Bordeaux 2011 Primeurs: St Emilion Tasting Notes
Now with the joy and sorrow (you choose which is which!) of Cheval Blanc, Ausone, Pavie, Figeac and Beau-Séjour Bécot behind me, I should give a quick rundown of the remaining estates here. And what I found in these first few estates is repeated through the rest of the appellation, with many very decent wines as well as some that display all the over-ripe fruit and over-extracted characteristics that we are used to in St Emilion.
I found the polished fruits and supple textures of the wines of Jonathan Maltus had a sure-footed appeal, with Teyssier bound to provide some good value. The substance of Canon-la-Gaffelière also showed very nicely, as did Clos Fourtet, two of the commune’s more reliable estates. In this vintage where a gentle hand with extraction gave good results, though, I found a couple of lesser wines which came close or indeed matched the quality found here. The wines of Grand-Mayne and Larmande both showed appealingly ripe fruit, without any suggestions of having been over-worked, and for that they held a certain appeal. Rol Valentin was another surprise over-performer.
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