Château Retout: Tasting & Drinking
There are two sides to the Château Retout coin, as the white wine certainly provides more interest than the red, although I suspect in future vintages we may see the gap between the two narrow somewhat. The white, it almost goes without saying, is a delicious and fascinating project which I am sure will succeed. Provided Hélène and Frédéric steer clear of aromatic yeasts in future, and allow the character of the different varieties to come through, this could become one of the region’s most fascinating and drinkable wines.
The red, looking back to older vintages, is quite typical of the Haut-Médoc region, showing a very dry style, with some austerity to it at times. I think there have been improvements though, and I am sure this is down to the work of Hélène and Frédéric. The 2009 vintage is admirable, but it is in the 2010 vintage that there is an obvious step up in quality. I have tasted this vintage twice, once at home and once with Hélène and Frédéric at Retout, and it clearly shows more purity, elegant texture and confident fruit then preceding vintages. This step up in quality wasn’t maintained in 2011 and perhaps 2012, although these being more difficult vintages that perhaps isn’t that surprising. I’m looking forward to tasting the wines of more favourable years in the future, those that allow the Soual dedication to shine through. (11/6/13)
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