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Caronne Ste Gemme Tasting, February 2010

One taste of the wine of Château Caronne Ste Gemme provided an early realisation that both good quality and good value can be found outside the long-ordained hierarchy that is the 1855 classification. It was the 1996 vintage, a wine that stood up well when it was experienced alongside a number of other cru classé wines in a Bordeaux 1996 tasting, about ten years ago now.

It was this realisation that convinced me that Caronne Ste Gemme was a worthy addition to the cellar. The obvious vintage to buy at that time was the 2000, and most of these bottles still slumber peacefully; this is not a vintage that you should be in any rush to approach in my opinion. Nevertheless, I must hang my head in shame, perhaps with good reason; since that purchase I have been remiss in not returning to subsequent vintages. It is, sadly, not a wine I have encountered in many of the relevant tastings I have attended, both in the UK and in Bordeaux, and I have long since given up trying to buy every bottle from every château in order to keep my palate educated and up to date.

To the rescue then comes Caronne proprietor François Nony, the latest generation of the Nony family to take the reins here. He sent over a range of vintages for me to taste, from 2002 to 2007, in order to try to fill in the gaps. It seemed only fair that I pluck a bottle from my own cellar to go along with the theme of the tasting, so the notes below also include my latest opinion on the 2000.

In a tasting like this its only natural that you approach the wines with preconceptions. Certain vintages, such as 2002, 2003, 2005 and 2007 have well-formed 'identities'; 2005 a great success and 2007 the opposite, 2003 hot and baked, 2002 cool and structured (I've written more on the 2002 vintage, with specific reference to Caronne Ste Gemme, here). Others, such as 2004 and 2006, occupy the middle-ground and are less easy to pin down with memorable soundbites. Nevertheless a couple of these wines really performed above what we might expect, based on these broad-brushstroke generalities. I am thinking in particular of the 2002, a wine of which Nony can be proud; it has more flesh on its bones than I expected, and a very classic style with it. And also the 2003, which showed little of the excessive heat of the vintage, possessing a balanced structure.

I'm hoping that the 2004 and 2006 develop in a similar way to these two more easily pigeonholed vintages. Whatever happens though, it is clear from this tasting that, apart from the very difficult 2007 vintage, Caronne remains a source of great value wine. (9/2/10)

Caronne Ste Gemme - Tasting Notes

Tasted in February 2010. For all tasting notes relevant to this château, see my Caronne Ste Gemme profile. Click to locate stockists.

Château Caronne Ste Gemme 2007: One of the paler wines in the line up, with a dusty cherry-red hue, and more transparent than some. There's a little volatility at first, followed by some chalky red fruits. The palate is lean, as anticipated, but it is certainly not without merit. There is a thin texture here on entry, some structure too, increasingly so towards the finish where it comes to dominate the wine with a rather harsh grip. There is fruit, raspberry and cherry, albeit with a stony and rather hard but also muted character, also the green of bay leaf and a touch of tobacco. This really translates the difficult nature of the vintage very well. To its credit though, the structure suggests it will be drinking at its best in only a few years, so this wine will no doubt serve a useful purpose. 13/20

Château Caronne Ste Gemme 2006: A much darker colour than the 2007, against which this was paired. Dark and glossy right out to the pink rim, and a nose of dark, sweet, slightly high-toned and perfumed fruit. Still some honeyed oak present. Lots of flesh on the palate, covering the ripe but very firm and upright structure very well. The tannins do peak out from beneath the substance near the finish, but there is breadth and sweetness, and nice gentle acidity too. An impressive wine with an intriguing nose full of potential and yet to close down, clearly very young on the palate but with a textured finish, and a grippy length. A good future here. 16+/20

Château Caronne Ste Gemme 2005: A great colour, a dark and glossy black cherry hue. The nose is certainly captivating, and although there are some oak-derived elements still really quite prominent, with notes of charcoal and smoky caramel, there is also a fine, dark, clearly defined vein of deliciously crystalline fruit. The palate, however, does not quite have the flesh and substance that I expected, less so than 2003 at present for sure, and even the 2002 shows well against this. There is a very lean composition, with plenty of midpalate grip and acidity, but not the weight I would anticipate from this vintage. The nose though is captivating, and I suspect the palate may flesh out given time. With that in mind, a potentially fine effort here. 16.5-17+?/20

Château Caronne Ste Gemme 2004: A glossy hue, vibrant but not with a great density of colour or substance, especially out at the rim. Still a trace of honeyed oak on the nose here, yet to integrate. The fruit has a light, red character, crunchy but with a perfumed edge. There's a touch of cola, of charcoal and a green element too, rather leafy in style. Light, lean on entry and through the middle, with very bare bones in the middle and domineering and grippy structure picking up there and through to the finish. Not showing too well here, most likely an awkward phase, taking into account the age of this wine. 14.5+?20

Château Caronne Ste Gemme 2003: A dark and deep and slightly glossy wine, with a good concentration of colour right out to the rim. Still with a good, matt, dark oxblood hue, maturing but certainly not advanced. The nose has a very deep and rich character, with a dense macerated-fruit style. There is a high-toned edge to the fruit, but a freshness too, a gentle perfume alongside a more vibrant but plump cherry note. Quite fresh on entry, but broad and dense, full of texture and body and grip. There is good acidity here despite the heat of the vintage, and the tannins although firm sit quite well behind the meat of the wine. A full-on style of wine, with lots of extract and tangible matter. The tannins have a ripe but clinging, slightly chewy quality. It finishes a little short despite its depth. Good potential but it needs more time to integrate; certainly not prematurely aged in any way. 16.5+/20

Château Caronne Ste Gemme 2002: A seemingly mature hue in the decanter, but in the glass it does display some more youthful tones, a glossy if rather dense and matt claretty hue. The nose has plenty of appeal for me, showing some nicely developed aromas of pencil shavings, graphite, and dusty cabinet laid over some violet and blackcurrant fruit, sweet but with a crunchy, mint and green peppercorn edge. The texture on entry exceeds my expectations, showing a nicely polished flesh, more than you would expect, if vintage generalisations were anything more than that - a generalisation - which is consistent through the middle and to the finish. It has plenty of backbone too, with gently firm acidity and a lick of peppery tannin. It draws in a little at the finish where it is tighter, more grippy. A little length too, not much, but it is there. This is a really nice effort from one of the more difficult vintages since 2000, and should appeal to those who reject the style of wine that has become predominant in Bordeaux in the last 10-20 years. Not quite at peak yet either - needs another year or two for that. For label images and more see my Wine of the Week write-up. 16+/20

Château Caronne Ste Gemme 2000: Still a very dark colour here, still youthful, a rather matt hue, deep rather than bright, but certainly no real signs of maturity. This youthfulness is also there on the nose, where there are nuances of coffee and toffee - suggestions of sweetness - alongside some rather diffuse, distant, immature fruit. There are little fleeting moments of pleasure though, aromas that hint at tea leaf and rust, alongside a little greenness, subtle peppercorn or mint. The palate has a really appealing texture, gently creamy, neither too thin nor over the top, although through the middle it does have a more restrained, savoury, bitter grip which will appeal to many traditionalists. Still some very pure and direct fruit character here, a little more tangible than the nose suggested, with a savoury, cherry-stone edge to it. Good structure, ripe and rather svelte tannins, through to the finish where there is a warm, substantial length. Still needs time to show its best for sure, maybe another 3-5 years before it is really beginning to drink well. 16.5+/20