Of all the aisles in our store, the Bordeaux aisle may very well be the most intimidating for some of our guests. I can certainly see why, as the prices range all the way from the lowest end to the highest end of the spectrum and everywhere in between, and yet the bottles tell us so little about why we'd want to buy this Chateau over that Chateau with just a slightly different name. Which ones are Merlot-based, and which ones contain more Cabernet Sauvignon? Where does the Right Bank begin and the Left Bank end? And is there really so much difference from one vintage to the next? Relax. For September's selections, we've done the homework for you. Many of the wines chosen this month are from the much-touted 2005 vintage: a year that benefitted from a growing season so forgiving that bad Bordeaux was almost difficult to make. And given the fortune of a good vintage, we were able to select from both the well-known and the lesser-known appellations of the Left and Right Banks to find you the very best Bordeaux has to offer right now. See? No need to over-think...just enjoy!Cheers ~ Maggie
A Recipe for You!
Chicken, Cherry, and Pepper Yakitori
Serves: 4
Wine Pairing: Chateau Lucas Cotes de Castillon 2005
Call it yakitori, satay, or shish-kebab; any way you slice it, meat-on-a-stick isn’t the most conventional pairing for Bordeaux that comes to mind. But take a Merlot-dominated Right-Bank Bordeaux from a ready-to-drink year like 2005, pair it with these skewers of marinated chicken and sweet-tart cherries, and you’ve got quite a match.
6 Chicken legs (thighs and drumsticks), boned
6 Tbsp soy sauce
3 Tbsp sake
1 Tbsp sugar or honey
2 cups fresh red cherries, pitted
2 yellow bell peppers
Bamboo skewers
-Over low heat, combine soy sauce, sake and sugar (or honey) and simmer, stirring until sugar dissolves completely. Remove from heat and cool.
-Cut chicken legs into 1-inch by 2-inch pieces.
-In a sealable plastic bag or airtight container, marinate chicken in soy sauce mixture for two to eight hours in the refrigerator.
- Cut bell pepper into 1-inch square pieces.
-Alternate chicken, cherry and bell pepper, putting two pieces of each on each bamboo skewer.
-Preheat a gas or charcoal grill, and grill each skewer about 5 minutes on each side until meat is cooked.
Serve hot.
Vintner Selection
2008 Chateau Cabannieux Graves Blanc
Region: Graves, Bordeaux, France
Food pairing: Goat cheese, toast points, and apricot jam
While Bordeaux is probably best known for its red wines made from Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, many also turn to Bordeaux for some of the most crisp and elegant white wines in the world, made primarily of the Sauvignon Blanc grape, and often with just a touch of Semillon to give it an aromatic quality to balance the clean acidity, citrus and mineral notes. These white wines can come from virtually all over Bordeaux, but the Graves appellation is perhaps most notable in this category for its temperate weather conditions due to the proximity of the Atlantic Ocean, as well as soil containing stones and sand carried by the river from as far away as the Pyrenees Mountains. This one in particular is just the ticket for the tail-end of summer, refreshing with citrus and white stone fruit flavors that pair perfectly with goat cheese, toast points, and apricot jam.
2005 Chateau Lucas Cotes de Castillon
Grape variety: Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc
Region: Cotes de Castillon, Bordeaux, France
Food pairing: Chicken, cherry and pepper yakitori
While the region of Bordeaux itself is hardly a wine-lover's secret, the satellite appellations like Cotes de Castillon are just beginning to gain recognition. Certain chateaus in this budding area have already become household names for Bordeaux drinkers (d'Aiguilhe, Clos les Lunelles, Gigault Cuvee Viva and Clos l'Eglise), and with that elevated recognition has come an elevated price tag of $25 or more. But thankfully, some small chateaux like Chateau Lucas are still flying under the radar, which (at least for the time being) allows us to bring it to you for a few less pennies from the pocket. The 2005 vintage in Bordeaux yielded an unprecedented number of great value wines; because the vintage was so good, quality was above average from the petite chateaux all the way up to the elite bottlings. Our French wine buyer, Jon Visser, found this gem full of dark fruit, earth, and minerals on the nose, with a lush palate full of plum and blackberry flavors and a long finish.
Reserve Selection
2009 Le G de Chateau Guiraud Bordeaux Blanc Sec
Grape variety: Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon
Region: Sauternes-Barsac, Bordeaux, France
Food pairing: Raw oysters on the half-shell
Guiraud is primarily a Premier Cru Sauternes house, passed through several families and owners over the years, but it was a decision by one mid-nineteenth-century proprietor, Paul Cesar Rival, that led to the creation of Le G de Chateau Guiraud. Rival was nothing if not eccentric and determined to do what he liked, even if it didn’t make sense to anyone else. When he decided to plant what some would say is a disproportionate amount of Sauvignon Blanc, some called it a mistake, as Semillon is where the money and the prestige lie. But the existence of this Sauvignon Blanc is why we have "Le G", and because a clean, crisp glass of Sauvignon Blanc goes oh-so-much better with a plate of oysters than a sweet Sauternes and for a smaller price tag, we have to commend that decision. Incidentally, Rival also went down in history as the only man in Bordeaux to add an airstrip to his estate...and the only one to crash his plane in Yquem's vineyard. Now that's a costly mistake!
2007 Fleur de Haut-Bages-Liberal
Grape variety: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc
Region: Pauillac, Bordeaux, France
Food pairing: Seared beef filet with herbed butter
Chateau Haut-Bages Liberal was thus named for both the estate's location (Haut-Bages being their position at the top of the Bages plateau between Pauillac and St. Julien), and for the family named "Liberal" who owned the estate during the 18th century when it was classified as a fifth growth. Despite the fact that it's a fifth growth, Haut-Bages Liberal enjoys quite the pedigree of soils, neighboring the vineyards of Chateau Lynch-Bages, Chateau Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande and Chateau Latour. Deep gravel soils help bring about excellent Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc for both the flagship bottling and this, their second bottling or their "Fleur", made from younger vines. Cabernet dominates the blend, lending rich, round tannins and a lengthy finish.
Cellar Selection
2005 Chateau Moulinet Pomerol
Grape variety: Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon
Region: Pomerol, Bordeaux, France
Food pairing: Coq au vin
Chateau Moulinet sits in the northwestern part of Pomerol, an area known for its clay and sandy soils. These soils differ from that in the eastern part of the commune, where gravel is more prevalent among the clay; thus the wines from the northwestern portion are lighter and (some say) more elegant in style. At our Grand Tasting last year, we showed the Chateau Moulinet among other pricier Pomerols from the 2005 vintage, and time and time again it drew rave reviews from our customers for its smoothness, delicacy, and long gentle finish. The Wine Spectator awarded this bottling 91 points, noting that it "displays subtle yet complex aromas of blackberry, mineral and chocolate-coated cherry. Full bodied with ultrafine tannins and a long, caressing finish. Very pretty and refined. Best after 2011."
2005 Chateau Haut Bergey
Grape variety: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot
Region: Pessac-Leognan, Bordeaux, France
Food pairing: Blackberry-glazed roast pork loin
If you can find an under-the-radar Bordeaux estate in a great vintage like 2005, you're in luck, because so many of the 2005 wines went for astronomical prices once the vintage was touted. But Robert Parker called Chateau Haut-Bergey "one of the finest under-the-radar estates in Pessac-Leognan", awarding it 92 points and noting "aromas of scorched earth, wet stones, burning embers...and copious black currant and cherry fruit. The sumptuous bouquet," Parker goes on, "is accompanied by a full-bodied wine displaying dazzling purity, sweet tannin, and a long opulent finish. This beauty will be drinkable at a relatively early age for a 2005." Not bad for "under-the-radar!" A super-ripe wine even for the vintage (one known for great balance), this wine offers what few left-bank Bordeaux do; drinkability in its youth. However, (this being the Cellar Club, after all), other critics (Wine Spectator, for one) noted that they feel the tannins will settle and show even better after 2011. Well let you decide.
Premiere Selection
2000 Chateau Sociando Mallet Haut Medoc
Grape variety: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc
Region: Haut-Medoc, Bordeaux, France
Food pairing: Duck confit over greens and lentils
It's no secret that Bordeaux, particularly Cabernet-dominated Bordeaux originating from the Left Bank, is often at its best drinking after it has spent a few years (or more) in bottle. So Bordeaux cellaring and drinking is often a game for the patient. Luckily, we managed to procure at least one wine for this month's selections with a little age already on it, so those of you lacking that patient gene will be at no handicap. Chateau Sociando-Mallet is an outlier in Bordeaux, perhaps even a renegade by some standards. Passed by for recognition in both the 1855 classification of Bordeaux AND the 2003 classification of the Cru Bourgeois Exceptionnel, confident owner Jean Gautreau was unfazed. His unclassified wines have always had a track record of outshining the classified wines anyway. As a matter of fact, in the 2000 vintage, Robert Parker had this to say about the wine. "This is a beautiful wine and certainly one of the great sleepers of the vintage….Notes of acacia flowers intermixed with wet rocks, black currants, and blueberries, the wine is full-bodied, displays no real evidence of any oak, and offers up terrific concentration, texture and length." Parker estimated it at its best after 2011, but Wine Spectator had it slated for good drinking from 2007 on. Regardless of when you choose to open it, most agree this wine has at least ten more years of ageworthiness in it yet.
2005 Domaine de Chevalier Rouge
Grape variety: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot
Region: Pessac-Leognan, Bordeaux, France
Food pairing: Dry-aged Porterhouse steak
The success of this wine could easily be attributed to the great vintage, as 2005 was indeed one for the books. Most, however, choose to attribute the success of this Grand Cru Classe to wine-consulting guru Stephane Derenoncourt, who came on board with Domaine de Chevalier in this vintage. Previous to his employ, the domaine had a reputation for rather austere wines that evolved slowly and showed little fruit or accessibility in their youth. Times are changing, even in Bordeaux, and now Domaine de Chevalier creates a blend of 65% Cabernet and a balance of Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and Petit Verdot that’s much more supple and opulent than in previous years. Robert Parker gave this wine 92 points, noting that it was "perhaps the finest wine made at this estate in many years...A classic Graves bouquet of charcoal, graphite, creosote, smoked herbs, sweet black cherries and spice box. The wine is elegant on the attack," he summed up, "but fills out beautifully with a multilayered, rich mouthfeel, silky tannins, and a plush, opulent finish. This brilliant claret may turn out to be even better than my score suggests." Though it’s beginning to open up beautifully already, this wine will likely be at its best after 2012, and perhaps for 15-20 years past that time.
Gary's Wine & Marketplace - Madison | Bernardsville | Wayne
1308 Route 23 North • Wayne, NJ 07470 • 973-633-3900
E-mail: info@garyswine.com • Toll Free: 1-888-99-GARYS
http://www.GarysWine.com • Buy Wine Online • NJ Wine Store
No comments:
Post a Comment