{"id":156,"date":"2017-05-02T08:10:46","date_gmt":"2017-05-02T08:10:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.brockenhurstwineclub.co.uk\/?page_id=156"},"modified":"2017-05-02T08:10:46","modified_gmt":"2017-05-02T08:10:46","slug":"tasting-notes-a-new-look-at-bordeaux-presented-by-laura-clay-awe-26-april-2017","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/brockenhurstwineclub.co.uk\/?page_id=156","title":{"rendered":"Tasting Notes: ‘A new look at Bordeaux’ presented by Laura Clay, AWE, 26 April 2017"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/span><\/p>\n

Laura is an expert on the wines of Bordeaux and has accreditations, and obvious good contacts, from the growers of the region.\u00a0 It was therefore no surprise that, in the words of Basil Fawlty, we understood the difference (!) between claret and Bordeaux at the end of this excellent evening. Laura picked wines from the 500-odd winemakers of the Left and Right Banks and the Entre-deux-Mers to show, very successfully, the influence of \u201cterroir\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n

1)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Ch. Baudac Cr<\/strong>\u0117mant 2014<\/strong> (direct from the vineyard website, ca. \u00a36.50) \u2013 as Semillon-based m<\/em>\u0117thode traditionelle<\/em> fizzy, very unusual for the region \u2013 a light off-dry wine with a pleasant minerl finish and a slightly floral nose \u2013 not complex but a pleasant aperitif.<\/span><\/p>\n

2)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Ch. Thieuley 2015 <\/strong>(Wine Society \u00a39.50) \u2013 a very elegant Semillon\/Sauvignon Blanc\/Sauvignon Gris blend, form the Entre-deux-Mers, with an obvious Sauvignon Blanc nose but somewhat austere on the mineral-rich palate \u2013 quite a serious wine and good value.<\/span><\/p>\n

3)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Clos Florid<\/strong>\u00e8ne 2013 <\/strong>(Cooperative, \u00a318.99) \u2013 from the Graves AC, a lightly-oaked Sauvignon Blanc with real class, good acidity balancing the honey suckle and even slightly buttery notes, showing how the gravelly beds of the region can produce such an elegant and lovely wine \u2013 worth the extra cost.<\/span><\/p>\n

4)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Ch. de la Grave Caract<\/strong>\u0117re 2012 <\/strong>(Wine Society \u00a38.50) \u2013 deep red with a distinct blackcurrant nose (maybe green pepper as well?) from the C\u00f4tes de Bourg, surprising as it is Merlot-dominated blend as befits the Right Bank (80% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon). On the palate,<\/span> rather austere and not opened up, probably a little young as yet.<\/span><\/p>\n

5)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Ch. De la Rivi<\/strong>\u00e8re 2008 <\/strong>(Q Wines, \u00a323.20) \u2013 from the Fronsac AC, another Merlot -predominant blend with the more typical ripe plums on the nose, very smooth velvety tannins on the palate, not jammy and with hints of chocolate amongst the fruit, benefitting from some bottle age\u2013 a very delicious easy-drinking claret (65% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Cabernet Franc).<\/span><\/p>\n

6)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Ch. Reysson 2013<\/strong> (not available in the UK, cost ca. \u00a315 for later vintages) \u2013 Haut-Medoc AC, another Merlot blend with a touch of Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc, from the well-known Dourthe Negociant stable. I thought the wine was strangely lacking in character, perfectly well-made but a bit uninspiring.<\/span><\/p>\n

7)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Ch. Sociando-Mallet 2000 <\/strong>(various suppliers, ca. \u00a365 duty paid) \u2013 also classified as a \u201csimple\u201d Haut-Medoc as the owner declined the then-existing Cru Bourgeois labelling, this is classic \u201cclaret\u201d blend (42% Cabernet Sauvignon, 54% Merlot and a 4% sniff of Cabernet Franc), the 17 years bottle age served it well \u2013 lovely rich berry fruit on the nose and an expansive rich and very long palate with wonderful mouthfill \u2013 Laura knows the wine well and reckons this one of the best she has tasted, showing very well on the night.<\/span><\/p>\n

8)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Ch. Bauduc Sauternes <\/strong>(direct from the vineyard website) \u2013 a delightful and relatively light Sauternes, all the typical dried fruit notes with honey hints, touch of caramel and lovely balancing acidity. A nice way to finish an excellent tasting<\/span><\/p>\n

John Harris<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Laura is an expert on the wines of Bordeaux and has accreditations, and obvious good contacts, from the growers of the region.\u00a0 It was therefore no surprise that, in the words of Basil Fawlty, we understood the difference (!) between claret and Bordeaux at the end of this excellent evening. Laura picked wines from the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-156","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/brockenhurstwineclub.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/156","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/brockenhurstwineclub.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/brockenhurstwineclub.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brockenhurstwineclub.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brockenhurstwineclub.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=156"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/brockenhurstwineclub.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/156\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":157,"href":"https:\/\/brockenhurstwineclub.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/156\/revisions\/157"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/brockenhurstwineclub.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=156"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}