Thoughts on Cantemerle?

[Robert.A.Jr]

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

Me as well, but I do not think that’s the new Meyney.

[John_Telford]

Big Cantemerle fan here. I have almost always bought a case or two since 1996 EXCEPT in the years I bought NO bordeaux (1997, 2002, 2007, 2011, 2013, and 2017). The 2000’s are delicious and drinking very well. I think they are a very reliable representative of the vintage. I think it was back in 2000, I decided in the years I bought bordeaux I would always through in a case (or two) of Lanessan, Sociando, and Cantemerle. It is no Sociando or Meyney a bit prettier and lighter. They have stayed fairly true to style and price. I agree 2009 was a bit different as was 2015. The amount of Cantemerle, Lanessan, and Sociando I bought in 2014 was insane----hoping it pays off! All that being said…a great buy that represents place and time.

[Pat_Martin]

For my tastes, the 80’s run at Cantemerle of 82, 83, 85 and 89 has no peer since (though I like the 96 a lot).

[Brian_Lynch]

89, 09, 10 were excellent. Non-star vintages can be variable but not a big risk for the price. Try it early; if you like it, stock up.

[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.

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.

Grabbed a bottle from the offsite, plan on opening it tonight.
Would appreciate any thoughts on whether I should decant and for how long.

[Ed_Steinway]

I don’t buy a lot of Bordeaux these days, but thought the 2010 Cantemerle was pretty good.

-Al

Another vote on the 2010. I really like this wine. The 2009 is also very nice.

[Jonathan_Jetter]

I’ve had the 2000 several times and it’s always been a winner, esp. at its price point.

I quite like the '05 and the '96 too, though only had them once each.

[ErlendFA]

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.

Grabbed a bottle from the offsite, plan on opening it tonight.
Would appreciate any thoughts on whether I should decant and for how long.

I decanted it for an hour before the first sip. Thought it performed well even four hours in when I had my last glas of it.

[Ramon_C]

For my tastes, the 80’s run at Cantemerle of 82, 83, 85 and 89 has no peer since (though I like the 96 a lot).

This.

That elegant 1985 Cantemerle (plus an in-the-zone 2000 Sociando) with @home Friday dinner was killing it.

[Mont_Stern]

I just came back from Bordeaux yesterday. We had 2011 Angelus twice and it was excellent and much cheaper than higher regarded vintages. If you see any Parker right bank darlings on a restaurant wine list at a fair price don’t hesitate to order. Just avoid left bank bargain wines from 2011. If you can find good prices on the better 2014 Bordeaux wines they are drinking great and we ordered a number with dinners. I just thumbed through my dinner pictures on my phone and realized that I missed mentioning a 2011 Magrez-Fombrage that was excellent from dinner on Monday.

Going back to Noah’s original post, I would backfill 2009-2010 or buy a case of the 2019. There is a major “arms race” going on in Bordeaux with major investment in wineries. The best beneficiaries are the non trophy Bordeaux chateaux and the second labels from the top labels.

[Markus_S]

Last week we had pizza for 35 guests…

Is that about 15 pies? Lot of cookin’ and bakin’!

[Glen_Gold]

Last week we had pizza for 35 guests…

Is that about 15 pies? Lot of cookin’ and bakin’!

Late night party. We had 8 pies from Quarter Sheet in Echo Park, which is pretty damned fabulous Detroit-style pizza.

[Faryan_Amir-Ghassemi]

Resuscitation time. Has anyone opened a 2018 recently?

[Jeremy_C]

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

Enjoyed this Saturday night. Not mind blowing, but a very good Cordier claret.

[Mikko_Tuomi]

Bringing a necropost back to life but didn’t want to start a new thread for a mere TN.

2018 Château Cantemerle

Beautiful young ruby color. Nose is slightly muted with initial touch of vanilla, tobacco, dark chocolate, touch of black pepper, some bright red fruit and just a hint of licorice root.

Palate is fresh, medium bodied, light in alcohol and not overly ripe in any way. It has lots of bright red fruit and tobacco, it seems very open for business. Not the most complex wine ever but very enjoyable and not overpowering or cloying in any way.

Finishes medium+ with nice grip to tannins and bright red cherries.

Very much not like other 2018 Bordeaux I have tried. It’s somewhat light on its feet compared to many '18 bruisers I’ve had. Still young but drinks very well, I expect lots of upside in the next 2 decades.

[Mark_Golodetz]

The 1949 earlier this year was beautiful, showing no sign of going over the hill.

[Howard_Cooper]

One of the highlights of Bordeaux IMHO is that there are a bunch of classified Bordeaux that are very much under the radar and make very enjoyable wines for a reasonable price. Others I would include in this (without at all trying to list everything (even if I could)) would include D’Issan, la Lagune, Cantenac Brown, and Ferriere. It is interesting to me how many of these wines are in or around Margaux. I think that so much focus on Bordeaux in my buying life has been on St. Julien and Pauillac. Great wines made there, but somehow they have gotten more famous (and more expensive) than the wines from Margaux (other than Chateau Margaux, Palmer and Rausan Segla - great wines but more fully priced).