French Consulate, NYC
 |
| Frédérique Dutheillet de Lamothe -Directrice de l'Alliance des Crus-Bourgeois du Médoc |
Wine Tasting Featuring The Official 2012 Crus Bourgeois du Médoc Selections--and a few Past (Tasty) Vintages
We're fairly sure some of the talented French producer natives we had the pleasure of meeting earlier this week...would cringe at the expression 'idiot-proof' red wines...attached to their glorious drinkable now (practically) 2012
Crus-Bourgeois-sampled this past week.
But given the average cost of a California Cab-clocking in at $60 (as told to us by the charming smart Frédérique Dutheillet de Lamothe -Directrice de l'Alliance des Crus-Bourgeois du Médoc)---imo these complex -accessible selections -that will retail around $28-$50 -with most under $35---are all good-to great wines. Certainly cannot say that about some left coast tastes we've tried.
The
idiot proof part comes courtesy of a two step screening process embraced by the French wine producers-with a representative sampling- carefully vetted by a blind tasting of six professional tasters (
Bureau Veritas)-and each/every wine then tasted and scored by an expert panel- before earning the distinction of Crus Bourgeois... a quality assurance mechanism open to the eight Médoc AOCs---who in turn must themselves pass on-site eligibility visits-that occur in perpetuity, randomly.
Ah,
so French-and in turn-beneficial for the casual and serious wine drinker alike...who has many choices when it come to red wines these days...including the Crus-Bourgeois. Worth a step into the unknown where Crus-Bourgeois is concerned...at these kind of prices.
To have and to hold- or to drink on the young side (Merlot makes the wines very accessible imo)-typically the blends include Cabernet Sauvignon (Cab.Sauv.), Merlot, and Cabernet Franc (Cab. Franc) and small quantities of Petit Verdot.
The blends feature deep intense, concentrated colors, a ripe -rich taste -with transporting spice and full-fruit notes, bold-to blended tannins...and an occasional smokiness hint.
We got to the stately Fifth Avenue locale of the French Consulate---with an hour left to try some selections...
HIGHLIGHTS:
 |
| Chateau Amour:App: Médoc 50%Merlot, 50% Cabernet Sauv. vintage blend from terroir of gravel-clay-limestone- not yet available in the USA but here's hoping... |
 |
| App: Haut-Médoc -vintage blend 45% Merlot, 35% Cab. Sauv. 15% Cab. Franc terroir of gravel+clay |
 |
| ALAS---no more of these wines to taste-as we were the last of over 500 wine enthusiasts...App: Haut Médoc with vintage blend of 62% Merlot, 33% Cabernet Franc, 5% Cab. Sauv |
 |
| Chateau Clos de Boheme |
 |
| tasting notes-always helpful! App; Haut Médoc-vintage blend of Merlot, Cab. Sauv, Cab. Franc |
 |
| end of the tasting---on the right-Christine Nadalie-from Chateau Clos La Bohème -on left-communications director of Crus-Bourgeois Jennifer Mathieu |
 |
| App: Margaux -this was a 2011 vintage -blend of 52% Cab Sauv. 47% Merlot, 1% Petit Verdot terroir of gravel -very delicious-hand harvested and available now for around $50 |
 |
| APP: Haut-Médoc -Larouse Peganson vintage blend 50% Cab, Sauv, 50% Merlot hand harvested terroir-Quaternary+Pyrenean Gunz gravel |
 |
| lastly--- we re-circled back to try the Chateau Arnauld-App: Haut Médoc, vintage blend 36% Merlot, 70% Cab. Sauv. terroir of gravel+gravel on clay. 2011 very tasty-not available (yet) here. |
 |
| Chateau Haut Barrail-App: Médoc vintage blend 60% Merlot, 40% Cab. Sauv. terroir clay and limestone |
 |
| Chateau Haut Breton Larigaudière App: Margaux vintage blend of 90% Cab Sauv. 8% Merlot, 2% Petit Verdot terroir gravel and sand on a subsoil of sand, gravel and clay |
 |
| Chateau La Haye-Appelation Saint-Estèphe...vintage blend 50% Merlot, 45% Cab Sauv. 5% Petit Verdot-terroir of deep gravel, gravel+clay |
 |
| Chateau De Malleret-App: Haut-Médoc, 2012 vintage blend of 61% Cab Sauv. 36% Merlot, 3% Petit Verdot more tannins and bold taste-vs. 2011 we also tried-lighter wine |
 |
| Chateau Magnol-App: Haut-Médoc vintage blend 48% Merlot, 40% Cab Sauv. 11% Cab Franc-terroir Bouqueyran hills, tertiary (Pyrernean) gravels |
 |
| Chateau Poitevin App: Médoc vintage blend 55% Merlot, 40% Cab. Sauv. 5% Petit Verdot -terroir- Gironde gravel and clay-we tasted the 2011----the 2012 is an award winning might explain why there wasn't any left. |
 |
| Chateaux Vieux Moulin App: Listrac-Meedoc-vintage blend 70% Merlot, 30% Cab. Sauv. tasted the 2009 which we loved. Terroir 70% clay-limestone, 30% Pyrenean gravels-aged in oak barrels. Had a nice chat and surprise-China (and the USA) are primary destinations outside of France/UK for these wines |
 |
| Chateau Seran vintage blend 65% Merlot, 15% Cab. Sauv. 10% Cab. Franc, 10% Petit Verdot-terroir clay-chalk |
 |
| Chatau Rollan de By vintage blend 70% Merlot, 10% Cab. Sauv. 10% Cab. franc |
 |
| Chateau Greysac-very popular in USA with production of 530,000 bottles- terroir Ganz gravel... |
FYI:
The "CRU BOURGEOIS" sticker have a unique, secure visual recognition system embedded into the label...as seen below.
 |
| a unique random code is allocated to each bottle----the QR code on the Cru Bourgeois sticker -connects to dedicated space for each chateau on www.crus-bourgeois.com |
