Like many of you I suspect, my cellar is overflowing. I bought rather a lot of Crus Bourgeois in 2015, so I tried some this week with a view to getting rid of some to make space. I picked four wines at random, just because I had six of each. They were opened at the same time, decanted for around 5 hours, then tasted over three evenings. All have 13.5° except for the Beaumont, with 14°:
Château Paloumey
Red cherry at first, then some plum and blackberry aromas. Quite fulsome in the mouth, with appealing notes of red cherry at first, then some plum and blackberry, before a strong taste of wild strawberry on the finish. Ripe, but not too ripe, this has a good grip and tension, so the fruit is restrained, not at all jammy. Great balance and a long future ahead.
Château Sénéjac
This one evolved a lot over the three nights. At first, it was rather tannic and clumsy, certainly the most backward of the four wines. The nose was not very appealing either, with a strong smell of toffee dominating some blackberry. However, it was totally different on the second evening: aromas of cedar and blackcurrant, with hints of tobacco, before a cool, fresh mouthful of blackcurrant, very much like a young Pauillac, with dark cherry and blackberry on the finish. It was even better last night, with a much more intense middle section, but again, this is restrained, serious and a “proper” claret. One for the long haul and with that in mind, easily the best Sénéjac I have tasted for a very long time.
Château Beaumont
Strong aromas of red cherry and redcurrant, together with a little caramel and vanilla, before quite a sweet mouthful of the same, then a middle section full of very ripe plum and strawberry and a reasonably intense finish. Much more open and accessible than the other wines, less tannic, less structured, rather jammy and perhaps a little syrupy. Very much a question of individual preference, this is what I expected the others to taste like, it’s like a cross between the 09 and the 10.
Château Rollan de By
The biggest surprise. With 70% Merlot, I was expecting the high octane, rather oaky stuff I have got used to from this wine - well, it was totally different. The nose gave the game away - herbs, fresh notes of blackcurrant and blackberry, black cherries, a touch of cigar box (hang on, I thought, where’s the toasty oak and mocha?). The attack was similarly disconcerting, very cool, fresh and restrained - crisp notes of blackcurrant and black cherry. There was a rising middle section, especially the second evening, with more intense, ripe flavours of blackberry and plum, but firmly framed by a tannic structure that keeps it all in check. Again, one for the long haul, but very impressive at this stage, the best Rollan de By I have tasted since the 2000, infinitely better than the 05, 08, 09, 10 and 11.
I wasn’t too optimistic before opening these, after the 05, 09 and 10 vintages, hence the idea of getting rid of some. I did like the equivalents from those vintages, but I’ve grown sick of the high octane, rather sweet flavours which they all had. In fact, even the 2011 and 2012 tasted much the same and this is what drove me away from this sort of wine in search of fresher wines in the Loire. The only wine which had resolutely kept the jammy taste profile was the Beaumont, along with the slightly higher alcohol level - yes, I know it’s only 0.5°, but with the low acidity of the wine, that really does make a difference.
As for the three others, they were very much a throwback to the distant past. Classic in style, ripeness restrained by a tannic framework and good acidity, not too much oak, the sort of wines that made me love Bordeaux in the first place.
The pecking order changed over the three evenings, with Paloumey initially a long way ahead of the others, but by the third evening, it had been joined in the lead by Sénéjac and Rollan de By, with Beaumont lagging behind.
So the bad news was for my cellar-thinning. The only one I’m considering off-loading is the Beaumont, but it deserves a second chance in another two years. The others are wines to lay down and leave in peace for at least five years, probably ten.
Obviously this is not a sweeping comment about the 2015 vintage or Crus Bourgeois, since it’s only four wines and just my taste, but I did find the experience interesting. In terms of price, they all cost the same - 10 euros. In terms of value for money, it’s hard to do better than that. Judging by these four wines, the idea that this sort of wine is in decline, or cannot age well, is misplaced.