Bordeaux 2011 Cru Bourgeois: Médoc Communes
As I found last year, despite these wines perhaps coming from the grander, more gravelly terroirs of the Médoc, in particular St Estèphe, Margaux and Moulis-Listrac, these were not the best wines on the day. I have previously hypothesised that this may reflect the fact that all the best plots of land have long been bought up by the grand cru classé châteaux that dominate these appellations, leaving slim pickings at the cru bourgeois level within each commune. At this level I find the less exalted the appellation (e.g. Moulis, Listrac, Haut-Médoc, Médoc) then the better the wines are likely to be compared to more exalted names (e.g. Pauillac or St Julien, the latter fielding no cru bourgeois wines yet again in 2011), although in the case of Moulis and Listrac I am admittedly thinking of estates not entered into the cru bourgeois classification, such as Château Chasse-Spleen and Château Poujeaux, when I write this. These were, of course, two of the nine Cru Bourgeois Exceptionnel estates, the original and now defunct classification having had several quality levels of which this was the top.
The wines of St Estèphe were led by Château Le Crock, perhaps unsurprising in view of the investments and effort the Cuvelier family of Château Léoville-Poyferré have put in place here. Somewhat more surprising, although again I am sure the result can be traced back to the investments made by a new owner, was a very decent wine from Château Lilian Ladouys, which has obviously benefited from being in the ownership of Jacky Lorenzetti, who also owns the improving Château Pédesclaux as well as a 50% stake in Château d’Issan. A few years ago the wines of this estate were a huge disappointment, but that is certainly no longer the case. Both of these wines prove the point that with dedication and investment, interesting wines can be pulled from these soils, even in lesser vintages. The same can be said of Château Sérilhan, where as usual Didier Marcelis has pulled out all the stops – albeit in a manner sensitive to the vintage, I feel – to produce the best wine he can, and certainly the best in this part of my report.
