Chateau Croizet-Bages: Tasting & Drinking
I will draw this profile to a close as I have done for my profile of Château Rauzan-Gassies, by disclosing that I have eaten as a guest of the Quié family. This sort of thing isn’t unusual when visiting Bordeaux, although it isn’t that commonly you see critics putting their hands up and admitting it unprompted. I believe I have scored the wines described in my tasting notes below fairly despite that gratuity, but with this information at hand you may of course judge this for yourself.
As a broad statement on the wines of Château Croizet-Bages, they do suffer by comparison with other successful Pauillac estates, including some also ranked as fifth growth properties, such as – most notably – Château Pontet Canet, Château Grand-Puy-Lacoste and Chateau Lynch-Bages. Perhaps these are unfair comparisons, but even when tasting the wines against ‘value’ Pauillacs such as Château Haut-Batailley or Château Grand-Puy-Ducasse, the wines still struggle to make an impact.
Nevertheless I should also stress that with a new generation on board, and many recent improvements, this estate is full of potential for the future. Some recent vintages here, namely 2009 and 2010, have been some of the better examples of Croizet-Bages I have ever tasted, although quality was no doubt bolstered by the benevolence of these two growing seasons. Others have not been so exciting. I still sense Croizet-Bages is ripe for change and development, and I hope one day we see it. It might just be that the next generation need a little more time and authority before they can turn away from the practices of their forebears and plough their own furrow. (18/2/09, updated 6/11/13)
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