I had been thinking about this pairing the entire afternoon at work, LOL. Could’ve opened a Chianti, a Lambrusco, but dammit I really wanted this particular Bordeaux bottling with this Pizza Hut. Purchased at InternetWines (Randall’s online wing) for $13 plus shipping, I mean, for a nine year old Haut Medoc? Who says no? Paired with the last few slices of Labor Day weekend pizza (pepperoni, pineapple, chicken, red peppers), popped open and poured as soon as I got home, so it had about an hour of air by the time I started eating. Blend of 54% Cabernet Sauvignon, 42% Merlot, the rest Petit Verdot.
Visually, a strong purple with ruby hues.
On the nose, blackberries and cassis (I can finally use this as a descriptor! At a recent wine tasting here in the US, I was given the Le Nez du Vin aroma for cassis to sample, and some Ribena blackcurrant juice), smoke, and our favorite forest scents – walking through a wood & the dirt path you’re on.
On the palate, a bit past medium bodied. Tannin bite reduced greatly as time passes – still a little grippy by hour two. Really, really good acidity here. Cutting right through this fatty pizza. Flavors of black fruits – plums and blackberries, bit of chocolate, vanilla, sweet pastry as it warms. This is great. No burn at all at 14%, even at room temp.
I didn’t know much about this particular Chateau, so I decided to consult my “Bordeaux & its Wines” book – fascinating history behind this place! It was quite good as a budget Bordeaux, but at $13 it was just stellar. With almost a decade of age, plenty of air, it’s truly punching above its price range – amazing QPR here to me. Structure is there to last for many, many more years and with a surprising finish length too. I’m loving these wood scents and notes! My last Bordeaux was a 2004 Sociando Mallet, and this one came close!
by JJxiv15
4 Comments
Gone through a case of these Cambon La Pelouse ’16s and every one has been fantastic! Such good QPR. I’m down to my last one now, planning to open it in 5 years or so to see how it develops. Cheers!
What book is that? Looks like it has the comprehensive information for all of the Bordeaux wines
Learning opportunity for me here, but is it normal that left bank vineyards have 50% Merlot, 30% cab, 20% cab franc? Is there a variance in yields between grapes so much that the grapes harvested would produce more in proportion to typical left bank blends? Or does this just happen to be a lefty that is Merlot forward?
That pizza looks like ass