Never fear Cotes de Bordeaux are here!
Geez, it’s hot outside, but inside Chef Pedro Angel Garcia‘s El Mason Restaurant, coolness and pleasure prevailed as we enjoyed bites of unique Spanish/Latin American preparations along with white and red wines from Cotes de Bordeaux, and enlightening discussion. The program was assembled and presented by Guy Stout, MS & Bordeaux Accredited Educator, and Emma Baudry, Union des Vins Doux de Bordeaux.
Wine aficionados usually know the great first growths of Bordeaux and how the prices of these wines made them difficult to obtain while sticking to your usual wine budget. However, never fear… Cotes de Bordeaux are here!
Côtes de Bordeaux was created in 2009 to merge existing right and left bank appellations in France’s Bordeaux region. The changes were motivated commercially and intended to simplify and create unity between these significant, but lesser-known areas in Bordeaux.
The tasting included dry Bordeaux rouge and sweet Bordeaux Blanc from the Cotes de Bordeaux appellations: Red wines – Francs, Cadillac, Castillon, Bourg, Blaye, Saint Foy; White wines – St. Croix de Mont, Loupiac and Cadillac. Nothing in this tasting should cost you more than $30 a bottle retail. What, less than $30 a bottle for Bordeaux? Yep, and based on my own taste buds they offer real value (and aromas and flavors) for money.
Stout toasted us with an initiating Fleur de Cros Demi Sec cocktail served nicely chilled with a twist of orange peel. It was refreshing, a perfect aperitif: crisp and clean, aromatics of orange and well-balanced sweetness. This was served with a taste of gazpacho and red snapper ceviche.
The tasting of the red wines hopscotched its way from right and left bank Chateaux. Those from the right bank were generally dominated by Merlot, which sand and clay loving grape. The wines from the left bank were dominated by Cabernet Sauvignon the evidently enjoys planting its roots in the gravelly terrain in this area. There was also a smattering of the other Bordeaux red varieties in these wines: Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot. The wine were served with Patatas Bravas, Croqueta de Jamon y Pollo, and Piquillo Pepper with lamb, pine nuts and raisins.
The specific red wines in this tasting included:
- Ch. Puyformage 2018 (Francs)
- Ch. Les Tourelles 20218 (Cadillac)
- Ch. Rocquenille 2020 (Castillon)
- Ch. Eyquem 2020 (Bourg)
- Ch. LaCarelle 2020 (d Blaye)
- Ch. L-Indecise 2021 (Sainte Foy)
The sweet whites were:
- Ch. Crabitan-Bellevue 2015 (St. Croix de Mont)
- Ch. Du Cros 2017 (Loupiac)
- Close de Ch. de Cadillac 2018 (Noble Late Harvest)
The right bank reds presented good rich color, dominant plum, herbal and dark earth while the left bank reds showed cassis and a bit more tannic structure. The sweet wines were a varied in Semillon and Sauvignon Blanc content. Dominant characteristic was their striking minerally nature, excellent sugar-acid balance, and notes of melon, peach and honey. The sweet wines were served with a tasting of Terrine de fore gras, and the nobel late harvest wine came with a crème brûlée with essence of orange and Serrano pepper.
The specific wines in the tasting will be hard to find in the local market place as they were still in search of a state-side distributer. If you are a distributer, this is all well and good. However, it you are a wine consumer, for the time being, you will have to consider these wines exemplars of other similar value-oriented wines from Cotes de Bordeaux already in the local marketplace.
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