Grand Enclos du Château de Cérons rouge 2005, A.C. Graves **HERITAGE WINE** Color: very dark red with no purple.
Nose:
very expressive,
lots of earthy, spicy nuances of wood, minerals and great fruit,
some farmyard, some phenolic nuances, impressions of smoke and tobacco,
refined "terroir" touch, very classical Bordeaux, good breed, depth and
complexity. Very pure and well balanced, however a bit woody, but
still very nicely done: aroma's of wood matching the terroir/grape
nuances perfectly. Taste: intense,
powerful and earthy with lots of beautifull wood, (black)fruit and
mineral impressions, elegant and ripe, fresh and powerful, great
tannins: ripe, piquant, spicy and fresh, some tobacco, some spices,
great structure, excellent balance between all components, impressive
achievement in winemaking, just perfect, this is why Graves are
considered classic Bordeaux wines. Finish:
quite long, intense, elegant, spicy, fruity, earthy and with many
impressions of wood, fruit, minerals, smoke, tobacco and softening
tannins at the end. Again excellently balanced.
*
Want to taste/drink a truly classic high quality red Bordeaux? try this
one. All components in this wine all are matched so perfectly: ripe,
spicy tannins, fine, elegant acidity, great complex fruit, classical
wood, earthy and spicy nuances, impressions of tobacco, smoke and
minerals. This wine has great structure, elegance, power, complexity
and lots of tension, it is a classical "modern" excellent Bordeaux.
-
Ready to drink now, will
keep
for a decade I presume, but do not be tempted to mature it too long as it is so delicious and well balanced now.
Better
quality red Graves have lots in common with good Médoc wines. They are
maybe a bit more elegant and certainly more earthy in style, but the
structure and fine austerity make them classic examples of red
Bordeaux. The quality of Graves is quite irregular especially the
lesser reputed wines but the wines of this Château have an impressive
style and quality that puts them right into the same category and class
as the wines from Pessac-Léognan. Maybe the terroir does not permit a
Grand Cru Classé status, but the quality certainly does. I
seldom have tasted a red Graves so well proportioned and so well
produced as this. On top terroir this would have been a stunning wine
with the same équipe producing the wine, but "just" an excellent red
graves as this is very satisfying indeed. This wine makes you less
prone wanting a stunning wine. This is nearly one, it only misses
out slightly on its lesser (but still very good) terroir. This producer has
managed to increase quality every consequent year. A great joy to taste
and drink. This is also the case with his equally excellent dry white Graves. This is what more Bordelais should do with their precious
terroir. Produced
from 50% Merlot and 50% Cabernet Sauvignon with maturation during 12 to
14 months in barriques of which 40% were new and 60% 1 year old.
- lotnr.: L 001 - tasted: 17-02-’09 - estimated retail price
ca. € 20,00 - production: - Grand Enclos du Château de Cérons, 33720 Cérons, Francis Unique, export manager, tel: +33 5 56 27 01 53 ; mob: +33 613 590 649 ; fax: +33 5 56 27 08 86 ; e-mail: funique.grandenclos@orange.fr