Cantemerle 05 and Du Tertre 06

A couple of bottles to limber up before Christmas.

Cantemerle 2005

I’m a great fan of Cantemerle, or rather I used to be, but this is one of an increasing number of vintages which have disappointed me. The first of six, purchased EP. Decanted an hour or so before tasting. The nose was quite oaky, with prominent notes of vanilla and mocha, just a few hints of dark cherry poking through. In the mouth, much the same: oak, vanilla, mocha, quite rich tannins, a few more tannins, then some more tannins, a tiny hint of cassis, then a watery, dumb finish. Perhaps a bad bottle, but I thought the same about the 08, before realizing after four bottles that it was just a bad wine. There are many CBs doing much better for half the price. No score.

Du Tertre 2006

I bought this one a few months ago at auction for around 20€ out of curiosity. I wasn’t expecting much after reading the critics’ reviews, but not for the first time, they were wrong. After Batailley, another good 2006. The nose was fresh, fruity and winsome, with blackberries and cherries offset by some smoky herbs, the attack was well-rounded and fresh again, with blackcurrants and cherries, before a fairly rich middle section and a decent finish, just marred by a slightly coarse, metallic sensation. Decanted a couple of hours before drinking. Not the best du Tertre ever, but light years ahead of the Cantemerle 05 which was opened at the same time - and a lot cheaper. If it loses the coarseness this will be worthy of a few points more in the future. Probably ten years ahead of it and excellent value at present since the 06s have been entirely overshadowed by the 05s. 89 points

Maybe too early on the Cantemerle? 05’s are grumpy these days.

Interesting note. I’ve had 2 of my 3 bottles of 05 Cantemerle and I thought they were both above par bottles that probably needed a bit more time to really come around. Du Tertre on the other hand, I’ve only recently had an 05 (not the 06 your note is on) which I thought was a bit flabby and thin. Too bad we weren’t closer, we could have a bottle exchange to suit our preferences!

Happy Tasting

TW

Visited Du Tertre when I was in Bordeaux in 2014. My sense was that they have a relatively new owner putting a lot of money into the estate. I expect the wines to be improving.

Yea I’ve checked in twice over the last two years out of 375s, and my sentiments were in line with Julian’s. Will let time do its trick, for good or worse. Popping a 2000 sometimes this week.

Cheers all - well after wrapping up Christmas stocking presents, back to wine…!

Hopefully it was too early for the Cantemerle 05, but it certainly didn’t taste very promising. It reminded me of a comment made eons ago on Ebob, when the 05s came out, by I think Drew Skroback (hope I remembered the spelling), who wondering about all the hype, questioned whether or not there would be any fruit left by the time the tannins had quietened down (or something along those lines). Judging by the bricking on the rim, this could be one of those. We shall see.

Looking back through my crappy tasting notes, I’m wondering why I included Cantemerle among my favourite LB wines, since I couldn’t find any trace of a wine I really enjoyed since the mid-90s. I’m not sure when the style changed, perhaps with the 98, but I don’t like the way it did. I wouldn’t say it became spoofy, but certainly it moved away from the sort of taste I got from the Du Tertre 06, towards the sort of taste I dislike in other similarly classed wines, like Camensac. La Tour Carnet has been a standing joke since Magrez bought it, but the others have been just as disappointing. In the days before I sold wines I disliked, I trudged through an entire case of Camensac 2000. God it was awful.

What is sad is that having tasted greatness, in the Cantemerle 89, one always hopes that they will produce a wine as good, so year in year out, I’ve gone back for more, right up until 2015. Hope springs eternal. The 00 isn’t bad, but fairly innocuous.

As for Du Tertre, I’ve never been totally convinced by the direction took since Eric Alberda Jelgersma bought it in 1997, but the upfront fruit is always fun and good value. It’s very reliable but I still think that the 96 was better than anything produced since.

Julian -

Did you try the 2010 Cantemerle? I bought bunches of it, and enjoyed it when I tasted it on release, buying more. Have not had it since. Hope I didnt miss here.

Nope, not yet - I have six of them so fingers crossed! Likewise the 09…

I like the 10 much more than the 9, prefering the structure of the vintage over the ripeness of 09. I think I have a few 09s though.

Not surprised that you preferred the 2010 - it’s my sort of vintage too so far, at least as far as CBs are concerned - in fact it’s one of my favourite CB vintages. I might try a Cantemerle 10 over the holiday period.

Agreed, except for Lanessan, with a more lean, red-fruited 2009 that is much better than its more austere 2010. Of course in 20 years that 2010 could defy expectations.

I too like the 06 du Tertre the one time I had it last year

http://www.bordeauxwineenthusiasts.com/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=7184&p=59256

Nice notes

I popped open an 05 Cantemerle today and the original post tasting notes align pretty closely with what I felt tonight. Maybe not a bad wine per se, but definitely uninspiring. It left a worse memory than the first bottles, but I’d happily backfill for the right price.

Mid teens can be a supremely awkward age for Bordeaux from a strong vintage. A 1995 offline in London featuring a variety of wines from super 2nd and down in 2009 or so was an almost painful experience. I wouldn’t be going near any 05 GCC BDX right now. Obviously there will be exceptions, but even many cru bourgeois still have plenty of upside.

All that being said, and I think someone like Ian A will agree with me here, Cantemerle often delivers the most in vintages that aren’t quite top top, but still good. 2012 for example, or even 2004.

I believe the tannins will resolve, but it’s going to take a seriously long time. Plenty of these wines were very well balanced in their youth. A well known commenter on burgundy over on wine pages regularly states that there’s no point continually trying a burgundy that’s not in a good place - I think that applies here, too.

Tim - sorry your experience was similar to mine.

Julian - it’s true that this could be a bad time, although it’s out of character for Cantemerle. You’re right too that it’s a different vintage to most and plenty of CBs are still very perky and primary, which is normally a good sign for the CCs in the future. Cantemerle certainly delivers in off years, or at least it did until the late 90s - the 93 was very enjoyable for instance. I wonder whether or not the change towards more concentration and power really suits it, but that could just be my taste - time will tell.

Without having tasted both wines (or maybe I had the 06 du Tertre 10y ago) I would say that it is far too early for the 2005. I´m leaving this vintage alone for several more years … while 2006s can already be quite accessabl if far from really mature on the classified level.

I won’t call 2014 an Off Year, but others will. The 2014 Cantemerle was the wine that opened my eyes to the beauty the vintage.

I’ve had a couple 05 St Emilions (Rol Valentin and La Fleur Morange) recently and it would seem like the RB ‘05s are starting to come into their own. Still young but drinking very well.

Agreed, the '96 was a nice wine and a fantastic QPR. The '04 offered a nice bang for the buck too…

Guilty as charged, Julien. Whatever the tannin long term risk, I would not even think of popping the 05 (or 08) Cantemerle for five years or so. I have not had any 05s where I thought they were ready to go, even at a lower level, so I am keeping them in cold storage. I just don’t see the point in opening them right now.

I’ve got an '89 and an '83 Cantemerle in my rotation this month. The 83 was lovely about 6 months ago.

BTW, I’ve really enjoyed a few 02s of late. Not a great vintage by any stretch, but they are beginning to do whatever they can. I’m no longer a present day fan of Pape Clements, but the 02 was not too spoofy and really rather pleasant the other night.

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