Tag Archives: Bordeaux

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

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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

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

Château Guiraud, Bordeaux Blanc Sec, 2019, Bordeaux, France

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I’ve not had many dry white Bordeaux wines and this one from Château Guiraud was tasted by me and 3 other, all socially distancing in the garden, on a warm Sept evening.

There’s aromas of smoke and hints of minerals and citrus, on the taste front you get notes of gooseberry and citrus and a big wack of grapefruit. Its this grapefruit that we had an issue with which over powered the other elements. The colour is a lovely lively lemon and the length is good and its a bit heavier in the texture than most white wine, which is good but its too unbalanced.

We had it with a few spring rolls but I think a creamy pasta dish or fish with lemon and herbs would be needed to make this worth drinking. At £16 a bottle is a bit pricey and there are better Bordeaux whites out there I was told.

hâteau Guiraud, Bordeaux Blanc Sec, 2019, Bordeaux, France

hâteau Guiraud, Bordeaux Blanc Sec, 2019, Bordeaux, France

Château Grand Billard, Bordeaux 2010, France

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Made with Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot its a good blend. 10 years old you may feel that this red is ready for drinking, esp as its a “Grand” Bordeaux. Its just part of the name, its not a grand vin. That said there is much to commend this wine.

Its still got a dark purple colour but the aromas and flavours are quite light for a Bordeaux. You get blackberries and cherries on the nose and in the taste, some oaky notes and smooth tannins but its the lightness that I’m liking. In reality it should have been drunk 2 or 3 years ago to get a bolder hit of flavours and aromas.

At about £10 a bottle its reasonable value for a lighter red but if you want a full Bordeaux you will be disappointed.

Château Grand Billard, Bordeaux 2010, France

Château Grand Billard, Bordeaux 2010, France

Château de Camensac, La Closerie de Camensac 2009, Bordeaux, France

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2009 Bordeaux from Chateau de Camensac is almost a typical Bordeaux.

Almost! its over 10 years old and this wine has fine characteristics. Its very dry, pretty bold, smoothish tannins, they are definitely there. On the nose you get vanilla, cherry, blackcurrant, a bit of tobacco comes through. these feed into the taste but you then get red fruits and spice notes popping up and hints of earth.

This should have been drunk 2 or 3 years ago but it is very nice, at £16 a bottle it would have been good value 2 or 3 years ago, now a little bit over and a bit overpriced, my fault not the producers.

Château de Camensac, La Closerie de Camensac 2009, Bordeaux, France

Château de Camensac, La Closerie de Camensac 2009, Bordeaux, France

Domaine du Grand Mayne, Revolution 2011, Bordeaux, France

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Its 100% Merlot made partly in new Oak barrels. SO the rest is pretty standard. Its full bodied with firm but soft tannins. The aromas are more relaxed that the flavours, red fruits abound with some black plum thrown in. The length of flavour is good but I would have this with food. I think because the oaking and tannins are a little too much for me. Its either that or try this in a few years. Given its 8 years old already I’m going with too much oaking. It was great with steak though.

At about £25 a bottle its not cheap, its good but just not £25 good.

Domaine du Grand Mayne - Revolution 2011, Bordeaux, France

Domaine du Grand Mayne – Revolution 2011, Bordeaux, France

Château de Villemajou, Grand Vin 2017, Corbieres, France

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This is a blend of Carignan , Syrah, Mourvèdre, Grenache. There are aromas of liquorice and cloves, stewed fruit, spices and coffee. These come through in the flavours. 

There are firm rounded tannins that hang around the mouth. It’s a fairly traditional style of wine from the Corbieres area.

At about Eur20 a bottle it’s a bit pricey for me. Good but not that good.

Château de Villemajou, Grand Vin 2017, Corbieres,France

Château de Villemajou, Grand Vin 2017, Corbieres, France