I have been drinking a lot of Bordeaux reds recently and you get the same style, big and red but different qualities and this Château Mancèdre from Pessac-Léognan south of Bordeaux is a good example a well made wine from the region. This wine was not great when opened but give it a few hours to open up and the aromas and flavours come out nicely.

This is a bold, tannic and very dry red wine, you can feel the heat of the sun ripening the grapes in the glass. There’s a lot of oak still showing through even after 8 years with smells of leather, tobacco and black fruits. Flavours of black cherry, cloves with under notes of vanilla and redcurrant. At £20 a bottle its not cheap and possibly a little overpriced but thats Bordeaux for you. Drink it with a beef or a tomato pasta dish and sip rather than gulp is my suggestion.

Château Mancèdre, Pessac-Léognan, 2012, Bordeaux, France