BDX. Give it a year or two before checking back in, this won't have the legs of a classic vintage, but should provide great pleasure relatively soon. — 5 days ago
Château les Cruzelles
Lalande de Pomerol Red Bordeaux Blend 2015
Tonight is Saturday night and I have opened the 2015 Château Les Cruzelles Lalande de Pomerol. A blend of 90% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc.
On the nose there is black cherry, raspberry, plum, fig, anise, tobacco leaf, violet, bay leaf and herbs.
On the palate there is black cherry, blackberry, plum, fig, green bell pepper, herbs, allspice, licorice, chocolate and soft oak.
This wine is medium to full body that is well balanced with medium + acidity and medium + supple tannins that leads to a medium to long dark fruit finish. A beautiful wine that is vibrant and fresh. Let's all have a great weekend and please be healthy and safe in these trying times. Nostrovia! 🍷🍷🍷🍷 — 4 days ago
Château Hosanna
Pomerol Red Bordeaux Blend 2006
This one is something. We decanted 30 minutes before and had it on big Riedel bordeaux glasses. Merlot at its best, very bold and rich but with great tannins and very fresh and balanced wine. Highly recommended and will last a very long time. This is why Pomerols done with merlot grapes not over cooked are such a threat. Very highly recommended. — 3 days ago
David T
Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator
So, if it’s my birthday celebration, there is a juicy ribeye & some old(er) Claret.
My only disappointment with this bottle is as good as it is, there are better things still down the road.
The nose reveals classic Claret. There are earthy, funky fruits of; blackberries, black raspberries, dark cherries, black plum, baked strawberries with shades of raspberries. Steeped fruit teas, limestone minerals, dry crushed rocks, stones, black, rich earth, clay, dry herbs, dark berry cola, cedar, leather, not quite fresh tobacco, underbrush, graphite, gentle, dark spice, slight peppery notes, clove, touch of nutmeg & cinnamon & vanillin, anise to black licorice, eucalyptus notes with fresh & slightly candied florals of, red, dark, blue, purple & violets.
The body is medium full with rounded, nicely resolved, tarry tannins. The structure, tension, length and balance are really singing. It would be good to have another 2001 LMHB in ten years. While 2001 wasn’t a critically acclaimed vintage, I think LMHB over performed the vintage. As well, it followed a grand 2000 vintage which, handicapped it from the start. Ripe; blackberries, black raspberries, dark cherries, black plum, baked strawberries, bright cherries, rhubarb, figs, with shades of raspberries. Steeped fruit teas, limestone minerals, dry crushed rocks, stones, black, rich earth, clay, dry top soil, dry herbs, dark berry cola, cedar, leather, not quite fresh tobacco, underbrush, graphite, gentle, dark spice with soft heat, slight peppery notes, clove, touch of nutmeg & cinnamon & vanillin, anise to black licorice, eucalyptus notes with fresh & slightly candied florals of, red, dark, blue, purple & violets. The acidity is excellent...like a gentle rain shower. The long finish is elegance defined, extremely well balanced ending in soft, round, dry, dusty tannins with beautiful spice.
Photos of; Chateau La Mission Haut Brion & estate vines, beautiful barrel room, pond & Roman columns and the back vow of the Chateau.
Please indulge me while I post some history on this grand producer. As much as I love the wine, I love the history & people that do the hard work to bring us such great wines.
Chateau La Mission Haut Brion is not quite as old as Chateau Haut Brion. However, they are opposite side of the road neighbors. La Mission Haut Brion dates back to the late 16th century. The property came into being after it was purchased by Jean de Pontac in 1533. US winery history is a baby compared to France.
In 1607, the estate changed hands. It was inherited by Ms. Olive de Lestonnac. What an inheritance!
In 1815, something rare happened. Chateau La Mission Haut Brion became the property of an American owner, the Chiapelle family. At the time, the family was already involved in the Bordeaux wine trade. In fact, they knew about the business as they had managed a myriad of different estates including Chateau Cos d’ Estournel.
La Mission Haut Brion continued to change hands until it was finally sold to another American family, the Woltner’s. Frederic Woltner purchased La Mission Haut Brion in 1919. The also became owners on Howell Mountain.
It changed hands one final time in 1983 when it was purchased by Domaine Clarence Dillon, the owner of neighboring, Chateau Haut Brion. They renovated the entire property, starting with replanting the vineyards which, was completed in 1987.
The 26 hectare vineyard of Chateau La Mission Haut Brion is planted to; 45.8% Cabernet Sauvignon, 43.8% Merlot and 10.4% Cabernet Franc. 3.5 hectares of vines are reserved for the production of the white Bordeaux.
To produce the red wine of Chateau La Mission Haut Brion, the wine is vinified in large, 180 hectoliter, temperature controlled, stainless steel vats and aged in 100% new, French oak for an average of 22 months. The annual production of La Mission Haut Brion averages between 6,000 and 7,000 cases per year. — 12 days ago