Clos Cantenac: Tasting & Drinking
These days it seems like St Emilion only gets in the news when either the latest iteration of the St Emilion classification is released (which is once every ten years) or when some disgruntled vigneron who is dissatisfied with their ranking takes the classification and those behind it to court (this also happens every ten years, and the court proceedings seem to last ten years as well). So it is good to remind ourselves that this is an appellation home to a number of properties turning out good-value wines for drinking (remember them?), properties where more thought goes into the care of the vines, the picking decisions and the vinifications than into lawyers’ fees.
Clos Cantenac is certainly one such property, and I have been consistently impressed by the quality of the grand vin here which, since her arrival here in 2017, is the work of Charlotte Krajewski. The strongest vintages I have tasted thus far are the 2019 and 2020, while 2022 – at the time of writing only tasted from barrel – shows similar promise. The 2021 reflects the difficulties presented by this year’s growing season, nevertheless it is a good result taking that into account, and it showed very well when tasted against the Krajewski family’s other 2021 from Château Séraphine.
In short, this is one riverside St Emilion estate I will certainly continue to follow in future years. And naturally I will stop off at the menhir to make an offering whenever I visit, presumably to Dagda and Morrigan, although I confess my knowledge of Celtic Gods is a little rusty. If there are any Druids reading, I would gladly take advice. (22/3/24)
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