Chateau St.Georges 2002 Monday, Jun 9 2008
Tasting Notes and France and Bordeaux and Variety and Red and merlot et al
A blend of 60% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon and 20% Bouchet. Never heard of Bouchet eh? Well, it is just an alternate name for Cabernet Franc when grown in certain cru areas of Bordeaux. Now I know nothing of Bordeaux vintages pre 2003 so this was a bit of a speculative purchase, but at the price didn’t seem too risky. And it showed a good red colour. The nose was initially milky, but settled to show red fruits and cedar, with a only touch of mocha and leaf. No ripeness problems. The palate showed red currants and was quite smooth, though there was a tarry edge, especially on the finish. There was also a touch of pippy bitterness that was more obvious without food. A wine displaying drying fruits, not lush, and a bit of dustiness too. After a couple of hours grippy tannins emerged, so I think it will go a few more years.
Rated : 90 Points
Tasted : Jun08
Alcohol : 12.5%
Price : $61
Closure : Cork
Drink : 2008 - 2012+
Source : Festival Cellars
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2 Responses to “Chateau St.Georges 2002”
June 11th, 2008 at 11:46 pm
Just a reflection on wines such as this (thanks Lincoln for the note - I was considering trying this at some point). I’ve now been in Europe for almost six weeks on business (mainly in the Low Countries as it were), and so have had to drink an indecent quantity of Bordeaux (and Belgian beer!!). Beside a good Cru Bourgeois is not much more expensive than Jacobs Creek here!
Wines such as this are obviously less expensive in Europe (e.g., aid 29 euros for Lagrange 2004 in the Netherlands yesterday), so I’ve had some fun. But I must say that Australians have very little to be embarassed about when it comes to wine, and especially our good Bordeaux varietals. Buying and cellaring really top-drawer claret is one thing, but I don’t think I’ll be spending $60-90 on the more mediocre stuff (including clasified growths) any more. There is a lot of the ‘X’ factor missing with a lot of wines of this style. If I don’t give it at least 93 points or so, $70 or $80 claret won’t be finding its way into the cellar.
That said, the 2004 Lagrange is meant to be quite special, so I may have a different outlook tomorrow!! There are a lot of wines with that beautiful fragrant cedary claret nose, but don’t have the palate or length to match, regardless of decanting time.
I must also say that some of the lower end stuff from the Médoc has improved out of sight since I last recall, especially from the exceptional 2005 vintage. Some really good easy drinking material out there for sub 15 euros.
Any way, some thoughts from the front …
June 11th, 2008 at 11:48 pm
But this Australian should be embarrassed about how he just spelt embarrassed!!