The Bordeaux region of France is arguably the most famous and prestigious wine region in the world. In an earlier column I talked about some of the basics of Bordeaux, including a listing of the incredibly expensive five Premier Crus, or First Growths.
Unfortunately the prestige of the Bordeaux name can make finding good, affordable wines a challenge. In fact, I’ve often wondered whether quality Bordeaux at a retail price of $20 or less even exists.
Well Virginia (and Maryland and DC too), the answer is an unequivocal yes. 2009 Bordeaux is hitting store shelves and it is a great vintage, living up to early hype. If you’re looking for the $20 price point, what you need to do is focus on the “petit chateaux” of Bordeaux. These are thousands of small, often family owned and operated estates that produce the vast majority of wine in the region but don’t get the media attention of the more famous appellations.
A rich source of information on these wines comes from Calvert-Woodley, celebrating its 30th anniversary at its current location in the Van Ness neighborhood of Northwest DC. Calvert-Woodley’s fall catalogue has an extensive listing of new Bordeaux in stock. They extoll the 2009 vintage and offer a number of staff recommendations.
Naturally, I couldn’t just take their word for it. So I’ve tasted the following three for my WashExec readers:
2009 Chateau de L’Estang, Cotes de Castillon, $14
This is a right bank property, near St. Emilion. Merlot led, with Cabernet Sauvigon and Cabernet Franc. Strong alcohol nose for a Bordeaux, light body, a bit of a creamy Merlot texture. Lead fruit is plum, clean finish, very enjoyable.
2009 Chateau Thieuley, $12
80 percent Merlot, 20 percent Cabernet Sauvignon. Some graphite and lead in the nose, bigger feel on palate than typical Bordeaux, not quite fleshy but getting there. Black cherry is dominant fruit, very approachable and easy to drink.
2009 Chateau Caronne St. Gemme, Haut-Medoc, $17
This is a left bank property in the central Medoc. 60 percent Cabernet Sauvignon, 35 percent Merlot, 5 percent Petit Verdot. Rich nose and very assertive on the palate. Excellent integration of cassis fruit, strong tannins and an earthy graphite tinge. This is a big Bordeaux, and needs to be decanted for at least an hour prior to enjoying.
These are impressive wines at amazingly affordable prices. I’ve only enjoyed three by press time, but I will be picking up more soon. If you’ve been disappointed by Bordeaux in the past, or have perceived a poor quality to price ratio, let the 2009 petit chateaux re-introduce you to the region.
Read Parente’s previous column: Online Tools Power Smarter Wine Purchases on WashingtonExec.
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Christopher Parente is managing director and partner of Strategic Communications Group, a social media and public relations consultancy based in Silver Spring, Maryland and Tysons Corner, Virginia. He also publishes Work, Wine and Wheels, a top 100K web site in the United States as measured by Alexa, an online measurement company. You can follow Chris on LinkedIn or Twitter.
