Update on the 2016 case, 3 bottles in. While none (so far) can compete with the likes of a Baron de Brane (at twice the price), for £15 ish these are VERY good drinking and I seriously would suggest these 2016’s for a Bordeaux tasting amongst friends. Quite surprisingly the stylistic variation is considerable and very interesting, these are very different wines indeed - yet 5 are Medoc / Haut Medoc !
Bertin de saint clair = ‘old school’ Medoc: plenty of Cabernet and P Verdot giving tannin, spice and grip aplenty. Not easy to love, but it grows on you - very French.
Cap de Haut = plush & velvety, there must be a lot of Merlot here. Almost Pomerol / New-World and immediately enjoyable, yet I miss the old-world jagged edges & bite of the cheaper Bertin…
Pierbone = very balanced, drinks like a declassified wine from a posh chateau with young vines. Thoroughly drinkable, Bistrot wine and that is a compliment.
The Courlat is drinking really nicely now IMO, I’ve just got back from St Emilion where I got to try it at actually at JB Audy. If of interest, my slightly scrappy tasting notes were “Bit of a floral nose and developing/bit of balsamic richness, damson/plums, bitter cherry, dusty smokey mocha, bit of baking spice. Tannins grippy and good, nice structure balance of acid/alc/fruit”
Will be interested to here what you think when you try it!
Thanks…we tend to have pretty small co-ops here in more outlying towns and I doubt if they will have it…I decided to add another slightly higher end wine (Poujeaux from Moulis), but otherwise went for the other 5 bottles.
While it’s not top end, nor is it bottom end, and I think that some of these will get a weekend outing chez Colman too! I had a bit of a ‘gap’ in the cellar between the 2009/10s, and the 2019s, which while partly filled by the quite fruit forward '15s, needed a bit of bolstering. Some of my lower end '15s are nearly finished now. I’ll see how I like these '16s and maybe buy a bit more if they are to my taste - looks like quite a few will have a bit ahead of them yet.
And that is my choice made for Tuesday evening - many thanks @catherine. I already have pork chops in the fridge so will aim for something with plums (plenty on the tree) so maybe Asian?
Update part deux et demi - ( demi because no Senejac yet tasted )
Courlat = day one… oh dear, what were the buyers thinking : first glass: Merlot writ large - a simple and over-rich New World style single varietal wine. Day two the wine is transformed and NOW it’s an excellent Saint-Émilion with complexity, bells and whistles aplenty. I would certainly buy again and next time give it several hours in a decanter to open out.
Peybrabon = Strangely travelling in the opposite direction to the Courlat. Day one this is rather fine: a good midweek Claret enhanced by a great year, thoroughly Medoc. Although by day two it is somewhat less interesting - still good drinking but more rounded out.
Conclusion: both are good, the 2016 vintage helping considerably with these Petit Chateau and as @catherine says: drinking very well now. Choosing between them very much depends on personal preference - I would be happy with both !.
Sorry, but i was under the impression from my visit to Angludet in 2020, that La Reserve d’Angludet (recently renamed to La Dame D’Angludet) was their second wine - a rare beast to find in the UK but i found it once in Somerset! However, the Sichels do make a lot of wine!
That’s correct, seems the Berry’s Margaux is the Reserve/Dame under their own label. They describe it as the second wine on the back, and it’s roughly the same price.
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