Thoughts on Cantemerle?

[Rohit_B]

I was very unimpressed with the 2015. Maybe our bottle was very slightly corked and/or poorly decanted, but it was pretty abysmal for me. Just my experience with one bottle.

• 2015 Château Cantemerle - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Haut-Médoc (3/29/2022)
  Part of a blind tasting, writing from memory. There’s a lot of sediment, so be sure to decant this wine (mine was not decanted well).

Overall wasn’t impressed. Nose showed oak, swirling the glass brought out some freshness and bright red fruit but also had some mossy/underbrush tones to it. Palate showed a good amount of acid, basically no tannins, not much fruit either but whatever was hanging on was elevated by acid. Finish was short and nondescript.

Compared to the prior notes, this may have been an off bottle with suboptimal decanting, although blind tasting does remove a lot of bias. (87 pts.)

Posted from CellarTracker

[Robert.A.Jr]

It’s a little gem. I’ve always been fond of the ‘83, my birth year.

Was a Cordier wine back then! A killer stable of wines in the 1980s.

Big fan of Cantemerle. Really like 2016, 2010 and 2009. I think 2005 was a bit of a miss.

[David_Bu3ker]

I was very unimpressed with the 2015. Maybe our bottle was very slightly corked and/or poorly decanted, but it was pretty abysmal for me. Just my experience with one bottle.

• 2015 Château Cantemerle - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Haut-Médoc (3/29/2022)
  Part of a blind tasting, writing from memory. There’s a lot of sediment, so be sure to decant this wine (mine was not decanted well).

Overall wasn’t impressed. Nose showed oak, swirling the glass brought out some freshness and bright red fruit but also had some mossy/underbrush tones to it. Palate showed a good amount of acid, basically no tannins, not much fruit either but whatever was hanging on was elevated by acid. Finish was short and nondescript.

Compared to the prior notes, this may have been an off bottle with suboptimal decanting, although blind tasting does remove a lot of bias. (87 pts.)

Posted from CellarTracker

Seven years following the vintage is probably about the worst time to drink a classically styled Bordeaux.

[PCLIN]

‘66 is still alive but barely alive.

[Rohit_B]

Seven years following the vintage is probably about the worst time to drink a classically styled Bordeaux.

When is the best time? Particularly since you had an excellent experience with the same vintage.

[David_Bu3ker]

Seven years following the vintage is probably about the worst time to drink a classically styled Bordeaux.

When is the best time? Particularly since you had an excellent experience with the same vintage.

If you don’t catch it early, then I would wait to at least age 10.

[C_Martinelli]

Had a 2009 a few weeks back.
It was quite good.
Not great, but good.
Felt mature.

I’m sitting on a case of 2009, might be time to crack it open.

[Arv_R]

I agree that Cantemerle is always worth trying but I’m not quite such a fan as some here. The 89 is (or was) an extraordinary wine but I’ve never tasted anything as good since. Today, for me it is, in quality, like a very good Cru Bourgeois - I get as much but no more satisfaction from Cantemerle than I do from Citran, for example, at half the price. I still have several vintages from 05 to 16 and I keep hoping for another 89.

That’s a fair observation, but I think that is generally true of many estates. I guess I would frame it like this, maybe Citran is a $20-25 wine, and for only $10 more or so, one can get a cru classe with some history/story to it. In a world where everybody can google anything, sometimes a guest or client might be mildly more impressed with Cantemerle after looking it up, and there’s some value in that.

Maybe my recollection is off, but I thought the 2010 Cantemerle might have been a BWE WOTY once?

[Glen_Gold]

Last week we had pizza for 35 guests and a D-Mag of the 2014. It was popular with everyone regardless of how bonkers they were about wine.

[ErlendFA]

Had a 2009 a few weeks back.
It was quite good.
Not great, but good.
Felt mature.

I’m sitting on a case of 2009, might be time to crack it open.

Would be interested in hearing your thoughts.
A slight issue I have is that I bought mine recently so I really overpaid, but I was curious.

[D_Zurcher]

I agree that Cantemerle is always worth trying but I’m not quite such a fan as some here. The 89 is (or was) an extraordinary wine but I’ve never tasted anything as good since. Today, for me it is, in quality, like a very good Cru Bourgeois - I get as much but no more satisfaction from Cantemerle than I do from Citran, for example, at half the price. I still have several vintages from 05 to 16 and I keep hoping for another 89.

That’s a fair observation, but I think that is generally true of many estates. I guess I would frame it like this, maybe Citran is a $20-25 wine, and for only $10 more or so, one can get a cru classe with some history/story to it. In a world where everybody can google anything, sometimes a guest or client might be mildly more impressed with Cantemerle after looking it up, and there’s some value in that.

Maybe my recollection is off, but I thought the 2010 Cantemerle might have been a BWE WOTY once?

Close-in 2010 the 2005 Cantemerle was the BWE Wine of the Year-

[Brian_G_r_a_f_s_t_r_o_m]

Seven years following the vintage is probably about the worst time to drink a classically styled Bordeaux.

When is the best time? Particularly since you had an excellent experience with the same vintage.

If you don’t catch it early, then I would wait to at least age 10.

+1. Coincidentally, I’ve had the '15 twice: first in '19, when it really impressed me; and then in '21, when it was clearly closing-up. My hands are off for at least another three years.

[James_Guthri3]

I loved the '96 and enjoyed the '89. Based on the strength of those I picked up a full case of '16 in the 375 format, and based on my experience with the first bottle that may be one of my smarter wine purchases in quite a while.

[John_Danza]

Cantemerle and Meyney are sort of in the same category for me. In excellent years, they are consistently over-achievers.

[William_Kelley]

Cantemerle saw a lot of investment in the 1980s and after that went into more of a maintenance phase, until now, as they are about to build a big new state-of-the-art winery. The vineyards are well maintained, quite high density at 8,500 vines per hectare, and sit in a crescent of fine Mindel series gravels around the estate. It’s all pretty homogeneous, despite being almost 100 hectares, so they don’t have inferior parcels that go into the second wine or whatever (the second wines is generally young vines). Given its location in the (warmer) south and its soils, in style it is inherently a bit suppler and more charming than some of the other wines it’s being compared with in this thread (e.g. Meyney or Citran), I venture. Winemaking is rather gentle, as the “air pulse” system was prototyped here, which is a way to disrupt the cap without doing pump-overs, and percentages of new wood are modest. When this estate gets everything right its terrific value, and they are increasingly getting everything right.

[Todd_Hamina]

• The air pulse system is fascinating in action.

I guess I should add that Cantemerle has long been a favorite, with the 89’s being especially delicious.

[John_Morris]

The 2016s are also great. I started buying a full case of these in most years since the qpr is so good. Actually had a 1966 last year which was tertiary obviously but was very enjoyable!

That’s what I thought. And I found it for $34 two years ago.

[Al_Osterheld]

Cantemerle saw a lot of investment in the 1980s and after that went into more of a maintenance phase, until now, as they are about to build a big new state-of-the-art winery. The vineyards are well maintained, quite high density at 8,500 vines per hectare, and sit in a crescent of fine Mindel series gravels around the estate. It’s all pretty homogeneous, despite being almost 100 hectares, so they don’t have inferior parcels that go into the second wine or whatever (the second wines is generally young vines). Given its location in the (warmer) south and its soils, in style it is inherently a bit suppler and more charming than some of the other wines it’s being compared with in this thread (e.g. Meyney or Citran), I venture. Winemaking is rather gentle, as the “air pulse” system was prototyped here, which is a way to disrupt the cap without doing pump-overs, and percentages of new wood are modest. When this estate gets everything right its terrific value, and they are increasingly getting everything right.

I always found the rustic character of old-time Meyney to be part of its charm. A little inconsistent, but enjoyed lots of vintages from the last century.
-Al

[William_Kelley]

Cantemerle saw a lot of investment in the 1980s and after that went into more of a maintenance phase, until now, as they are about to build a big new state-of-the-art winery. The vineyards are well maintained, quite high density at 8,500 vines per hectare, and sit in a crescent of fine Mindel series gravels around the estate. It’s all pretty homogeneous, despite being almost 100 hectares, so they don’t have inferior parcels that go into the second wine or whatever (the second wines is generally young vines). Given its location in the (warmer) south and its soils, in style it is inherently a bit suppler and more charming than some of the other wines it’s being compared with in this thread (e.g. Meyney or Citran), I venture. Winemaking is rather gentle, as the “air pulse” system was prototyped here, which is a way to disrupt the cap without doing pump-overs, and percentages of new wood are modest. When this estate gets everything right its terrific value, and they are increasingly getting everything right.

I always found the rustic character of old-time Meyney to be part of its charm. A little inconsistent, but enjoyed lots of vintages from the last century.
-Al

Nothing against Meyney, it’s just a very different wine from Cantemerle!

[Al_Osterheld]

Wasn’t disagreeing at all, and agree that they are quite different and I enjoy both of them (although not sure I’ve had Meyney since they changed hands).

-Al